AU727211B2

AU727211B2 - Blow outlet structure of air conditioner

Info

Publication number: AU727211B2
Application number: AU40315/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Yoshiyuki Funagoshi; Kenji Koreeda; Yasushi Yamashita
Original assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
Priority date: 1996-09-11
Filing date: 1997-08-28
Publication date: 2000-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 2017-08-28
Also published as: JP2993436B2; WO1998011392A1; JPH1089759A; CN1200800A; TW364050B; AU4031597A; CN1122789C

Description

P:XOPERUPN40313-97 258 spe.doc-14 Septeabff. 2000 -1- BLOW OUTLET STRUCTURE OF AIR CONDITIONER The present invention relates to a blow outlet structure of an air conditioner having a horizontal flap which swings in a vertical direction at the blow outlet.

An example of a conventional air conditioner is shown in Fig. 5, in which a heat exchanger 42 and a fan 43 are provided in a casing 41. Air taken in by the fan 43 10 from a suction inlet 44 via the heat exchanger 42 is blown out of a blow outlet 50 and the direction of the blown air is changed by a horizontal flap 51 which swings in the vertical direction. In this air conditioner blow outlet structure, the horizontal flap 51 is directed upward in a cooling operation so that cold air is directed upward, and the horizontal flap 51 is directed downward in a heating operation so that hot air is directed downward. Then, at an operation stop time, the horizontal flap 51 is made to pivot in the direction of arrow R4, so that the blow outlet 50 is 20 closed.

However, according to the above air conditioner blow outletstructure, for the purpose of securing the swing orbit of the horizontal flap 51, a gap is generated between the upper edge of the blow outlet 50 and the horizontal flap 51 at the operation stop time due to the structure of a drain pan 45 placed below the heat exchanger 42, and this disadvantageously leads to a spoiled appearance.

Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention seeks to provide an air conditioner blow outlet structure capable of completely closing the blow outlet at an operation stop time, thereby ensuring a good appearance and developing the comfort of the occupants of the room P!\OPERUPN\40313.97 258 spe.dom-I4 Senoebc. 2000 -2being air-conditioned by improving the air flow in the cooling and heating operation.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner blow outlet structure having a horizontal flap which rotates in a vertical direction at a blow outlet, said structure including an air flow control member provided above the blow outlet, wherein the air flow control member moves downward at an operation stop time so as to completely close the blow outlet in cooperation with the horizontal flap, the air flow control member moves upward when the horizontal flap rotates in a cooling operation so that cold air blowing from the blow outlet is directed upward, the air flow control member moves downward when the horizontal flap rotates in a heating operation so that hot air blowing from the blow outlet is directed downward, the air flow control member is substantially L-shaped in cross-section, and the air flow control member is able to be retracted from the blow outlet into a main body.

20 According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blow outlet can be completely closed without any gap by the horizontal flap and the air flow control member by moving down the air flow control member at the operation stop time, not spoiling the appearance at the operation stop time. Furthermore, the upward movement of the air flow control member in the cooling operation facilitates the upward blowing of cold air so that the whole room can be cooled with reduced unevenness. The downward movement of the air flow control member in the heating operation facilitates the downward blowing of hot air so S that the hot air reaches the lower region in the room, thus S~preventing to some extent the warm air from moving up. With P:\OPERUPN%40315-97 258 spedoc-14 Septeb. rX -3the above arrangements, the air flow in the cooling and heating operation is improved, thereby developing the comfort of the occupants of the room being air-conditioned.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner blow outlet structure including a cam gear having a gear portion and a cam portion connected coaxially to an output shaft of a motor; a flap gear which is meshed with the gear portion 10 of the cam gear and connected coaxially to a horizontal flap shaft mounted to the horizontal flap; and a link mechanism which rotates an air flow control member shaft mounted to the air flow control member according to rotation of the cam gear so as to make the air *o• o *oo* *o o* 4 flow control member pivot around the air flow control member shaft, thereby moving the air flow control member in the vertical direction, and wherein the cam portion of the cam gear has a configuration such that the air flow control member pivots downward when the horizontal flap rotates at the operation stop time so that the blow outlet is closed, the air flow control member pivots upward when the horizontal flap rotates in the cooling operation so that the cold air blowing from the blow outlet is directed upward and the air flow control member pivots downward when the horizontal flap rotates in the heating operation so that the hot air blowing from the blow outlet is directed downward.

