CONDITIONER

EARLIEST PRIORITY DATE

This Application claims priority from a Complete patent application filed in India having Patent Application No. 202121032094, filed on July 162021, and titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDENSATE DRAINING IN AUTOMOBILE AIR CONDITIONER”.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and more particularly to a system and a method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner.

BACKGROUND

Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is a technology which facilitates management of indoor as well as vehicular environmental comfort by providing thermal comfort and maintaining air quality. An air conditioning unit of a vehicle may include various components such as compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and the like. In air conditioning unit, the compressor compresses a refrigerant in vapor form to increase pressure and temperature of the refrigerant. The condenser converts the refrigerant in vapor form to liquid form by means of heat exchange. The expansion valve further cools down the refrigerant by depressurizing the refrigerant before feeding the refrigerant into the evaporator. The refrigerant in liquid form absorbs heat from air surrounding the evaporator and gets converted into gaseous form, and cycle continues.

Since cooling process happens in the evaporator, there may be a chance of condensate formation over the surface of the evaporator. Under normal circumstances, condensate water from the air conditioning unit is drained through a single or dual drain outlet provided near the evaporator. The condensate water collected below the evaporator is taken to the vehicle cabin exterior either through a drain hose or through an extended drainpipe. Under certain conditions carrying the condensate water to the drain is difficult. The certain conditions may be when assembly of the drainpipe is not feasible inside the vehicle because of space constraints, when the condensate water formed on the evaporator inlet and outlet pipe may not be collected and routed through regular drain outlet due to the space constraints, when the condensate water formed in rear side of the evaporator may not be directed to the regular drain outlet due to the space constraints. Failure in evacuation of the condensate water from the air conditioning unit may reduce the performance of the air conditioning unit along with causing a foul smell inside the vehicle.

Hence, there is a need for an improved system and method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner to address the aforementioned issue(s).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner is provided. The system includes a primary tray located underneath an evaporator unit of the automobile air conditioner. The primary tray is configured to collect condensate from the evaporator unit. The system also includes one or more channels coupled to the primary tray. The one or more channels are configured to collect the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. The one or more channels are mounted at a predefined slope. The one or more channels includes one or more notches located at bottom side of the one or more channels. The one or more notches are configured to provide direction to the condensate to flow. The one or more channels also includes a plurality of side ribs on edges of the one or more channels. The plurality of side ribs is configured to guide the condensate flow towards the one or more notches. The system further includes a secondary tray coupled to the primary tray and located underneath of the evaporator unit. The secondary tray is configured to enclose the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes. The secondary tray includes a secondary tray outlet to evacuate the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner is provided. The method includes collecting, by a primary tray located underneath an evaporator unit of the automobile air conditioner, condensate from the evaporator unit. The method also includes collecting, by one or more channels coupled to the primary tray, the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. The method further includes providing, by the one or more notches of the one or more channels, direction to the condensate to flow. The method also includes guiding, by a plurality of side ribs on edges of the one or more channels, the condensate flow towards the one or more notches. The method further includes enclosing, by a secondary tray coupled to the primary tray and located underneath of the evaporator unit, the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes. The method also includes evacuating, by a secondary tray outlet, the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will follow by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended figures. It is to be appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting in scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the appended figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting one or more channels coupled to the primary tray in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2(a) is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting one or more notches in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting a first inclination of the one or more channels towards the rear side of the evaporator unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting a second inclination of the one or more channels with respect to an axis orthogonal to an axis of the one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting a primary condensate receiving point in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5(a) is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 depicting a secondary condensate receiving point in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart representing the steps involved in a method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the disclosure as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices, sub-systems, elements, structures, components, additional devices, additional sub-systems, additional elements, additional structures, or additional components. Appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting.

