CN105980788B

CN105980788B - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: CN105980788B
Application number: CN201580008185.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李敬爱; 李昌宪; 千成德
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-02-11
Filing date: 2015-02-09
Publication date: 2019-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2035-02-09
Also published as: KR20150094255A; EP3064852A1; KR102217011B1; EP3064852A4; WO2015122660A1; EP3064852B1; US20170176026A1; CN105980788A

Abstract

The invention discloses an air conditioner with a smoothly movable door by a friction member. The air conditioner includes: a body for forming an appearance; an outlet provided at a lower portion of the main body to discharge air; a door provided in front of the main body to open and close the discharge port; a driving device including a pinion (pinion) rotatably provided and a rack (rack) engaged with the pinion and provided to move together with the door; and a friction member that pressurizes the rack to maintain a predetermined distance between the rack and the pinion gear when the rack moves. The rack and the door can smoothly slide along a curved path using a friction member and by the force of the motor.

Description

Air conditioner

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner provided with a door that can be smoothly moved by a friction member.

Background

Generally, an air conditioner is a device that removes dust and the like from air while adjusting temperature, humidity, airflow, distribution, and the like suitable for human activities using a refrigeration cycle. The main components forming the refrigeration cycle include a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an expansion valve, and a blower fan.

the air conditioners may be classified into a separation type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separately provided, and an integral type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are provided together in one cabinet. Wherein, the indoor unit of the separation type air conditioner includes: a heat exchanger for exchanging heat of air sucked into the panel; and a blowing fan for sucking indoor air into the panel and blowing the sucked air into the room again. The indoor unit may be formed in various forms such as a wall-mounted type and a vertical type.

Generally, a wall-mounted type fixed to a wall surface is configured in a shape in which a discharge port is exposed in appearance. With the recent increase in design factors of air conditioners, air conditioners provided with a door capable of opening and closing an outlet have been developed in order to hide the outlet or naturally provide the outlet in harmony with surrounding parts. In order to drive the sliding of the door, a rack and a pinion are mainly used, and in most cases, when the door is opened by being driven by a linear motion or a curvilinear motion close to a linear motion, there is a problem that the appearance of the air conditioner looks large.

Further, when the door is moved in a curved line by the rack and the pinion, there is a problem that the door cannot be smoothly moved due to a gap (backlash) between the rack and the pinion.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

An aspect of the present invention provides an air conditioner including a door capable of smoothly performing a curved movement and opening and closing a discharge port.

further, an air conditioner is provided in which a friction member for applying friction to a rack is provided in a housing, and the rack includes a groove capable of preventing plastic deformation.

Technical scheme

An air conditioner according to the idea of the present invention includes: a body for forming an appearance; an outlet provided at a lower portion of the main body to discharge air; a door provided in front of the main body to open and close the discharge port; a driving device including a pinion (pinion) rotatably provided and a rack (rack) engaged with the pinion and provided to move together with the door; and a friction member that pressurizes the rack to maintain a predetermined distance between the rack and the pinion gear when the rack moves.

The driving device may include: a housing fixed inside the main body in such a manner as to form an external appearance, and having the pinion and the rack disposed inside.

The friction member may be provided to the housing in such a manner as to protrude toward the rack.

The friction member may be located between the rack and the pinion to pressurize the rack to maintain a spacing between the rack and the pinion.

The friction member may include: a pressing portion that contacts the rack; and the supporting part is used for elastically supporting the pressurizing part.

The housing may include an opening at one side to enable the rack to be moved to the outside; one side of the rack exposed through the opening is connected to one side of the door.

The rack may include: a saw tooth equipped to be engaged with the pinion; and rack ribs provided on both side surfaces of the saw teeth to be released from the friction member.

the rack rib may include at least one groove to prevent the rack from being deformed by the friction member when the rack is stopped.

Advantageous effects

The rack and the door can be smoothly slid along a curved path by the force of the motor using a friction member.

In addition, when the door does not work, the groove arranged on the rack can prevent the plastic deformation of the rack.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 and 3 are views showing a rear surface of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a side surface of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 and 6 are views showing a driving apparatus of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a view showing a casing of a driving apparatus of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a section of a driving apparatus of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

the air conditioner 1 exchanges heat between high-temperature air and a low-temperature refrigerant by using a refrigeration cycle composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, and then supplies the low-temperature air to the indoor. In general, a compressor and a condenser are disposed in an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, an expansion valve may be disposed in one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, and an evaporator is disposed in the indoor unit.

