Patent Publication Number: US-11047593-B2

Title: Air conditioning housing system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/454,519 entitled “HORIZONTAL FAN COIL UNIT REMOVEABLE SIDE ACCESS PANEL,” filed Feb. 3, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally air conditioning units. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to air conditioning units with accessible internal components. 
     Air conditioning units may be mounted on ceilings of rooms within a building. For example, an air conditioning unit may be included in an office, a hotel room, a hospital room, etc. The air conditioning unit may recycle air from the room by conditioning the air through one or more heat exchange processes. That is, the air conditioning unit may draw in air from the room, remove heat or add heat to the air, depending on one more preferences or settings, and may also remove moisture from the air. The air conditioning unit may then supply the conditioned air to the room via one or more blowers or fans. The air conditioning unit may also be aesthetically acceptable in its exposed location within a frequented room. Indeed, interior components of the air conditioning unit may be covered by one or more panels to present the air conditioning unit in an aesthetic manner. To be properly installed and maintained, service personal may access the interior components of the unit through the one or more panels. However, due at least to the mounting location of the air conditioning unit, the panels may be difficult to access and/or provide limited access, such as for tools usage, to the internal components, thereby increasing time and difficulty of installation and maintenance operations and also increasing costs associated with such operations. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building that may utilize a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&amp;R) system in a commercial setting, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an HVAC&amp;R system, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC&amp;R system of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic of an embodiment of the HVAC&amp;R system of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of interior components of an air conditioning unit of the HVAC&amp;R system of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a housing of the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a housing of the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of a housing of the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of a housing of the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a panel of the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a mounting component that may be utilized within the air conditioning unit of  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a housing system for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit includes a rigid shell. The rigid shell includes a top panel configured to be disposed within a top plane of the HVAC unit, a front panel configured to be disposed within a front plane of the HVAC unit, and a rear panel configured to be disposed within a rear plane of the HVAC unit. The HVAC unit also includes a bottom panel configured to be disposed within a first portion of a bottom plane of the HVAC unit, a first side panel, and a second side panel. The first side panel and the second side panel are each configured to be disposed within respective side planes of the HVAC unit and are each configured to be disposed within respective second portions of the bottom plane of the HVAC unit. The housing system is configured to be internally accessed through the respective side planes. Internal access of the housing system through either of the respective side planes is provided at least partially by rotation of the first side panel and/or the second side panel. 
     In another embodiment, a housing system for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit includes a shell. The shell includes a rear panel disposed within a rear plane of the HVAC unit, a top panel disposed within a top plane of the HVAC unit, and a front panel disposed within a front plane of the HVAC unit. The housing system also includes two corner panels configured to be coupled to the shell. Each of the two corner panels is configured to be disposed within a respective side plane of the HVAC unit and within the bottom plane. The housing system further includes a bottom panel configured to be coupled to the shell. The bottom panel is configured to be disposed within a bottom plane of the HVAC unit, and is configured to be removed from the shell. Removal of the bottom panel enables removal of the two corner panels. The housing system is configured to be mounted to a ceiling of a room in a building, and the shell is configured to enclose an air conditioning unit. 
