AU779217B2 - Indoor unit for air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

-1- P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dong Soo MOON, In Hwa JUNG and Moon Kee CHUNG Freehills Carter Smith Beadle 101 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia INDOOR UNIT FOR AIR CONDITIONERS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us INDOOR UNIT FOR AIR CONDITIONERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to an air conditioner for processing sucked air and supplying processed air so as to keep room air in a comfortable condition, and particularly to the indoor unit for air conditioners in which a plurality of cross flow fans are arranged side by side and an easily connectable coolant piping is provided.

oO° °o .Description of the Prior Art In general, room air conditioners may be classified into a packaged type and a split type.

Although the packaged type and the split type have the same function, the packaged type allows a cooling function and a radiating function to be embodied in a single unit and is mounted in an opening formed in a wall, whereas the split type 20 causes a cooling unit to be disposed in a room, a radiating •and compressing unit to be disposed out of the room and the two units to be connected by coolant piping.

Such air conditioners each comprise an indoor unit for performing a cooling function, an outdoor unit for performing radiation and compression functions, and coolant piping for connecting the indoor and outdoor units to each other.

Figs. 1 to 4 are views showing the indoor unit for split type air conditioners in accordance with a conventional art.

The conventional indoor unit includes a front housing 1A that is provided with an air inlet I and an air outlet 0 to allow air to flow through the indoor unit. A rear housing lB is attached to the rear of the front housing 1A. A cross flow fan 3 is mounted in the front and rear housings 1A and IB, and serves to force air to flow so as to cause air to be sucked through the air inlet I and to be exhausted through the air '-outlet O. A heat exchanger 5 is positioned in front of the cross flow fan 3, and serves to cool air moved by the cross flow fan 3 through heat exchange with a coolant.

Additionally, a passage guide 7 is attached to the rear housing 7 to form a passage for air moved by the cross flow eeeoe Sfan 3. A motor 9 and a control box 10 are situated beside the cross flow fan 3 to operate the cross flow fan 3. A vane 11 and a louver 13 are situated in the vicinity of the air outlet 0 to adjust the direction of exhausted air moved along the S 20 passage guide 7.

S"A drain plate 15 is positioned under the heat exchanger to collect water, which forms on the surface of the heat exchanger 5 and flows down. A drain hose 17 is connected to the drain plate 15 to discharge the water collected on the drain plate 15 to the outside.

In such a conventional indoor unit for air conditioners, air in a room sucked through the air inlet I is cooled through heat exchange with the coolant while passing through the heat exchanger 5, and cooled air passes through the cross flow fan 3, moved to the air outlet 0 along the passage guide 7 and is exhausted to the interior of the room.

However, the conventional indoor unit employing a single cross flow fan 3 has a shortcoming, in that difficulty in design, damage or operation failure may occur because the lengths of the cross flow fan 3 and the heat exchanger ".should be increased if the indoor unit is designed to be applied to a large-capacity air conditioner. That is, if the length of the cross flow fan 3 is increased excessively, the cross flow fan 3 is difficult to fabricate, and is deflected at its center portion and damaged due to its own weight.

Additionally, a lengthy cross flow fan 3 is unstable when in operation and may be damaged by being brought into contact *with the passage guide 7.

In the meantime, branch pipes 19 connected to the inlet 20 and outlet of the heat exchanger 5, as depicted in Fig. 4, are connected to coolant piping 14 through a branch connector 12.

Accordingly, in order to mount the heat exchanger 5 in the housings iA and IB, the heat exchanger 5 should be placed over the cross flow fan 3 after the coolant piping 14 is inserted into the space behind a shaft connecting the cross flow fan 3 and the motor 9. Thereafter, the coolant piping 14 is situated inside of the rear housing lB by bending the coolant 14 along a groove formed on the lower portion of the rear housing 1B, thereby finishing the mounting of the heat exchanger However, in the conventional indoor unit, for the mounting of the heat exchanger 5, the branch connector 12 and the coolant piping 14 must be inserted into the space behind the shaft connecting the cross flow fan 3 and the motor 9 while being connected to each other, and so the mounting of the heat exchanger 5 is considerably inconvenient.

Additionally, when a person mounts the heat exchanger in the housings 1A and lB alone, the heat exchanger 5 is easy o .e* to drop because the mounting of the heat exchanger 5 is difficult, thereby damaging the fins of the heat exchanger S"The above-described problems are increased in the case of large-capacity air conditioners because the radiating area of each heat exchanger 5 is enlarged. If the radiating area of the heat exchanger 5 is enlarged, four or more branch pipes 19 20 should be provided to reduce the pressure loss of coolant, and a cylindrical branch connector of a large diameter, for example, larger than 5/8" should be employed. Accordingly, the placement of the branch pipe 19 and the branch connectorr 12 within the space behind the shaft becomes increasingly difficult. As a result, two or more persons are required to o004568818 mount the heat exchanger 5 to the housings 1A and 1B, so that the assembly and mass production of the indoor unit is difficult.