The inner unit may be formed in various shapes as follows: a vertical type installed on a floor to cool or heat a large indoor space; the wall-mounted type is installed to be attached to a wall for cooling or heating a small indoor space.

the wall-mounted air conditioner 1 installed on a wall surface includes a main body in which a suction port 3 and a discharge port 5 are formed. The main body includes: a rear panel fixed to the wall surface; a front panel 10 provided so as to surround internal components such as a heat exchanger 16 (fig. 4); a lower panel 12; a pair of side panels 14.

The suction port 3 may be disposed at an upper portion of the front panel 10. The suction port 3 may be opened at all times or by the operation of the air conditioner 1. The suction port 3 may be provided with a filter device for removing foreign substances from the indoor air flowing into the air conditioner 1.

The discharge port 5 may be located at a lower portion of the front panel 10. The discharge port 5 is a passage through which the air flowing in through the suction port 3 passes through a heat exchanger 16 (fig. 4) and is discharged to the outside of the air conditioner 1. A vane 7 (fig. 2) is provided in front of the discharge port 5 so that the direction of the discharged air can be adjusted.

As described above, the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention is configured such that both the suction port 3 and the discharge port 5 are provided in the front panel 10. There is no upper panel corresponding to the lower panel 12, and one side of the front panel 10 is disposed in contact with the wall while protruding convexly against the wall. The front panel 10 may include: a first panel part provided with an inlet 3; and a second panel section connected to a lower portion of the first panel section and provided with a discharge port 5.

the first panel portion and the second panel portion of the front panel 10 are formed of a curved surface, and a portion connecting the first panel portion and the second panel portion is disposed to have a maximum spaced distance from the wall surface. One side of the first panel portion may be in contact with the wall surface, and the other side may be disposed in such a manner as to be connected to the second panel portion. One side of the second panel portion is connected to the first panel portion and the other side may be arranged in such a manner as to be connected to the lower panel 12. The second panel section may be disposed spaced apart from the wall in order to locate the lower panel 12 between the second panel section and the wall surface.

A pair of side panels 14 are provided on both side surfaces of the front panel 10 and the lower panel 12, respectively, to form a main body of the air conditioner 1. The front panel 10 and the pair of side panels 14 may be integrally formed. A cover 20 may be attached to the front of the upper portions of the first and second panel portions. The cover 20 may be manufactured by double injection molding to form the external appearance of the air conditioner 1.

A door 100 may be provided in front of the second panel part to open and close the discharge port 5. The door 100 may be connected to a lower portion of the cover 20 to cover the discharge opening 5 of the second panel portion. In order to form the air conditioner 1 into a smooth surface, the cover 20 and the door 100 may be formed in the same thickness. The door 100 may be attached to the front panel 10 by double injection molding, and forms the external appearance of the air conditioner 1.

In a case where the air conditioner 1 does not operate, the door 100 may cover the discharge opening 5 such that the cover 20 and the door 100 are connected to form a front surface of the air conditioner 1. The door 100 completely covers the discharge port 5 so that the discharge port 5 may not be exposed to the outside. Therefore, the air conditioner 1 may be provided on a wall in such a manner that the front surface formed by the cover 20 and the door 100 is exposed to the outside.

In the case where the air conditioner 1 operates, the door 100 may slide toward the lower panel 12 to expose the discharge port 5 to the outside. The door 100 may be configured to slide along a curved moving rail to expose the discharge port 5. In order to make the appearance of the air conditioner 1 look slim when the door 100 is completely opened, the moving rail may be provided in such a manner that the curvature is changed.

Fig. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing the back surface of the air conditioner 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a state where the door 100 is closed, and fig. 3 shows a state where the door 100 is opened. In fig. 3, the lower panel 12 is not shown in order to show the rear surface of the door 100.

The body of the air conditioner 1 may be integrally formed with a front panel 10 including the discharge port 5 and a side panel 14. The lower panel 12 may be connected to the side panels 14 and the front panel 10, and the cover 20 and the door 100 may be attached to the front of the front panel 10. The discharge port formed by the front panel 10 may be provided with a vane 7 capable of changing the direction of discharged air, and a setting member for setting the vane 7 may be attached to the front of the front panel 10.

