CN108386905B - air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an air conditioner. An air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a casing arranged to be mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; and a blower fan configured to pass through the inlet drawing air into the housing and expelling air out of the housing via the outlet; and a vane configured to open and close the outlet, the vane including a plurality of through holes that control air exiting the housing via the outlet when the vane closes the outlet. With this structure, the air conditioner can discharge air in various ways by changing the wind direction, wind speed, and amount of the discharged air.

Description

air conditioner

technical field

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner for controlling air discharge flow in various ways.

Background technique

The air conditioner is equipped with a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, a blower fan, etc., for controlling indoor temperature, humidity, airflow, etc. using a refrigeration cycle. The air conditioner may include an indoor unit located indoors and an outdoor unit located outdoors.

An indoor unit of an air conditioner includes a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between refrigerant and air, a blower fan for circulating the air, and a motor for driving the blower fan, thereby cooling or heating an indoor space.

The blower fan sucks indoor air, promotes heat exchange of the air through the heat exchanger, and discharges the heat-exchanged air back into the indoor space. For this reason, the blower fan needs to rotate at a certain speed (rpm) or more in consideration of the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger, and discharge air to a certain distance through the outlet in the form of direct air flow.

If the direct airflow reaches the user, the user may feel uncomfortable, cold or hot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present disclosure provides an air conditioner for exhausting airflow in various methods.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an air conditioner capable of cooling or heating an indoor space while preventing direct airflow from reaching a user.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes: a casing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; and a blower fan configured to blow air through the inlet Air is drawn into the housing and exhausted from the housing via the outlet; and a vane configured to open and close the outlet, the vane including a plurality of through holes that control air exhaust from the housing when the vane closes the outlet.

The cover plate may include a guide forming the outlet, the guide extending from the upstream end of the outlet to the downstream end of the outlet, the guide may include a first guide surface arranged to guide the air in the first direction and arranged to be guided by the first The first direction of the surface guided air is changed to a second guide surface of a second direction, the second direction being closer to the ceiling than the first direction.

The first guide surface may be formed as a curved surface and the second guide surface as a flat surface.

The first guide surface may be formed to have a smaller inclination angle of the tangent at a portion of the first guide surface farther from the blower fan.

The second guide surface may be formed parallel to the ceiling.

The second guide surface may be formed to be more inclined at a portion of the second guide surface farther from the blower fan.

The first guide surface and the second guide surface may be formed as planes, and the second guide surface may have an inclination angle smaller than that of the first guide surface.

The blade may include a blade body on which the plurality of through holes are formed and a coupling rib protruding from the blade body, and the blade body may include an inner end portion and an outer end portion, the outer end portion being closer to the inlet than the inner end portion. at greater distances.

The thickness of the outer end may be smaller than the thickness of the inner end.

The blade body may have a portion whose thickness increases in a direction from the outer end toward the inner end.

A through hole away from the blower fan among the plurality of through holes may be formed to be inclined toward the outer end.

The vanes may be configured to cover the edges of the cover plate.

The cover plate may include a panel outlet having a plurality of panel through holes for venting air out of the housing.

The air conditioner may further include a panel discharge flow channel configured to guide air to the panel outlet, and an opening/closing member configured to open and close the panel discharge flow channel.

The opening/closing member may be configured to operate by cooperating with the operation of the vanes.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a casing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; and a heat exchanger disposed at within the housing; a blower fan configured to draw air into the housing via an inlet and exhaust air out of the housing via an outlet; and blades configured to open and close the outlet, and the cover plate may include extending from an upstream end of the outlet to a downstream end of the outlet to a guide forming the outlet, and the guide may include a first guide surface arranged to guide air in a first direction and a second guide surface arranged to change the air guided by the first guide surface to a second direction, the second direction closer to the ceiling than the first direction.

The first guide surface may be formed as a curved surface, and the second guide surface may be formed as a flat surface.

The first guide surface and the second guide surface may be formed as planes, and the second guide surface may have an inclination angle smaller than that of the first guide surface.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a casing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing, the cover plate having an inlet and an outlet; and a blower fan configured to pass through An inlet draws air into the housing and exhausts air out of the housing via an outlet; and a vane configured to open and close the outlet, and the vane may be configured to cover an edge of the cover plate.

The cover plate may include a guide extending from an upstream end of the outlet to a downstream end of the outlet to form the outlet, and the guide may include a rear end of the guide corresponding to the downstream end of the outlet, the rearward end of the guide may be configured to form a back end of the cover. edge.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a casing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; and a blower fan configured via an inlet to draw air into the housing and to discharge air out of the housing via an outlet; and a vane formed at the outlet, the vane including a plurality of through holes, the cover plate may include disposed proximate the outlet to reduce air exhausted through the plurality of through holes speed of the airflow controller.

The airflow controller may include a first airflow controller and a second airflow controller provided on the downstream side further below the first airflow controller.

The first airflow controller may be configured to reduce the velocity of air flowing toward the second airflow controller.

The second airflow controller may be configured to direct the direction of air exhausted through the gap between the cover plate and the vane.

The second air flow controller may be configured to direct air exhausted through the gap between the cover plate and the vane to the central portion of the vane for causing the air to flow in one direction around the vane.

