FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[001]Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to a heating, ventilating, or air conditioning (HVAC) system. More specifically, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to an outdoor unit of an air conditioning system, such as a variable water flow air conditioning system or a variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system.

BACKGROUND

[002]An air conditioning system is generally configured to regulate a temperature of an internal space of a building. Some air conditioning systems may be configured to have an outdoor section and an indoor section. The outdoor section may be configured to house a compressor, condenser and/or fan, and the indoor section may be configured to house a fan, indoor cooling coil, and/or filter. The outdoor unit can be generally located on a rooftop of a building, or on ground surrounding a building.

SUMMARY

[003]Embodiments of an outdoor unit of an air conditioning system are described. The outdoor unit may be configured to have a generally flower -shaped profile. A housing of the outdoor unit may be configured to have coil support frames that are configured to support coils, such as condenser coils. In some embodiments, the coils may be configured to generally face each other and diverge outwardly from a bottom panel to a top panel of the outdoor unit.

[004]In some embodiments, each of the coils may be configured to have two coil sections that are diagonal in relation to each other in a longitudinal direction. In some embodiments, the top panel may be configured to have a hexagonal shape from a top view. In some embodiments, the coil sections may be configured so that the coil sections of one coil correspond to two neighboring sides of the hexagonal shape.

[005]The flower-shaped outdoor unit may help provide more evenly distributed air flow through the coils. The flower-shaped outdoor unit may also help an air flow between neighboring outdoor units when a plurality of outdoor units are positioned next to each other. The flower-shaped outdoor unit may also help reduce a footprint of the outdoor unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[006]FIG.l illustrates a schematic view of an embodiment of an outdoor unit that can be connected to various indoor units.

[007]FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate different views of an embodiment of an outdoor unit. FIG. 2A illustrates a side view. FIG. 2B illustrates an end view. FIG. 2C illustrates a top view. FIG. 2D illustrates a perspective view.

[008]FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of another embodiment of an outdoor unit.

[009]FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of yet another embodiment of an outdoor unit.

[010]FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment with a plurality of outdoor units.

[011]FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate a result of computational fluid dynamic modeling comparing two different outdoor units. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate two different embodiments of outdoor units. FIG. 6C illustrates the result of the computational fluid dynamic modeling comparing the outdoor units as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[012]An air conditioning system is generally configured to regulate a temperature of an indoor space. The air conditioning system may have different configurations. In one configuration, the air conditioning system can be configured to have an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The outdoor unit may be configured to house a compressor, a condenser, and/or a fan. The outdoor unit may be located on a rooftop of a building, or on the ground surrounding a building. The fan may be configured to circulate air through the condenser so as to facilitate heat exchange between the condenser and the

environment. [013]In the following description of the illustrated embodiments, embodiments of an outdoor unit of an air conditioning system are described. In some embodiments, the outdoor unit may be configured to have a generally flower-shaped external profile that diverges from a bottom panel to a top panel. The top panel of the outdoor unit may be configured to have a generally hexagon shape from a top view. The outdoor unit may be configured to have coil supporting frames, which may be configured to support two coils generally facing each other. Each of the coils may be configured to have two sections that are diagonally positioned in relation to each other. The flower-shaped outdoor unit may help create a more evenly distributed air flow across the coils. When multiple flower- shaped outdoor units are positioned next to each other in operation, the flower- shaped outdoor units can provide a space between the neighboring outdoor units to allow an air flow to flow through the space.

[014] References are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration of the embodiments in which the

embodiments may be practiced. The dimensions mentioned in the description are exemplary and can vary. It is to be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing the figures and embodiments and should not be regarding as limiting the scope of the present application.

[015]Fig. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an air conditioning system with an outdoor unit 100 and indoor unit(s) 150. The outdoor unit 100 generally has an outdoor unit housing 110, a compressor 120, a coil(s) 130 and a fan(s) 140. The outdoor unit is generally configured to compress a refrigerant in a vapor state and cool the compressed refrigerant into a liquid state. The liquid refrigerant then flows into the indoor unit(s) 150.