     In a further embodiment, a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes an air conditioning unit configured to be mounted to a ceiling of a room in a building. The air conditioning unit is configured to supply conditioned air to the room. The air conditioning unit includes a heat exchanger configured to receive chilled fluid from a vapor compression system and/or receive warm fluid from a boiler. The HVAC system also includes a housing configured to surround internal components of the air conditioning unit. The housing includes a top panel, a bottom panel, a front panel, a rear panel, and two side panels. The bottom panel is configured to be disposed within a bottom plane of housing, and the two side panels are configured to be disposed within respective side planes of the housing and within the bottom plane of the housing. The internal components of the air conditioning unit are configured to be accessed through the respective side planes and the bottom plane. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An area of a building, such as a room, may include an air conditioning unit mounted to a ceiling. The air conditioning unit may utilize one or more heat exchange processes to supply conditioned air to the room. In some instances, the air conditioning unit may be mounted such that one or more components within the air conditioning unit may be difficult to access by installation personnel and other operators. Indeed, in some instances, internal components of the air conditioning unit may only be accessed from a bottom of the air conditioning unit. Further, due at least to its exposed location within the room, a chassis or housing of the air conditioning unit may ideally be aesthetically pleasing. For example, the housing may include a limited amount of exposed hardware, such as screws, bolts, hinges, weld joints, and so forth. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure include an air conditioning unit of a heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&amp;R) system that may provide accessible internal components via a housing utilizing a minimal amount of exposed hardware. For example, in some embodiments, a housing of the air conditioning unit may include a front panel, a rear panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, and two side panels. The side panels may cover a bottom portion of the air conditioning unit in addition to side portions of the air conditioning unit. That is, each side panel may include a vertical plane portion to cover the side portions and a horizontal plane portion to partially cover the bottom portion. The bottom panel may cover a remainder of the bottom portion that is not covered by the side panels. 
     In some embodiments, to access the internal components of the air conditioning unit, two exposed fasteners within the bottom panel may first be uncoupled, thereby permitting the bottom panel to swing about one or more hinges. In some embodiments, the bottom panel may hang from the one or more hinges or be decoupled from the chassis entirely. Once the bottom panel is opened, two or more additional fasteners coupling the side panels to the rest of the chassis may be decoupled. Once the two or more additional fasteners have been decoupled, the side panels may be permitted to swing open about shafts upon which the side panels may sit. Particularly, the side panels may include a hook that is configured to fit about the shafts. The side panels may swing outwardly from the shafts and/or may be lifted off of the shafts. In this manner, service personnel may easily access internal components of the air conditioning unit through the vertical planes covered by the side panels, thereby increasing an ease of installation and maintenance of the air conditioning unit over traditional ceiling-mounted air conditioning units that may only be accessible through a horizontal plane in the bottom of the air conditioning unit. 
     Turning now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an environment for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system  10  in a building  12  for a typical commercial setting. The HVAC system  10  may include a vapor compression system  14 , such as a chiller, that supplies a chilled liquid, which may be used to cool the building  12 . The HVAC system  10  may also include a boiler  16  to supply warm liquid to heat the building  12  and an air distribution system which circulates air through the building  12 . The air distribution system can also include an air return duct  18 , an air supply duct  20 , and/or an air conditioning unit  22 , or air handler. In some embodiments, the air conditioning unit  22  may include a heat exchanger that is connected to the boiler  16  and the vapor compression system  14  by conduits  24 . The heat exchanger within the air conditioning unit  22  may receive warm liquid from the boiler  16  and/or chilled liquid from the vapor compression system  14 , depending on the mode of operation of the HVAC system  10 . The HVAC system  10  is shown with a separate air conditioning unit  22  on each floor of building  12 , but in other embodiments, the HVAC system  10  may include air conditioning units  22  and/or other components that may be shared between or among floors. Additionally, individual rooms of the building  12  may be associated with a respective air conditioning unit  22 . Further, in some embodiments, the air conditioning units  22  may be mounted to ceilings within the building  12 . 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are embodiments of the vapor compression system  14  that can be used in the HVAC system  10 . The vapor compression system  14  may circulate a refrigerant through a circuit starting with a compressor  32 . The circuit may also include a condenser  34 , an expansion valve(s) or device(s)  36 , and a liquid chiller or an evaporator  38 . The vapor compression system  14  may further include a control panel  40  (e.g., controller) that has an analog to digital (A/D) converter  42 , a microprocessor  44 , a non-volatile memory  46 , and/or an interface board  48 . 