The first airflow controller and the second airflow controller may protrude toward the outlet.

The air conditioner may further include a space maintaining protrusion formed to protrude from the cover plate or the blade to maintain a gap between the cover plate and the blade.

The first airflow controller may include a first low point portion, a first descending surface formed on the upstream side higher than the first low point portion and descending toward the first low point portion, and a first descending surface further above the first low point portion A first ascending surface that is formed on the downstream side and ascends from the first low point portion is formed downward.

The second airflow controller may include a second low point portion, a second descending surface formed on the upstream side higher than the second low point portion and descending toward the second low point portion, and extending upward from the second low point portion the second ascending surface.

The airflow controller may include a high point portion where the first ascending surface and the second descending surface meet.

If the height difference between the first low point part and the high point part is H1 and the height difference between the second low point part and the high point part is H2, then 0.001≤|H1-H2|/H1≤100.

If the horizontal distance between the first low point portion and the second low point portion is P, then 0.001≤P/H1≤500.

The vane may include a vane air direction controller configured to direct air exhausted through a gap between the cover plate and the vane to a central portion of the vane for flow of air in a direction around the vane.

The vane air direction controller may be formed at an inner end of the vane as a face that is concavely curved toward a pivot center of the vane.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a casing arranged to be hung on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the casing and equipped with an inlet and an outlet; a blower fan configured for drawing air into the housing via the inlet and out of the housing via the outlet; and a vane configured to pivot between an open position opening the outlet and a closed position closing the outlet and having a plurality of through holes formed therein, and if With the vanes in the closed position, the vanes cover the edge of the cover plate and the plurality of through holes slope towards the outer ends as they move away from the blower fan.

Description of drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a bottom perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 shows the air conditioner of Fig. 1 from which the cover plate is separated;

3 is a side sectional view showing a main configuration of the air conditioner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a blade of the air conditioner of FIG. 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of part "O" of Figure 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a modified example of the guide of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is another modified example of the guide of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a modified example of the through hole of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a still air mode;

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a long airflow mode;

FIG. 12 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a normal mode;

13 and 14 illustrate an air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure: FIG. 13 illustrates a state of operation in a still air mode, and FIG. 14 illustrates a state of operation in a normal mode;

15 and 16 illustrate an air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure: FIG. 15 illustrates a state of operation in a still air mode, and FIG. 16 illustrates a state of operation in a normal mode;

17 illustrates an air conditioner from which a cover plate and vanes are detached according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 18 is a side sectional view showing the main configuration of the air conditioner of Fig. 17;

Figure 19 is an enlarged view of part "S" of Figure 17;

20 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the periphery of the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 17;

21 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the airflow controller of the air conditioner of FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 shows the inclination of the through hole of the air conditioner of FIG. 17; and

FIG. 23 shows the flow of air around the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 .

Detailed ways

The embodiments of the present disclosure are merely the most preferred examples and are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows the air conditioner of FIG. 1 from which the cover plate is separated. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a main configuration of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 .

1 to 3, an embodiment of an air conditioner will be described.

The air conditioner 1 may include: a casing 10, hung on or embedded in the ceiling C; a cover plate 20, coupled to the lower part of the casing 10 and equipped with an inlet 30 and an outlet 40; a heat exchanger 2, arranged in the casing 10 and a blower fan 3 configured to draw air into the housing 10 through an inlet 30 and exhaust air out of the housing 10 through an outlet 40 .

The housing 10 may be shaped like a box with an open bottom. Specifically, the housing 10 may have a rectangular top wall and side walls extending downwardly from various edges of the top wall. Inside the casing 10 , the heat exchanger 2 and the blower fan 3 are accommodated and there may also be an inner flow channel 13 formed to guide the air introduced via the inlet 30 to the outlet 40 .

The cover plate 20 may be coupled to the lower portion of the housing 10 to cover the open bottom of the housing 10 . The cover plate 20 may have a rectangular form having a front edge 21 , a rear edge 22 , a left edge 23 and a right edge 24 , and the front edge 21 and the rear edge 22 are formed longer than the left edge 23 and the right edge 24 .

An inlet 30 may be provided in the cover plate 20 near the rear edge 22 and an outlet 40 may be provided in the cover plate 20 near the front edge 21 . The outlet 40 may have an elongated form along the length of the front edge 21 , the rear edge 22 . The grid 7 may be coupled to the inlet 30 to filter dust from the intake air.

The blower fan 3 may be a cross-flow fan. Unlike ordinary axial fans that blow air in a direction parallel to the axis, a cross-flow fan can blow air in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The blower fan 3 may include a rotation shaft 4 , a plurality of blades 5 arranged in the circumferential direction centered on the rotation shaft 4 , and a support plate 6 supporting the blades 5 . The blower fan 3 may be arranged such that the rotation axis 4 is parallel to the length of the outlet 40 .

The heat exchanger 2 for cooling the air by exchanging heat with the air may be arranged on one side of the blower fan 3 . The heat exchanger 2 may be arranged inclined at an angle from the horizontal to be perpendicular to the air flow flowing in the inner flow channel 13 of the housing 10 .