[016]The indoor unit(s) 150 can have various configurations. Some

configurations are illustrated in Fig. 1. The indoor unit(s) can be a wall mounted unit

150a, a ceiling mounted unit 150b, and/or a ventilation duct 150c. The indoor unit(s) 150 is configured to facilitate heat exchange between indoor air and the refrigerant.

[017]Figs. 2A to 2D illustrate different views of an embodiment of an outdoor unit 200. Fig. 2A is a side view. As illustrated, the side view is generally rectangular- shaped with a height HI and a length LI. In one embodiment, the height HI is, for example, about 1550mm and the length LI is, for example, about 1380mm. The outdoor unit 200 has a housing 210. The housing 210 is configured to have a coil support 212, which is configured to have coil support frames 212L and 212R. The coil support frames 212L and 212R areconfigured to support a coil 230 (such as a condenser coil), which is configured to have two coil sections, a first section 230a and a second section230b.The two coil sections, the first section 230a and the second section 230b in some examples are configured to have roughly the same dimensions. The first section 230a and the second section 230b are in fluid communication with each other so that a refrigerant can flow between the first section 230a and the second section 230b. The coil 230 generally has a height H3. In one embodiment, the height H3 is, for example, about 1300mm. It is noted that Fig. 2A only shows the view from one side of the outdoor unit 200. The side that is opposite to the side shown can have a similar configuration to the configuration as shown in Fig. 2A.

[018]The housing 210 has a fan guard(s) 213 that are positioned on a top panel (217 as shown in Fig. 2B) of the housing 210. The housing 210 including the fan guard(s) 213 has a height H2. In one embodiment, the height H2 is about 1700mm.

[019]Fig. 2B illustrates an end view of the outdoor unit 200. An end panel of the outdoor unit 200 is removed for a clearer illustration of an internal space of the outdoor unit 200. The housing 210 of the outdoor unit 200 may be configured to have the coil supports 212.

[020]The housing 210 has a bottom panel 215 and a top panel 217. The bottom panel 215 is configured to support some components of the outdoor unit 200, such as a compressor 220 that is situated in the internal space of the outdoor unit 200. The top panel 217 is configured to support the fan guard(s) 213 and a fan 240. From the end view, the bottom panel 215 has a width Wl and the top panel 217 has a width W2. The width Wl is generally less than the width W2. In one embodiment, the width Wl is about 800mm and the width W2 is about 1040mm.

[021]As illustrated in Fig. 2B, the coil supports 212 and the coils 230generally extend vertically between the bottom panel 215 and the top panel 217, and diverge outwardly from the bottom panel 215 to the top panel 217 respectively in a vertical direction VI, which isvertical in relation to the bottom panel 215. The diverging coil supports 212 can providesupport surfaces SI and S2 respectively that support the coils 230. The support surfaces SI and S2 extend in the vertical direction VI from the bottom panel 215 to the top panel 217 and tilt outwardly. The outwardly tilted support surfaces SI and S2 have angles al and o2 with thevertical direction VI. The angles al and o2 can be configured to be roughly the same. The angles al and al can be in a range from about 0 to 90 degrees. In some embodiments, preferably, the angles al and a2 can be between about 4 and about 30 degrees. In one embodiment, the angles al and a2 are about 8 degrees. The diverging coil supports 212, as well as coils 230 may help create more space between the fan 240 (and/or the fan guard 213) and the coil 230 at an area that is close to the top panel 217.

[022]Based on a computer flow dynamic simulation, generally, when the angles al and a2 increase, the efficiency of coils 230 may increase accordingly. However, as the angles al and a2 increase, the neighboring outdoor units 200 have to be configured further apart accordingly when multiple outdoor units 200 are used. (See Fig. 5 for an example of a multiple-outdoor unit configuration.) In the preferred embodiments, the angles al and a2 are configured to be between about 4 and about 30 degrees to balance the efficiency of the coils 230 and the space between neighboring outdoor units 200so that the efficiency of the coils 230 can be increased without sacrificing the footprint of the outdoor unit 200.

