Blower Shelf Slide Rails

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 63/721,130, filed November 15, 2024, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is generally in the field of heating and/or cooling appliances.

BACKGROUND

[0003] A heating and/or cooling appliance may generally refer to any system that provides heat to a conditioned space, such as a residential home or a commercial establishment. For example, a heating and/or cooling appliance may use thermal transfer from a heat exchanger to produce warm air that is then distributed to the conditioned space. However, a heating and/or cooling appliance may provide heat to the conditioned space using other mechanisms as well. Non-limiting examples of such heating and/or cooling appliances may include gas furnaces, heat pumps, etc.

[0004] Heating and/or cooling appliances may include several components that may work in conjunction to provide heated air to the conditioned space. For example, a heating and/or cooling appliance may include an inducer fan (also generally referred to as an “inducer,” “inducer fan,” “blower fan,” or the like herein) that draws air across the heat exchanger and through the heating and/or cooling appliance. The heated air is then distributed throughout the conditioned space to heat the conditioned space. These components may sometimes malfunction or otherwise require maintenance or replacement. The process of removing a component from the heating and/or cooling appliance and replacing the component within the heating and/or cooling appliance (or adding a new component) may be cumbersome and require the removal of fasteners and other structures used to hold the component within the heating and/or cooling appliance. In some cases, other components may also need to be removed for a technician to be able to reach the component that needs to be fixed or replaced (adding complexity and time to the process).

[0005] Additionally, there may exist numerous different types of the same component. For example, there may be a wide variety of different types of blowers that are of different shapes and sizes. In some cases, it may be desired to switch one component for another variation of the same component. However, this may be difficult or impossible given that the heating and/or cooling appliance may be configured to only receive a particular variation of the component. Accordingly, these heating and/or cooling appliances typically lack the modularity to quickly and easily swap one variation of a component for another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0007]FIG. 1B illustrates a close-up view of a slide rail of the heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 1A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0008]FIG. 1C illustrates a front view of the heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 1A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0009]FIGS. 2A-2G illustrate various views of an exemplary slide rail, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0010]FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of a heating and/or cooling appliance without a shelf, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0011]FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance including a blower disposed on a shelf, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0012]FIG. 4B illustrates the exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 4A without the blower, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0013]FIGS. 4C-4D illustrate close-up views of fasteners on the shelf of the heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 4A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0014]FIG. 4E illustrates another close-up view of the shelf of the heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 4A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0015]FIG. 4F illustrates a close-up view of a slide rail of the heating and/or cooling appliance of FIG. 4A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0016]FIGS. 5A-5B depict an exemplary conventional heating and/or cooling appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present disclosure is directed to blower shelf slide rails (more generally referred to as “slide rails” or the like herein). The slide rails may be provided within a heating and/or cooling appliance and may be configured to receive a shelf that is used to support a component of the heating and/or cooling appliance, such as a blower. However, this is not intended to be limiting and the slide rails may also be provided in other types of systems as well (including systems configured to provide cool air to the conditioned space, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems). Additionally, the slide rails may be used in systems for both residential and commercial environments.

[0018] In one example embodiment, a first slide rail may be attached to an interior surface (such as the jacket of the heating and/or cooling appliance or any other portion of the heating and/or cooling appliance) on one side of the heating and/or cooling appliance and a second slide rail may be attached to another interior surface on the opposite side of the heating and/or cooling appliance. The shelf may be slid into the slide rails and the slide rails may then support the shelf within the heating and/or cooling appliance. The shelf may also be optionally secured to the slide rails using fasteners, such as bolts, screws, etc. (however, the slide rails may also support the shelf without the use of the fasteners as well. The blower may then be attached to the shelf (or the blower may be initially attached to the shelf prior to the shelf being slid into the slide rails. By including the slide rails in the heating and/or cooling appliance, the blower and supporting shelf may be more easily added to and removed from the heating and/or cooling appliance as desired (for example, to perform maintenance on the blower and/or to replace the blower).

