Telescoping Air Plenum for Interior-Only Installation Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioning plenums are challenging to install in multi-story buildings due to the need for external adjustment, which poses safety risks and aesthetic issues, especially since they often require exposure to the exterior environment and do not accommodate varying wall sizes effectively.
Innovation Solution
A telescoping plenum design with an interior and exterior portion, where the exterior portion has a flange-less surface to pass through a wall channel axially, allowing for slidable engagement and installation from inside the building, eliminating the need for external adjustment and enhancing safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional plenum with an outer flange is used, then the plenum can be mounted against the external surface of the structure wall, but the installer must work from outside the building using a ladder, which increases safety risks and installation difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional mounting approach by eliminating the external flange and enabling the plenum to be installed from the interior side of the wall only. The interior flange engages with the wall's interior surface, allowing the exterior portion to pass through the wall channel without requiring external adjustment or support, thus eliminating the need for installers to work from outside the building on ladders.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the external flange from the plenum design, removing the component that previously required external mounting operations. The exterior portion is designed with a flange-less outer surface that can freely pass through the wall channel, while the mounting function is entirely transferred to the interior flange that engages with the wall's interior surface.
2Ease of operation
If the plenum extends through the wall to the exterior, then air conditioning functionality is achieved, but the exposed plenum creates aesthetic issues and is visible from outside the building
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a telescoping configuration where the exterior portion of the plenum is nested within the wall channel opening. The exterior portion can be inserted into and retracted within the wall channel, allowing it to be hidden from external view when not in use, thus eliminating the aesthetic degradation caused by exposed plenums while maintaining air conditioning functionality.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a multi-piece plenum is used to accommodate varying wall sizes, then adaptability to different wall thicknesses is achieved, but the complexity of assembly increases and external adjustment is still required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a telescoping design where the exterior portion can slide axially relative to the interior portion, enabling dynamic adjustment to accommodate varying wall thicknesses. This telescoping mechanism provides continuous adaptability to different wall sizes without requiring multiple discrete pieces or complex assembly procedures, as the exterior portion can be extended or retracted to match the specific wall thickness encountered.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioning appliance, as provided herein, may have a telescoping plenum attached to a housing of the air conditioning appliance. The telescoping plenum may be receivable within a wall channel defined by a structure wall along an axial direction. The telescoping plenum may include an interior portion and an exterior portion. The interior portion may include a duct wall and an outer flange extending radially outward from the duct wall to contact an internal surface of a structure wall. The exterior portion may include a duct wall having a flange-less outer surface to selectively pass through the wall channel along the axial direction. The exterior portion may be in slidable engagement with the interior portion to move along the axial direction.