A drain pan 60 may be provided below the heat exchanger 2 to collect condensed water produced by the heat exchanger 2 . The water collected by the drain pan 60 may be drained out of the air conditioner 1 via a pump and a hose.

A sub-drain pipe 66 may be arranged between the heat exchanger 2 and the inlet 30 to first collect the condensed water falling from the heat exchanger 2 and guide it into the drain pan 60 . A control box may be arranged between the sub-drain pipe 66 and the inlet 30 to drive the air conditioner 1 .

With this configuration, when the blower fan 3 is rotated, air can be drawn into the inner flow passage 13 via the inlet 30 , can be cooled via the heat exchanger 2 , and can be discharged from the inner flow passage 13 via the outlet 40 .

The air conditioner 1 may include blades 70 arranged at the outlet 40 to control the direction, speed and amount of air exhausted through the outlet 40 . The vanes 70 may be pivotally arranged to open and close the outlet 40 . Additionally, a plurality of through holes 74 (see FIG. 5 ) may be formed in the vanes 70 to exhaust air when the outlet 40 is closed by the vanes 70 .

In the case where the air is discharged through the plurality of through holes 74 , the speed of the air can be reduced and the amount of the air can be reduced compared to the case where the air is discharged through the outlet 40 .

The blower fan 3 sucks indoor air, promotes heat exchange of the air through the heat exchanger 2, and discharges the heat-exchanged air back into the room. For this reason, the blower fan 3 needs to rotate at a certain speed (rpm) or more in consideration of the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 2, and therefore, the air is discharged to a certain distance through the outlet 40 as a direct air flow.

Conversely, when the vanes 70 close the outlet 40, the air is expelled via the through holes 74 at a relatively low velocity and in a small amount, so that direct airflow does not reach the user and the room can be gradually cooled or heated. In this way, the mode in which the air is exhausted via the through holes 74 prevents direct airflow from reaching the user and may therefore be referred to as still air mode.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the air conditioner 1 may cool or heat the indoor space by discharging air towards the ceiling C via the outlet 40 in addition to the still air cooling/heating via the through hole 74, thereby preventing direct airflow from reaching the user, Instead, it slowly falls from the ceiling C. In other words, the air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured to discharge air toward the ceiling C, which may be referred to as a long airflow mode.

Now, various discharge structures of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the related drawings.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a blade of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 . FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part "O" of FIG. 4 . FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 . FIG. 7 is a modified example of the guide of FIG. 6 . FIG. 8 is another modified example of the guide of FIG. 6 . FIG. 9 is a modified example of the through hole of FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 9 , the cover plate 20 may include a guide 50 . The drain pan 60 may include guides 61 . The outlet 40 may be formed between the guides 50 and 61 . Alternatively, the guide 61 may be arranged separately from the drain pan 60 .

The guide 50 may be disposed farther from the inlet 30 than the guide 61 . Therefore, the guide 50 is called an outer guide 50 , and the guide 61 is called an inner guide 61 . The guides 50 and 61 may extend from the upstream end 41 of the outlet 40 to the downstream end 42 of the outlet 40 .

The guide 50 may include a first guide surface 51 provided to guide the air in the first direction A (see FIG. 11 ) and provided to change the direction of the air guided by the first guide surface 51 to the second direction B (see FIG. 11 ). 11) of the second guide surface 52, wherein the second direction B is closer to the ceiling C than the first direction A.

With this configuration, the air conditioner 1 can discharge air introduced through the inlet 30 arranged in the lower portion toward the ceiling C through the outlet 40 arranged in the lower portion, thereby minimizing pressure loss due to resistance of the flow passage.

The first guide surface 51 may be formed as a curved surface, and the second guide surface 52 may be formed as a flat surface. The first guide surface 51 may be formed such that the farther it is from the blower fan 3, the less the tangent is inclined. For example, the inclination angle θ2 of the tangent line T2 may be smaller than the inclination angle θ1 of the tangent line T1 .

The second guide surface 52 may be disposed parallel to the ceiling C. As shown in FIG. If the ceiling C in the indoor space is parallel to the horizontal plane H, the second guide surface 52 may be referred to as being parallel to the horizontal plane H. As shown in FIG. It may also be referred to as being parallel to the top wall of the housing 10 .

The guide 50 may include a forward end 56 corresponding to the upstream end 41 of the outlet 40 and a rearward end 58 corresponding to the downstream end 42 of the outlet 40 . The rear end 58 of the guide 50 may form the front edge 21 of the cover plate 20 .

The vane 70 may be provided to open and close the outlet 40 and may include a vane body 7 having the plurality of through holes 74 formed thereon and a coupling rib 76 protruding from the vane body 71 .

Specifically, the blade body 71 may be provided not to close the upstream end 41 or the middle portion of the outlet 40 but to close the downstream end 42 of the outlet 40 . To this end, the blade body 71 may have a length L and a width W corresponding to the length and width of the downstream end 42 of the outlet 40, respectively.

As described above, the rear end 58 of the guide 50 forms the front edge 21 of the cover plate 20 and the vane body 71 is provided to close the downstream end 42 of the outlet 40 , as a result, the vane body 71 can cover the front edge 21 of the cover plate 20 . In other words, when the air conditioner 1 is viewed from below, the front edge 21 of the cover plate 20 may be shielded by the blades 70 .