     Some examples of fluids that may be used as refrigerants in the vapor compression system  14  are hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) based refrigerants, for example, R-410A, R-407, R-134a, hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO), “natural” refrigerants like ammonia (NH 3 ), R-717, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), R-744, or hydrocarbon based refrigerants, water vapor, or any other suitable refrigerant. In some embodiments, the vapor compression system  14  may be configured to efficiently utilize refrigerants having a normal boiling point of about 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit or less) at one atmosphere of pressure, also referred to as low pressure refrigerants, versus a medium pressure refrigerant, such as R-134a. As used herein, “normal boiling point” may refer to a boiling point temperature measured at one atmosphere of pressure. 
     In some embodiments, the vapor compression system  14  may use one or more of a variable speed drive (VSDs)  52 , a motor  50 , the compressor  32 , the condenser  34 , the expansion valve or device  36 , and/or the evaporator  38 . The motor  50  may drive the compressor  32  and may be powered by a variable speed drive (VSD)  52 . The VSD  52  receives alternating current (AC) power having a particular fixed line voltage and fixed line frequency from an AC power source, and provides power having a variable voltage and frequency to the motor  50 . In other embodiments, the motor  50  may be powered directly from an AC or direct current (DC) power source. The motor  50  may include any type of electric motor that can be powered by a VSD or directly from an AC or DC power source, such as a switched reluctance motor, an induction motor, an electronically commutated permanent magnet motor, or another suitable motor. 
     The compressor  32  compresses a refrigerant vapor and delivers the vapor to the condenser  34  through a discharge passage. In some embodiments, the compressor  32  may be a centrifugal compressor. The refrigerant vapor delivered by the compressor  32  to the condenser  34  may transfer heat to a cooling fluid (e.g., water or air) in the condenser  34 . The refrigerant vapor may condense to a refrigerant liquid in the condenser  34  as a result of thermal heat transfer with the cooling fluid. The refrigerant liquid from the condenser  34  may flow through the expansion device  36  to the evaporator  38 . In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the condenser  34  is water cooled and includes a tube bundle  54  connected to a cooling tower  56 , which supplies the cooling fluid to the condenser. 
     The refrigerant liquid delivered to the evaporator  38  may absorb heat from another cooling fluid, which may or may not be the same cooling fluid used in the condenser  34 . The refrigerant liquid in the evaporator  38  may undergo a phase change from the refrigerant liquid to a refrigerant vapor. As shown in the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the evaporator  38  may include a tube bundle  58  having a supply line  60 S and a return line  60 R connected to a cooling load  62 . The cooling fluid of the evaporator  38  (e.g., water, ethylene glycol, calcium chloride brine, sodium chloride brine, or any other suitable fluid) enters the evaporator  38  via return line  60 R and exits the evaporator  38  via supply line  60 S. The evaporator  38  may reduce the temperature of the cooling fluid in the tube bundle  58  via thermal heat transfer with the refrigerant. The tube bundle  58  in the evaporator  38  can include a plurality of tubes and/or a plurality of tube bundles. In any case, the refrigerant vapor exits the evaporator  38  and returns to the compressor  32  by a suction line to complete the cycle. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic of the vapor compression system  14  with an intermediate circuit  64  incorporated between condenser  34  and the expansion device  36 . The intermediate circuit  64  may have an inlet line  68  that is directly fluidly connected to the condenser  34 . In other embodiments, the inlet line  68  may be indirectly fluidly coupled to the condenser  34 . As shown in the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the inlet line  68  includes a first expansion device  66  positioned upstream of an intermediate vessel  70 . In some embodiments, the intermediate vessel  70  may be a flash tank (e.g., a flash intercooler). In other embodiments, the intermediate vessel  70  may be configured as a heat exchanger or a “surface economizer.” In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the intermediate vessel  70  is used as a flash tank, and the first expansion device  66  is configured to lower the pressure of (e.g., expand) the refrigerant liquid received from the condenser  34 . During the expansion process, a portion of the liquid may vaporize, and thus, the intermediate vessel  70  may be used to separate the vapor from the liquid received from the first expansion device  66 . Additionally, the intermediate vessel  70  may provide for further expansion of the refrigerant liquid because of a pressure drop experienced by the refrigerant liquid when entering the intermediate vessel  70  (e.g., due to a rapid increase in volume experienced when entering the intermediate vessel  70 ). The vapor in the intermediate vessel  70  may be drawn by the compressor  32  through a suction line  74  of the compressor  32 . In other embodiments, the vapor in the intermediate vessel may be drawn to an intermediate stage of the compressor  32  (e.g., not the suction stage). The liquid that collects in the intermediate vessel  70  may be at a lower enthalpy than the refrigerant liquid exiting the condenser  34  because of the expansion in the expansion device  66  and/or the intermediate vessel  70 . The liquid from intermediate vessel  70  may then flow in line  72  through a second expansion device  36  to the evaporator  38 . 