In order to allow the door 100 to slidably move, a driving device 200 for supplying power may be provided inside the front panel 10. The driving means 200 may be disposed adjacent to the two side panels 14 at both sides of the inner face of the front panel 10.

The corners where the side panels 14, the front panel 10, and the lower panel 12 meet together may be provided with an external opening 30 so that the moving driving device 200 is exposed to the outside by sliding together with the door 100 through the external opening 30. To form the outer opening 30, both sides of the lower panel 12 may be formed to be inwardly recessed.

The driving device 200 may be coupled to one side of the door 100 in order to slide together with the door 100. The driving device 200 moves to the outside of the air conditioner 1 through the outside opening 30, and can slide the door 100. If the door 100 is slid to move to the lower panel 12 side, the blade 7 may be exposed to the outside. The conditioned air is thrown into the room through the discharge port 5, and the vane 7 changes the direction of the discharged air by rotating.

the door 100 may include side ribs 102 protruding in a manner of contacting the pair of side panels 14 at both sides. In order to stably move the door 100, the pair of side panels 14 may respectively include side guides 104 concavely formed along the moving rail. The side ribs 102 of the door 100 may include protrusions protruding toward the side panels 14 so as to be inserted into the side guides 104 of the side panels 14. The protrusion is inserted into the side guide 104 to slide, so that the door 100 can be prevented from being separated by an external force.

In order to prevent the central portion of the door 100 from drooping due to its own weight when the door 100 connected at both sides to the driving device 200 slides, the door 100 may include at least one drooping prevention portion 107 at an inner side surface. The sagging prevention portion 107 is formed in a cross section of a "T" shape, and may be provided to extend long in a direction in which the door 100 slides on the inner surface of the door 100.

A guide bar 105 may be provided at a lower portion of the front panel 10 so that the sagging prevention portion 107 is caught to slide. The guide bar 105 may be formed integrally with the setting member for setting the blade 7, or formed separately. The guide bar 105 may include at least one guide portion 106 corresponding to the sagging prevention portion 107 so that the sagging prevention portion 107 is caught. One guide portion 106 may be provided at the center portion of the door 100, or 2 guide portions may be provided as shown in fig. 3.

The air conditioner 1 is provided with a heat exchanger 16 inside thereof for cooling or heating air by exchanging heat with air flowing from the room. The heat exchanger 16 functions as an evaporator in the cooling operation and may function as a condenser in the heating operation. In order to enable efficient heat exchange with the inflowing indoor air, a plurality of heat exchangers 16 are arranged inside the air conditioner 1.

The cross-flow fan 18 may be located inside the air conditioner together with the heat exchanger 16. The cross flow fan 18 may forcibly circulate the indoor air to discharge the inflow air into the room through the discharge port 5. The cross flow fan 18 has a plurality of blades arranged in a radial direction, and is rotated at a high speed in conjunction with a driving motor.

inside the air conditioner 1 may be arranged: a filter for removing dust contained in air to purify the air; and a drain tray for discharging condensed water generated on the surface of the heat exchanger to the outside during a cooling operation.

when the air conditioner 1 is started, the cross flow fan 18 is rotated at a high speed by the driving motor, so that the indoor air flows into the inside through the suction port 3, and the air is heat-exchanged through the heat exchanger 16. The air is discharged to the indoor space again through the discharge port 5, and the air conditioner 1 circulates the air through the above process to cool or heat the indoor space.

The driving device 200 for moving the door 100 for opening and closing the discharge port 5 may include: a pinion (pinion) 40; and a rack (rack)45 that moves in mesh with the pinion 40. The driving device 200 may include a housing 32 forming an external appearance in order to protect the pinion gear 40 and the rack gear 45 located inside. The housing 32 may be fixedly installed at both sides of the inner surface of the front panel 10.

The rack 45 may be formed in a shape in which a strip curved in a curve formed in the longitudinal direction is provided with saw teeth. Thus, the rack 45 may move along a curved path as the pinion 40 rotates.

The housing 32 may include an inner opening 33 at one side to allow the rack gear 45 located inside the housing 32 to move and be exposed to the outside. Hereinafter, the inner opening is referred to as an opening for convenience of description. One side of the rack 45 exposed through the opening 33 may be connected to one side of the door 100. That is, the rack 45 and one side of the door 100 may be coupled with each other through the lower portion of the front panel 10.

