CN108386905B

CN108386905B - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: CN108386905B
Application number: CN201711392238.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金秉建; 金贤镐; 朴炫友; 宋雨锡; 李长重; 崔济民; 金钟文; 文弘烈; 朴澈炳; 徐炯濬; 尹胜准; 李俊和; 赵炯奎; 黄准
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-21
Filing date: 2017-12-21
Publication date: 2020-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-21
Also published as: KR102363529B1; CN108386905A; KR20180072514A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an air conditioner. An air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a housing arranged to be mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the housing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; a blower fan configured to suck air into the casing via the inlet and discharge the air out of the casing via the outlet; and a vane configured to open and close the outlet, the vane including a plurality of through holes that control air discharged out of the casing through 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 air 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

The air conditioner is equipped with a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, a blower fan, etc. for controlling indoor temperature, humidity, air flow, 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 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 be rotated above a certain speed (rpm) in consideration of heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger and discharge air to a certain distance through the outlet in the form of a direct air flow.

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

Disclosure of Invention

An aspect of the present disclosure provides an air conditioner for discharging an air current in various methods.

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

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

The cover plate may include a guide member forming the outlet, the guide member extending from an upstream end of the outlet to a downstream end of the outlet, and the guide member may include a first guide surface arranged to guide air in a first direction and a second guide surface arranged to change the first direction of the air guided by the first guide surface to 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 of a 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 flat surfaces, and the second guide surface may have an inclination angle smaller than that of the first guide surface.

The vane may include a vane body on which the plurality of through holes are formed and a coupling rib protruding from the vane body, and the vane body may include an inner end portion and an outer end portion at a distance farther from the inlet than the inner end portion.

The thickness of the outer end portion may be less than the thickness of the inner end portion.

The blade body may have a portion with an increasing thickness in a direction from the outer end portion towards the inner end portion.

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

The blades may be configured to cover an edge of the cover plate.

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

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

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

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a housing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the housing, the cover plate including an inlet and an outlet; a heat exchanger disposed within the housing; a blower fan configured to suck air into the casing via the inlet and discharge the air out of the casing via the outlet; and a vane configured to open and close the outlet, and the cover plate may include a guide member extending from an upstream end of the outlet to a downstream end of the outlet to form the outlet, and the guide member 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 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 may be formed as a flat surface.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a housing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the housing, the cover plate having an inlet and an outlet; a blower fan configured to suck air into the casing via the inlet and discharge the air out of the casing via the 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 guide trailing end corresponding to the downstream end of the outlet, and the guide trailing end may be configured to form an edge of the cover plate.

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

The airflow controller may include a first airflow controller and a second airflow controller disposed further downstream than the first airflow controller.

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

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

The second air flow controller may be configured to guide air discharged through a gap between the cover plate and the blade to a central portion of the blade for flowing the air in a direction to surround the blade.

The first and second airflow controllers 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 an upstream side more upward than the first low point portion and descending toward the first low point portion, and a first ascending surface formed on a downstream side more downward than the first low point portion and ascending from the first low point portion.

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

The airflow controller may include a high point portion where the first rising face and the second falling face meet.

If the height difference between the first low point portion and the high point portion is H1 and the height difference between the second low point portion and the high point portion is H2, 0.001 ≦ H1-H2 ≦ H1 ≦ 100.

If the horizontal distance of the first low point portion and the second low point portion is P, 0.001. ltoreq. P/H1. ltoreq.500.

The blade may include a blade air direction controller configured to guide air discharged through a gap between the cover plate and the blade to a central portion of the blade for flowing the air in a direction to surround the blade.

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

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner may include: a housing arranged to be hung from or buried in a ceiling; a cover plate coupled to a lower portion of the housing and equipped with an inlet and an outlet; a blower fan configured to suck air into the casing via the inlet and discharge the air out of the casing via the outlet; and a blade configured to pivot between an open position to open the outlet and a closed position to close the outlet and having a plurality of through holes formed therein, and if the blade is in the closed position, the blade covers an edge of the cover plate and the plurality of through holes are inclined toward the outer end as they are distant from the blower fan.

