Supports – Machinery support – Bracket
Patent
1998-07-13
2000-05-23
Ramirez, Ramon O.
Supports
Machinery support
Bracket
248671, F16M 100
Patent
active
060657332
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention is directed to air conditioners, and more particularly to a mounting arrangement for an electric motor for a fan for an air conditioner.
BACKGROUND ART
Room air conditioners generally include an air inlet fan or blower which is powered by a motor to draw air in through an evaporator coil to be cooled and to direct the cooled air back into the room. Such air conditioners also include a condenser coil for dissipating the heat picked up by the evaporator coil and a second fan or blower is provided to cause an air flow over the condenser coil to increase the heat dissipation of that coil.
A typical arrangement of the outside section of an air conditioner which houses the condenser coil and fan is for the fan motor and fan assembly to be mounted in a bracket of some sort attached to a base pan of the outdoor section. It is desirable to provide a shroud surrounding the outdoor fan. It is also desirable for the tolerances between outdoor fan and the shroud to be as close as possible.
Due to the complexity and the number of parts associated with mounting the fan motor and fan and supporting such a shroud, assembly of such a device often times includes complicated and time intensive assembly steps and requires intricate manipulation of parts and tools. This results in an increased cost of the room air conditioner due to increased material and labor costs.
One attempt to reduce the complexity of assembly of a room air conditioner is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,401 entitled "One-Piece Motor Mount For Use In An Air Conditioner". This patent illustrates a motor mounting bracket which is adapted to be attached to the base plate of an air conditioner by appropriate separate fastening means. As a result, while such mount accomplishes some simplification, alignment of the mount such that the motor and fan assembly supported thereby is properly oriented with respect to other elements of the air conditioner is still labor intensive.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a motor mount for an electric motor comprises a single piece pedestal-like support structure having a pair of quick disconnect mounting clips, which attach the electric motor thereto. Specifically, the motor mount includes a pair of spaced apart substantially vertically extending support legs. The upper ends of the legs include a support recess therein adapted to receive mating structure on axially spaced ends of the motor. The upper end of each of the legs further includes two openings therein, one on each of the opposite sides of the support recess. Each of the openings has a transverse extending retaining ledge formed therein. A pair of motor mounting clips are provided, each of which is adapted to be installed on one of the pair of support legs. Each of the clips includes a support recess therein adapted to receive the mating structure on the axially spaced ends of the motor to be mounted. Each mounting clip further includes two flexible latches, one on each side of the support recess. Each of the latches is adapted to be received in one of the openings provided in the upper ends of the legs when the latch is flexed. When the latch is allowed to return to its unflexed condition, it engages the retaining ledge within the opening to maintain the clip attached to the support leg. In a preferred embodiment, the motor mount is formed as an integral part of a molded plastic support structure for an air conditioner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention may be better understood and its objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a room air conditioner which embodies the features of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 removed from the base pan and showing the separate indoor and outdoor modules;
FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 with the cover of the outdoor module removed and the top of the indo
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Correa Juan Carlos Carne
da Luz Moreas Luciano
Carrier Corporation
Heisey David
Ramirez Ramon O.
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