With the start of the air conditioner 1, the pinion 40 rotates, and the rack 45 engaged therewith can move. The rack gear 45 is out of the housing 32 through the opening 33 and may be exposed to the outside through the external opening 30 formed at the main body. The door 100 having one side connected to the rack gear 45 may slide together with the movement of the rack gear 45 and may move to the lower portion of the lower panel 12.

The rack gear 45 and the door 100 are combined at one side so that a space in which a lower portion of the front panel 10 can be placed can be formed between the rack gear 45 and the door 100. Therefore, the lower portion of the front panel 10 may be formed in a flat plate shape without an opening or a coupling member for providing the rack 45. Also, since one side is connected, the curvature of the door 100 and the curvature of the rack 45 may be set to be different.

The door 100 may be provided at both sides of the inner surface thereof with protrusions 47 protruding in an inner direction. The protrusion 47 may include a rib 49 connected toward the opening 33 of the housing 32. The rack 45 and the rib 49 may be coupled in a length direction of the rack 45, and may be coupled in such a manner that one side of the rib 45 is inserted into the protrusion 47. A screw may be inserted through and into the combined protrusion 47 and one side of the rack 45, thereby fixing. For stable coupling, the rack 45 may include a rack protrusion 48 protruding downward so that the rack 45 is caught to the door 100.

Since the door 100 and the rack 45 are coupled to each other at one side, in a case where the door 100 is completely separated from the front panel 10 and is opened, there may be a phenomenon in which the one side of the door 100, which is not coupled to the rack 45, is sagged by its own weight. Therefore, the rib 49 deeply inserted into the inside of the rack 45 may be provided to make the coupling of the rack 45 and the door 100 firm while moving the center of gravity to the center side of the door 100, so that the drooping phenomenon may be prevented.

In order to make the overall volume of the air conditioner 1 look slim also in a state where the door 100 is fully opened, the door 100 may be provided to slide adjacent to the lower panel 12. For this reason, the curvature of the door 100 may be formed to be greater than that of the rack 45. The door 100 may be formed with the same curvature as the front panel 10 to be installed in front of the front panel 10.

As the rack gear 45 moves, the door 100 gradually moves and slides with the curvature of the rack gear 45. That is, the door 100 can slide along a moving track in which the curvature of the front panel 10 changes to the curvature of the rack 45.

fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a driving apparatus 200 of the air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the driving apparatus 200 of the air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a second housing 32b of the driving apparatus 200 of the air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 to 7 show one of the driving devices 200 disposed at both sides of the inner face of the front panel 10 for convenience of explanation.

The driving apparatus 100 may include: a motor 35 for providing power; a pinion 40 having a rotation shaft connected to the motor 35 for rotation; a rack 45 that moves by meshing with the pinion 40; and a casing 32 for enclosing the above constitution. As described above, one side of the rack 45 may be coupled with the door 100 to be slidably moved together with the door 100.

the housing 32 may include a first housing 32a and a second housing 32b to form an inner space capable of placing the rack gear 45 and the pinion gear 40 therein. The housing 32 is curved in the longitudinal direction in accordance with the shape of the rack 45, and the housing 32 may have a space in which the pinion 40 can be placed on one side.

The first and second housings 32a and 32b may be coupled to each other using at least one coupling member 34, 36, 37, 38. As shown in fig. 5, the first and second housings 32a, 32b may be hook-coupled 34, 36 or interference-fit 37, 38 by correspondingly formed coupling members.

The rack 45 may include: serrations 43 formed to mesh with the pinion gear 40; rack ribs 44 are provided on both side surfaces of the saw teeth 43. The pinion 40 can be rotated by the rotation of the motor 35 and moves the saw-teeth 43 engaged with the pinion 40. The pinion 40 may be formed by at least one gear for a desired reduction ratio. Fig. 5 and 6 show a first pinion gear 42 coupled to the motor 35, and a second pinion gear 41 contacting the first pinion gear 42 and meshing with the saw teeth 43.

