Removable energy recovery wheel assembly for an HVAC system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12007138-B2
Application number	US-202117240749-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2021
Priority date	Dec 20, 2018
Publication date	Jun 11, 2024
Grant date	Jun 11, 2024

Abstract

A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system includes an enclosure that is divided by a partition extending between a first panel and a second panel of the enclosure such that the partition defines an outdoor air flow path and a return air flow path through the enclosure. The partition includes an opening extending between the outdoor airflow path and the return airflow path. The HVAC system also includes an energy recovery wheel that translatably extends through the opening and is positioned within the outdoor air flow path and the return air flow path. The energy recovery wheel is disposed within the enclosure at an oblique angle relative to the outdoor air flow path and the return air flow path.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
a railing system coupled to an enclosure of the HVAC system, wherein the railing system comprises a first support rail and a second support rail;
an energy recovery wheel engaged with the railing system and configured to move along the railing system between an installed configuration and an extracted configuration, wherein, in the installed configuration, the energy recovery wheel is positioned within a first air flow path of the enclosure and within a second air flow path of the enclosure; and
a bypass damper positioned within the enclosure and adjacent to the energy recovery wheel in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, wherein the bypass damper is configured to enable air flow along the first air flow path to bypass the energy recovery wheel and flow from a first side of the energy recovery wheel to a second side of the energy recovery wheel, and wherein the bypass damper extends from the first support rail to the second support rail.

2. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein, in the extracted configuration, the energy recovery wheel is removed from the first air flow path, the second air flow path, or both.

3. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein the energy recovery wheel is configured to translate along the railing system independently of the bypass damper.

4. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the energy recovery wheel and the bypass damper cooperatively extend across the first air flow path.

5. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein the bypass damper is a first bypass damper, wherein the HVAC system comprises a second bypass damper positioned adjacent to the energy recovery wheel in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, and wherein the first bypass damper and the second bypass damper are positioned on opposite sides of the energy recovery wheel in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel.

6. The HVAC system of claim 5 , wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the energy recovery wheel and the first bypass damper cooperatively extend across the first air flow path, and the energy recovery wheel and the second bypass damper cooperatively extend across the second air flow path.

7. The HVAC system of claim 1 , comprising:
a partition of the enclosure; and
a side panel of the enclosure, wherein the partition and the side panel define at least a portion of the first air flow path extending between the partition and the side panel, and wherein the energy recovery wheel and the bypass damper cooperatively extend between the partition and the side panel in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel.

8. The HVAC system of claim 1 , wherein the first support rail and the second support rail are configured to engage with and support the energy recovery wheel to guide translation of the energy recovery wheel between the installed configuration and the extracted configuration, and wherein the first support rail and the second support rail are disposed on opposite sides of the energy recovery wheel in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel.

9. An energy recovery wheel assembly for a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
support rails configured to couple to an enclosure of the HVAC system;
an energy recovery wheel configured to be supported by the support rails; and
bypass dampers configured to mount adjacent to the energy recovery wheel, couple to the support rails, and extend between the support rails, wherein the energy recovery wheel is configured to move along the support rails relative to the bypass dampers in an assembled configuration of the HVAC system, wherein the bypass dampers are configured to enable air flow to bypass the energy recovery wheel and flow between a first side of the energy recovery wheel and a second side of the energy recovery wheel.

10. The energy recovery wheel assembly of claim 9 , wherein the energy recovery wheel comprises a heat transfer portion and a frame assembly, wherein the heat transfer portion is formed from a plurality of heat transfer elements rotatably coupled to the frame assembly, and wherein the energy recovery wheel is configured to engage with the support rails via the frame assembly.

11. The energy recovery wheel assembly of claim 10 , wherein the support rails are positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the heat transfer portion in the assembled configuration of the HVAC system.

12. The energy recovery wheel assembly of claim 10 , wherein the bypass dampers are positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the heat transfer portion in the assembled configuration of the HVAC system.

13. The energy recovery wheel assembly of claim 9 , wherein respective width dimensions of the support rails extend cross-wise to respective height dimensions of the bypass dampers in the assembled configuration of the HVAC system.

14. The energy recovery wheel assembly of claim 9 , comprising a partition of the enclosure, wherein the partition defines at least a portion of a first air flow path and a second air flow path through the enclosure, wherein the energy recovery wheel is positioned within the first air flow path and the second air flow path in the assembled configuration of the HVAC system.

15. A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
an enclosure comprising a partition defining a first air flow path and a second air flow path through the enclosure;
a railing system coupled to the enclosure and comprising two or more support rails;
an energy recovery wheel slideably coupled to the railing system and configured to translate along the railing system between an installed configuration within the enclosure and an extracted configuration external to the enclosure; and
a bypass damper positioned within the enclosure and extending between the two or more support rails of the railing system, wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the energy recovery wheel and the bypass damper form a portion of the first air flow path, and wherein the bypass damper is configured to direct air flow along the first air flow path to bypass the energy recovery wheel and flow from a first side of the energy recovery wheel to a second side of the energy recovery wheel.

16. The HVAC system of claim 15 , comprising an additional bypass damper positioned within the enclosure, wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the energy recovery wheel or the additional bypass damper form a portion of the second air flow path.

17. The HVAC system of claim 16 , wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the bypass damper and the additional bypass damper are disposed on opposite sides of the energy recovery wheel.

18. The HVAC system of claim 16 , comprising a first panel of the enclosure and a second panel of the enclosure, wherein the first panel and the second panel are disposed on opposite sides of the partition, and wherein, in the installed configuration of the energy recovery wheel, the bypass damper extends between the first panel and the energy recovery wheel, and the additional bypass damper extends between the second panel and the energy recovery wheel.

19. The HVAC system of claim 15 , wherein the two or more support rails comprise a first support rail and a second support rail, the energy recovery wheel

Assignees

• Johnson Controls Tech Co
• Tyco Fire & Security Gmbh

Inventors

• Nanjappa Vinay
• Ferrere Jr Marcel P
• Jagtap Vishal S
• A R Vijay
• Yelamanchili Chandra S
• Caskey Curtis W
• Karkhanis Rajiv K

Classifications

• F24F13/28

  Arrangement or mounting of filters · CPC title

• F24F13/15

  with parallel simultaneously tiltable lamellae · CPC title

• F24F2203/104

  Heat exchanger wheel · CPC title

• Y02B30/56

  Heat recovery units · CPC title

• F24F12/001 Primary

  with heat-exchange between supplied and exhausted air · CPC title