Base system for air handler
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing HVAC system housings with adequate structural rigidity is costly, time-intensive, and procedurally complicated, and existing designs suffer from thermal inefficiencies and limited rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A base system for HVAC systems featuring a frame with base rails and internal walls that provide increased structural rigidity and thermal breaks, including a geometry with a higher moment of inertia, allowing for reduced height and weight while improving assembly efficiency and thermal insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional housing designs are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but structural rigidity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The base rail is divided into multiple functional segments: base segment for curb mounting, external wall for structural support, top segment for frame connection, internal wall for thermal insulation, and recessed flange for floor panel attachment. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity and rigidity.
2Loss of energy
If traditional base rail designs are used, then manufacturing is easier, but thermal insulation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The recessed flange creates a cavitation or gap between the base rail and the floor panel, extracting the thermal conduction path. This recessed geometry provides a thermal break that reduces heat transfer from the exterior curb environment to the interior HVAC equipment, improving thermal insulation without adding separate insulation components.
3Stability of the object's composition
If increased structural rigidity is achieved through traditional methods, then housing stability improves, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base rail transitions from a simple linear beam to a three-dimensional geometric structure with vertical external and internal walls, and a recessed flange. This dimensional complexity increases the moment of inertia and structural rigidity without proportionally increasing weight, as the geometry provides strength through form rather than mass.
Data Source
AI summary
A base system for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a frame configured to support a housing of the HVAC system, where the frame includes a base rail configured to define a portion of a perimeter of the frame. The base rail includes a base segment configured to be disposed on a curb in an installed configuration of the HVAC system, an external wall extending from the base segment, a top segment extending from the external wall, an internal wall extending from the top segment, and a recessed flange extending from the internal wall and away from the external wall.