In the above embodiment, when the motor is driven, the cam gear whose gear portion is connected to the output shaft of the motor rotates, and the horizontal flap gear shaft meshed with the gear portion of the cam rotates to make the horizontal flap vertically pivot around the horizontal flap shaft. Then, the air flow control member shaft is made to pivot by the link mechanism according to the rotation of the cam portion of the cam gear as interlocked with the horizontal flap, thereby vertically moving the air flow control member. When the horizontal flap is made to pivot so that the blow outlet is closed at the operation stop time based on the cam configuration of the cam portion of the cam gear, the air flow control member is made to pivot downward. When the horizontal flap is made to pivot in the cooling operation so that the cold air is directed upward, the air flow control member is made to pivot upward based on the cam configuration. When the horizontal flap is made to pivot in the heating operation so that the hot air is directed downward, the air flow control member is made to pivot downward based on the cam configuration. Accordingly, the vertical movement of the air flow control member is easily performed according to the movement of the horizontal flap by means of the cam ooooo gear, the flap gear and the link mechanism, and therefore, a low-cost air conditioner blow outlet structure can be provided with a simple structure.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now :be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an air conditioner blow outlet structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the air conditioner blow outlet structure shown in Fig. 1, in a cooling operation; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the air conditioner blow outlet structure shown in Fig. 1, in a heating operation; Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a drive mechanism for a horizontal flap and an upper diffuser of the air-conditioner blow outlet structure shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a prior art airconditioner blow outlet structure.

P:\OPERUPNW0315-97 258 qpm.doc-l4 Scmbar. 2t00 -6- The air conditioner shown in Fig. 1 is preferably installed in an elevated position on a wall surface inside a room and operates to blow, by means of an air blow fan, conditioned air conditioned by an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), from a blow outlet 10 located in a lower front position.

As shown in Fig. 1, there is provided a drain pan 1 below which a blow outlet 10 is formed, a front panel 2 mounted on the front side of an upper portion of the drain 10 pan 1, a plurality of flap support plates 3 (only one plate is shown in Fig. 1) provided approximately vertically in the blow outlet 10 of the drain pan 1, a horizontal flap 4 which is pivotally supported by an arm 3a that is obliquely *o extending forwardly downwardly from the flap support plate 3, and an upper diffuser 5, in the form of an air flow control member which is substantially L-shaped in crosssection, supported pivotally above the blow outlet 10 of the drain pan 1.

%9 0 1 0 9. 9 ioooo -7- Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a drive mechanism for the horizontal flap 4 and the upper diffuser where a mounting base 6 for mounting a light receiving section (not shown) on one side wall la of the drain pan 1 is fixed by means of screws 31 and 31 to bosses 32 and 32 protruding outwardly from the one side wall la of the drain pan i. Further, a horizontal flap shaft 16 is fixed to a bracket 17 provided at one end of the horizontal flap 4, and the horizontal flap shaft 16 is rotatably fitted in a fitting hole 35 provided at the side wall la of the drain 15 pan 1. A tip end portion 15a of a flap gear 15 is inserted and fitted in a fitting hole 16a of the horizontal flap shaft 16, and the horizontal flap shaft 16 and the flap 0000 Vo gear 15 are connected coaxially to each other. A shaft portion 14b provided in a position eccentric to the center 20 of a cam casing 14 is fitted in a fitting hole 15b provided oooo on the side opposite to the tip end portion 15a of the flap 0000 gear 15, so that the flap gear 15 is rotatably supported by the shaft portion 14b of the cam casing 14. Then, the flap gear 15 is meshed with a gear portion 13b of a cam gear 13 whose cam portion 13a is sandwiched between the cam casing 8 14 and a cam casing cover 12. A cylindrical fitting portion 13c is provided on the side opposite to the gear portion 13b of the cam gear 13, and an output shaft lla of a stepping motor 11 is fitted in the fitting portion 13c, thereby coaxially connecting the fitting portion 13c to the output shaft 1la of the stepping motor 11. On the other hand, a cylindrical shaft portion 13d provided at the tip end of the gear portion 13b of the cam gear 13 is rotatably fitted in a fitting hole 36 provided at the side wall la of the drain pan 1.

An outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical portion 21a formed at an end of a link 21 comes in sliding contact with the cam surface of the cam portion 13a of the cam gear 13, and an end of an arm 22 is pivotally connected to the other end of the link 21. A cylindrical portion 22a is provided at the other end of the arm 22, and the cylindrical portion 22a is rotatably fitted in a fitting hole 37 provided at the side wall la of the drain pan i.

Then, an upper diffuser shaft 24 provided at an end of the upper diffuser 5 is fitted and fixed in a fitting hole (not shown) provided at the cylindrical portion 22a of the arm 22. Although not shown, the other end of the upper diffuser 5 is similarly provided with an upper diffuser shaft to pivotally support the upper diffuser 5 at both ends. The arm 22 is urged in a counterclockwise direction 9 in Fig. 1 by a link spring 23 fitted to the cylindrical portion 22a of the arm 22. Both ends of the cylindrical portion 21a of the link 21 are guided by an elongated hole 12a provided at the cam casing cover 12 and an elongated hole 14a provided at the cam casing 14.

The motor 11, cam casing cover 12 and cam casing 14 are mounted by means of screws 33 and 33 to bosses 34 and 34 which are provided on the side wall la of the drain pan 1 and protrude outwardly. It is to be noted that the horizontal flap 4 is provided with a plurality of brackets 19 (only one bracket is shown in Fig. 4) which are rotatably supported by a pin 18 to the arm 3a of the flap support plate 3 shown in Fig. 1.

In the air conditioner blow outlet structure having the above construction, the cylindrical portion 21a of the link 21 comes in sliding contact with the minimumdiameter cam surface of the cam portion 13a of the cam gear 13 in an operation stop state (see Fig. 1) so as to be positioned at the lowermost points of the elongated hole 12a of the cam casing cover 12 and the elongated hole 14a of the cam casing 14, on the shaft side of the cam gear 13.

In starting the cooling operation from the operation stop state, when the motor 11 is driven and the cam gear 13 is rotated clockwise, the flap gear 15 meshed 10 with the gear portion 13b of the cam gear 13 rotates counterclockwise, and the horizontal flap 4 rotates in the direction of arrow R1 shown in Fig. 2, making the blade plane of the horizontal flap 4 approximately horizontal.

At this time, the cylindrical portion 21a of the link 21 comes in sliding contact with the maximum-diameter cam surface of the cam portion 13a of the cam gear 13 by the clockwise rotation of the cam gear 13 so as to move to the uppermost points of the elongated hole 12a of the cam casing cover 12 and the elongated hole 14a of the cam casing 14, to the side opposite to the shaft of the cam gear 13. Then, the arm 22 is rotated clockwise by a driving force transmitted via the link 21, thereby rotating clockwise the upper diffuser shaft 24 against the urging force of the link spring 23, making the upper diffuser pivot in the direction of arrow R2 shown in Fig. 2 and widening the upper side of the blow outlet 10. Thus, the blade plane of the horizontal flap 4 is made to be approximately horizontal, and the upper diffuser 5 is moved upward and retracted in the main body, thereby making upward the direction in which cold air blows from the blow outlet In starting the heating operation from the operation stop state shown in Fig. 1, when the motor 11 is driven and the cam gear 13 is rotated counterclockwise, the 11 flap gear 15 meshed with the gear portion 13b of the cam gear 13 rotates clockwise to make the horizontal flap 4 rotate in the direction of arrow R3 shown in Fig. 3, making the blade plane of the horizontal flap 4 approximately vertical. In this stage, the cylindrical portion 21a of the link 21 comes in sliding contact with the minimumdiameter cam surface of the cam portion 13a of the cam gear 13 by the counterclockwise rotation of the cam gear 13 so as to stay at the lowermost points of the elongated hole 12a of the cam casing cover 12 and the elongated hole 14a of the cam casing 14. Consequently, the link mechanism of the link 21 and the arm 22 do not move,' thereby narrowing the upper side of the blow outlet 10 with the upper diffuser 5 kept intact. Thus, the blade plane of the horizontal flap 4 is made to be approximately vertical, and the upper diffuser 5 is positioned downward to protrude from the main body, thereby making forwardly downward the direction in which hot air blows from the blow outlet When the operation is stopped from the cooling operation state shown in Fig. 2 or the heating operation state shown in Fig. 3, it is achieved to leave no gap between the upper edge of the blow outlet 10 and the horizontal flap 4 by means of the horizontal flap 4 and the upper diffuser -12- Therefore, the blow outlet 10 is completely closed by the horizontal flap 4 and the upper diffuser 5 at the operation stop time, by which the air conditioner can be aesthetically improved at the operation stop time, not having a spoiled appearance. Furthermore, it facilitates the upward blowing of cold air by moving up the upper diffuser 5 in the cooling operation and suppresses the rise of hot air by moving down the upper diffuser 5 in the heating operation, thereby allowing the air flow to be improved for developing the comfort of the occupants of the room being air-conditioned.