     As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the air conditioning unit  22  may be mounted to a ceiling within a building (e.g., the building  12 ). While mounted to the ceiling, the air conditioning unit  22  may be serviced. For example, in some embodiments, once the air conditioning unit  22  has been mounted to the ceiling, one or more service personnel may access the air conditioning unit  22  to install and/or maintain valve packages, electrical systems, pumps, coils, control systems, motors, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, the air conditioning unit  22  may include panels that allow easy access to the components located within the air conditioning unit  22 . Particularly, the panels may expose the internal components of the air conditioning unit  22  while utilizing a minimal amount of clearance vertically and laterally of the air conditioning unit  22  relative to the walls and ceiling of the room in which the air conditioning unit  22  is mounted. As discussed herein, the term “horizontal” may refer to a direction, or plane, substantially parallel with a level ground, and the term “vertical” may refer to a direction, or plane, that is substantially perpendicular with a level ground. 
       FIG. 5  is an embodiment of the air conditioning unit  22  which may receive chilled liquid from the vapor compression system  14  and/or warm liquid from the boiler  16 . The air conditioning unit  22  may include a variety of components that may be covered by a housing  80 , which may include multiple panels as discussed in further detail below. As mentioned above, the air conditioning unit  22  may be mounted to a ceiling of a room in a building. Particularly, the air conditioning unit  22  may be mounted to the ceiling via the housing  80 , a frame  81  of the air conditioning unit  22 , or both. Components within the air conditioning unit  22  may be accessed through one or more vertical planes  82 , or side planes, and a horizontal plane  84 , or bottom plane, covered by the housing  80 . For example, in some embodiments, a motor  86 , a valve package  88 , an auxiliary drain pan  90 , a removable drain pan  92 , coils  94 , a condensate pump  96 , an electrical enclosure  98 , an air supply device  100 , a chilled beam  101 , or any combination thereof may be accessible through the horizontal plane  84  and/or the vertical planes  82 . 
     The motor  86  may drive the air supply device  100 , such as a fan or blower, to provide conditioned air to a room. For example, in some embodiments, the air supply device  100  may draw in air from the room, push or pull the air across the coils  94  to condition the air, and then supply the conditioned air to the room. Indeed, the motor  86  may drive the air supply device  100  to place the air drawn from the room in a heat exchange relationship with liquid flowing through the coils  94 , thereby removing moisture from the air and either heating or cooling the air, depending on one or more settings/preferences. 