Summary of the invention Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art. It would be desirable for the present invention to provide an indoor unit for air conditioners in which a plurality of cross flow fans are arranged side by side, thereby allowing an indoor unit for large-capacity air conditioners to be easily fabricated.

It would also be desirable for the present invention to provide an indoor unit for air conditioners, which is capable of allowing the lengthy cross flow fan of the indoor unit for large-capacity air conditioners to be stably operated.

*e It would also be desirable for the present invention to provide an indoor unit for air conditioners, which allows its branch pipes connected to its heat exchanger to be connected to its branch connector in the space defined by the side of its housing, the motor and the control box, thereby causing the heat exchanger to be easily mounted to the housing and thus facilitating the assembly of the indoor unit.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an indoor unit for air conditioners, comprising a plurality of cross flow fans arranged side by side for sucking air into the indoor unit and exhausting air out of the indoor unit, a motor for operating the cross flow fans, power transmitting means disposed between the cross fans for transmitting the rotating force of one cross flow fan directly connected to the motor to the other cross flow fans, and a housing enclosing the cross flow fans, the motor and the power transmitting means; and an indoor unit for air conditioners, comprising: a plurality of cross flow fans arranged side by side for sucking air into the indoor unit and exhausting air out of the indoor unit; a motor for operating said cross flow fans; 004568818 6 power transmitting means disposed between said cross fans for transmitting the rotating force of one cross flow fan directly connected to said motor to the other cross flow fans; a housing enclosing said cross flow fans, said motor and said power transmitting means; and partition means for preventing a plurality of air flows formed by the rotation of the cross flow fans from interfering with one another, wherein said partition means comprises a plate portion and right and left flange portions, said plate portion being situated between said cross flow fans to face the inner ends of said cross flow fans and having a slightly larger diameter than that of said cross flow fans, said right and left flange portions being each projected from the peripheral portion of the side surface of said plate portion toward said cross flow fan to surround the inner end portions of the cross flow fans.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides an indoor unit for air conditioners, comprising: a plurality of cross flow fans arranged side by side for sucking air into the indoor unit and exhausting air out of the indoor unit; a motor for operating said cross flow fans; 20 power transmitting means disposed between said cross fans for transmitting the :20 rotating force of one cross flow fan directly connected to said motor to the other cross S* flow fans; a housing enclosing said cross flow fans, said motor and said power transmitting means; and partition means for preventing a plurality of air flows formed by the rotation of the cross flow fans from interfering with one another; wherein said partition means includes a rear plate portion, a front plate portion and two flange portions, said rear plate portion being semicircular-shaped, integrated with a rear housing and situated between said cross flow fans to face inner ends of said cross flow fans, said front plate portion having a semicircular shape symmetrical with 00'4568818 6A the rear plate portion and being attached to said rear plate portion, said flange portions being each projected from peripheral portions of side surfaces of said rear and front plate portions toward one of said cross flow fans to surround an inner end portion of the cross flow fan.

Brief description of the drawings The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a cut-away front view showing a conventional indoor unit for split type air t. 10 conditioners; oo* *0 0 0 e oooo Fig. 2 is a front sectional view showing the inner structure of the conventional indoor unit; Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing the inner structure of the conventional indoor unit; Fig. 4 is an enlarged front sectional view showing a portion of the inner structure of the conventional indoor unit; Fig. 5 is a front sectional view showing the inner structure of an indoor unit for split type air conditioners in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing a portion of Fig. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showing the principal portion of the inner structure of an indoor unit for air conditioners in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; S"Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view showing a partition shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is an exploded view showing the indoor unit of an air conditioner in accordance with a third embodiment of the 20 present invention; Fig. 10 is a front sectional view showing a portion of the indoor unit for air conditioners in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 11 is another front sectional view showing a portion of the indoor for air conditioners in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 12 is a side sectional view of Fig. 11; and Figs. 13A to 13C are perspective views showing various branch connectors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components. The descriptions of previously described components will be omitted.