[0019] The slide rails are configured to be universal such that different variations of shelves and/or blowers may be easily provided within the heating and/or cooling appliance without requiring further structural modifications to be made to the heating and/or cooling appliance to accommodate the different variations of shelves and/or blowers. Therefore, the slide rails not only improve the ease with which the blower may be added to and removed from the heating and/or cooling appliance, but also allow the heating and/or cooling appliance to be modular, to a degree. For example, if a first type of blower is initially provided in the heating and/or cooling appliance but it is later desired for a different type of blower to be used instead, then the shelf may be slid out from the slide rails, the original blower may be removed from the shelf, the new blower may be attached to the shelf, and the shelf may be slid back into the slide rails. Alternatively, both the original shelf and the original blower may be replaced by a new shelf and a new blower that are both then slid into the slide rails.

[0020] Although reference is made herein to the use of the slide rails to receive a shelf that is configured to hold a blower, this is not intended to be limiting and the slide rails may be configured for other uses as well. For example, the shelf that is inserted into the slide rails may also hold any other type of component that may be included within the heating and/or cooling appliance. The slide rails may also be configured to receive the blower or any other component directly, rather than receiving a shelf that holds the component. As a non-limiting example, a heat exchanger of the heating and/or cooling appliance may be configured to be directly inserted into the slide rails (without first being provided on a shelf) and the slide rails may support the heat exchanger within the heating and/or cooling appliance. The heat exchanger may then be easily added to and removed from the heating and/or cooling appliance in a similar manner to the blower as described above.

[0021] Furthermore, although the embodiments shown in the figures described above all show one set of slide rails, this is not intended to be limiting. That is, multiple sets of such slide rails may be included in the heating and/or cooling appliance and each set of slide rails may be configured to receive a different component or components (or shelves that are configured to hold various components). By including multiple sets of slide rails in the heating and/or cooling appliance, the modularity of the heating and/or cooling appliance may be increased even further.

[0022] In one exemplary embodiment (described in further detail with respect to at least FIGS. 2A-2G), a slide rail may include numerous surfaces that provide different functionality for the slide rail. One or more of the surfaces of the slide rail may be parallel or substantially with the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance to which the slide rail is attached. That is, when the slide rail is aligned with the surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance, these one or more surfaces of the slide rail may be flush with the surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance. These one or more surfaces of the slide rails may include fastener apertures that are configured to receive fasteners. Corresponding fastener apertures may also be included on the surfaces of the heating and/or cooling appliance. Accordingly, when the slide rail is aligned with the surface, the fastener apertures may be aligned fasteners may be inserted into the fastener apertures to secure the slider ail to the surface. However, the slide rails may also be removably secured to the heating and/or cooling appliance in any other suitable manner (or may be formed as permanent structures on the interior of the heating and/or cooling appliance).

[0023] Continuing this exemplary embodiment, a slide rail may also include another surface that is configured to be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the surface to which the slide rail is attached. This perpendicular or substantially perpendicular surface may be the surface that is configured to receive and hold the shelf when the shelf is slid into the slide rail. This shelf may also optionally include fastener apertures that may receive fasteners used to secure the shelf to the slide rail once the shelf is slid into place on the slide rail (the shelf may also include corresponding fastener apertures that align with the fastener apertures on the slide rail).

[0024] Alternatively or additionally, the slide rail may include a flange that is located on top of the shelf when the shelf is slid into the slide rail. That is, the flange and the surface on which the shelf rests may form a channel into which the shelf may be slid. The flange may further secure the shelf within the slide rail and restrict the vertical movement of the shelf when the shelf is inserted into the slide rail (whereas the fasteners may restrict the horizontal movement of the shelf within the channel).

[0025] Finally, the slide rail may also include another surface that is angled and is located below the shelf when the shelf is inserted into the slide rail. This surface may be angled from the shelf down inwards toward the jacket of the heating and/or cooling appliance. By including this angled surface, any air that is drawn by the blower (which may be attached to the top of the shelf) may be directed toward the blower such that the blower may more easily pull and/or push the air through the heating and/or cooling appliance and into the ductwork that distributes the air into the conditioned space.

[0026] This above-described embodiment is merely illustrative of one exemplary configuration of a slide rail and a slide rail may also include more or fewer structural elements. For example, the flange may be optional and the shelf may be secured to the slide rail using only fasteners.