     The electrical enclosure  98  may include one or more control devices, such as a microprocessor, memory, power source, or any combination thereof, to control one or more operations of the air conditioning unit  22 . For example, elements of the electrical enclosure  98  may be communicatively coupled to one or more input devices, such as a thermostat, in which a user may input a set temperature. Based on the set temperature relative to an actual room temperature, elements of the electrical enclosure  98  may then send one or more signals to one or more components of the air conditioning unit  22  to supply an adequate amount of air with a suitable temperature to maintain the room at the set point temperature. Further, while the air is in a heat exchange relationship with liquid flowing through the coils  94 , portions of the air may condense into a liquid and collect in the removable drain pan  92  and/or the auxiliary drain pan  90 . Indeed, the condensate pump  96  may remove the condensate that collects in the removable drain pan  92  and/or the auxiliary drain pan  90 . The valve package  88  may supply and control the flow of chilled liquid and/or warm liquid to the coils  94  from the vapor compression system  14  and/or the boiler  16 . Further still, the chilled beam  101  of the air conditioning unit  22  may include pipes configured to flow chilled fluid, such as water, to cool surrounding air, thereby providing cooled air to the room. In certain embodiments, the air conditioning unit  22  may be a variable air volume (VAV) system  103 . That is, the air conditioning unit  22  supply a varied amount of airflow at a constant temperature to condition the room. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the air conditioning unit  22  with the housing  80  covering the internal components. As mentioned above, the housing  80  may include a bottom panel  102 , which may be disposed within the horizontal plane  84  (e.g., a bottom plane), two side panels  104 , or corner panels, which may be disposed within the vertical planes  82  (e.g., side planes) and one or more portions of the horizontal plane  84 , a front panel  106 , which may be disposed within a front plane, a rear panel  108 , which may be disposed within a rear plane, and a top panel  110 , which may be disposed within a top plane. Particularly, the planes of the housing  80  may form a box about the air conditioning unit  22 . In some embodiments, portions of the housing  80  may be integrally formed. For example, in some embodiments, two or more of the panels  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  may be formed together from bending and stamping sheet metal. In specific embodiments, the front panel  106 , the rear panel  108 , the top panel  110  may be integrally formed together through welding, bolting, bending from one or more pieces of sheet metal, or any combination thereof to form a shell. 
     The internal components of the air conditioning unit  22  may be accessed by opening the bottom panel  102 . Particularly, the bottom panel  102  may include one or more fasteners  112  coupling the bottom panel  102  to a base of the air conditioning unit  22  and/or to the rear panel  108 . In specific embodiments, the bottom panel  102  may include two fasteners  112  coupling the bottom panel  102  to the base of the air conditioning unit  22  and/or to the rear panel  108 . In some embodiments, the fasteners  112  of the bottom panel  102  may be the only exposed hardware of the housing  80 . Further, the fasteners  112  may be quarter-turn hardware that is configured to be decoupled with approximately ninety degrees of rotation, or between approximately eighty-five to ninety-five degrees of rotation. In some embodiments, the fasteners  112  may be latches. Further still, in some embodiments, the fasteners  112  may be inset of the bottom panel  102  such that the fasteners  112  are flush with the bottom panel  102  and do not extend beyond an outer surface of the bottom panel  102 . In some embodiments, once the fasteners  112  have been rotated to decouple the bottom panel  102  from the air conditioning unit  22 , the fasteners  112  may remain contained within the bottom panel  102  such that the fasteners  112  do not drop to the ground once decoupled, or unscrewed. In some embodiments, there may not be any exposed bolt heads, screw heads, or other fasteners, other than the fasteners  112  disposed within the bottom panel  102 , when the panels  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110  of the chassis  80  are all coupled together, as shown in the current embodiment. 
     Once the fasteners  112  have been rotated to decouple the bottom panel  102  from the air conditioning unit  22 , the bottom panel  102  may be permitted to swing open about one or more hinges  114 . In some embodiments, the hinges  114  may not be visible from a point of view that is external to the air conditioning unit  22 . For example, in some embodiments, the hinges  114  may include one or more extensions of the bottom panel  102  that may fit into slots disposed within an internal portion of the front panel  106 . Once the fasteners  112  have been decoupled, the bottom panel  102  and the one or more extensions may rotate within the slots (e.g., the hinge  114 ) of the front panel  106 . In some embodiments, the bottom panel  102  may be removable from the hinge  114 , and more specifically from the front panel  106 , once the fasteners  112  have been decoupled. In some embodiments, the bottom panel  102  may be rotated sufficiently to allow for insertion/withdrawal of a standard sized air filter to/from the air conditioning unit  22 . 