Fig. 5 is a front view showing the inner structure of an indoor unit for air conditioners in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is an enlarged oooeo view showing a portion of Fig. The indoor unit in accordance with the first embodiment comprises two cross flow fans 21 and 22 arranged side by side to suck and exhaust air, a motor 30 connected to one of the cross flow fans 22, and power transmitting means situated between the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to transmit the rotating force of one cross flow fan 22 to the other cross flow fan 21.

The power transmitting means consists of a shaft connecting the cross flow fans 21 and 22, and is rotatably fitted into a bearing 41. The bearing 41 is fixedly attached a rear housing 1B through a bracket 42 secured to the rear housing lB.

An air guide 50 having a triangular cross-section is positioned in front of the space between the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to function as partitioning means for preventing two airflows formed by the two cross flow fans 21 and 22 from intervening with each other.

An indoor unit for air conditioners in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

depicted in Fig. 7, the indoor unit of the second embodiment includes partition means. The partition means is comprised of a partition 60. The partition 60 includes a plate portion 61 that is situated between the two cross flow fans 21 and 22 to face the inner ends of the cross flow fans S21 and 22 and has a diameter slightly larger than that of the cross flow fans 21 and 22. Right and left flange portions 63 and 62 are each projected from the peripheral portion of the side surface of the plate portion 61 toward the cross flow fan 21 or 22 so as to surround the inner end portions of the cross flow fans 21 or 22.

A bearing 53 is mounted around a shaft 40 connecting the cross flow fans 21 and 22. T h e earig 3 i p r. by a bearing mount 57 secured to the rear housing lB. A bearing seat recess 66 is formed on the plate portion 61 of the partition 60 so as to accommodate the bearing mount 57 to allow the partition 60 to be secured to the rear housing lB by bolts 59 in a state in which the partition 60 covers the bearing mount 57.

A passage separating portion 65 is projected downward from the plate portion 61 of the partition 60 so as to separate two air passages to prevent two air flows caused by the two cross flow fans 21 and 22 from being mixed with each other while the air flows are moved along a passage guide 7 attached to the rear housing lB.

heat exchanger support portion 67 may be added to the plate portion 61 to support the heat exchanger 5 situated in front of the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to cool air. The heat exchanger support portion 67 serves to support the heat exchanger 5 to prevent the central portion of the heat exchanger 5 lengthened to correspond with the cross flow fans 21 and 22 from being downwardly deflected due to the heat exchanger's own weight. The heat exchanger support portion 67 should be designed to obstruct the cross flow fans 21 and 22 20 as little as possible, so that the heat exchanger support portion 67 can support the heat exchanger 5 while not deteriorating the performance of the heat transfer of the heat exchanger Reference numeral 64 designates bolt holes, which are formed on the plate portion 61 of the partition 60 to secure the partition 60 by means of the bolts 59 to the bearing mount 57 fixed to the rear housing In the indoor units according to the first and second embodiments, air in a room is sucked through the air inlet I, and the sucked air is cooled through heat exchange with coolant while passing through the heat exchanger Thereafter, the air cooled by the heat exchanger is moved to the air outlet O along the passage guide after passing through the cross flow fans 21 and 22. In such a case, since the guide 50 or the partition 60 is situated between the cross flow fans 21 and 22, so that air flows formed by the flow fans 21 and 22 do not interfere with each other, thereby stabilizing the air flows of the indoor unit and minimizing o *o.

the noise in the indoor unit. If the air guide 50 or the partition 60 is not situated between the cross flow fans 21 Sand 22, a three-dimensional flow effect is increased between the cross flow fans 21 and 22, thereby causing the air flows to be unstable and causing air to be sucked to the space between the cross flow fans 21 and 22. Finally, the air moved 20 to the air outlet is exhausted back into the room through the air outlet, thus cooling the room.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view showing an indoor unit for air conditioners in accordance with a third embodiment f the present invention.

The indoor unit according to the third embodiment has a partition means. The partition means includes a rear plate portion 61A, which has a semicircular shape, integrated with the rear housing lB and situated between the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to face the inner ends of the cross flow fans 21 and 22. A front plate portion 61B has a semicircular shape symmetrical with the rear plate portion 61A and is attached to the rear plate portion 61A by means of bolts Two flange portions 63A and 62A are each projected from the peripheral portions of the side surfaces of the rear and front plate portions 61A and 61B toward one of the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to surround the inner end portion of the cross flow fan 21 or 22.

A bearing 53 is fitted around a shaft 40 connecting the cross flow fans 21 and 22. A rear bearing seat recess 69A and 15 a front bearing seat recess 69B are formed on the rear plate oo oo, portion 61A and the front plate portion 61B, respectively, to allow the bearing 53 to be seated and supported in the seat recesses 69A and 69B.