In the following specification and the claims, reference will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have the following meanings. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system and a method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner. In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system and method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner is provided. The system includes a primary tray located underneath an evaporator unit of the automobile air conditioner. The primary tray is configured to collect condensate from the evaporator unit. The system also includes one or more channels coupled to the primary tray. The one or more channels are configured to collect the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. The one or more channels are mounted at a predefined slope. The one or more channels includes one or more notches located at bottom side of the one or more channels. The one or more notches are configured to provide direction to the condensate to flow. The one or more channels also includes a plurality of side ribs on edges of the one or more channels. The plurality of side ribs is configured to guide the condensate flow towards the one or more notches. The system further includes a secondary tray coupled to the primary tray and located underneath of the evaporator unit. The secondary tray is configured to enclose the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes. The secondary tray includes a secondary tray outlet to evacuate the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet. FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system (10) for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system (10) includes a primary tray (20) which is located underneath the evaporator unit (30) of the automobile air conditioner which is configured to collect the condensate from the evaporator unit (30). In one embodiment, the primary tray (20) may include a primary tray outlet (130) to drain the condensate from the primary tray (20). The system (10) also includes a secondary tray (80) coupled to the primary tray (20) which is located underneath the evaporator unit (30). In one embodiment, the secondary tray (80) may be located at a predetermined depth from the primary tray (20). The secondary tray (80) may receive the condensate collected in the primary tray (20) via the primary tray outlet (130). Mounting of the secondary tray (80) at the predetermined depth from the primary tray (20) may aid a gravity assisted flow of the condensate from the primary tray (20) to the secondary tray (80). The secondary tray (80) includes a secondary tray outlet (100) to evacuate the condensate collected in the secondary tray (80) towards a vehicle outlet. In one embodiment, the primary tray (20) and the secondary tray (80) may include a predetermined slope to guide the condensate towards a primary tray outlet (130) and the secondary tray outlet (100) respectively, up to a predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit (30) with respect to vehicle roll angle and pitch angle. As used herein, roll angle is a rotation angle of a vehicle frame around a longitudinal axis, in locomotion direction. Similarly, pitch angle is a rotation angle of the vehicle frame around a lateral axis. The predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit (30) may include maximum roll angle or maximum pitch angle up to which there may not occur accumulation of the condensate in the primary tray (20) and the secondary tray (80). In an exemplary embodiment, the primary tray (20) and the secondary tray (80) may have a slope of 15 degrees. In one embodiment, the secondary tray (80) may be mechanically coupled to the primary tray (20). The secondary tray (80) and the primary tray (20) may be composed of materials includes at least one of metal, plastic, and fiber or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system (10) of FIG. 1 depicting one or more channels (40) coupled to the primary tray (20) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In certain scenarios, requirement of an opening at a rear side of the evaporator unit (30) for routing one or more pipes (90), may tend the condensate to flow to the rear side of the evaporator unit (30). In such a scenario, for evacuating the condensate from the rear side of the evaporator unit (30), the system (10) includes one or more channels (40) coupled to the primary tray (20) which is configured to collect the condensate from the rear side of the evaporator unit (30) and one or more joints (50) of corresponding one or more pipes (90) associated with the evaporator unit (30). The one or more channels (40) are mounted at a predefined slope to aid the condensate flow towards the secondary tray (80). The one or more channels (40) includes one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60) located at bottom side of the one or more channels (FIG.2(a),40). The one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60) are configured to provide direction to the condensate to flow. In one embodiment, the one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60) may be mounted in a predefined pattern to prevent the condensate from falling on the one or more pipes (90). The predefined pattern may include mounting the one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60) underneath the one or more pipes (90) to prevent the condensate from falling on the one or more pipes. The one or more channels (40) also includes a plurality of side ribs (FIG. 2(a), 70) on edges of the one or more channels (40), where the plurality of side ribs (FIG. 2(a), 70) is configured to guide the condensate flow towards the one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60). In one embodiment, the one or more channels (40) may be mounted in a ‘V’ shaped structure and the one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60) are located at an end of the ‘V’ shaped structure (FIG.2(a)). Different inclinations of the one or more channels (40) are described in FIG.3 and FIG.4.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system (10) of FIG. 1 depicting a first inclination (110) of the one or more channels (40) towards the rear side of the evaporator unit (30) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the one or more channels (40) may include a first inclination (110) towards the rear side of the evaporator unit (30) to prevent the condensate accumulation at the rear side of the evaporator unit (30). The first inclination (110) may help to avoid the condensate accumulation towards the rear side of the evaporator unit (30) along with directing the condensate towards the secondary tray (FIG.1,80).