[0027] A heating and/or cooling appliance may generally refer to any system configured to heat and/or cool the air in a conditioned space, such as a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Non-limiting examples of such systems may include heat pumps, gas furnaces, air conditioning systems, etc. However, a heating and/or cooling appliance may not necessarily be limited to heating and/or cooling air. As another example, a heating and/or cooling appliance may generally refer to any system configured to produce a heated fluid, such as a water heater, a boiler, a pool heater, etc. A heating and/or cooling appliance may also be used to heat and/or cool any other fluid, such as a gas, liquid, etc. Yet further examples of heating and/or cooling appliances may include integrated heat pump water heaters (HPWHs), monobloc/split HPWHs, Packaged HVAC units, split HVAC units, etc. Although some figures illustrated herein show a particular type of heating and/or cooling appliance, this is merely for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the type of heating and/or cooling appliance that is applicable.

[0028] Turning to the figures, FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance 100. FIG. 1B illustrates a close-up view of the second slide rail 106 of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100. FIG. 1C illustrates a front-view of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100. As a frame of reference, an example of a conventional heating and/or cooling appliance (also to provide context as to the exemplary operation of a type of heating and/or cooling appliance) is illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5B and described in further detail below. However, the slide rails as described herein may also be provided in any other type of heating and/or cooling appliance (or any other system in general) as well.

[0029] As indicated above, provided in the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 are one or more slide rails. For example, a first slide rail 104 is provided on a first side of the heating and/or cooling appliance 104 and the second slide rail 106 is provided opposite to the first slide rail 104 on a second side of the heating and/or cooling appliance 106. The first slide rail 104 and the second slide rail 106 are provided in the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 to receive a shelf 102. Specifically, the shelf 102 may be a blower shelf that is configured to hold a blower that is configured to draw air from the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 and push the air out of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 into a conditioned space via a ductwork (which may be attached to a top portion of the heating and/or cooling appliance, for example (however, the ductwork may also be attached to any other portion of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100). As indicated above, the shelf 102 may also be configured to receive and hold any other type of component (or multiple components) as well. The first slide rail 104 and the second slide rail 106 may be aligned with one another such that the shelf 102 is parallel or substantially parallel with a bottom surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 when the shelf 102 is slid into the one or more slide rails.

[0030] The slide rails provide modularity to the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 and allow any number of different types of configurations of shelves may be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 depending on the type of blower (or other type of component) that is desired to be used in the heating and/or cooling appliance 100. That is, different types of blowers may be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 without needing to further modify the structure of the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 or construct additional structures to secure the different types of blowers to the heating and/or cooling appliance 100. Accordingly, although a particular configuration of shelf is shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, this is merely an example of a type of shelf that may be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 and any other configuration of shelf may also be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 100 via the one or more slide rails. FIG. 4D shows another configuration of a shelf 402 that includes an aperture 424. A blower may be attached to the shelf 402 over the aperture 424 and may draw air from the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 through the aperture 424.

[0031]FIGS. 2A-2G illustrate various views of an exemplary slide rail 200. The slide rail 200 may be the same as, or similar to slide rails 104, 106, 200, 301, 302, 404, 406, or any other slide rails described herein or otherwise. The slide rail 200 may be configured such that the same slide rail 200 may be used on either side of the heating and/or cooling appliance. Accordingly, different types of slide rails do not need to be manufactured for each of the different sides of the heating and/or cooling appliance. It should be noted that the specific configuration of the slide rail 200 is merely exemplary and other variations of the slide rail 200 may also be possible. A slide rail may include additional or fewer elements than those shown in FIGS. 2A-2G. For example, another configuration of slide rail may not include the flange 202 (described below).

[0032] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A-2G, the slide rail 200 includes a first surface 204, a second surface 206, a third surface 208, a fourth surface 210, a fifth surface 212, and a sixth surface 214. The fourth surface 210 may be the surface that supports a portion of the shelf (for example, shelf 102, 402, or any other shelf described herein or otherwise) on which the blower (for example, blower 408 or any other blower described herein or otherwise) of the heating and/or cooling appliance (for example, heating and/or cooling appliance 100, 300, 400, or any other heating and/or cooling appliance described herein or otherwise) rests. The fourth surface 210 may include one or more fastener apertures. For example, the fourth surface 210 is shown as including fastener aperture 222 and fastener aperture 224. The fastener apertures are configured to receive fasteners (e.g., bolts, screws, etc.) to secure the shelf to the fourth surface 210. That is, the shelf may include corresponding fastener apertures that align with the fastener aperture 222 and the fastener aperture 224 when the shelf is provided on slide rail 200. The fasteners may then be provided through the fastener apertures on the shelf and the corresponding fastener apertures on the fourth surface 210 to secure the shelf to the slide rail 200. Although FIGS. 2A-2G shows two fastener apertures, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fastener apertures may also be provided. Additionally, the fastener apertures may also be provided at any other locations along the fourth surface 210. Furthermore, although reference is made to the use of the fasteners to secure the shelf to the slide rail 200, this is also merely exemplary and the shelf may be secured to the slide rail 200 in any other suitable manner.

[0033] The slide rail 200 may also include a flange 202. In some embodiments, the flange 202 may be provided parallel or substantially parallel to the fourth surface 210, however, the flange 202 may also be provided at an angle relative to the fourth surface 210 as well. The flange 202 and the fourth surface 210 may form a first channel that is configured to receive the shelf. That is, the shelf may be slid into corresponding channels formed within two slide rails provided on either side of the heating and/or cooling appliance (as shown in at least FIGS. 1A-1B) to secure the shelf in the heating and/or cooling appliance. When the shelf is slid into engagement with the slide rail 200 and rests on top of the fourth surface 210, the flange 202 contacts the top surface of the shelf and produces a downward force against the shelf. Accordingly, the flange 202 further secures the shelf to the slide rail 200. That is, the flange 202 restricts the vertical movement of the shelf and the fasteners restrict the horizontal movement of the shelf. However, in some embodiments, the flange 202 is not included in the slide rail 200 and the fasteners secure the shelf to the slide rail 200 by themselves. In other embodiments, the flange 202 may be included and may secure the shelf within the slide rail 200 without the use of the fasteners as well.

[0034] The fifth surface 212 may be provided at an angle relative to the fourth surface 210. Specifically, the fifth surface 212 may be angled downward towards the jacket of the heating and/or cooling appliance, rather than being angled inward towards a center point of the heating and/or cooling appliance. This specific angle of the fifth surface 212 is advantageous because it provides turbulence mitigation within the heating and/or cooling appliance and directs airflow into the blower. That is, as the blower operates to draw air through the heating and/or cooling appliance and into the ducts to distribute the air to the conditioned space, the angled fifth surface 212 directs the air that is drawn upward towards the blower (which may be centrally located on the shelf, as is shown in FIG. 4A).

[0035] The first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214 may be used to secure the slide rail 200 to the heating and/or cooling appliance. Specifically, the slide rail 200 may be secured to the jacket of the heating and/or cooling appliance, however, the slide rail 200 may also be secured to any other portion of the heating and/or cooling appliance as well. To allow for the slide rail 200 to be secured to the jacket via the first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214, the first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214 may also include one or more fastener apertures. For example, the first surface 204 is shown as including fastener apertures 216, 218, and 220, and the sixth surface 214 is shown as including fastener apertures 226, 228, and 230. Corresponding fastener apertures may be provided on the jacket of the heating and/or cooling appliance. Accordingly, when the slide rail 200 is provided in the heating and/or cooling appliance, the fastener apertures of the first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214 and the corresponding fastener apertures of the jacket may be aligned. Fasteners may then be inserted into both sets of apertures to secure the slide rail 200 to the heating and/or cooling appliance. Although FIGS. 2A-2G shows three fastener apertures provided on each of the first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fastener apertures may also be provided. Additionally, the fastener apertures may also be provided at any other locations along the first surface 204 and the sixth surface 214. Furthermore, although reference is made to the use of the fasteners to secure the slide rail 200 to the heating and/or cooling appliance, this is also merely exemplary and the slide rail 200 may be secured to the heating and/or cooling appliance in any other suitable manner.

[0036] The second surface 206 and the third surface 208 may be included in the slide rail 200 to prevent the fasteners that are inserted into the fastener apertures on the first surface 204 (for example, fasteners inserted into fastener apertures 216, 218, and 220) from contacting the shelf when the slide rail 200 is secured to the heating and/or cooling appliance and the shelf is provided in the slide rail 200. The second surface 206 may be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the first surface 204 and the third surface 208 may be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the second surface 206. The second surface 206 may also be provided at any angle relative to the first surface 204 and/or the third surface 208 as well. The second surface 206 and the third surface 208 form a channel 209 between the slide rail 200 and the heating and/or cooling appliance and cause the third surface 208 to be provided at a distance from the first surface 204. The third surface 208 may serve as a stopping point for the shelf to provide a gap between the edge of the shelf and the first surface 204. Therefore, the fasteners that are provided through the fastener apertures 216, 218, and 220 can extend out of the fastener apertures 216, 218, and 220 a certain distance into the gap without coming into contact with the shelf.