Two passage separating portions 65A and 65B are each projected downward from one of the plate portions 61A and 61B so as to separate two air passages to prevent two air flows caused by the two cross flow fans 21 and 22 from being mixed with each other while the air flows are moved along a passage guide 7 attached to the rear housing lB.

Additionally, a heat exchanger support portion 67 is added to the front plate portion 61B to support a heat exchanger (not shown in Fig. 9) situated in front of the cross flow fans 21 and 22 to cool the air.

The rear plate portion 61A, the rear flange portion 63A and the rear passage separating portion 65A constitute a rear partition member 60A, while the front plate portion 61B, the rear flange portion 63B, the rear passage separating portion and the heat exchanger support portion 67 constitute a front partition member In the indoor unit according to the third embodiment, ".since the partition means is divided into the rear and front partition members 60A and 60B and the rear partition member 60A is integrated with the rear housing 1B, the flange

OO

portions 63A and 63B surrounding the inner end portions of the 6 of cross flow fans 21 and 22 can each form a full circle in 0ee.00 comparison with the indoor unit according to the second o 0 'egg embodiment, thereby enhancing the function of the flange portions 63A and 63B and keeping the front partition member 0000 000060B secured to the rear partition member In addition, the indoor unit according to the third embodiment is assembled in such a way that the two cross flow fans 21 and 22 are mounted on the rear housing 1B, the front partition me-ber GOB is secured to the rear partition memer situated between the cross flow fans 21 and 22, and the heat exchanger 5 is disposed over the front partition member thereby facilitating the assembly of the indoor unit and thus facilitating the production of the indoor unit.

An indoor unit for air conditioners according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. to 12.

As shown in Figs. 10 to 12, the indoor unit according to the fourth embodiment includes a front housing 1A that is provided with an air inlet I and an air outlet O. A rear housing lB is attached to the rear of the front housing 1A. A plurality of cross flow fans 3 are mounted in the front and rear housings 1A and lB. A heat exchanger 5 is positioned in o •front of the cross flow fans 3, and serves to cool air moved by the cross flow fans 3 through heat exchange with a coolant.

A motor 9 and a control box 10 are situated beside the cross flow fans 3 to operate the cross flow fan 3. A plurality of coolant supply and discharge branch pipes 190 connected to the heat exchange 5 are extended to pass through the motor 9 and the control box 10, and connected to coolant piping 140 by a branch connector 120 situated in the space defined by the S 20 motor 9, the control box 10 and the front and rear housings 1A and lB.

A drain plate 80 is positioned under the heat exchanger to collect water, which forms on the surf- f th heat exchanger 5 and flows down. A drain hose 17 is connected to the drain plate 80 to discharge the water collected on the drain plate 80 to the outside.

In the indoor unit for air conditioners according to the fourth embodiment, the control box 10 is situated to be near the cross flow fan 3, so as to allow a space to be formed defined by the front and rear housings LA and IB, the motor 9 and the control box 10 and to situate the branch pipes 190, the branch connector 120 and the coolant piping 140 within the space.

That is, if a sufficient space is defined by the rear housing lB, the motor 9 and the control box 10 by situating the motor 9 and the control box 10 to be near the cross flow fan 3, one end of each branch pipe 190, one end of the branch connector 120 and one end of the coolant piping 140 are situated within the space.

When there are four or more branch pipes 190, a branch ["pipe type branch connector 120A shown in Fig. 13A cannot be employed, but a cylindrically shaped branch barrel type branch connector 120B shown in Fig. 13B and a cylindrically shaped header type branch connector 120C of a large diameter and a S 20 great length shown in Fig. 13C and are chiefly employed, thereby requiring a large space for mounting.

When the large space defined by the housings lA and ib, tilhe motor 9 and the control box 10 is utilized, a tubing operation in which the branch pipes 190 and the coolant piping 140 are connected to the branch connector 120 can be easily performed, and the heat exchanger 5 can be mounted by simply laying the heat exchanger 5 on the cross flow fan 3, thus facilitating the assembly and mass production of the indoor unit.

Additionally, the diameter of the bend in the coolant piping 140 can be increased to minimize pressure loss in the coolant piping 140, and a large-capacity indoor unit can be easily assembled to allow a single person to assemble such a large-capacity indoor unit.

In the indoor unit according to the fourth embodiment, a o water guide plate 70, as shown in Fig. 12, is positioned in the space defined by the motor 9, the control box 10 and the branch pipes 190 so as to prevent water forming on the branch S"pipes 190 from dropping onto the motor 9 and the control box 5 Additionally, the drain plate 80 is positioned under the heat exchanger 5 to collect water that forms on the outer surface of the heat exchanger 5 and flows down. The drain plate 80 is extended to a position under the water guide plate 20 70. A drain hose 17 is connected to the drain plate 80 to discharge the water.