The plurality of through holes 74 may each have a diameter of 1 to 2 mm and may be uniformly distributed in the entire area or a partial area of the blade body 71 . The blade body 71 may include an inner end 72 and an outer end 73 , the outer end 73 being at a greater distance from the inlet 30 than the inner end 72 . The inner end 72 may be relatively close to the pivot portion 77 of the blade 70 and the outer end 73 may be relatively far from the pivot portion 77 of the blade 70 .

With the structure of the outlet 40 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a smaller amount of air flows to the outer end 73 than to the inner end 72 , and thus the air passing through the through holes 74 formed around the outer end 73 There may be a lower velocity than the air passing through the through holes 74 formed around the inner end 72 . Therefore, due to the temperature difference, more dew condensation occurs around the outer end 73 than around the inner end 72 .

In order to solve this problem, the thickness D2 of the outer end portion 73 of the blade body 71 may be set to be smaller than the thickness D1 of the inner end portion 72 . Therefore, the length of the through holes 74 formed around the outer end portion 73 may be shorter than the length of the through holes 74 formed around the inner end portion 72 .

Further, the blade body 71 may have a portion in which the thickness D increases from the outer end portion 73 toward the inner end portion 72 . Further, the blade body 71 may be formed to have a thickness D that increases from the outer end portion 73 to the inner end portion 72 .

Furthermore, in order to solve the dew condensation phenomenon, the through holes 74 may be formed obliquely toward the outer end portion 73 as they move away from the blower fan 3 .

As described above, as the through holes 74 move away from the blower fan 3, they are formed obliquely toward the outer end 73, and thus the velocity and amount of air discharged toward the outer end 73 increase, minimizing dew condensation. Furthermore, the air can be exhausted close to the ceiling C and can therefore be sent farther.

The pivot portion 77 may be disposed in the coupling rib 76 for pivoting the blade 70 and may be pivotally coupled with the blade mount 25 (see FIG. 2 ) formed on the cover plate 20 . A blade drive motor 9 (see FIG. 2 ) may be fitted in the housing 10 and connected to the pivot portion 77 to deliver driving force.

As shown in FIG. 7 , as a modified example of the guide 50 , the guide 250 may include a first guide surface 251 provided to guide the air in the first direction A, and a first guide surface 251 provided to guide the air by the first guide surface 251 . The direction is changed to the second guide surface 252 of the second direction B, which is closer to the ceiling C than the first direction A is. The first guide surface 251 may be formed as a curved surface, and the second guide surface 252 may be formed as a flat surface. The first guide surface 251 may be formed such that the inclination angle of the tangent line becomes smaller as the first guide surface 251 is further away from the blower fan 3 .

The second guide surface 252 may be formed obliquely so that as the second guide surface 252 is further away from the inlet 30, it is downward. For example, the second guide surface 252 is inclined at an angle β from the horizontal plane H. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8 , as another modified example of the guide 50 , the guide 350 may include a first guide surface 351 provided to guide air in the first direction A and a first guide surface 351 provided to be guided by the first guide surface 351 The direction of the air is changed to the second guide surface 352 of the second direction, wherein the second direction B is closer to the ceiling C than the first direction A is.

The first guide surface 351 and the second guide surface 352 may be formed as planes. The inclination angle β from the horizontal plane H of the second guide surface 352 is smaller than the inclination angle α from the horizontal plane H of the first guide surface 351 . The second guide surface 352 may be disposed parallel to the ceiling C or may be inclined at an angle from the ceiling C.

As shown in FIG. 9, as a modified example of the through hole 74, the through holes 74a, 74b may include a through hole 74a inclined at an angle and a vertical through hole 74b. For example, among the through holes 74a, 74b, some of them (ie, 74a) may be formed to have an inclined angle.

The through hole 74a around the outer end portion 73 of the blade 70 may be formed obliquely, and the through hole 74b around the inner end portion 72 of the blade 70 may be formed vertically. This structure can prevent dew condensation due to deceleration of the air around the inner end 72 of the blade 70 if the through holes are all inclined.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a still air mode. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a long flow mode. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the air conditioner of FIG. 1 operates in a normal mode.

10 to 12, the operating state of the air conditioner of the present disclosure will now be described.

As shown in FIG. 10 , in the still air mode of the air conditioner, the vanes 70 may close the outlet 40 . When the blowing fan 3 is activated when the blade 70 closes the outlet 40 , the air introduced through the inlet 30 may undergo heat exchange in the heat exchanger 2 and then may be discharged through the through holes 74 formed in the blade 70 .

The air flowing through the blower fan 3 can be slowed down and can be reduced in amount due to the resistance while passing through the through holes 74 of the blades 70 so that it does not reach the user as a direct airflow and can gradually cool or heat the room.

As shown in FIG. 11 , in the long air flow mode of the air conditioner, the vanes 70 may open the outlet 40 and allow air to be exhausted through the outlet 40 near the ceiling C. As shown in FIG.

The opening angle X1 of the vanes 70 may be about 10 degrees or less, and thus, air may be discharged near the ceiling C via the outlet 40 and may flow horizontally from the outlet 40 to a long distance. Therefore, no direct airflow reaches the user and the indoor space can be gradually cooled or heated.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the normal mode of the air conditioner, the vane 70 may open the outlet 40, and in this case, the opening angle X2 of the vane 70 may vary between about 40 to 80 degrees. The direction of the air exhausted through the outlet 40 can be controlled by changing the opening angle X2 of the vanes 70 .

13 and 14 illustrate an air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure: FIG. 13 illustrates a state of operating in a still air mode, and FIG. 14 illustrates a state of operating in a normal mode.

13 to 14 , an air conditioner 400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. The same features as those in the foregoing embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions will be omitted here.

The cover plate 420 may include a panel outlet 421 having a plurality of panel through holes 422 formed therein to exhaust air out of the housing 10 . Panel outlet 421 may be formed adjacent to outlet 40 .

The air conditioner 400 may include a panel discharge flow passage 423 for guiding the air flowing by the blowing fan 3 to the panel outlet 421 and an opening/closing member 424 for opening and closing the panel discharge flow passage 423 . The panel discharge flow channel 423 may be formed to be connected to the outlet 40 . The opening/closing member 424 may be pivotally arranged to open and close the panel discharge flow channel 423 .

As shown in FIG. 13 , in the still air mode (in which the vanes 70 close the outlet 40 ), the opening/closing member 424 may open the panel discharge flow channel 423 to allow air to be discharged through the panel through holes 422 . Therefore, the air flowing by the blower fan 3 can be discharged through the through holes 74 formed in the blades 70 and the panel through holes 422 formed in the cover plate 420 . In this case, the amount of exhaust air can be increased in the still-air mode compared to the above-described embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 14 , in the normal mode (in which the vane 70 opens the outlet 40 ), the opening/closing member 424 can close the panel discharge flow channel 423 .

The opening/closing member 424 may be configured to operate by mechanically cooperating with operation of the vane 70 . The opening/closing member 424 can be configured such that when the opening/closing member 424 and the vane 70 mechanically cooperate to cause the vane 70 to close the outlet 40, the opening/closing member 424 can open the panel discharge flow channel 423 and when they cooperate to cause the vane 70 to close the outlet 40 The opening/closing member 424 may close the panel discharge flow channel 423 when the vane 70 opens the outlet 40 .

For example, the air conditioner 400 may include a first pinion gear 425 pivotally coupled with and rotating with the blade 70 , a second pinion gear pivotally coupled with the opening/closing member 424 and rotating with the opening/closing member 424 427 , and a rack 426 for transmitting the rotational force of the first pinion 425 to the second pinion 427 . However, the air conditioner 400 is not limited to this structure, and various joint structures known to the public may be applied to the air conditioner 400 .

15 and 16 illustrate an air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure: FIG. 15 illustrates a state of operating in a still air mode, and FIG. 16 illustrates a state of operating in a normal mode.

15 to 16 , an air conditioner 500 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. The same features as those in the foregoing embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions will be omitted here.

The cover plate 520 may include a panel outlet 521 having a plurality of panel through holes 522 formed therein to exhaust air out of the housing 10 . Panel outlet 521 may be formed close to outlet 40 .

The air conditioner 500 may include a panel discharge flow passage 523 for guiding the air flowing by the blowing fan 3 to the panel outlet 521 and an opening/closing member 524 for opening and closing the panel discharge flow passage 523 . The panel discharge flow channel 523 may be formed to be connected to the outlet 40 .

The opening/closing member 524 may be arranged to open and close the panel discharge flow channel 523 . The opening/closing member 524 may be shaped like a roll screen. The opening/closing member 524 may have an air passage deactivating part 524a that deactivates the air passage and an air passage activating part 524b that makes the air passage available.

The opening/closing member 524 may be configured to be wound on the plurality of rollers 525 , 526 and configured to move according to the rotation of the plurality of rollers 525 , 526 such that the air passage deactivation part 524 a passes over the panel through hole 522 Or the air channel enabling member 524b passes over the panel through hole 522 .

As shown in FIG. 15 , in still air mode (wherein vanes 70 close outlet 40 ), air passage enabling feature 524b of opening/closing member 524 may be positioned over panel through hole 522 to allow air to exit through panel through hole 522 .

Therefore, the air flowing by the blowing fan 3 may be discharged through the through holes 74 formed in the blades 70 and the panel through holes 522 formed in the cover plate 520 . In this case, the amount of exhaust air can be increased in the still-air mode compared to the above-described embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 16 , in the normal mode (wherein the vane 70 opens the outlet 40 ), the air passage deactivation part 524a of the opening/closing member 524 may be positioned above the panel through hole 522 to prevent air from being expelled through the panel through hole 522 .

FIG. 17 illustrates an air conditioner from which a cover plate and blades are separated according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 18 is a side sectional view showing the main configuration of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 .

17 to 18, another embodiment of the air conditioner will now be described. The same features as those in the foregoing embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions will be omitted here.

The air conditioner 600 may include a casing 10 hung on or embedded in the ceiling C, a cover plate 620 coupled to a lower portion of the casing 10 and equipped with an inlet 30 and an outlet 40 , a heat exchanger 2 disposed within the casing 10 , and the blower fan 3 configured to draw air into the housing 10 via the inlet 30 and discharge the air out of the housing 10 via the outlet 40 .