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system (10) of FIG. 1 depicting a second inclination (120) of the one or more channels (FIG. 2(a), 40) with respect to an axis orthogonal to an axis of the one or more joints (50) of corresponding one or more pipes (90) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the one or more channels (FIG.2(a), 40) may include a second inclination (120) with respect to an axis orthogonal to an axis of the one or more joints (50) of corresponding one or more pipes (90) to facilitate the condensate flow towards the one or more notches (FIG.2(a),60). Reception and evacuation of the condensate by the secondary tray (FIG.1,80) is described in FIG.5. FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system (10) of FIG. 1 depicting a primary condensate receiving point (140) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Sometimes, the condensate may also form over the one or more pipes (FIG.5(a), 90) associated with the evaporator unit (FIG.1,30) because of lower temperature around the one or more pipes (FIG.5(a), 90). The secondary tray (80) is also configured to enclose the one or more pipes (FIG.5(a), 90) associated with the evaporator unit (FIG.1,30) to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes (FIG.5(a), 90). In one embodiment, the secondary tray (80) may include a primary condensate receiving point (140) and a secondary condensate receiving point (FIG.5(a), 150) which are configured to receive the condensate from a primary tray outlet (FIG.1,130) and the one or more notches (FIG. 2(a), 60), respectively. The secondary tray (80) evacuates the condensate collected from the one or more pipes (FIG.5(a), 90), the primary tray (FIG.1,20) and the one or more notches (FIG.2(a),60) towards the vehicle outlet through the secondary tray outlet (100) thereby achieving condensate draining in automobile air conditioner. In one embodiment, the condensate from the primary tray (FIG.1,20) may be evacuated directly to the vehicle outlet via a dedicated channel.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart representing the steps involved in a method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includes collecting condensate from the evaporator unit. In one embodiment, collecting condensate from the evaporator unit includes collecting condensate from the evaporator unit by a primary tray located underneath an evaporator unit of the automobile air conditioner in step 510. In one embodiment, the primary tray may include a primary tray outlet to drain the condensate from the primary tray. In one embodiment, the primary tray may have a predetermined slope to guide the condensate towards a primary outlet up to a predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit with respect to vehicle roll angle and pitch angle. As used herein, roll angle is a rotation angle of a vehicle frame around a longitudinal axis in locomotion direction. Similarly, pitch angle is a rotation angle of the vehicle frame around a lateral axis. The predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit may include maximum roll angle or maximum pitch angle up to which there may not occur accumulation of the condensate in the primary tray. In an exemplary embodiment, the primary tray may have a slope of 15 degrees. The primary tray may be composed of materials includes at least one of metal, plastic, and fiber or a combination thereof. The method also includes collecting the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. In one embodiment, collecting the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit includes collecting the condensate from a rear side of the evaporator unit and from one or more joints of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit by one or more channels coupled to the primary tray in step 520. The one or more channels are mounted at a predefined slope to aid the condensate flow towards the secondary tray.

The method further includes providing direction to the condensate to flow. In one embodiment providing direction to the condensate to flow includes providing direction to the condensate to flow by the one or more notches of the one or more channels in step 530. In one embodiment, the one or more notches may be mounted in a predefined pattern to prevent the condensate from falling on the one or more pipes. The predefined patterns may include mounting the one or more notches underneath the one or more pipes to prevent the condensate from falling on the one or more pipes. In one embodiment, the one or more channels may be mounted in a ‘V’ shaped structure.

The method includes guiding the condensate flow towards the one or more notches. In one embodiment, guiding the condensate flow towards the one or more notches includes guiding the condensate flow towards the one or more notches by a plurality of side ribs on edges of the one or more channels in step 540.

The method also includes enclosing the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes. In one embodiment, enclosing the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes includes enclosing the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit to collect the condensate from the one or more pipes by secondary tray coupled to the primary tray and located underneath the evaporator unit in step 550. In one embodiment, the secondary tray may be located at a predetermined depth from the primary tray. The secondary tray may receive the condensate collected in the primary tray through the primary tray outlet. Mounting of the secondary tray at the predetermined depth from the primary tray may be to aid a gravity assisted flow of the condensate from the primary tray to the secondary tray. In one embodiment, the secondary tray may include a predetermined slope to guide the condensate towards a secondary outlet up to a predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit with respect to vehicle roll angle and pitch angle. The predetermined orientation of the evaporator unit may include maximum roll angle or maximum pitch angle up to which there may not occur accumulation of the condensate in the secondary tray. In an exemplary embodiment the secondary tray may have a slope of 15°. In one embodiment, the secondary tray may or may not be mechanically coupled to the primary tray. The secondary may be composed of materials includes at least one of metal, plastic, and fiber or a combination thereof.

The method further includes evacuating the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet. In one embodiment, evacuating the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet includes evacuating the condensate collected from the one or more pipes, the primary tray and the one or more notches towards a vehicle outlet by a secondary tray outlet in step 560. In one embodiment, the condensate from the primary tray may be evacuated directly to the vehicle outlet via a dedicated channel.

Various embodiments of the system and method for condensate draining in automobile air conditioner described above enable various advantages. Enclosure of the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit by the secondary tray enables the condensate collection from the one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. The one or more channels and the one or more notches enables the condensate collection from the rear side of the evaporator unit and from the one or more joins of corresponding one or more pipes associated with the evaporator unit. More specifically, combination of the secondary tray, one or more channels and the one or more notches enables the condensate draining from an automobile air conditioner by avoiding certain issues which may have aroused due to space constraints.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the disclosure and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended.

The figures and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, the order of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all the acts need to be necessarily performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples.