1. An indexing parts rack for supporting a plurality of objects comprising:
an elongated track having a longitudinal axis;
at least one hanger assembly mounted on said track, said hanger assembly being movable along said track in a direction of said longitudinal axis and being rotatable about said longitudinal axis; and
a stop positioned adjacent said track whereby when no object is supported from said hanger assembly, said hanger assembly assumes a first radial position relative to said longitudinal axis to enable said hanger assembly to move along said track past said stop and when an object is supported from said hanger assembly, said hanger assembly rotates relative to said longitudinal axis to a second radial position to engage said stop and prevent said hanger assembly from moving past said stop along said track.
2. The parts rack according to claim 1 wherein said elongated track is continuous having upper and lower straight portions joined by curved end portions.
3. The parts rack according to claim 1 wherein said hanger assembly includes a first roller and a second roller oppositely engaging said track, said first and second rollers being rotatably attached to a housing, and a hook member attached to said housing.
4. The parts rack according to claim 1 wherein said elongated track is attached to a surface in a shipping container.
5. The parts rack according to claim 4 wherein said shipping container includes a plurality of vertically spaced apart attachment points and said elongated track is attached to one of said attachment points on said surface of said shipping container.
6. An indexing parts rack for supporting a plurality of objects comprising:
a shipping container having opposed planar walls;
at least one elongated track having a longitudinal axis, said track mounted on at least one of said walls;
at least one hanger assembly mounted on said track, said hanger assembly being movable along said track in a direction of said longitudinal axis and being rotatable about said longitudinal axis; and
a stop mounted on said wall and positioned adjacent said track whereby when no object is supported from said hanger assembly, said hanger assembly assumes a first radial position relative to said longitudinal axis to enable said hanger assembly to move along said track past said stop and when an object is supported from said hanger assembly, said hanger assembly rotates relative to said longitudinal axis to a second radial position to engage said stop and prevent said hanger assembly from moving past said stop along said track.
7. The parts rack according to claim 6 wherein said elongated track is continuous having upper and lower straight portions joined by curved end portions.
8. The parts rack according to claim 6 wherein said hanger assembly includes a first roller and a second roller oppositely engaging said track, said first and second rollers being rotatably attached to a housing, and a hook member attached to said housing.
9. The parts rack according to claim 8 wherein said hook member is operable to be attached to said housing at various points along the length of said hook member.
10. The parts rack according to claim 6 wherein said walls of said container include a plurality of vertically spaced apart attachment points and said elongated track is operable to be attached to a one of said attachment points.
11. An indexing parts rack for hanging a plurality of objects in a container, the container having a pair of spaced apart side walls, said indexing parts rack comprising:
at least one pair of continuous tubes each adapted to be attached to one of the side walls of the container, said tubes having an upper portion and a lower portion connected by a forward portion and a rear portion;
at least one pair of stop members, each said stop member adapted to be mounted in the container adjacent an associated one of said tubes;
at least one pair of hanger assemblies, each hanger assembly being movably disposed on an associated one of said tubes;
at least one pair of hook members, each said hook member being attached to an associated one of said hanger assemblies; and
whereby when said hanger assemblies are on said upper portions of said tubes and the object is attached to and hung from said pair of hook members, said hanger assemblies move from a vertical position to an inward position by the weight of the object and said indexing parts rack retains the object by each of said hanger assemblies contacting said stop members, whereby
when the object is removed from said hook members, said hanger assemblies return to said vertical position and do not contact said stop members, and said hanger assemblies are free to move to said lower portion of said tubes.
12. The parts rack according to claim 11 wherein each of said hanger assemblies includes a pair of rollers oppositely engaging said track, said rollers being rotatably attached to a housing, and said associated hook member being rotatably attached to said housing.
13. The parts rack according to claim 11 wherein each of said lower portions of said tracks is downwardly inclined from said forward portion to said rear portion.
14. The parts rack according to claim 11 wherein said hook member is operable to be attached to said hanger assembly at various points along the length of said hook member.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A temperature sensing assembly for monitoring a temperature of a pipe in a system, comprising:
an insulator body including
a first end, a second end, an outer surface, and an inner surface, the outer and inner surfaces extending between the first and second ends and forming a wall of continuously varying thickness as viewed in a cross section transverse to a longitudinal axis of the insulator body, wherein the outer and inner surfaces share two edges, and at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface is formed entirely of one or more curved surfaces, the inner surface including a depression formed therein and being configured to receive a portion of the pipe; and
a temperature sensor disposed adjacent the inner surface and within the depression, the sensor including a probe adapted so that at least a portion of the probe protrudes from the depression, and the probe being configured to directly contact the pipe when the pipe is received by the inner surface.
2. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the depression is a longitudinal notch.
3. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the sensor further includes a sensor wire adapted to operatively connect the sensor to a control module.
4. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the inner surface defines a concave recess configured to receive the portion of the pipe.
5. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the insulator body includes a wire passage extending radially from the inner surface through the insulator body, the wire passage being configured to receive sensor wires, and the probe extending from the wire passage and along the depression to define a bend therebetween.
6. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 5, including a wire seal disposed within the wire passage to seal the temperature sensor from ambient air when the pipe is received by the inner surface.
7. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, including a strap configured to extend around the outer surface of the insulator body and the pipe to secure the pipe against the inner surface and in direct contact with the sensor.
8. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 7, wherein the strap is a zip-tie type strap.
9. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 7, wherein the insulator body includes a waist disposed between adjacent portions, the waist having a diameter less than a diameter of the adjacent portions, the strap being disposed about the waist.
10. The temperature sensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the inner surface defines a concave recess configured to have a smaller diameter than the pipe, and is configured to elastically deform to fit around the pipe.
11. A hermetically sealed air-conditioning assembly, comprising:
a compressor;
a compressor outlet pipe extending from the compressor;
a condenser connected to the compressor outlet pipe;
a condenser outlet pipe extending from the condenser;
a condenser fan configured to generate airflow through the condenser;
at least one temperature sensing assembly disposed on at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes, said at least one temperature sensing assembly including
an insulator body having
a first end, a second end, an outer surface, and a completely recessed inner surface, the outer and inner surfaces extending between the first and second ends, the inner surface defining a recess including a depression formed therein and being configured to receive only a portion of a perimeter of said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes; and
a temperature sensor disposed adjacent the inner surface and within the depression, the sensor including a probe adapted so that at least a portion of the probe protrudes from the depression, and the probe being configured to directly contact said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes when the portion of said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes is received by the inner surface, the temperature sensor being configured to communicate a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes; and
a control module in communication with said at least one temperature sensing assembly, the compressor, and the condenser fan, the control module being configured to receive the temperature signal, generate a control signal based upon the temperature signal, and communicate the control signal to at least one of the compressor and the condenser fan.
12. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the temperature sensing assembly is associated with the compressor outlet pipe, and
wherein the control module includes a threshold temperature stored therein and, based on the temperature signal, is configured to determine whether the temperature of the compressor outlet pipe exceeds the preset threshold temperature.
13. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 12, wherein the control module is configured to shut down the compressor when the temperature exceeds the threshold.
14. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the temperature sensing assembly is associated with the condenser outlet pipe, and
wherein the control module includes a threshold temperature stored therein and, based on the temperature signal, is configured to generate a condenser fan control signal to adjust the condenser fan.
15. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the depression is a longitudinal notch.
16. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the sensor further includes a sensor wire adapted to operatively connect the sensor to the control module.
17. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the recess is a concave recess.
18. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein the insulator body includes a wire passage extending radially from the inner surface through the insulator body, the wire passage being configured to receive sensor wires, and the probe extending from the wire passage and along the depression to define a bend therebetween.
19. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 18, including a wire seal disposed within the wire passage to seal the temperature sensor from ambient air.
20. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 11, wherein said at least one temperature sensing assembly includes a strap configured to extend around the circumference of the insulator body and said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes to secure said at least one of the compressor and condenser outlet pipes against the inner surface and in direct contact with the temperature sensor.
21. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 20, wherein the strap is a zip-tie type strap.
22. The air-conditioning assembly of claim 20, wherein the insulator body includes a waist and adjacent portions, the waist having a diameter less than a diameter of the adjacent portions, the strap being disposed about the waist.
23. A method of monitoring a temperature of a pipe to control an air-conditioning assembly, comprising:
maintaining a sensor having a probe protruding from a notch formed in a recess defined by an inner surface formed in an insulator body;
receiving a portion of a circumference of the pipe in the inner surface;
directly contacting the circumference of the pipe with the probe at a contact area;
sealing the contact area from ambient air;
generating a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of the pipe; and
receiving the temperature signal at a control module.
24. The method of claim 23, including:
generating a control signal at the control module based upon the temperature signal; and
communicating the control signal to at least one of a compressor and condenser fan to control said at least one of an air-conditioning compressor and a condenser fan.
25. The method of claim 24, including:
storing a threshold temperature in the control module;
determining whether the temperature of the compressor outlet pipe exceeds the preset threshold temperature.
26. The method of claim 25, including shutting down the compressor when the temperature exceeds the threshold.
27. The method of claim 23, including generating a condenser fan control signal based on the temperature signal; and
adjusting a fan speed of a condenser fan.