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 thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

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

fig. 2 illustrates the air conditioner of fig. 1 with a cover plate separated therefrom;

fig. 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;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portion "O" of FIG. 4;

fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of an 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 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a still air mode;

fig. 11 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a long air flow mode;

fig. 12 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a normal mode;

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

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

fig. 17 illustrates an air conditioner from which a cover plate and a vane are separated according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

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

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of portion "S" of FIG. 17;

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

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

fig. 22 illustrates the inclination of the through-hole of the air conditioner of fig. 17; and

fig. 23 illustrates a flow of air around an outlet of the air conditioner of fig. 17.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present disclosure are merely the most preferable examples and are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure defined by the claims and equivalents thereof. 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 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 illustrates the air conditioner of fig. 1 with a cover plate separated therefrom. Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing a main configuration of the air conditioner of fig. 1.

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

The air conditioner 1 may include: a housing 10 hung on or buried in the ceiling C; a cover plate 20 coupled with a lower portion of the housing 10 and equipped with an inlet 30 and an outlet 40; a heat exchanger 2 disposed within the housing 10; and a blower fan 3 configured to draw air into the casing 10 through the inlet 30 and discharge the air out of the casing 10 through the 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 downward from respective edges of the top wall. Inside the casing 10, the heat exchanger 2 and the blower fan 3 are accommodated and there may be an internal flow passage 13, the internal flow passage 13 being formed to guide air introduced through the inlet 30 to the outlet 40.

The cover plate 20 may be coupled to a 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.

The inlet 30 may be provided in the cover plate 20 near the rear edge 22 and the 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 and

rear edges

21, 22. A mesh 7 may be coupled to the inlet 30 to filter out dust from the drawn-in air.

The blowing fan 3 may be a cross flow fan. Unlike a general axial type fan that blows air in a direction parallel to an axis, a cross flow fan may blow air in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The blower fan 3 may include a rotation shaft 4, a plurality of wings 5 centered on the rotation shaft 4 and arranged in a circumferential direction, and a support plate 6 supporting the wings 5. The blower fan 3 may be disposed such that the rotation shaft 4 is parallel to the length of the outlet 40.

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

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

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

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

The air conditioner 1 may include a vane 70 disposed at the outlet 40 to control a direction, speed, and amount of air discharged through the outlet 40. The vanes 70 may be pivotally arranged to open and close the outlet 40. In addition, a plurality of through-holes 74 (see fig. 5) may be formed on the vane 70 to discharge air when the outlet 40 is closed by the vane 70.

In the case where the air is discharged through the plurality of through-holes 74, the speed of the air may be reduced and the amount of the air may become small, as 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 be rotated at a certain speed (rpm) or more in consideration of the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 2, and thus, discharges the air to a certain distance through the outlet 40 in the form of a direct air flow.

In contrast, the air discharged through the through-holes 74 when the vanes 70 close the outlet 40 is at a relatively low speed and in a small amount, and therefore, a direct air flow does not reach the user and the room can be gradually cooled or heated. In this manner, the pattern of air venting via the through-holes 74 prevents a direct airflow from reaching the user, and may therefore be referred to as a still air mode (stillair mode).

Further, in an embodiment, the air conditioner 1 may cool or heat an indoor space by discharging air toward the ceiling C through the outlet 40 in addition to the still air cooling/heating through the through-hole 74, thereby preventing a direct air current from reaching a user, but slowly falling 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 air flow mode (long air flow mode).

Now, various discharge structures of an air conditioner according to embodiments 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 a portion "O" of fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of an 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 fig. 4 to 9, the cover plate 20 may include a guide 50. The drain pan 60 may include a guide 61. The outlet 40 may be formed between the

guides

50 and 61. Alternatively, the guide 61 may be disposed 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 referred to as an outer guide 50, and the guide 61 is referred to as 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 air in a first direction a (see fig. 11) and a second guide surface 52 provided to change a direction of the air guided by the first guide surface 51 to a second direction B (see fig. 11) 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 disposed in the lower portion toward the ceiling C through the outlet 40 disposed 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 line is inclined. For example, the inclination angle θ 2 of the tangent line T2 may be smaller than the inclination angle θ 1 of the tangent line T1.

The second guide surface 52 may be disposed parallel to the ceiling C. The second guide surface 52 may be referred to as being parallel to the horizontal plane H if the ceiling C in the indoor space is parallel to the horizontal plane H. 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 on which the plurality of through-holes 74 are formed and a coupling rib 76 protruding from the vane body 71.

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

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, and 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 blade 70.

The plurality of through holes 74 may each have a diameter of 1 to 2mm and may be uniformly distributed in the entire area or a partial area of the blade body 71. The vane 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 vane 70 and the outer end 73 may be relatively far from the pivot portion 77 of the vane 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 may have 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 may occur around the outer end 73 than around the inner end 72.

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

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

Further, in order to solve the dew condensation phenomenon, the through holes 74 may be formed obliquely toward the outer end 73 as they are distant from the blower fan 3.

As described above, as the through holes 74 are distant from the blower fan 3, they are formed obliquely toward the outer end 73, and thus the speed and amount of air discharged toward the outer end 73 are increased, minimizing dew condensation. Furthermore, the air may be discharged close to the ceiling C and may thus be sent further.

The pivot portion 77 may be disposed in a coupling rib 76 for pivoting the vane 70 and pivotably combined with a vane mount 25 (see fig. 2) formed on the shroud 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 a driving force.

As shown in fig. 7, as a modified example of the guide member 50, the guide member 250 may include a first guide surface 251 provided to guide air in a first direction a and a second guide surface 252 provided to change the direction of the air guided by the first guide surface 251 to a second direction B, which is closer to the ceiling C than the first direction a. 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 farther from the blower fan 3.

The second guide surface 252 may be formed obliquely such that it is downward as the second guide surface 252 is farther from the inlet 30. For example, the second guide surface 252 is inclined at an angle β from the horizontal plane H.

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

The first and second guide surfaces 351 and 352 may be formed as flat surfaces. The second guide surface 352 has an inclination angle β from the horizontal plane H smaller than the inclination angle α of the first guide surface 351 from the horizontal plane H. 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 74 b. For example, among the through

holes

74a, 74b, some of them (i.e., 74a) may be formed to have an inclination angle.

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

Fig. 10 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a still air mode. Fig. 11 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a long flow mode. Fig. 12 illustrates a state in which the air conditioner of fig. 1 is operated in a normal mode.

Referring to fig. 10 to 12, an operation state of the air conditioner of the present disclosure will now be described.

As shown in fig. 10, the vane 70 may close the outlet 40 in the still air mode of the air conditioner. When the blower 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.

Due to the resistance when passing through the through-holes 74 of the blades 70, the air flowing through the blower fan 3 may be decelerated and may be reduced in amount, so that it may not reach the user as a direct air flow, and may gradually cool or heat the room.

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

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

As shown in fig. 12, the vane 70 may open the outlet 40 in the normal mode of the air conditioner, in which case the opening angle X2 of the vane 70 may vary between about 40 to 80 degrees. The direction of the air discharged through the outlet 40 may be controlled by changing the opening angle X2 of the vane 70.

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

Referring to fig. 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 embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted here.

The cover plate 420 may include a panel outlet 421, and the panel outlet 421 has a plurality of panel through holes 422 formed therein to discharge air out of the case 10. The panel outlet 421 may be formed adjacent to the outlet 40.

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

As shown in fig. 13, in the still air mode (in which the vane 70 closes the outlet 40), the opening/closing member 424 may open the panel discharge flow passage 423 to discharge air through the panel through hole 422. Accordingly, the air flowing through the blower fan 3 may be discharged through the through-holes 74 formed in the blade 70 and the panel through-holes 422 formed in the cover plate 420. In this case, the amount of discharged air may be increased in the still air mode as compared to the above-described embodiment.

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

The opening/closing member 424 may be configured to be operated by being mechanically cooperated with the operation of the vane 70. The opening/closing member 424 may be configured such that the opening/closing member 424 may open the panel discharge flow passage 423 when the opening/closing member 424 and the vane 70 mechanically cooperate to cause the vane 70 to close the outlet 40, and the opening/closing member 424 may close the panel discharge flow passage 423 when they cooperate to cause the vane 70 to open the outlet 40.

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

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

Referring to fig. 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 embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted here.

The cover plate 520 may include a panel outlet 521, and the panel outlet 521 has a plurality of panel through holes 522 formed therein to discharge air out of the case 10. The panel outlet 521 may be formed adjacent to the outlet 40.

The air conditioner 500 may include a panel discharge flow channel 523 for guiding the air flowing by the blower fan 3 to the panel outlet 521, and an opening/closing member 524 for opening and closing the panel discharge flow channel 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 passage 523. The opening/closing member 524 may be shaped like a scroll screen. The opening/closing member 524 may have an air passage deactivation part 524a to deactivate the air passage and an air passage activation part 524b to make the air passage available.