[023]The top panel 217 can have a hole (not shown) that generally matches a size of the fan guard 213. The fan guard has a width W3. In one embodiment, the width W3 is about 610mm.

[024] Referring to Fig. 2C, a top view of the outdoor unit 200 is shown. From the top view, the outdoor unit 200 generally has a hexagon-shaped top panel 217. The outdoor unit 200 has two coils 230. The two coils 230 are configured to generally face each other. Each of the coils 230 is configured to have two sections, such as the coil sections 230a and 230b. In a longitudinal direction that is defined by the length LI, the two coil sections 230a and 230b are generally diagonal in relation to each other. The terms "diagonal(ly) in relation to each other," "diagonally positioned" in this document generally means that along the longitudinal direction that is defined by the length LI, particularly from a top view (e.g. Fig. 2C), two neighboring coil sections (e.g. 230a and 230b) are so arranged to form an angle (i.e. the angle β as described below), a vertex of which points away from the internal space of the housing 210.

[025]As illustrated in Fig. 2C, the two coils 230 generally face to each other.

With the two coil sections of each of the two coils 230 (e.g. the coils sections 230a and 230b for one of the coils 230) diagonally positioned, a distance D2 of the two facing coils 230 that is perpendicular to the length LI becomes larger toward a middle section of the length LI.

[026]Each section of the coils 230 generally corresponds to one side of the hexagon-shaped top profile. In the embodiment illustrated, for example, each coil 230 corresponds to two neighboring sides of the hexagon-shaped top profile. The coil sections 230a and 230b are supported by supporting surfaces provided by the coil support frames 212L and 212R of the coil support 212.For example, the first section 230a and the second section 230b are supported by supporting surfaces S3 and S4 respectively, which aredefinedby the coil support frames 212L and 212R respectively. As illustrated, the first section 230a and the second section 230b are arranged diagonally in relation to each other. The two supporting surfaces S3 and S4 form an angle β. The angle β can be in a range of 90 to 180 degrees. In some embodiments, preferably, the angle β can be in a range of about 120 andabout 175 degrees. In one embodiment, the angle β, for example, is about 172 degrees.

[027]Based on a computer flow dynamic simulation, generally, when the angle β decreases, the efficiency of coils 230 may increase accordingly. However, as the angles β decreases, the neighboring outdoor units 200 have to be configured further apart accordingly when multiple outdoor units 200 are used. (See Fig. 5 for an example of a multiple-outdoor unit configuration.) In the preferred embodiments, the angle β is configured to be between about 120 andabout 175 degrees to balance the efficiency of the coils 230 and the space between neighboring outdoor units 200 so that the efficiency of the coils 230 can be increased without sacrificing the footprint of the outdoor unit 200.

[028]Fig. 2D illustrates a perspective view of the outdoor unit 200. As illustrated and as discussed above, the bottom panel 215 is also configured to have a hexagon shape that is generally smaller than the hexagon-shaped top panel 217. The diverging coil support frames 212, the coils 230, and/or the hexagon-shaped top panel 217 and the bottom panel 215 form a profile of the outdoor unit 200 that resembles a flower. One of the coil support frames 212 can form the two coil support surfaces S3 and S4 that are defined by the support frames 212R and 212L respectively. The coils support surfaces S3 and S4 are arranged diagonally in relation to each other. The two coil support surfaces S3 and S4 each supports one section of the coil 230, for example, the first section 230a or the second section 230b respectively. The first section 230a and the second section 230b are diagonally positioned to each other. The two coils 230 enclose the internal space of the outdoor unit 200 that is configured to house, for example, the compressor 220 and/or other components of the outdoor unit 200.

