Patent Publication Number: US-2022221167-A1

Title: Air conditioner unit having a sterilization light assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present subject matter relates generally to air conditioner units and more particularly to an air conditioner unit having a sterilization light assembly for sterilizing air within the air conditioner unit. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Air conditioner or conditioning units are conventionally used to adjust the temperature indoors (i.e., within structures such as dwellings and office buildings). For example, a packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC) may be used to adjust the temperature in, for example, a single room or group of rooms of a structure. A PTAC unit includes an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. The indoor portion generally communicates (e.g., exchanges air) with the room/group of rooms within a building, and the outdoor portion generally communicates (e.g., exchanges air) with the area outside the building. Accordingly, the air conditioner unit generally extends through, for example, a wall of the structure. Generally, a fan may be operable to rotate to motivate air through the indoor portion. Another fan may be operable to rotate to motivate air through the outdoor portion. A sealed cooling system including a compressor is generally housed within the air conditioner unit to treat (e.g., cool or heat) air as it is circulated through, for example, the indoor portion of the air conditioner unit. 
     One issue that may arise during the use of a conventional air conditioner unit (e.g., PTAC) is the presence of potentially damaging microbes, bacteria, or viruses within the surrounding air. In particular, the such microbes, bacteria, or viruses may be circulated or propelled through a room as an air conditioner unit draws in and expels air. This may, in turn, make it difficult to prevent transmission of such microbes, bacteria, or viruses to individuals located within the same room. Although some attempts have been made to use the sterilization properties of ultraviolet (UV) light to help reduce or eliminate microbes, bacteria, or viruses; these attempts may have a number of drawbacks. For instance, it can be difficult to direct light to a significant portion of air flowing through an air conditioner unit without requiring a light assembly that is especially bulky or energy intensive. Additionally or alternatively, it may be difficult to mount a light assembly in such a way that it can reliably sterilize air while preventing damage that might occur to the light assembly (e.g., from moisture or excessive heat generated within an air conditioner unit). 
     As a result, an air conditioner unit addressing one or more of the above issues would be useful. In particular, it may be advantageous to provide an air conditioner unit having features for effectively or reliably sterilizing air flowing therethrough (e.g., without significant increases to system size, cost to manufacture or operate, etc.). 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
     In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner unit is provided. The air conditioner unit may include a housing, an outdoor heat exchanger assembly, an indoor heat exchanger assembly, a compressor, and a sterilization light assembly. The housing may define an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. The housing may further define an exhaust outlet downstream from the indoor portion to exhaust air therefrom. The outdoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in the outdoor portion and include an outdoor heat exchanger. The indoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in the indoor portion and include an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan. The compressor may be in fluid communication with the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger to circulate a refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The sterilization light assembly may be disposed within the indoor portion and directed at the indoor fan to transmit an ultraviolet light emission thereto. 
     In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner unit is provided. The air conditioner unit may include a housing, an outdoor heat exchanger assembly, an indoor heat exchanger assembly, a compressor, a cutoff panel, and a sterilization light assembly. The housing may define an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. The housing may further define an exhaust outlet downstream from the indoor portion to exhaust air therefrom. The outdoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in the outdoor portion and include an outdoor heat exchanger. The indoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in the indoor portion and include an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan. The indoor fan may be disposed along an airflow path between an intake segment of the indoor portion and an exhaust segment of the indoor portion upstream from the exhaust outlet. The compressor may be in fluid communication with the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger to circulate a refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The cutoff panel may separate the intake segment from the exhaust segment. The sterilization light assembly may be disposed within the intake segment to transmit an ultraviolet light emission to the airflow path. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures. 
         FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of an air conditioner unit, with part of an indoor portion exploded from a remainder of the air conditioner unit for illustrative purposes, according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of components of an indoor portion of the exemplary air conditioner unit of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  provides a schematic view of a refrigeration loop in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  provides a side sectional view of components of an indoor portion of the exemplary air conditioner unit of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  provides a magnified side sectional view of components of the indoor portion of the exemplary air conditioner unit of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  provides a bottom perspective view of a cutoff panel and sterilization light assembly, in isolation, of the exemplary air conditioner unit of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  provides an exploded perspective view of an exemplary sterilization light assembly of an air conditioner unit according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  provides a schematic sectional view of a portion of the exemplary air conditioner unit of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     As used herein, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The terms “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the relative flow direction with respect to fluid flow (e.g., airflow or refrigerant flow) in a fluid pathway. For example, “upstream” refers to the flow direction from which the fluid flows, and “downstream” refers to the flow direction to which the fluid flows. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an air conditioner unit  10  is provided. The air conditioner unit  10  is a one-unit type air conditioner, also conventionally referred to as a packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) unit. The unit  10  includes an indoor portion  12  and an outdoor portion  14 , and generally defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T. Each direction V, L, T is perpendicular to each other, such that an orthogonal coordinate system is generally defined. 
     A housing  20  of the unit  10  may contain various other components of the unit  10 . Housing  20  may include, for example, a rear grill  22  and a room front  24  which may be spaced apart along the transverse direction T by a wall sleeve  26 . The rear grill  22  may be part of the outdoor portion  14 , and the room front  24  may be part of the indoor portion  12 . Components of the outdoor portion  14 , such as an outdoor heat exchanger  30 , outdoor fan  32 , and compressor  34  may be housed within the wall sleeve  26 . A casing  36  may additionally enclose the outdoor fan  32 , as shown. 
     Referring now also to  FIG. 2 , indoor portion  12  may include, for example, an indoor heat exchanger  40 , an indoor or blower fan  42 , and a heating unit  44 . These components may, for example, be housed behind the room front  24  of housing  20 . Additionally, a bulkhead  46  of housing  20  may generally support or house various other components or portions thereof of the indoor portion  12 , such as the blower fan  42  and the heating unit  44 . Bulkhead  46  may generally separate and define the indoor portion  12  and outdoor portion  14 . 
     Outdoor and indoor heat exchangers  30 ,  40  may be components of a refrigeration loop  48 , which is shown schematically in  FIG. 3 . Refrigeration loop  48  may, for example, further include compressor  34  and an expansion device  50 . As illustrated, compressor  34  and expansion device  50  may be in fluid communication with outdoor heat exchanger  30  and indoor heat exchanger  40  to flow refrigerant therethrough as is generally understood. More particularly, refrigeration loop  48  may include various lines for flowing refrigerant between the various components of refrigeration loop  48 , thus providing the fluid communication there between. Refrigerant may thus flow through such lines from indoor heat exchanger  40  to compressor  34 , from compressor  34  to outdoor heat exchanger  30 , from outdoor heat exchanger  30  to expansion device  50 , and from expansion device  50  to indoor heat exchanger  40 . The refrigerant may generally undergo phase changes associated with a refrigeration cycle as it flows to and through these various components, as is generally understood. One suitable refrigerant for use in refrigeration loop  48  is 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane, also known as R- 134 A, although it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to such example and rather that any suitable refrigerant may be used. 
     As is understood, refrigeration loop  48  may be alternately operated as a refrigeration assembly (and thus perform a refrigeration cycle) or a heat pump (and thus perform a heat pump cycle). When refrigeration loop  48  is operating in a cooling mode and thus performs a refrigeration cycle, the indoor heat exchanger  40  acts as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger  30  acts as a condenser. Alternatively, when the assembly is operating in a heating mode and thus performs a heat pump cycle, the indoor heat exchanger  40  acts as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger  30  acts as an evaporator. The outdoor and indoor heat exchangers  30 ,  40  may each include coils through which a refrigerant may flow for heat exchange purposes, as is generally understood. 
