Heat exchanger with hinged fan assemblies

Abstract

A coil heat exchanger includes a coil assembly having a series of elongated coil tubes mounted in an elongated, generally rectangular structure. Fans for drawing air across the coil assembly are provided as modular units that are mounted to the structure using hinges. The fans can be readily swung upwardly in the event of a need to access the coil assembly or replace a fan.

1 . A heat exchanger comprising 
 a plurality of coil circuits each extending from an inlet header to an outlet header, each coil circuit comprised of elongated tubing,    a structure supporting the coil circuits, the structure having an inlet face and an outlet face,    a fan assembly mounted with a hinge assembly adjacent the inlet face such that air can be drawn by the fan assembly with the inlet face, across the coil circuit and out the outlet face,    wherein the fan assembly can be rotated about the hinge assembly from contact with inlet face.    
   
   
       2 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1   wherein the structure includes a top portion, bottom portion and a plurality of vertical supports extending vertically between the top portion and the bottom portion,    and a portion of the hinge assembly is attached to the top portion.    
   
   
       3 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2   wherein the fan assembly comprises a base support and a fan, with the fan mounted on the base support such that the base support has a generally flat edge, a portion of the hinge assembly being attached to the flat edge of the base support,    the flat edge of the base support being positioned adjacent and attached to the bottom portion of the structure.    
   
   
       4 . The heat exchanger of  claim 3   wherein the fan assembly includes an extending section between the flat edge of the base support and the fan such that the fan is spaced from the flat edge,    and wherein the extending section is formed of a solid material.    
   
   
       5 . The heat exchanger of  claim 4   wherein the extending section is formed of sheet metal,    
   
   
       6 . The heat exchanger of  claim 4   wherein the extending section is of uniform dimension such that the fan is mounted in a plane perpendicular to the inlet face.    
   
   
       7 . The heat exchanger of  claim 4   wherein the extending section includes a top section and a bottom section, and the top section is of a length greater than the length of the bottom section such that the fan is wanted at an angle to the inlet face.    
   
   
       8 . A heat exchanger comprising 
 a plurality of coil circuits each extending from an inlet header to an outlet header, each coil circuit comprised of elongated tubing,    a structure supporting the coil circuits, the structure having an inlet face and an outlet face,    a fan assembly mounted with a hinge assembly adjacent the outlet face such that air can be drawn by the fan assembly with the inlet face, across the coil circuit and out the outlet face,    wherein the fan assembly can be rotated about the hinge assembly from contact with the inlet face.    
   
   
       9 . The heat exchanger of  claim 8   wherein the structure includes a top portion, bottom portion and a plurality of vertical supports extending vertically between the top portion and the bottom portion,    and a portion of the hinge assembly is attached to the top portion.    
   
   
       10 . The heat exchanger of  claim 9   wherein the fan assembly comprises a base support and a fan, with the fan mounted on the base support such that the base support has a generally flat edge, a portion of the hinge assembly being attached to the flat edge of the base support,    the flat edge of the base support being positioned adjacent and attached to the bottom portion of the structure.    
   
   
       11 . The heat exchanger of  claim 10   wherein the fan assembly includes an extending section between the flat edge of the base support and the fan such that the fan is space from the flat edge,    and wherein the extending section is formed of a solid material.    
   
   
       12 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11   wherein the extending section is formed of sheet metal.    
   
   
       13 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11   wherein the extending section is of uniform dimension such that the fan is mounted in a plane perpendicular to the outlet face.    
   
   
       14 . The heat exchanger of  claim 4   wherein the extending section includes a top section and a bottom section, and the top section is of a length greater than tie length of the bottom section such that the fan is mounted at an angle to the outlet face.