S" Furthermore, the vertical movement of the upper diffuser 5 is easily performed in accordance with the oo movement of the horizontal flap 4 by means of the cam gear 13, flap gear 15, link 21, arm 22 and so forth, and ooo0 therefore, a low-cost air conditioner blow outlet structure ooeo oo can be provided with a simple structure.

:Although the upper diffuser 5 which serves as the S"air flow control member is vertically moved in accordance with the movement of the horizontal flap 4 by the drive mechanism employing the cam gear 13, flap gear 15, link 21, arm 22 and so forth in the above embodiment, the drive mechanism of the air flow control member is of course not limited to this.

Although the cam gear 13 is provided by integrating the cam portion 13a with the gear portion 13b PAOPER\PM4031l-97 258 spedocl4 Sqxcnib. -13in the above embodiment, the cam gear may be replaced by a cam and a gear which are separately manufactured and connected via a shaft.

The air conditioner blow outlet structure of the present invention can be used in a wall-mount type air conditioner, a ceiling-suspension type air conditioner or the like.

S 10 Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or 9* group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any *999 other integer or group of integers.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the 20 common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims

1. An air conditioner blow outlet structure having a horizontal flap which rotates in a vertical direction at a blow outlet, said structure including an air flow control member provided above the blow outlet, wherein the air flow control member moves downward at an operation stop time so as to completely close the blow outlet in cooperation with the horizontal flap, the air flow control member moves upward when the horizontal flap rotates in a cooling operation so that cold air blowing from the blow outlet is directed upward, the air flow control member moves downward when the horizontal flap rotates in a heating operation so that hot air blowing from the blow outlet is directed downward, the air flow control member is substantially L-shaped in cross-section, and the air flow 9* control member is able to be retracted from the blow outlet into a main body.

2. An air conditioner blow outlet structure as claimed in claim 1, including: a cam gear having a gear portion and a cam portion connected coaxially to an output shaft of a motor; a flap gear which is meshed with the gear portion of the cam gear and connected coaxially to a horizontal flap shaft mounted to the horizontal flap; and a link mechanism which rotates an air flow control member shaft mounted to the air flow control member according to rotation of the cam gear so as to make the air flow control member pivot around the air flow control member '<shaft, thereby moving the air flow control member in the (iC ]ertical direction, and wherein P:AOPEPAPN40315.97 2S8 spe.dc-4 Scpwmber. 2000 the cam portion of the cam gear has a configuration such that the air flow control member pivots downward when the horizontal flap rotates at the operation stop time so that the blow outlet is closed, the air flow control member pivots upward when the horizontal flap rotates in the cooling operation so that the cold air blowing from the blow outlet is directed upward and the air flow control member pivots downward when the horizontal flap rotates in the heating operation so that the hot air blowing 10 from the blow outlet is directed downward. DATED this 14 th day of September, 2000 DAIKIN INDUSTRIES LTD. .By its Patent Attorneys: 20 DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 0