     In some embodiments, the bottom panel  102  may account for a portion of an underside of the housing  80 . Particularly, the bottom panel  102  may be disposed within a center portion of the horizontal plane  84  of the housing  80  with the side panels  104  covering remaining portions of the horizontal plane  84 . For example, the side panels  104  (e.g., corner panels) may include a vertical portion  116  to cover the vertical plane  82 , or lateral sides, of the housing  80  and a horizontal portion  118  to cover the remaining portions of horizontal plane  84  not covered by the bottom panel  102 , as illustrated in the current embodiment. In some embodiments, the vertical portion  116  and the horizontal portion  118  of the side panel  104  may have been integrally formed through bending of a single piece of sheet metal. Further, it should be noted that while the side panel  104  may be referred to as having the vertical portion  116  and the horizontal portion  118 , the vertical portion  116  may not always be disposed vertically and the horizontal portion  118  may not always be disposed horizontally at least due to the rotation of the side panel  104  and/or the housing  80 . Further, considering that the side panel  104  may be rigid, the vertical portion  116  may remain substantially perpendicular relative to the horizontal portion  118 . 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the housing  80  with the bottom panel  102  removed and the side panels  104  rotated outward to expose an internal volume of the housing  80  in which internal components of the air conditioning unit  22  may be disposed. As mentioned above, the bottom panel  102  may have been removed from one or more slots  120  disposed within the front panel  106 . In some embodiments, the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108  may include vents  122  through which air may travel as supply air, such as conditioned air, or return air, such as air being drawn in from the room to be conditioned. In some embodiments, the bottom panel  102  ( FIG. 6 ) may also include a vent  122  that, in some embodiments, may be used for supply air or return air. 
     In some embodiments, the horizontal portions  118  of the side panels  104  may be coupled to the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108  via one or more fasteners. Particularly, one or more protrusions  124  of the side panels  104  may be coupled to tabs  126 . Indeed, in some embodiments, the front panel  106 , the rear panel  108 , or both may include the tabs  126  that may couple to the protrusions  124  of the side panels  104 . In some embodiments, the protrusions  124  of the side panels  104  and the tabs  126  may each include corresponding holes that allow for the protrusions  124  and the tabs  126  to be coupled together via any suitable fasteners such as screws, bolts, thumb screws, quarter-turn hardware, etc. 
     Once the protrusions  124  of the side panels  104  have been decoupled from the tabs  126 , the side panels  104  may be permitted to swing outward, as shown in the illustrated embodiment. Particularly, the side panels  104  may rotate about shafts or pegs  128  extending from the front panel  106  and the rear panel  108 . In some embodiments, the shafts  128  may extend approximately 0.5 inches from the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108 , or any other suitable distance. In certain embodiments, the shafts  128  may extend an entire length between the front panel  106  and the rear panel  108 . As discussed below, the shafts  128  may be tapered and include a lip to provide a simplified coupling with the side panels  104 . As also discussed in further detail below, the side panels  104  may include hooks  130  to couple to the shafts  128 . Indeed, the hooks  130  may rest upon the shafts  128  and are configured to slide along an outer surface of the shafts  128  when the side panels  104  are rotated (e.g., inward or outward). 
     Further, the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108  may include pins  132  that may be received by pin receptacles  134  disposed within the side panels  104 . Indeed, in some embodiments, the pins  132  may extend approximately 0.5 inches from the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108 , or any other suitable distance. In some embodiment, the pin receptacles  134  may be a recession disposed within a flange of the side panels  104 . As used herein, “rotated inward” may refer to a position of the side panels  104  as shown in  FIG. 6 , and “rotated outward” may refer to a position of the side panels  104  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Particularly, when the side panels  104  are rotated inward, the pin receptacles  134  may be disposed about the pins  132 . In this manner, when the side panels  104  are rotated outward, the side panels  104  may easily be rotated inward again to the same position. Indeed, in some embodiments, the pins  132  may function as stops that may stop the inward rotation of the side panels  104 . That is, when the side panels  104  are rotated inward and the pins  132  are disposed within the pin receptacles  134 , the holes within the protrusions  124  may become aligned with the holes within the tabs  126 . 
