Thermo King Corporation

Donald D King

William L Waldschmidt

John E Rudd

An air conditioner unit mounted on or within the roof of a vehicle. The frame of the unit functions as a substantially flat support pan for the air conditioning components, while having a lower portion which accommodates a generic curved contour of most vehicles the unit will be associated with, such as buses. The frame is devoid of upstanding wall portions on the sides adjacent to the sides of the vehicle, and on the ends of the frame which approach the sides. This frame structure facilitates the manufacture of the frame, the assembly of components on the frame, and servicing of the unit, and it enables the manufacturer of the vehicle to provide a bubble or skin for the air conditioner unit which accommodates the design and aesthetics of the vehicle.

Air conditioner unit for mounting on or in the roof of a vehicle

A compact air conditioner unit suitable for mounting on the roof of a bus. The unit has a frame which has a shallow height dimension for appearance and reduced drag, and a length dimension which enables the unit to be securely mounted between any two adjacent structural support struts of the vehicle. The air conditioner unit achieves compactness without loss of necessary evaporator and condenser coil surface area by splitting both the evaporator and condenser functions into two coils. Two evaporator coils are spaced laterally apart on the frame, and two condenser coils are nested between the spaced evaporator coils, such that midpoints of the condenser and evaporator coils lie in a common plane perpendicular to the sides of the vehicle. Condenser fans are mounted between the spaced condenser coils, and evaporator blowers are mounted outside each evaporator coil, between each evaporator coil and an adjacent side of the frame.

Air conditioner unit suitable for mounting on the roof of a vehicle

A bus air conditioning unit suitable for roof mounting adjacent to the rear of a bus which includes an elongated support frame having first and second ends, front and rear portions, and a substantially open top portion. The elongated support frame is divided into forward and rear evaporator and condenser plenums, respectively, with reference to the front and rear of an associated bus, by an upstanding wall portion which extends between the first and second ends of the frame. The upstanding wall portion rises generally vertically for a predetermined dimension and it then slopes towards the front portion of the frame as it continues to rise, such that the condenser plenum includes the top portion of the frame. A condenser is supported by the substantially open top portion of the frame, an evaporator is mounted in the evaporator plenum across the front of the frame, and air conditioning system components are mounted in both said condenser and evaporator plenums. The air conditioning system components are all serviceable from the outside rear of the bus via openings provided in the rear portion of the frame, and via covered across openings provided in the upstanding wall portion which are accessible through the openings in the rear of the frame.

Bus air conditioning unit

A container refrigeration unit is provided with a forwardly open condenser pocket 40 in which is located a condenser coil 50 near the upper portion of the pocket and in a generally centered location, the coil being mounted in an inverted disposition and provided with a bottom plate 52 and a front plate 54 with a fan ring opening 56 so that air is drawn into the condenser coil from the top and sides, the remaining U-shaped space in the pocket to the sides and bottom of the condenser being available to accommodate the electric motor compressor 60, the control box 62, an operations recorder 64, and if required a power transformer 66.

Condenser section for container refrigeration unit

For a container refrigeration unit of the type having an inverted U-shaped coil 50, a coil and fan mounting arrangement is provided in which a plate 68 is secured at its opposite ends to the ends of the legs of the coil, and a fan motor 54 mounting bracket 78 has its opposite ends secured to the plate 68 and carries the motor 54 with the fan 56, all of the components forming a unitary assembly adapted to be secured through the fasteners 94 to the back wall 49 of the condenser section pocket of the refrigeration unit. The plate 68 also functions to block the flow of air from below into the central passage 52.

Condenser coil and fan mount for a transport refrigeration unit

A container refrigeration unit provided with an upper evaporator section 24 has centrifugal fans 48 supported on an open work frame 54 and adapted to be in one position or rotated 90.degree. therefrom to another position, for obtaining either a top discharge operation with draw-through of air through the evaporator 50 or, alternatively, a bottom discharge operation with blow through of air through the evaporator. Air flow blocking plate means is in the form of plate 98 or rear access panel.

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Chanhassen, MN, United States of America

Donald D King