The cover plate 620 may be coupled to the lower portion of the housing 10 to cover the open bottom of the housing 10 . The cover plate 620 may have a rectangular form having a front edge 21 , a rear edge 22 , a left edge 23 and a right edge 24 , and the front edge 21 and the rear edge 22 are formed to be longer than the left edge 23 and the right edge 24 .

The inlet 30 may be provided in the cover plate 620 near the rear edge 22 and the outlet 40 may be provided in the cover plate 620 near the front edge 21 . The outlet 40 may have an elongated form along the length of the front edge 21 , the rear edge 22 . The grid 7 may be coupled to the inlet 30 to filter dust from the intake air.

The air conditioner 600 may include vanes 670 disposed on the outlet 40 to control the direction, speed and amount of air to be expelled through the outlet 40 . The vanes 670 may be pivotally arranged to open and close the outlet 40 . The vane 670 may be provided to open and close the outlet 40 and may include a vane body 671 (see FIG. 20 ) in which a plurality of through holes 674 are formed and a coupling rib 676 (see FIG. 20 ) protruding from the vane body 671 . In the case where the air is discharged through the plurality of through holes 674 , the speed of the air is low and the amount of the air is small compared to the case where the air is discharged through the outlet 40 .

The blower fan 3 sucks indoor air, promotes heat exchange of the air through the heat exchanger 2, and discharges the heat-exchanged air back into the room. For this reason, the blower fan 3 needs to rotate at a certain speed (rpm) or more in consideration of the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 2, and therefore, the air is discharged to a certain distance through the outlet 40 as a direct air flow.

Conversely, the air expelled via the through holes 674 when the vanes 670 close the outlet 40 is at a relatively low velocity and small in volume, so that direct air flow does not reach the user and the room can be slowly cooled or heated. In this manner, the mode in which air is expelled through the through holes 674 prevents direct airflow from reaching the user, and thus may be referred to as a no-air mode or a still air mode.

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), wind that flows at about 0.15 m/s or less without unwanted cooling of the body by cold air flow is referred to as still air. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the air conditioner may be configured to meet ASHRAE still air conditions (ie, 0.15 m/s) in a still air mode in a residential interior space more than one meter away from the air conditioner.

To this end, in addition to the structure of the through holes 674 formed in the vanes 670, the air conditioner 600 may further include the air flow controller 690 of the cover plate 620 to more efficiently generate the still air flow.

An airflow controller 690 may be positioned adjacent to the outlet 40 to reduce the velocity of air exhausted through the plurality of through holes 674 and may include a first airflow controller 691 and a second airflow controller 696 . The second airflow controller 696 may be positioned further down in the downstream of the outlet 40 than the first airflow controller 691 .

Air flow E2 (see FIG. 23 ) may be generated by air flow controller 690 to surround vanes 670 . The airflow E2 surrounding the vanes 670 may be discharged through the gap G2 (see FIG. 21 ) between the cover plate 620 and the vanes 670 . Reference numeral 629 denotes a space maintaining protrusion that maintains the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the blade 670 even when the blade 670 is closed.

The airflow controller 690 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the related drawings.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of part "S" of FIG. 17 . FIG. 20 is an enlarged side sectional view of the periphery of the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 . FIG. 21 is an enlarged side sectional view of the airflow controller of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 . FIG. 22 shows the inclination angle of the through hole of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 . FIG. 23 shows the airflow around the outlet of the air conditioner of FIG. 17 .

When the air conditioner 600 is in the still air mode, that is, when the vane 670 is closed, a gap G2 may be formed between the front edge 21 (see FIG. 17 ) of the cover plate 620 near the outlet 40 and the outer end 673 of the vane 670 (see FIG. 20 ) between. The airflow E2 surrounding the vanes 670 may be exhausted through the gap G2. The airflow E2 surrounding the vanes 670 may reduce the speed of the air discharge flow DA (see FIG. 23 ) discharged through the plurality of through holes 674 , and may further suppress dew condensation on the vanes 670 due to temperature differences.

The cover plate 620 includes an airflow controller 690 to generate this airflow E2 around the vanes 670 . An airflow controller 690 may be positioned adjacent to the outlet 40 to reduce the velocity of air exhausted through the plurality of through holes 674 and may include a first airflow controller 691 and a second airflow controller 696 . The second airflow controller 696 may be positioned further down in the downstream of the outlet 40 than the first airflow controller 691 .

The first airflow controller 691 may reduce the velocity of air flowing from the interior of the outlet 40 toward the second airflow controller 696 . This can help to change the direction of the airflow in the second airflow controller 696 .

The first airflow controller 691 may include a first descending surface 692 , a first low point portion 693 and a first ascending surface 694 . The first descending surface 692, the first low point portion 693, and the first ascending surface 694 may be continuously formed in the downstream direction from the upstream side.

The first low point portion 693 may be at the lowest level among the first descending surface 692 , the first low point portion 693 and the first ascending surface 694 when the blade 670 of the air conditioner 600 installed horizontally on the ceiling is closed. The first descending surface 692 may be formed on the upstream side higher than the first low point portion 693 , and may descend as it approaches the first low point portion 693 . The first rising surface 694 may be formed on the downstream side further down than the first low point portion 693 , and may rise as it moves away from the first low point portion 693 .