     In some embodiments, the air conditioning unit  22  may be mounted with limited clearance between the housing  80  and elements of a room, such as walls and ceilings.  FIG. 8  illustrates an embodiment of the housing  80  with the side panels  104  rotated outward. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the side panels  104  are rotated outward such that the vertical portion  116  of each side panel  104  is substantially parallel with the top panel  110 . While rotated outward, the side panels  104  may extend beyond the rest of the housing  80  a distance  136  that is approximately the length of the vertical portion  116 . Particularly, the distance  136  that the side panels  104  extend beyond the housing  80  may be approximately equal to a distance between the hooks  130  and the horizontal portion  118 . In some embodiments, the distance between the hooks  130  and the horizontal portion  118  may be approximately 11 inches. In this manner, side panels  104  may be rotated outward while the air conditioning unit  22  is mounted to in the room with minimal lateral clearances. That is, the internal components of the housing  80  may be accessed through the vertical planes  82  ( FIG. 5 ) without any clearance above the housing  80  through rotation of the side panels  104 . Indeed, in some embodiments, the side panels  104  may be removed from the housing  80  while rotated outward without being moved above the top panel  110 . Therefore, in some embodiments, the top panel  110  may be disposed against a surface, such as a ceiling, and internal components of the air conditioning unit  22  may still be accessed. 
     In some embodiments, the hooks  130  of the side panels  104  may be lifted off of the shafts  128 , thereby decoupling the side panels  104  from the rest of the housing  80 , and more particularly, decoupling from the shafts  128 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the side panels  104  of the housing  80  may be decoupled from the front panel  106  and the rear panel  108  of the housing  80 . In some embodiments, to decouple the side panels  104  from the rest of the housing  80 , the side panels  104  may first be rotated some degree. For example, in some embodiments, once the side panels  104  have been rotated outwardly approximately five degrees, the side panels  104  may be lifted off of the shafts  128 . Particularly, rotating the side panels  104  such that they may be lifted of the shafts  128  may extend the side panels approximately three inches in a lateral direction  138  beyond the housing  80 . Therefore, the side panels may be removed from the housing  80  of the air conditioning unit  22  while the air conditioning unit  22  is mounted in a room with approximately three inches of clearance in the lateral direction  138 . In this manner, the internal components of the air conditioning unit  22  may be accessible through the vertical plane  82  despite minimal clearances. Further, for the side panels  104  to be removed from the shafts  128 , the side panels  104  may be lifted above the housing  80  a distance  139  that is approximately equal to a distance from the hook  130  to the end of the side panel  104 . 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of one of the side panels  104  of the housing  80 . As mentioned above, the side panel  104  may include the vertical portion  116  and the horizontal portion  118 . The side panel  104  may further include one or more flanges  140  extending from both of the vertical portion  116  and the horizontal portion  118  of the side panel  104 . In some embodiments, the flanges  140  may extend a width of approximately 0.75 inches, or may extend any other suitable width. Particularly, the flanges  140  may extend away from outer surfaces  142  of the side panel  104 . 
     The one or more flanges  140  may include the protrusions  124 , the hooks  130 , and the pin receptacles  134 . Specifically, a flange  140   a  may extend substantially perpendicularly from the horizontal portion  118  and may include the protrusion  124 . As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the protrusion  124  may include one or more holes configured to receive a fastener to couple the side panel  104  to the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108  ( FIG. 7 ). In some embodiments, the protrusion  124  may extend approximately 0.674 inches beyond the horizontal portion  118  in a direction away from the vertical portion  116 , or may extend any other suitable distance beyond the horizontal portion  118 . In some embodiments, the protrusion  124  may include one or more rounded edges, as shown in the current embodiment. Further, a flange  140   b  may extend substantially perpendicularly from the vertical portion  116  and may include the hook  130  and the pin receptacle  134 . As mentioned above, the hook  130  may be configured to engage with and/or rest upon the one or more shafts  128  of the front panel  106  and the rear panel  108  ( FIG. 7 ). Also as mentioned above, the pin receptacle  134  be configured to receive the pin  132  of the front panel  106  and the rear panel  108  ( FIG. 7 ), thereby guiding the side panel  104  into a suitable position. 