When the water guide plate 70 is disposed as described above, water dropping off the branch pipes 190 is moved downward along the water guide plate 70, collected on the drain plate 80 and discharged through the drain hose 17 to the outside. Accordingly, the occurrence of a breakdown, such as a short circuit caused by the water, in the motor 9 and the control box 10 can be prevented.

In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of cross flow fans are arranged side by side, so that the cross flow fans can be easily mounted in a lengthy indoor unit for large-capacity air conditioners, are not deflected and are stable in their operations. Additionally, branch pipes connected to a heat exchanger, a branch connector and coolant piping are connected to one another utilizing the space defined by the indoor unit, the motor and the control box of the indoor unit, so that the assembly of the indoor unit is easily performed, thereby facilitating the assembly and mass production of the indoor unit.

15 Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the 20 accompanying claims.

Claims (9)

1. An indoor unit for air conditioners, comprising: a plurality of cross flow fans arranged side by side for sucking air into the indoor unit and exhausting air out of the indoor unit; a motor for operating said cross flow fans; power transmitting means disposed between said cross fans for transmitting the rotating force of one cross flow fan directly connected to said motor to the other cross flow fans; a housing enclosing said cross flow fans, said motor and said power transmitting means; and partition means for preventing a plurality of air flows formed by the rotation of the cross flow fans from interfering with one another, .0o o •wherein said partition means comprises a plate portion and right and left flange portions, said plate portion being situated between said cross flow fans to face the inner ends of said cross flow fans and having a slightly larger diameter than that of said cross flow fans, said right and left flange portions being each projected from the peripheral portion of the side surface of said plate portion toward said cross flow fan to surround 0.0 the inner end portions of the cross flow fans. **00 e

2. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein said power transmitting •:20 means is comprised of a shaft connecting said cross flow fans to one another.

3. The indoor unit according to claim 2, wherein said shaft is fitted into a bearing secured to said housing.

4. The indoor unit according to claims 1, wherein said partition means is a guide plate for guiding air flows formed by said cross flow fans.

5. The indoor unit according to claim 1, further comprising a bearing, a bearing mount and a bearing seat recess, said bearing being mounted around a shaft connecting said cross flow fans, said bearing mount being secured to a rear housing and supporting said bearing, said bearing seat recess being formed on said plate 004568818 19 portion so as to accommodate said bearing mount to allow said partition means to be secured to said rear housing in a state in which said partition means covers said bearing mount.

6. An indoor unit for air conditioners, comprising: a plurality of cross flow fans arranged side by side for sucking air into the indoor unit and exhausting air out of the indoor unit; a motor for operating said cross flow fans; power transmitting means disposed between said cross fans for transmitting the rotating force of one cross flow fan directly connected to said motor to the other cross flow fans; a housing enclosing said cross flow fans, said motor and said power transmitting means; and :partition means for preventing a plurality of air flows formed by the rotation of the cross flow fans from interfering with one another; wherein said partition means includes a rear plate portion, a front plate portion and two flange portions, said rear plate portion being semicircular-shaped, integrated with a rear housing and situated between said cross flow fans to face inner ends of said cross flow fans, said front plate portion having a semicircular shape symmetrical with the rear plate portion and being attached to said rear plate portion, said flange portions being each projected from peripheral portions of side surfaces of said rear and front plate portions toward one of said cross flow fans to surround an inner end portion of the cross flow fan.

7. The indoor unit according to claim 6, further comprising a bearing fitting around a shaft connecting said cross flow fans, wherein a rear bearing seat recess and a front bearing sear recess are formed on said rear plate portion and said front plate portion, respectively, to allow said bearing to be seated and supported in the seat recesses.

8. The indoor unit according to claim 1 or 6, further comprising a heat exchanger support portion, said heat exchanger support portion being added to said 004568818 front plate portion and supporting said heat exchanger situated in front of said cross flow fans to cool the air.

9. The indoor unit according to claim 1 or 6, further comprising two passage separating portions, said passage separating portions being respectively projected downward from said plate portions so as to separate two air passages to prevent two air flows caused by the two cross flow fans from being mixed with each other while the air flows are being moved along a passage guide attached-to the rear housing. An indoor unit for an air conditioner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to accompanying drawings 5 to 13. LG Electronics Inc. By Freehills Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Registered Patent Attorneys for the Applicant 12 November 2004 1