The first descending surface 692 and the first ascending surface 694 may be formed as a plane or a curved surface. The first low point portion 693 may be formed as a straight line or a curved line to connect the first descending surface 692 and the first ascending surface 694 .

Therefore, the first airflow controller 691 may have a structure protruding toward the outlet, and thus, the air flowing from the inside of the outlet 40 toward the second airflow controller 696 and passing through the first airflow controller 691 may pass through the protruding first airflow controller 691 And slow down.

The second airflow controller 696 may guide the direction of the air exhausted through the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the vane 670 . When the air conditioner 600 is in the still air mode, that is, when the vane 670 is closed, a gap G2 may be formed between the front edge 21 (see FIG. 17 ) of the cover plate 620 near the outlet 40 and the outer end 673 of the vane 670 (see FIG. 20 ) between. The second airflow controller 696 may direct the air exhausted through the gap G2 to flow in one direction to surround the vanes 670 .

The air exhausted through the gap G2 may flow from the outer end portion 673 of the blade 670 toward the center portion along the outer side 675b of the blade body 671 . The airflow E2 directed by the second airflow controller 696 to surround the vanes 670 may hinder and slow down the air discharge flow DA exiting through the through holes 674 .

In addition, the airflow E2 around the blades 670 can block the blades 670 from being affected by the hot and humid outside air, thereby suppressing the dew condensation phenomenon on the blades 670 .

The second airflow controller 696 may include a second descending surface 697 , a second low point portion 698 and a second ascending surface 699 . The second descending surface 697, the second low point portion 698, and the second ascending surface 699 may be continuously formed in the downstream direction from the upstream side.

The second low point portion 698 may be at the lowest horizontal surface among the second descending surface 697 , the second low point portion 698 and the second ascending surface 699 when the blade 670 of the air conditioner 600 installed horizontally on the ceiling is closed. The second descending surface 697 may be formed on the upstream side higher than the second low point portion 698 , and may descend as it approaches the second low point portion 698 . The second rising surface 699 may be formed on the downstream side further down than the second low point portion 698 , and may rise as it moves away from the second low point portion 698 .

The second descending surface 697 and the second ascending surface 699 may be formed as a plane or a curved surface. However, it is desirable that the second descending surface 697 is formed as an upwardly bulging curved surface to change the direction of the airflow toward the blade 670 . The second low point portion 698 may be formed as a straight line or a curved line to connect the second descending surface 697 and the second ascending surface 699 . As a result, the second airflow controller 696 may have a structure protruding toward the outlet 40 .

The air that has passed through the gap G2 may approach the blade 670 due to the second airflow controller 696 and may flow to the center portion of the blade 670 along the outer side 675b of the blade body 671 according to the Coanda effect.

The airflow controller 690 may include a high point portion 695 where the first ascending surface 694 of the first airflow controller 691 and the second descending surface 697 of the second airflow controller 696 meet. The high point portion 695 may be formed as a straight line or a curved line.

The high point portion 695 may be formed at a higher level than the first low point portion 693 and the second low point portion 698 when the blade 670 of the air conditioner 600 installed horizontally on the ceiling is closed.

As shown in FIG. 21, in order to satisfy the still air condition of ASHRAE in a residential indoor space more than one meter away from the air conditioner, the following may be preferable, 0.001≤│H1-H2│/H1≤100. H1 represents the height difference between the first low point portion 693 and the high point portion 695 , and H2 represents the height difference between the second low point portion 698 and the high point portion 695 .

Furthermore, preferably, 0.001≤P/H1≤500. P represents the horizontal distance between the first low point portion 693 and the second low point portion 698 .

Thus, since the airflow E2 around the vane 670 formed by the airflow controller 690 is exhausted through the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the vane 670 when the vane 670 is closed, it is necessary to form and maintain the cover plate 620 and the vane when the vane 670 is closed 670 G2 between the gaps.

To this end, as described above, protruding spacer maintaining protrusions 629 may be formed on the cover plate 620 to form and maintain the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the vanes 670 by contacting the vanes 670 when the vanes 670 are closed.

At least one spacer retention protrusion 629 may be formed along the length of the outlet 40 . Alternatively, the spacer maintaining protrusions 629 may be formed not on the cover plate 620 but on the blades 670 .

The airflow controller 690 of the cover plate 620 may generate an airflow E2 around the outer end 673 of the vane 670 to surround the vane 670 , and in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vane 670 may have a vane air direction controller 678 to The airflow E1 around the vane 670 is generated around the inner end 672 of the .

As described above, the outer end 673 of the blade 670 is the end relatively far from the pivot portion 677 of the blade 670 and the inner end 672 of the blade 670 is the end relatively close to the pivot portion 677 of the blade 670 . Furthermore, when the vane 670 is closed, the outer end 673 is further from the inlet 30 than the inner end 672 .

The airflow from the inside of the outlet 40 toward the outer end 673 of the vane 670 is more inclined, and the airflow toward the inner end 673 of the vane 670 is less inclined.