[029]In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 2A to 2D, the top panel 217 is configured to accommodate two fans 240. This is exemplary. The top panel can be configured to accommodate more or less than two fans. As illustrated in Fig. 3, in one embodiment, a top panel 317 can be configured to accommodate three fans 340. In some embodiments, the top panel can be configured to accommodate only one fan.

[030]It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the top panel and coil configurations can be configured to accommodate different number of fans.

[031]The top panel can be configured to have other shapes than the hexagon shape. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 4, in some embodiments a top panel 417 can be configured to be a generally octagon shape. A coil support frame 412 can be configured to have a transitional portion 418 between two diagonally arranged sections 412L and 412R.

[032]As illustrated in Fig. 5, in operation a plurality of flower-shaped outdoor units of similar configurations, such as 500a, 500b and 500c can be arranged close to each other. Each of the coils 530a, 530b- 1, 530b-2 and 530c is configured to have two diagonally positioned coil sections, as illustrated in e.g. Figs 2A to 2D. The diagonally positioned coil sections of the neighboring outdoor units, e.g. 530a and 530b- 1, can providea space between the neighboring outdoor units, e.g. 500a and 500b. [033]In addition, the coils 530a, 530b-l, 530b-2 and 530c tilt outwardly toward the tops of the outdoor units 500a, 500b and 500c respectively. This helps increase the space between neighboring coils 530a, 530b-l, 530b -2 and 530c, particularly toward bottom of the outdoor units 500a, 500b and 500c.

[034]The diagonally positioned and outwardly tilted coil sections can help increase the spaces between neighboring coils. The spaces can help facilitate air flow to flow into the spaces between the neighboring coils, as illustrated by arrows al and a2.This can help increase a heat exchange efficiency of the coils 530a, 530b-l, 530b-2 and 530c.

Experimental Data

[035]Figs. 6A to 6C illustrate a Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling process to simulate speeds of air flow through coils along a height of embodiments of outdoor unit 600a and 600b. As illustrated, Fig. 6A illustrates a flower-shaped outdoor unit 600a that is configured to have diagonally positioned and outwardly diverging coils 630a. Fig. 6B illustrated an outdoor unit 600b that is configured to have diagonally positioned coils 630b. However, the coils 630b do not generally diverge outwardly as the coils 630a in Fig. 6A. The coils 630a of the outdoor unit 600a have a length L6, which is about the same as a length L7 of the coils 630b of the outdoor unit 600b. The outdoor unit 600a has a bottom width W7a, which is about the same as a bottom width W7b of the outdoor unit 600b. The outdoor unit 600a has a top width W8a, which is larger than a top width W8b of the outdoor unit 600b. The larger width W8a in comparison to the width W8b is due to the outwardly diverged coils 630. The components, such as fan(s), compressor(s), etc., of the outdoor unit 600a and the outdoor unit 600b are configured to have similar specifications.

[036]Fig. 6C illustrated simulated air speeds along a height H7a of the outdoor unit 600a, and along a height H7b of the outdoor unit 600b. The height H7a is generally shorter than the height H7b because the coils 630a diverge outwardly. In Fig. 6C, the horizontal axis is average air velocity in meters per second (m/s). The vertical axis is the height of the measuring position in term of the percentage of the height H7a or H7b. [037]As illustrated in Fig. 6C, in the outdoor unit 600a, the minimum air speed is about lm/s close to the bottom of the outdoor unit 600a, while the maximum air speed is about 2m/s close to the top of the outdoor unit 600a. The difference between the minimal air speed and the maximum air speed is about lm/s in the outdoor unit 600a. In comparison, the minimum air speed is about lm/s close to the bottom of the outdoor unit 600b, while the maximum air speed is about 2.5m/s close to the top of the outdoor unit 600b. The difference between the minimal air speed and the maximum air speed is about 1.5m/s, which is about 50% larger than the difference in the outdoor unit 600a (lm/s). Therefore, the outdoor unit 600a has more evenly distributed air speeds along the height H7a of the outdoor unit 600a than the air speeds along the height H7b of the outdoor unit 600b. The slower air speeds close to the top of the outdoor unit 600a relative to the air speeds of the outdoor unit 600b may be due to the outwardly diverging coils 630a create more room between a fan and the coils close to the top of the outdoor unit 600a than the room close to the top of the outdoor unit 600b.

