Multiple position leg assembly for a heat exchange unit
AssigneeCarrier Corporation
InventorsJoseph A. Ciarlei, William B. Jennings, Curtis L. Tobin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multiple position leg assembly for a heat exchange unit is disclosed. A support surface has a pair of slots which coact with a leg such that the leg has a shipping position wherein it does not extend beyond the bottom of the unit and has a support position wherein it is securely fastened in the slots of the support surface to maintain the unit a preselected distance from a mounting structure. The leg is designed such that internal forces act to secure narrowed portions of the leg in the slots to provide a secure support for the unit.
Claims9
A support assembly for use with a heat exchange unit, said assembly having a shipping position and a support position which comprises:
- a support surface defining a pivot slot having an insertion portion and a necked portion and a fastening slot having a sliding portion and a reduced portion, said pivot slot being spaced a predetermined distance from the fastening slot, said support surface further defining an area recessed from the bottom of the heat exchange unit and the fastening slot being defined within that portion of the support surface defining the top of the recessed area;
- and
- a leg having pivot means formed as a portion thereof to coact with the pivot slot for securing the pivot end of the leg, a mating surface for supporting the leg when it is in the support position, a contact surface for supporting the support surface adjacent the pivot means, a radius portion connected to the mating portion and fastening means connected to the radius portion and adapted to coact with the fastening slot to secure the leg in the support position with the mating surface projecting to support the unit and said fastening means and radius portion being sized to slide through the fastening slot to place the leg in the shipping position with the mating surface being located below the fastening slot within the recessed area defined by the support surface whereby the leg does not extend below the unit when it is in the shipping position.
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 or 4 wherein the leg comprises:
- a single element bent to the appropriate configuration and having portions removed therefrom to form the reduced portion, the necked portion and the tab portion.
A heat exchange unit including a heat exchanger having a generally planar bottom surface adapted to be mounted a predetermined distance from a mounting structure which comprises:
- a support surface to which the components of the heat exchange unit are secured, said support surface further defining at least one pair of slots, each pair of slots including a pivot slot and a fastening slot, said support surface further defining a recessed area extending from the generally planar bottom surface with said fastening slot being defined in the top of the recessed area;
- and
- at least one leg adapted to be secured by the pair of slots in either a shipping position or a support position, said leg having pivot means formed as a portion thereof adapted to coact with the pivot slot, a contact surface for supporting the support surface adjacent the pivot means, a mating portion for engaging the mounting structure when the leg is in the support position, a radius portion connected to the mating portion and having fastening means adapted to coact with the fastening slot for securing the leg in the support position, said radius portion being curved to allow the leg to rotate about the pivot means into a shipping position with the radius portion extending through the fastening slot and the mating portion being configured to not extend through the fastening slot while being located within the recessed area defined by the support surface such that the leg does not extend below the planar bottom surface in the shipping position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.