In FIG. 23 , the vane air direction controller 678 may direct the air exhausted through the gap G1 between the cover plate 620 and the inner end 672 of the vane 670 in a direction around the vane 670 .

The air exhausted through the gap G1 may flow from the inner end portion 672 of the vane 670 toward the center portion along the outer side 675b of the vane body 671 . The airflow E1 directed by the vane air direction controller 678 to surround the vanes 670 may hinder and slow down the air discharge flow DA exiting through the through holes 674 .

In addition, the airflow E1 around the blades 670 can block the blades 670 from being affected by the hot and humid external air, thus suppressing the dew condensation phenomenon on the blades 670 .

The vane air direction controller 678 may be formed at the inner end 672 of the vane 670 as a face that is concavely curved toward the pivot portion 677 , which is the pivot center of the vane 670 .

The air that has passed through the gap G1 may approach the vane 670 due to the vane air direction controller 678 and may flow to the center portion of the vane 670 along the outer side 675b of the vane body 671 according to the Coanda effect.

With the structure of the outlet according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a smaller amount of air flows to the outer end 673 than to the inner end 672, and thus the air passing through the through hole 674 formed near the outer end 673 may have a smaller amount of air than to the inner end 672. The velocity of the air passing through the through hole 674 formed near the inner end 672 is low. Furthermore, due to the temperature difference, more dew condensation may occur around the outer end 673 than around the inner end 672 .

In order to decelerate the air discharge flow around the inner end 672 to effectively generate still air flow while suppressing dew condensation on the blades 670 around the outer end 673 , the through holes 674 may be formed to face outward as they move away from the blower fan 3 The end 673 is inclined. Accordingly, the velocity and amount of air exhausted toward inner end 672 may be reduced, effectively creating a still air flow, and the velocity and amount of air exhausted toward outer end 673 may be increased, minimizing dew condensation.

When the vane 670 of the air conditioner 600 installed horizontally on the ceiling is closed, the inclination axis T (see FIG. 22 ) of the through hole 674 may form an angle θ3 with the vertical line V, and the angle θ3 ranges between about 5 to 45 degrees Inside. Preferably, the angle θ3 may be about 25 degrees.

Reference numeral 675a denotes the inner side of the blade body 671 .

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the air conditioner may discharge air in various ways by making the direction, speed and/or amount of the air different.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may generate still air to prevent unwanted cooling due to cold airflow in a residential interior space.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the airflow discharged through the outlet may be directed to the blade to suppress a dew condensation phenomenon on the blade.

Several embodiments have been described above, but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the actual scope of technical protection is limited only by the claims.

Claims (14)

1. An air conditioner comprising: enclosures, mounted on or embedded in the ceiling; a cover plate coupled to the lower portion of the housing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; a blower fan configured to draw air into the housing via the inlet and exhaust air out of the housing via the outlet; and a single vane configured to open or cover the outlet, the vane including a vane body and a plurality of through holes formed in the vane body to control discharge from the housing via the outlet when the vane covers the outlet air, wherein the air conditioner is configured to operate in each of the following modes: a still air mode in which the vane covers the outlet such that air flows through the plurality of through holes; a long airflow mode in which the vanes open the outlet to allow air to flow out of the outlet along the ceiling; and a normal mode in which the vanes open the outlet to allow flow down away from the ceiling, wherein the cover plate includes an edge proximate the outlet, the blade body includes an inner end portion and an outer end portion, the outer end portion being relatively remote from the pivot portion of the blade, and In the still air mode, the outer end covers the edge of the cover plate. 2. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the cover plate includes a guide forming the outlet, the guide extending from an upstream end of the outlet to a downstream end of the outlet, wherein the guide includes a first guide surface arranged to guide air in a first direction and a second guide arranged to change the first direction of the air guided by the first guide surface to a second direction face, and wherein the second direction is more nearly parallel to the ceiling than the first direction. 3. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein the first guide surface is formed as a curved surface and the second guide surface is formed as a flat surface. 4. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein the first guide surface is formed to have a smaller inclination angle of a tangent at a portion of the first guide surface farther from the blower fan. 5. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein the second guide surface is formed parallel to the ceiling. 6. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein the second guide surface is formed to be more inclined at a portion of the second guide surface farther from the blower fan. 7 . The air conditioner according to claim 2 , wherein the first guide surface and the second guide surface are formed as planes, and the second guide surface has an inclination angle smaller than that of the first guide surface. 8 . 8. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the vanes further comprise: a coupling rib protruding from the blade body, and wherein the outer end is at a greater distance from the inlet than the inner end. 9. The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein the thickness of the outer end portion is smaller than the thickness of the inner end portion. 10. The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein the blade body has a portion whose thickness increases in a direction from the outer end portion toward the inner end portion. 11. The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein among the plurality of through holes, a through hole away from the blower fan is formed to be inclined toward the outer end. 12. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the cover plate includes a panel outlet having a plurality of panel through holes for discharging air out of the housing. 13. The air conditioner of claim 12, further comprising: a panel discharge flow channel configured to guide air to the panel outlet and an opening/closing member configured to open and close the panel discharge flow channel. 14. The air conditioner of claim 13, wherein the opening/closing member is configured to operate by cooperating with the operation of the vane.

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