[0037]FIG. 3 illustrates a front-view of a heating and/or cooling appliance 300 (which may be the same as, or similar to, heating and/or cooling appliance 100 or any other heating and/or cooling appliance described herein or otherwise) without a shelf to further illustrate the overall structure of a heating and/or cooling appliance 300 with the slide rails attached to the heating and/or cooling appliance 300. Specifically, the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 is shown as including a first slide rail 301 and a second slide rail 302 provided opposite to the first slide rail 301 within the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 (the first slide rail 301 and the second slide rail 302 may be the same as, or similar to, first slide rail 104 and second slide rail 106 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C).

[0038] Using the first slide rail 301 as an example (the same description provided below for the first slide rail 301 may also be applicable to the second slide rail 302), the first slide rail 301 is shown as including similar structure as the slide rail 200 shown in FIGS. 2A-2G. That is, the first slide rail 301 includes a flange 304, a first surface 306, a second surface 308, a third surface 310, a fourth surface 312, a fifth surface 314, and a sixth surface 316. The second slide rail 302 includes a corresponding seventh surface 340, eighth surface 342, ninth surface 344, tenth surface 346, eleventh surface 348, twelfth surface 350, and thirteenth surface 253. It should be noted that the use of the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. may not necessarily refer to the same surfaces in different figures described herein. Instead, these terms are merely used such that each surface may be distinguishable from the other surfaces when described with respect to one particular figure.

[0039] The slide rail 301 may be secured to an interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300. Specifically, the first slide rail 301 may be attached to a jacket 332 of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300, however, the slide rail 301 (and/or the slide rail 304) may also be attached to any other surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 as well.

[0040]The first slide rail 301 may be attached to the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 in any suitable manner. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first slide rail 301 is attached to the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 using one or more fasteners (e.g., bolts, screws, etc.). In some embodiments, the one or more fasteners may be provided through fastener apertures on the first surface 306 and the sixth surface 316, however, fasteners may be provided through any other surface of the first slide rail 301 (additionally or alternatively) as well. For example, one or more first fasteners 318 are shown as being provided through the first surface 306 and one or more second fasteners 320 are shown as being provided through the sixth surface 316. The one or more first fasteners 318 and the one or more second fasteners 330 may either be inserted first through fastener apertures within the first slide rail 301 and then into fastener apertures within the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 or may instead be inserted first through fastener apertures within the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 and then through fastener apertures within the first slide rail 301.

[0041] Although FIG. 3 shows that the one or more first fasteners 318 includes three fasteners and the one or more second fasteners 320 also includes three fasteners, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fasteners may be used to secure the first slide rail 301 to the heating and/or cooling appliance. The use of the fasteners is also merely exemplary and the first slide rail 301 may also be attached to the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 using any other suitable method (for example, an adhesive, etc.). Additionally, while the use of the fasteners or other like elements allows the first slide rail 301 to be removed from the heating and/or cooling appliance 300, in some embodiments, the first slide rail 301 may also be formed as a permanent structure of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300. As one example, the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 may be formed into the shape of the separate slide rail 301. As another example, the first slide rail 301 may be welded to the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300 or secured to the interior of the heating and/or cooling appliance using any other more permanent methodology.

[0042] The fourth surface 312 (similar to the fourth surface 210 of FIGS. 2A-2G), is provided perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the first surface 304 and the sixth surface 316 (and the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300). The second slide rail 302 includes a similar surface (the tenth surface 348) that is also configured to be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300. The fourth surface 312 of the slide rail 301 and the corresponding tenth surface 348 of the slide rail 302 may be aligned such that when a shelf is slid into the slide rail 301 and the slide rail 302, the shelf rests flat on the slide rail 301 and the slide rail 302 parallel or substantially parallel with a bottom surface of the heating and/or cooling appliance 300. The fourth surface 312 (and the corresponding tenth surface 348 on the slide rail 302) may include sufficient surface area such that the shelf may be supported by the slide rail 301 and the slide rail 302 using only the fourth surface 312 and the corresponding tenth surface 348 on the slide rail 302. However, the shelf may also be further secured to the slide rail 301 and the slide rail 302 using one or more fasteners that are provided through the fourth surface 312 and the corresponding tenth surface 348 on the slide rail 302, as described with respect to FIGS. 2A-2G (or may be further secured to the slide rail 301 in any other manner).

