Method of attaching electrodes to plated thermoset plastic heated blower housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9982900-B2
Application number	US-201414577623-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2014
Priority date	Jan 29, 2014
Publication date	May 29, 2018
Grant date	May 29, 2018

Abstract

A blower assembly of an HVAC system may include an electrically-conductive plating applied to an inner surface of a blower housing, a first electrode attached to the electrically-conductive plating at an inner wall of the blower housing via an electrically-conductive RTV silicone, and a second electrode attached to the electrically-conductive plating at an outer wall of the blower housing via an electrically-conductive RTV silicone. The first electrode may pass a current through the electrically-conductive plating of the blower housing to the second electrode that may act as an ohmic heater and provide a thermal energy discharge which may exchange heat with an airflow flowing through the blower housing as a result of operating the blower assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A blower housing, comprising:
an inner surface comprising an electrically-conductive plating and configured as an ohmic heater, wherein the ohmic heater comprises a first electrode disposed around and electrically coupled to an inner surface wall of the blower housing that comprises a first diameter and a second electrode disposed around and electrically coupled to a second inner surface wall of the blower housing that comprises a second diameter that is different than the first diameter.

2. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the blower housing is formed from a thermosetting plastic.

3. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive plating comprises at least one of a stainless steel plating, an aluminum plating, a copper plating, and a titanium plating.

4. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the ohmic heater is configured to produce a substantially isothermal temperature across the electrically-conductive plating.

5. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are attached to the inner surface via an adhesive.

6. The blower housing of claim 5 , wherein the adhesive is an electrically-conductive silicone.

7. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the ohmic heater second electrode is configured to pass current through the inner surface to the first eectrode.

8. The blower housing of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is configured to pass current through the inner surface to the second electrode.

9. A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HV AC) system, comprising:
an air handling unit comprising a blower assembly comprising:
an inner surface configured as an ohmic heater, wherein the ohmic heater comprises a first electrode disposed around an inner surface wall of the blower housing that comprises a first diameter, and a second electrode disposed around a second inner surface wall of the blower housing that comprises a second diameter different than the first diameter.

10. The HV AC system of claim 9 , wherein the inner surface comprises an electrically-conductive plating.

11. The HV AC system of claim 10 , wherein the inner surface comprises at least one of a stainless steel plating, an aluminum plating, a copper plating, and a titanium plating.

12. The HV AC system of claim 9 , wherein the ohmic heater is configured to produce a substantially isothermal temperature across the inner surface.

13. The HV AC system of claim 9 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are attached to the inner surface via an adhesive.

14. The HV AC system of claim 13 , wherein the adhesive is an electrically-conductive silicone.

15. The HV AC system of claim 11 , wherein the ohmic heater is configured to heat the electrically-conductive plating of the inner surface of the blower housing by passing an electrical current from at least one of (1) the first electrode through the electrically-conductive plating to the second electrode and (2) the second electrode through the electrically-conductive plating to the first electrode.

16. A method of heating an airflow in a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
providing a blower assembly comprising a blower housing comprising an inner surface;
configuring the inner surface as an ohmic heater by (1) applying an electrically-conductive plating to an inner surface of the blower housing and (2) electrically coupling a first electrode to an inner wall of the inner surface of the blower housing and a second electrode to an outer wall of the inner surface of the blower housing;
heating the electrically-conductive plating of the inner surface of the blower housing by passing an electrical current from at least one of (1) the first electrode through the electrically-conductive plating to the second electrode and (2) the second electrode through the electrically-conductive plating to the first electrode;
passing an airflow through the blower housing and at least partially into contact with the electrically-conductive plating of the inner surface of the blower housing; and
transferring heat from the electrically-conductive plating of the inner surface of the blower housing to the airflow.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the passing an airflow through the blower housing is accomplished by operating a blower motor of the blower assembly.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the blower assembly is installed in an air handling unit of the HVAC system.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising: producing a substantially isothermal temperature across the electrically-conductive plating of the inner surface of the blower housing.

Assignees

• Trane Int Inc

Inventors

• Hancock Stephen Stewart

Classifications

• F05D2300/611

  Coating · CPC title

• F24F1/56 Primary

  Casing or covers of separate outdoor units, e.g. fan guards · CPC title

• F04D29/023

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F05D2300/171

  Steel alloys · CPC title

• F24F2221/34

  Heater, e.g. gas burner, electric air heater · CPC title