"FRESH AIR COMMAND LEVER FOR AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT"

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to an air conditioning unit, for example, used in window mounted room air conditioning applications. More particularly, the application relates to a command lever used to exhaust air to the outdoor (or external) ambient. Fresh air replaces the exhausted air through the openings of the indoor ambient, for example window or door clearances.

Some air conditioning units, for example, window mounted units used to condition room air, typically employ a manually operated command lever. The command lever selectively exhausts air to the outside environment. The command lever is moved between opened and closed positions to variably obstruct an aperture that fluidly communicates inside air to the outside environment.

Two command lever movements have been used to variably obstruct the aperture. In one example, the command lever is manipulated angularly using a handle that extends from a front grille exposed to the room. The command lever is supported by a pivot on the outlet nozzle. A portion at the end of the command lever seals against the aperture in the closed position to prevent a flow of air to the outside environment. The command lever is moved angularly to an opened position to exhaust indoor air to the outside environment. One problem is that the tolerance stack-ups of the components, including the command lever, can result in a misalignment of the portion relative to the aperture so that it does

not seal in the closed position. Further, the command lever may have an undesirably imprecise feel.

Another approach uses a command lever actuatable in a longitudinal direction. The end of the command lever telescopically moves in and out of the aperture, which provides alignment of the command lever relative to the aperture. However, the longitudinal actuation of the command lever may be undesirable in that it does not provide an intuitive or visually clear indication of the position of the command lever.

What is needed is a command lever that exhausts indoor air to the outside environment while providing precise alignment and intuitive operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An air conditioning unit is provided that includes a wall separating first and second sides. The wall includes an aperture providing communication between the first and second sides. The first side is exposed to the outside environment, and the second side is exposed to the recirculated conditioned room air, in one example. A command lever includes a portion cooperating with the aperture in response to angular movement of the command lever to variably obstruct the aperture and selectively exhaust indoor air to the outside environment. First and second locating features are respectively provided by the command lever and wall. The first and second locating features coact with one another to locate the command lever relative to the aperture during the angular movement to provide precise alignment and desired feel. The portion seals against the wall to block the aperture in a closed position. The portion is spaced from the wall to permit fresh air to flow from the first side to the second side in an opened position.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an example air conditioning unit.

Figure 2 is a top cross-sectional view of the air conditioning unit shown in

Figure 1 when assembled.

Figure 3 is a front perspective view of a portion of a front grille with an example command lever.

Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of the command lever.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the command lever in an open position.

Figure 6 is a rear perspective view of the command lever shown in Figure 5 in the open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An air conditioning unit 10 is shown in Figure 1. The unit 10 has a housing that includes a base pan 12 and a wrapper assembly 14. The base pan 12 supports a compressor 16 that pumps refrigerant to a condenser 18. An expansion device (not shown) is arranged as know, for example, upstream from

the condenser 18. The expanded refrigerant flows to an evaporator 20 before returning to the compressor 16. A motor 24 draws air through the evaporator 20 using a blower 26 to provide cooled air through a front grille 22, which is exposed to an interior room for example. The blower 26 recirculates room air through a partition 28 to further cool the recirculated air.

Refrigerant from the evaporator 20 is exposed to the outside environment in one example. A fan 30 is driven by the motor 24 to blow air across the condenser 18 to reject heat from the refrigerant to the outside environment. A condenser orifice or shroud 32 provides a seal between the condenser 18 and the fan 30. In one example, the housing all includes a top cover 34 arranged between the shroud 32 and condenser 18 to provide an enclosure about the fan 30. A controller 36 communicates with the compressor 16 and motor 24 in a known manner to provide a desired conditioned air to the room.

Referring to Figure 2, the partition 28 includes a wall 38 separating first and second sides 40, 42. The first side 40 is in communication with the outside environment. The second side 42 is in communication with room air R, which is recirculated conditioned room air. Continually recirculating conditioned room air may result in stale air, in which case it is desirable to introduce fresh air. The stale air E is exhausted through an aperture 50 (Figure 5) in the wall 38, and fresh air is introduced through the indoor ambient openings like window and door clearances.

The partition 28 provides a room air chamber 46 receiving the conditioned recirculated room air R through inlet louvers 21. The wall 38 separates the room air chamber 46 on the second side 42 from an outside air chamber 44 on

the first side 40, which may be provided by a space located within the wrapper assembly 14.

The wall 38 includes an aperture 50 variably obstructed by a command lever 52 that is manually manipulated from the room using a handle 66, best shown in Figures 3 and 4. Referring to Figures 3-6, the command lever 52 includes a portion 54 that cooperates with the aperture 50 in response to angular movement of the command lever 52. First and second locating features 56, 60 coact with one another to locate the command lever 52 relative to the wall 38 during the angular movement. In this manner, the command lever 52 is horizontally and vertically located to provide precise movement of the command lever 52, which enables the command lever 52 to fully seal against the wall 38 when in the closed position (Figure 3).

In the example shown, the first locating feature 56 is provided by a protrusion, and the second locating feature 60 is provided by the aperture 50 such that the protrusion 56 is received within the aperture 50 throughout the angular movement. A housing portion 64 (Figure 2), provided by the outlet nozzle 22 (Figure 3) in the example, includes a pivot 62 about which an arm of the command lever 52 rotates. The handle 66 extends through the front grille 22 and out the outlet louvers 23 at the bottom in the example.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the portion 54 includes a surface 74 that is spaced from the wall 38 to provide a gap 76 when in the opened position. Stale air E flows through the gap 76 when the command lever 52 is opened.

Additionally, openings 70 may be provided in a first wall 68 of the protrusion 56 to provide additional air flow through the portion 54.

A second wall 72 of the protrusion 56 is shown spaced from a portion of a perimeter of the aperture 50 when in the opened position. The second wall 72 abuts the perimeter of the aperture 50 when in the closed position. The first wall 68 abuts an opposite end of the perimeter when in the opened position, as shown in Figure 6. The aperture 50 and protrusion 56 define a range of motion for the command lever 52 that provide an intuitive adjustment for exhausting stale air.

Although example embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.