[0043] Also as described with respect to FIGS. 2A-2G, the flange 304 of the first slide rail 301 may be provided parallel or substantially parallel to the fourth surface 312. To insert the shelf into the heating and/or cooling appliance 300, the shelf may be slid into a first channel formed on the first slide rail 301 between the flange 304 and the fourth surface 312. Likewise, the shelf may simultaneously be slid into a second channel formed on the second slide rail 302 between the flange 304 and the tenth surface 348. The flange 304 and the flange 340 may contact a portion of the top surface of the shelf such that the vertical movement of the shelf is restricted by the flange 304 and the flange 340.

[0044]FIG. 4A illustrates a more complete heating and/or cooling appliance 400 including a shelf 402 that is inserted into slide rails (for example, slide rail 404 and slide rail 406), with a blower 408 that is attached to the top surface of the shelf 402. FIGS. 4B-4C illustrate close-up views of fasteners on the shelf 402 of the heating and/or cooling appliance 400.

[0045] As indicated above, the blower 408 may be provided within the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 to draw air up from the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 and push the air into a conditioned space (such as a residential home or a commercial establishment) to heat or cool the conditioned space. FIGS. 4A-4C show one example of a blower that may be secured to the shelf 402. In this exemplary configuration, the blower 408 is secured centrally on the shelf 402, however, the blower may also be secured at any other position on the shelf 402 as well. Additionally, while the blower 408 is shown as being a particular size and shape, any other size and/or shape of blower may also be provided on the shelf 402 as well.

[0046]FIG. 4A also shows one way the blower 408 may be secured to the shelf 402. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the blower 408 includes one or more arms (for example, a first arm 410, second arm 412, third arm 414, and fourth arm 416, and/or any other number of arms). The one or more arms may be removably attached to the blower 408 or may be integrated as a portion of the structure of the blower 408 at a first end of the one or more arms and may be attached to the top surface of the shelf 402 at a second end of the one or more arms. The one or more arms may be sufficiently long that the blower 408 is positioned a certain distance above the top surface of the shelf 402 when the blower 408 is installed on the shelf 402.

[0047]FIGS. 4C-4D show that each of the one or more arms may include a base that rests on the top surface of the shelf 402 when the blower 408 is provided on the shelf 402. For example, FIG. 4C shows that the fourth arm 416 includes base 440 and FIG. 4D shows that first arm 410 includes base 424. Although not completely visible within FIGS. 4C-4D, the second arm 412 and the third arm 414 may also include corresponding bases as well.

[0048] The size and arrangement of the one or more arms as well as the size and shape of the bases of the one or more arms may allow the blower 408 to be supported upright by the bases of the one or more arms when the blower 408 is provided on the shelf 402. Although the bases are shown as being substantially square in shape, this is merely exemplary and the bases may also be any other shape as well (as well as any other size).

[0049] To further secure the blower 408 to the shelf 402, each of the bases of the one or more arms may include one or more fastener apertures through which fasteners may be provided. For example, FIG. 4C shows that fasteners 444 and 446 are provided through fastener apertures (not visible in FIG. 4C) in the base 440 to further secure the base 400 to the shelf 402. Likewise, FIG. 4D shows that fasteners 448 and 450 are provided through fastener apertures (not visible in FIG. 4C) in the base 442 to further secure the base 442 to the shelf 402. To allow the bases to be fastened to the shelf 402, the shelf may also include corresponding fastener apertures (an example of a fastener aperture 452 is shown in FIG. 4E). To fasten the bases to the shelf 402, the bases may be aligned with the shelf 402 such that the fastener apertures on the bases and the fastener apertures on the shelf are aligned. The fasteners may then be inserted into both the fastener apertures on the bases and the fastener apertures on the shelf 402. Although FIGS. 4C-4D show two fasteners used for each of the bases, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fasteners may be used for each of the bases.