And, a friction member 50 may be included, the friction member 50 being equipped to maintain the rack 45 and the pinion 40 at a predetermined interval in case that the rack 45 is moved by the activation of the motor 35. As shown in fig. 6 to 7, a friction member 50 may be provided to the housing 32. The friction member 50 may be provided to at least one of the first and second housings 32a and 32 b.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the friction member 50 may be formed to protrude from the second housing 32b toward the rack 45. A friction member 50 may be located between the rack 45 and the pinion 40 to pressurize the rack 45 while maintaining the spacing between the rack 45 and the pinion 40. The friction member 50 may include: a pressing portion 52 that contacts the rack 45; and a support part 51 for elastically supporting the pressing part 52.

The friction member 50 may increase a friction force with the rack 45 while pressurizing the rack 45, thereby preventing the rack 45 from moving due to gravity. That is, the friction member 50 may press the rack 45 to maintain a distance between the rack 45 and the pinion 40, and increase a friction force to prevent the rack 45 from slipping. Thus, the rack gear 45 and the door 100 connected thereto can be smoothly moved by the force of the motor 35.

The pressing portion 52 may contact the rack rib 44 to press the moving rack rib 44. In order to prevent the rack rib 44 from being deformed by the pressing portion 52 when the rack 45 is stopped, the rack rib 44 may include at least one groove 46. As shown in fig. 6, the rack rib 44 includes two grooves 46, and the two grooves 46 are located at positions where the pressing portions 52 are located in a state where the door 100 is completely closed or opened.

As shown in fig. 7, a guide portion 38 concavely formed along a moving path of the rack 45 may be provided at an inner face of the second housing 32b to stably move the rack 45. The guide portion 38 may be formed to be connected from one side to the other side of the housing 32b along the moving path of the rack 45, but it is possible to increase the contact friction between the rack 45 and the guide portion 38.

As the contact friction rises, more torque may be required to move the rack 45. In order to reduce only the contact friction, the guide portion 38 may be formed in a minimum section in which the rack 45 can stably move along the movement path. The guide portion 38 may be provided to the first case 32a and the second case 32 b.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a section of a driving apparatus 200 of the air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Even if the guide portion 38 is formed within the minimum interval, since the contact surface of the rack 45 and the guide portion 38 is large, contact friction may still exist. The rack rib 46 is inserted into the contact surface 33 on the inner surface of the guide portion 38 and slidably moves.

In order to prevent the rack rib 46 from being separated from the guide portion 38, the contact surface 33 may be formed to wrap upper and lower portions of the rack rib 46. Contact friction may be increased due to the contact surface 33 contacting the rack rib 46 in such a state of wrapping the upper and lower portions.

Therefore, in order to reduce contact friction with the contact surface 33, the rack rib 46 may be inserted into the contact surface 33 with a clearance. That is, the rack ribs 46 are formed in a shape having a greater inclination than the contact surface 33, and thus may be in line contact rather than in surface contact. It is possible to form a space between the engaged rack rib 46 and the contact face 33 and accordingly reduce contact friction.

In the description, a specific shape is mainly described, but it should be construed that a practitioner skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes thereto, and such modifications and changes are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air conditioner comprising:

A body for forming an appearance;

an outlet provided at a lower portion of the main body to discharge air;

A door provided in front of the main body to open and close the discharge port;

A driving device including a pinion rotatably provided and a rack engaged with the pinion and provided to move together with the door;

A friction member that presses the rack when the rack moves to prevent the rack from slipping due to gravity while maintaining a predetermined distance between the rack and the pinion,

The rack includes:

A saw tooth equipped to be engaged with the pinion; and

Rack ribs provided at both side surfaces of the saw teeth to contact the friction member,

The driving device includes:

A housing fixed to an inside of the main body in such a manner as to form an external appearance, and having the pinion gear and the rack gear arranged therein,

The friction member is provided to the housing in such a manner as to protrude toward the rack, and includes: a pressing portion that is in contact with the rack rib to press the rack rib; and the supporting part is used for elastically supporting the pressurizing part.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

The friction member is located between the rack and the pinion to pressurize the rack to maintain a spacing between the rack and the pinion.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

The housing includes an opening at one side to enable the rack to be moved to the outside;

One side of the rack exposed through the opening is connected to one side of the door.

4. the air conditioner according to claim 1,

The rack rib includes at least one groove to prevent the rack from being deformed by the friction member when the rack is stopped.