     In exemplary embodiments, expansion device  50  is disposed in the outdoor portion  14  between the indoor heat exchanger  40  and the outdoor heat exchanger  30 . Optionally, expansion device  50  may be an electronic expansion valve that enables controlled expansion of refrigerant, as is generally understood. More specifically, electronic expansion device  50  may be configured to precisely control the expansion of the refrigerant to maintain, for example, a desired temperature differential of the refrigerant across the indoor heat exchanger  40 . In other words, electronic expansion device  50  throttles the flow of refrigerant based on the reaction of the temperature differential across indoor heat exchanger  40  or the amount of superheat temperature differential, thereby ensuring that the refrigerant is in the gaseous state entering compressor  34 . In alternative embodiments, expansion device  50  may be a capillary tube or another suitable expansion device configured for use in a thermodynamic cycle. 
     Turning generally to  FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 , bulkhead  46  may include various peripheral surfaces that define an interior  52  thereof. For example, bulkhead  46  may include a first sidewall  54  and a second sidewall  56  which are spaced apart from each other along the lateral direction L. A rear wall  58  may extend laterally between the first sidewall  54  and second sidewall  56 . The rear wall  58  may, for example, include an upper portion and a lower portion. The lower portion may have a generally linear cross-sectional shape, and may be positioned below the upper portion along the vertical direction V. Rear wall  58  may further include an indoor facing surface and an opposing outdoor facing surface. The indoor facing surface may face the interior  52  and indoor portion  12 , and the outdoor facing surface may face the outdoor portion  14 . 
     As shown, a head unit  68  may be attached to or included with housing  20  (e.g., on or adjacent to bulkhead  46 , such as on the upper portion). Specifically, the head unit  68  may be positioned at or above the indoor portion  12  as part of the housing  20 . In some such embodiments, the head unit  68  is further positioned above the blower fan  42 . In additional or alternative embodiments, the head unit  68  extends at least from the first sidewall  54  to the second sidewall  56 . Generally, the head unit  68  may define an exhaust outlet  94  having one or more openings through which air may flow (e.g., from the indoor portion  12  to the corresponding room). In some embodiments, head unit  68  further includes a cutoff panel  110  (e.g., extending below the exhaust outlet  94 ) to cutoff or separate portions of an airflow path  92  upstream from the blower fan  42  and downstream from the blower fan  42 . Specifically, cutoff panel  110  may help direct air along an airflow path  92  of the indoor portion  12  and across the blower fan  42  before such being expelled through the exhaust outlet  94 . As will be described in greater detail below, a sterilization light assembly  100  may be attached to or included with head unit  68  (e.g., on cutoff panel  110 ) to sterilize or otherwise reduce microbes, bacteria, or viruses within air in indoor portion  12 . 
     In some embodiments, the upper portion of the bulkhead  46  has a generally curvilinear cross-sectional shape, and may accommodate a portion of the blower fan  42 , which may be, for example, a tangential fan. Blower fan  42  may include a blade assembly  70  and a motor  72 . The blade assembly  70  may include one or more metal blades (i.e., formed from a suitable metal, such as aluminum or steel, including alloys thereof) disposed about a hollow core. When assembled, the blade disposed within a fan housing  74 , may be disposed at least partially within the interior  52  of the bulkhead  46 , such as within the upper portion. As shown, blade assembly  70  may for example extend along the lateral direction L between the first sidewall  54  and the second sidewall  56 . The motor  72  may be connected to the blade assembly  70 , such as through the housing  74  to the blades via a shaft extending along a rotation axis. Operation of the motor  72  may rotate the blades or blade assembly  70  about the rotation axis, thus generally operating the blower fan  42  to motivate air through the indoor portion  12 . Further, in exemplary embodiments, motor  72  may be disposed exterior to the bulkhead  46 . Accordingly, the shaft may for example extend through one of the sidewalls  54 ,  56  to connect the motor  72  and blade assembly  70 . 