[0050] The use of the one or more arms is merely one exemplary type of structure that may be used to secure a blower to a shelf and any other structure may also be used.

[0051] The shelf 402 allows for different types of blowers to be installed within the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 without requiring additional structural modifications to be made to

[0052]the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 to support the blower. Given that the slide rails allow the shelf to be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 to receive the different types of blowers, the slide rails advantageously increase the modularity of the heating and/or cooling appliance 400.

[0053]FIGS. 4C-4D also show fasteners that are provided through the shelf 402 to further secure the shelf 402 to the slide rails (as described above with respect to at least FIGS. 2-3). FIG. 4C shows fastener 429 that is provided through a fastener aperture on the shelf 402 and a corresponding fastener aperture on the slide rail 406 and FIG. 4D shows a fastener 422 that is provided through a fastener aperture on the shelf 402 and a corresponding fastener aperture on the slide rail 404. For example, the fasteners 422 and 429 may be provided through corresponding fastener apertures on the surfaces of the slide rail 404 and slide rail 406 on which the shelf 402 (the equivalent of the fourth surfaces 210, 348, etc.). Although FIGS. 4C-4D only show one fastener being provided through each side of the shelf 402 to secure the shelf 402 to each of the slide rails, any other number of fasteners may also be used to further secure the shelf 402 to the two slide rails.

[0054] Returning to FIG. 4B, the slide rails not only allow different blowers to be inserted into the same heating and/or cooling appliance 400 without modifying the structure of the heating and/or cooling appliance 400, but also allow for different shelf configurations to be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 to support the different types of blowers. For example, FIG. 4B illustrates the exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance 400 without the blower 408 to illustrate a particular configuration of a shelf 402. This configuration includes an aperture 424 that is provided centrally on the shelf 402 such that when the blower 408 is secured to the shelf 402, the aperture 424 is located below the blower 408. The aperture 424 may be sized and shaped in accordance with the blower 408 such that when the blower 408 is operational, the blower 408 is able to draw air up through the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 via the aperture 424.

[0055] The shelf 402 shown in FIG. 4B is merely one exemplary configuration of a shelf and other shelves of other configurations may be inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 400 in place of the shelf 402. For example, another shelf may include a smaller aperture that corresponds to a smaller blower or a larger aperture that corresponds to a larger aperture. Thus, if it is desired to replace the blower 408 shown in FIG. 4A with another blower that is larger in size to handle a different use case, the replacement process may be easily performed by sliding the shelf 402 out from the slide rails, inserting a different shelf into the slide rails with a larger aperture, and installing the new blower on the new shelf (or the blower may be installed on the shelf before the shelf is slid into the slide rails).

[0056] Although the shelf shown in FIG. 4B includes a single aperture that is circular in shape the shelf may also include an aperture of any other shape and/or may include multiple apertures as well. A shelf may also include any other structural elements as well. That is, the shelf may not necessarily be completely flat across the entire surface of the shelf. For example, the shelf may include additional structures that are used to direct the airflow in a particular direction.

[0057]FIG. 4F illustrates a close-up view of a slide rail 406 of the heating and/or cooling appliance 400. Specifically, FIG. 4F shows a close-up view of a manner by which the slide rail 406 supports the shelf 402 when the shelf is inserted into the heating and/or cooling appliance 400. That is, the figure more clearly illustrates that a portion of a bottom surface 460 of the shelf 402 is supported by a first surface 462 (which may be the same as the fourth surfaces 210, 348, etc.) of the slide rail 406. The figure also more clearly illustrates how a second surface 464 (which may be the same as fifth surfaces 212, 350, etc.) of the slide rail 406 directs airflow towards the blower (not shown in the figure).

[0058]FIGS. 5A-5B depict an exemplary conventional heating and/or cooling appliance. In particular, the heating and/or cooling appliance illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5B is a gas, forced-air furnace 510. However, as indicated above, the description of a gas furnace is merely exemplary and any other heating and/or cooling appliance may also be applicable. Additionally, the specific configuration of the furnace 510 shown in FIGS. 5A-5B is merely one example of a gas furnace 510 and other configurations may also be possible. Furthermore, it should be noted that the furnace 510 shown in FIGS. 5A-5B is a different configuration of a heating and/or cooling appliance than the exemplary heating and/or cooling appliance 100 shown in FIG. 1A.