[038]Any aspects 1-9 can be combined with any aspects 10-17.

[039] Aspect 1. A housing for an outdoor unit of an air conditioning system comprising:

[040] a bottom panel and a top panel; and

[041 ]a first coil support frame and a second coil support frame extending between the bottom panel and the top panel and diverging outwardly from the bottom panel to the top panel in a vertical direction,

[042]wherein each of the first and second coil support frames define two supporting surfaces with the bottom and the top panels, and the two supporting surfaces of each of the first and second coil support frames are diagonal in relation to each other in a longitudinal direction.

[043] Aspect 2. The housing of aspect 1, wherein the two supporting surfaces of each of the first and second coil support frames are neighboring to each other in the longitudinal direction and form an angle that is less than 180 degrees in the longitudinal direction. [044] Aspect 3. The housing of aspect s 1-2, wherein the first coil support frame and the second coil support frame diverge outwardly between 4 and 30 degrees relative to the vertical direction.

[045] Aspect 4. The housing of aspects 1-3, wherein the first and second coil support frames are in opposite sides of the housing.

[046]Aspect 5. The housing of aspects 1-4, wherein a top panel of the housing is hexagon shaped.

[047]Aspect 6. The housing of aspects 5, wherein the two supporting surfaces of each of the first and second coil support frames occupies two neighboring sides of the hexagonal shaped top panel.

[048] Aspect 7. The housing of aspects 1-6, wherein a bottom panel of the housing is hexagon shaped, each of the first and second coil support frames occupies two sides of the hexagon shaped bottom panel.

[049] Aspect 8. The housing of aspects 1-7, wherein the bottom panel is configured to support a compressor, and the top panel is configured to support a fan.

[050]Aspect 9. The housing of aspects 2-8, wherein the angle formed by the two supporting surfaces is between 120 degrees and 175 degrees.

[051] Aspect 10. An outdoor unit of an air conditioning system comprising:

[052]a housing having a bottom panel, a top panel, a first coil support frame and a second coil support frame;

[053]a first coil section and a second coil section supported by the first coil support frame; and

[054] a third and a fourth coil sections supported by the second coil support frame, [055]wherein the first coil section and the second coil section are diagonal to each other in a longitudinal direction, the third and the fourth coil sections are diagonal to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the first and second coil support frames diverges outwardly from the bottom panel to the top panel in a vertical direction. [056]Aspect 11. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspect 10, wherein the first coil section and the second coil section are neighboring to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the third coil section and the forth coil section are neighboring to each other in the longitudinal direction.

[057]Aspect 12. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 10-11, wherein the first and second coil sections, and the third and fourth coil section form an angle that is less than 180 degrees in the longitudinal direction.

[058]Aspect 13. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 10-12, wherein a top panel of the housing is hexagon shaped, each of the first and second coil support frames corresponds to two neighboring sides of a hexagonal shaped top panel.

[059]Aspect 14. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 10-13, wherein a bottom panel of the housing is hexagon shaped, each of the first and second coil support frames corresponds to two sides of a hexagon shaped bottom panel.

[060] Aspect 15. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 10-14, wherein the bottom panel is configured to support a compressor, and the top panel is configured to support a fan.

[061]Aspect 16. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 12-16, wherein the angle formed by the first coil section and the second coil section is between 120 and 175 degrees.

[062]Aspect 17. The outdoor unit of an air conditioning system of aspects 10-16, wherein and the first and second coil support frames diverges outwardly between 4 and 30 degrees relative to the vertical direction.

[063]With regard to the foregoing description, it is to be understood that changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of the construction materials employed and the shape, size and arrangement of the parts without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is intended that the specification and depicted embodiment to be considered exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the broad meaning of the claims.