     According to the illustrated embodiment, blower fan  42  may operate as an evaporator fan in refrigeration loop  48  to encourage the flow of air through indoor heat exchanger  40 . Accordingly, blower fan  42  may be positioned downstream of indoor heat exchanger  40  along the flow direction of indoor air and downstream of heating unit  44  along the flow direction of outdoor air (e.g., when make-up air is being supplied to indoor portion  12 ). In some such embodiments, blower fan  42  is disposed between a separate intake segment  96  and exhaust segment  98  of the airflow path  92  for indoor air through indoor portion  12 . As shown, the intake segment  96  may extend from the intake openings of the room front  24  to the blower fan  42  such that the indoor heat exchanger  40  is disposed along or within the intake segment  96 . The exhaust segment  98  may extend from the blower fan  42  to the exhaust outlet  94 . Thus, blower fan  42  may be downstream from the intake segment  96  of the indoor portion  12  while being upstream from the exhaust outlet  94  and exhaust segment  98  of the indoor portion  12 . Moreover, the cutoff panel  110  may separate or otherwise be disposed between the intake segment  96  and the exhaust segment  98 . 
     Heating unit  44  in exemplary embodiments includes one or more heater banks  80  (e.g., disposed within the intake segment  96 ). Each heater bank  80  may be operated as desired to produce heat. In some embodiments, as shown, three heater banks  80  may be used. Alternatively, however, any suitable number of heater banks  80  may be used. Each heater bank  80  may further include at least one heater coil or coil pass  82 , such as in exemplary embodiments two heater coils or coil passes  82 . Alternatively, other suitable heating elements may be used. 
     The operation of air conditioner unit  10  including compressor  34  (and thus refrigeration loop  48  generally), blower fan  42 , outdoor fan  32 , heating unit  44 , expansion device  50 , and other components of refrigeration loop  48  may be controlled by a processing device such as a controller  84 . Controller  84  may be in communication (via for example a suitable wired or wireless connection) to such components of the air conditioner unit  10 . By way of example, the controller  84  may include a memory and one or more processing devices such as microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of unit  10 . The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. 
     Unit  10  may additionally include a control panel  86  and one or more user inputs  88 , which may be included in control panel  86 . The user inputs  88  may be in communication with the controller  84 . A user of the unit  10  may interact with the user inputs  88  to operate the unit  10 , and user commands may be transmitted between the user inputs  88  and controller  84  to facilitate operation of the unit  10  based on such user commands. A display  90  may additionally be provided in the control panel  86 , and may be in communication with the controller  84 . Display  90  may, for example be a touchscreen or other text-readable display screen, or alternatively may simply be a light that can be activated and deactivated as required to provide an indication of, for example, an event or setting for the unit  10 . 
     Referring especially to  FIGS. 4 through 8 , greater detail of unit  10  is provided, in particular regarding sterilization light assembly  100 . Generally, sterilization light assembly  100  is held or disposed within the indoor portion  12  (e.g., at the intake segment  96 ) to transit an ultraviolet light emission to air residing or flowing through indoor portion  12 . To this end, sterilization light assembly  100  includes one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources  102  (e.g., light emitting diodes or LEDs) configured to emit radiation in the germicidal wavelength range of 100 to 300 nanometers. Optionally, one or more light sources  102  may be ultraviolet C (UVC) light sources  102  configured to emit radiation between 200 to 280 nanometers or 245 to 265 nanometers. 
     In some embodiments, sterilization light assembly  100  is directed at blower fan  42 . Thus, light emissions from sterilization light assembly  100  are generally projected or guided to the blower fan  42 . In some such embodiments, sterilization light assembly  100  is directed perpendicular to the rotation axis A (e.g., perpendicular to the lateral direction L). At least a portion of the UV light emissions from sterilization light assembly  100  may thus be projected or guided between the center (e.g., hollow center) and outer periphery of the diameter of blower fan  42  (e.g., defined at the radial extremes of blade assembly  70 ). Thus, sterilization light assembly  100  may be projected at an offset angle or otherwise off center relative to the rotation axis A. Advantageously, transmission of UV light through individual fan blades (e.g., to a region below the fan blades) may be limited while transmission to ensuring transmission to of UV to the fan blades of blade assembly  70 . 
     As shown, sterilization light assembly  100  may further be disposed upstream from blower fan  42  within the intake segment  96 . During use, air drawn to blower fan  42  may thus be subjected to UV light emissions or radiation, thereby advantageously reducing or eliminating active microbes, bacteria, or viruses within the air. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portion of the air within blower fan  42  may be subjected to the UV light as the UV light passes through gaps between the blades in the rotating blade assembly  70 . Notably, the metal blades of blade assembly  70  may be able to endure exposure to UV light emissions without breaking down or becoming brittle. 
     As noted above, head unit  68  may define air exhaust outlet  94 . Specifically, air exhaust outlet  94  may be defined above at least a portion of blower fan  42  along the vertical direction V or forward from blower fan  42  along the transverse direction T. Cutoff panel  110  may, thus, extend along the transverse direction T while separating or being disposed between the intake segment  96  and the exhaust segment  98  along the vertical direction V. In some such embodiments, sterilization light assembly  100  is disposed beneath exhaust outlet  94  along the vertical direction V. For instance, sterilization light assembly  100  may be attached to the cutoff panel  110 , such as by a mounting bracket  104  that holds sterilization light assembly  100  and is joined to cutoff panel  110  (e.g., via a suitable mechanical fastener, adhesive, etc.). 
     In the illustrated embodiments, sterilization light assembly  100  is disposed directly beneath cutoff panel  110 . Optionally, sterilization light assembly  100  may be held above a bottom half or hemisphere of blower fan  42  (i.e., at a higher height than the half of blower fan  42  below a horizontal plane extending from the rotation axis A). Moreover, cutoff panel  110  (and thus sterilization light assembly  100 ) may also be disposed below (i.e., at a lower height) than a top end of blower fan  42 . A lower restrictor wall (e.g., formed by heating unit  44  or heater banks  80 ) may be disposed below blower fan  42  within intake segment  96  and forward therefrom, while the rest of the airflow path  92  between the lower wall and cutoff panel  110  is generally unobstructed. Thus, intake segment  96  may restrict or funnel air therealong to 30 to 40% of the front circumference of blower fan  42 . Advantageously, a significant portion of air flowing to blower fan  42  through intake segment  96  may thus be subjected to emissions or radiation from sterilization light assembly  100  (e.g., while preventing such emissions from being visible to a user in front or above the unit  10 ). 
     As described, sterilization light assembly  100  may be disposed upstream from blower fan  42 . For instance, sterilization light assembly  100  may be disposed between indoor heat exchanger  40  and blower fan  42  along the transverse direction T. Additionally or alternatively, mounting bracket  104  supporting the sterilization light assembly  100  within the indoor portion  12  may be formed from or include a metal material (e.g., aluminum or steel, including alloys thereof). When assembled, mounting bracket  104  may have a back face opposite of the sterilization light assembly  100  and generally facing the upstream portion of intake segment  96 . Thus, air drawn along the intake segment  96  may contact the back face of mounting bracket  104 . Notably, air drawn along the airpath to blower fan  42  may aid in cooling sterilization light assembly  100 . For instance, heat may be conducted through mounting bracket  104  and to the air through flowing intake segment  96 . Optionally, controller  84  may be configured to restrict activation of sterilization light assembly  100  (e.g., to project UV emissions therefrom) unless blower fan  42  is activated (e.g., rotated to draw air along intake segment  96 ). Thus, activation of sterilization light assembly  100  may be contingent on blower fan  42  being activated to draw air thereto. 
     In certain embodiments, one or more UV light sources  102  of sterilization light assembly  100  are advantageously covered or sealed (e.g., to prevent the passage of moisture thereto, which might otherwise be significant or problematic after accumulating on indoor heat exchanger  40 ). For instance, a lens casing  106  (e.g., UV-transparent lens casing) may seal at least one light source  102  (e.g., and a control board thereof) against mounting bracket  104 . Optionally, a peripheral bracket  108  may extend about a rim of the lens casing  106  to sandwich the rim against mounting bracket  104  and, thus, hold lens casing  106  to mounting bracket  104 . Although most solid materials absorb significant portions of UV light, lens casing  106  may be formed from a UV-permissive polymer (e.g., configured to absorb less than 60% of UV emissions from sterilization light assembly  100 ). When assembled, at least a portion of lens casing  106  may be disposed between light source  102  and blower fan  42  (e.g., along the transverse direction T). 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.