[0059] In general, furnace 510, which is shown here in an upflow configuration but may also be used in horizontal and downflow configurations, comprises a housing 512 with a cross-section of a generally rectangular shape having upper and lower ends to which supply and return air ductwork (not illustrated) is operatively connected. A vertical wall 514 extends within housing 512 to define a supply plenum and a burner chamber 516. A heat exchanger assembly 18 is positioned within the supply plenum. Similarly, a horizontal wall 520 extends within housing 512 to define a blower chamber 522 which also serves as an inlet plenum. Housing 512 may comprise upper and lower doors 524, 526, which respectively open to burner chamber 516 and blower chamber 522.

[0060] Heat exchanger assembly 518 comprises a plurality of combustor tubes 528 which are horizontally spaced apart and vertically serpentine. Combustor tubes 528 are secured at their inlet ends to an upper portion of vertical wall 514. The outlet ends of combustor tubes 528 are connected to a transition box 530, which is positioned in a lower portion of the supply plenum. A collector box 532 is mounted on vertical wall 514 in generally horizontal facing relationship with transition box 530, and a secondary heat exchanger (which may be of the condenser type) extends therebetween. An outlet 534 of collector box 532 is in fluid communication with an inlet of a draft inducer fan 536, which is disposed in burner chamber 516. Draft inducer fan 536 (the “inducer” or “blower”) has an outlet 538 connectable to an exterior vent stack (not illustrated). Additional information regarding the operation of heat exchangers in gas, forced air furnaces is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,933, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

[0061] A burner assembly 540 is supported by fasteners to vertical wall 514 in the upper portion of burner chamber 516. In furnace 510, burner assembly 540 comprises a plurality of “in-shot” type gas burners which are supplied with hydrocarbon fuel (such as natural gas) through fuel supply piping 541 coupled to a supply manifold 542. A gas valve 544, which may be a DC milliamp, constant current control type gas valve, is coupled along the fuel supply piping upstream of manifold 542. The gas burners are spaced outwardly apart from, and face, the open inlet ends of associated combustor tubes 528. As is well known, the gas burners are operative during firing of furnace 510 to flow flames and hot combustion gases into the inlet ends of combustor tubes 528.

[0062] Further, a blower assembly 546 for forcing supply air across heat exchanger assembly 518 is secured in blower chamber 522 below horizontal wall 520. An outlet 548 of blower assembly 546 may be coupled with an opening 550 defined in horizontal wall 520 beneath heat exchanger assembly 518. Blower assembly 546 may comprise a variable-speed electronically commutated motor, which may facilitate two-stage operation. Finally, a control board assembly 552 may be disposed in front of blower assembly 546 in blower chamber 522. Control board assembly 552 includes control electronics to control the operation and various components of furnace 510, as is well known. A wiring harness may extend between blower chamber 522 and burner chamber 516, provides electronic communication between the control circuitry of control board assembly 552 (which may be the same as a “controller” described herein) and the various components of furnace 510.

[0063] In operation, upon a demand for heat from furnace 510 by a thermostat (not illustrated) located in the space to be heated and in electronic communication with control board assembly 552, the burners of burner assembly 540 and the draft inducer fan 536 are energized. Flames and resulting combustion products from the burners are directed into the open inlet ends of combustor tubes 528, and the combustion products are drawn through the heat exchanger assembly 518 by the operation of draft inducer fan 536. In particular, the received combustion products are drawn sequentially through serpentine primary combustor tubes 528, transition box 530, the secondary heat exchanger, and collector box 532. Combustion products entering the draft inducer fan 536 from collector box 532 are discharged from fan 536 into the associated vent stack.

[0064] At the same time, blower assembly 546 draws return air from the conditioned space served by furnace 510 upwardly through return ductwork connected to an opening in the bottom of housing 512 and into blower chamber 522. Air entering chamber 522 enters the inlet of blower assembly 546 and is forced upwardly through opening 550 in horizontal wall 520 and then externally across heat exchanger assembly 518. As it traverses heat exchanger assembly 518, the air receives combustion heat from heat exchanger assembly 518. The heated air then exits housing 512 into supply ductwork for delivery to the conditioned space served by furnace 510.

[0065] Although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.