     Specifically, at a first end  144  of the flange  140   b , a cross-section of the flange  140   b  may remain substantially constant towards a second end  146  of the flange  140   b  until the hook  130 . The hook  130  may be stamped or cut from the flange  140   b . For example, the hook  130  may be formed within the flange  140   b . That is, the flange  140   b  may have a shorter width extending from the vertical portion  116  relative to other portions of the flange  140   b . Indeed, the flange  140   b  and the hook  130  may each be entirely disposed within a plane that has approximately the thickness of the flange  140   b . The hook  130  may include a traditional hook shape, such as having an inset portion and having a portion that comes to a point, or a tip. From the hook  130 , going towards the second end  146 , the flange  140   b  may be substantially constant in cross section until the pin receptacle  134 . Similar to the hook  130 , the pin receptacle  134  and the flange  140   b  may be disposed within a plane that has approximately the thickness of the flange  140   b . In other words, the flange  140   b , may be substantially constant in thickness throughout its length. The pin receptacle  134  may include a portion that is inset towards the vertical portion  116  configured to receive the pin  132  ( FIG. 7 ). In some embodiments, the pin receptacle  134  may include edges tapered toward the vertical portion  116 , such as generally trapezoidal in shape, thereby increasing a tolerance of receiving and aligning the pin  132 . The side panel  104  further includes a top flange  148  that extends from the vertical portion  116  adjacent to the first end  144 . That is, the top flange  148  may be substantially parallel to the horizontal portion  118  and substantially perpendicular to the flange  140   b  and the vertical portion  116 . The top flange  148  of the side panel  104  may be configured to cover top edges of the air conditioning unit  22 , and more specifically, the housing  80 , when the side panel  104  is rotated inward. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the shaft  128  coupled to a surface  150 . Indeed, as discussed above, the surface  150  may be the front panel  106  and/or the rear panel  108 . Also as mentioned above, the shaft  128  may include a shaft portion  152 , which may be tapered, and a lip portion  154 . The shaft portion  152  may be tapered with decreasing diameter from the lip  154  towards the surface  150 . That is, the hooks  130  of the side panel  104  ( FIG. 10 ) may be initially be positioned anywhere on the shaft be biased towards the surface  150  due to the tapered diameter of the shaft portion  152 . Further, the lip portion  154  may block the hook  130  of the side panel  104  ( FIG. 10 ) from sliding too far away from the surface  150 . In this manner, the shape of the shaft  128  may provide for a simplified coupling of the side panels  104  onto the housing  80 , and more specifically, onto the shaft  128 . Further, due at least to the taper of the shaft portion  152 , the hooks  130  of the side panels  104  may be biased towards the same position on the shaft  128  as the side panels  104  are rotated and each time the side panels  104  are placed on the shaft  128 . In some embodiments, the shaft  128  may be coupled to the surface  150  via a fastener through a bore  156  disposed within the shaft portion  152 . 
     Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an air conditioning unit mounted to a ceiling of a room within a building. Specifically, the air conditioning unit may be covered by a housing with one or more panels. The one or more panels may be configured to open such that internal components may be accessed through a horizontal plane of the housing and/or vertical (side) planes of the housing. For example, side panels of the chassis may be configured to expose the vertical planes of the housing despite minimal clearances between the housing and elements of the room, such as walls or ceilings. Therefore, the service personnel and/or operators may access the internal components of the air conditioning unit for installation or maintenance purposes in an efficient manner, thereby saving in time and costs associated with installation or maintenance. 
     While only certain features and embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, many modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters (e.g., temperatures, pressures, etc.), mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited in the claims. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure. Furthermore, in an effort to provide a concise description of the exemplary embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not have been described (i.e., those unrelated to the presently contemplated best mode of carrying out an embodiment, or those unrelated to enabling the claimed embodiments). It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation specific decisions may be made. Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure, without undue experimentation.