The opening/closing member 524 may be configured to be wound around the plurality of

rollers

525, 526 and configured to move according to rotation of the plurality of

rollers

525, 526 such that the air passage disabling part 524a passes over the panel through-hole 522 or the air passage enabling part 524b passes over the panel through-hole 522.

As shown in fig. 15, in the still air mode (in which the vanes 70 close the outlet 40), the air passage activation part 524b of the opening/closing member 524 may be located above the panel through-hole 522 to allow air to be discharged through the panel through-hole 522.

Accordingly, the air flowing through the blower fan 3 may be discharged through the through-holes 74 formed in the blade 70 and the panel through-holes 522 formed in the cover plate 520. In this case, the amount of discharged air may be increased in the still air mode as compared to the above-described embodiment.

As shown in fig. 16, in the normal mode (in which the vanes 70 open the outlet 40), the air passage deactivating member 524a of the opening/closing member 524 may be located above the panel through-hole 522 to prevent air from being discharged through the panel through-hole 522.

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

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

The air conditioner 600 may include a casing 10 hung on or buried in a 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 inside the casing 10, and a blower fan 3 configured to draw air into the casing 10 via the inlet 30 and discharge the air out of the casing 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 longer than the left edge 23 and the right edge 24.

The inlet 30 may be provided in the cover plate 620 to be close to the rear edge 22, and the outlet 40 may be provided in the cover plate 620 to be close to the front edge 21. The outlet 40 may have an elongated form along the length of the front and

rear edges

The air conditioner 600 may include a vane 670 disposed on the outlet 40 to control the direction, speed, and amount of air to be discharged through the outlet 40. The vane 670 may be pivotably 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) having a plurality of through-holes 674 formed therein 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 be rotated above a certain speed (rpm) in consideration of the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 2, and thus, discharges the air to a certain distance through the outlet 40 in the form of a direct air flow.

In contrast, the air discharged through the through holes 674 when the vanes 670 close the outlet 40 is at a relatively low speed and small in amount, 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 discharged through the through holes 674 prevents a direct airflow from reaching the user, and thus may be referred to as a no-wind mode or a still air mode.

According to the american society of heating, cooling and air conditioning engineers (ASHRAE), wind flowing at about 0.15m/s or less without undesirable cooling of the body by the cold air stream is referred to as still air. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the air conditioner may be configured to satisfy a still air condition of ASHRAE (i.e., 0.15m/s) in a residential indoor space more than one meter from the air conditioner in the still air mode.

For this reason, the air conditioner 600 may further include an air flow controller 690 of the cover plate 620 in addition to the structure of the through-holes 674 formed in the blades 670 to more efficiently generate the stationary air flow.

An airflow controller 690 may be positioned adjacent to the outlet 40 to reduce the velocity of air discharged 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 stream of the outlet 40 than the first airflow controller 691.

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

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

Fig. 19 is an enlarged view of a portion "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 an airflow controller of the air conditioner of fig. 17. Fig. 22 illustrates an inclination angle of a through hole of the air conditioner of fig. 17. Fig. 23 illustrates an air flow around an outlet of the air conditioner of fig. 17.

When the air conditioner 600 is in the still air mode, i.e., when the vanes 670 are closed, a gap G2 may be formed between the front edge 21 of the cover plate 620 near the outlet 40 (see fig. 17) and the outer ends 673 of the vanes 670 (see fig. 20). The air flow E2 around the vane 670 may be discharged through the gap G2. The air flow E2 around the blade 670 can reduce the velocity of the air discharge flow DA (see fig. 23) discharged through the plurality of through holes 674, and can further suppress the phenomenon in which dew condensation occurs on the blade 670 due to a temperature difference.

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 discharged 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 stream of the outlet 40 than the first airflow controller 691.

The first airflow controller 691 may reduce the velocity of the air flowing from the inside of the outlet 40 toward the second airflow controller 696. This may 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 descent surface 692, the first low point portion 693, and the first ascent surface 694 may be formed continuously in the downstream direction from the upstream side.

When the vane 670 of the air conditioner 600 horizontally installed on the ceiling is closed, the first low point part 693 may be at the lowest level among the first falling surface 692, the first low point part 693, and the first rising surface 694. The first descent surface 692 may be formed more on the upstream side than the first low point portion 693, and may descend as it approaches the first low point portion 693. The first rising face 694 may be formed further downward on the downstream side than the first low point portion 693, and may rise as it goes away from the first low point portion 693.

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

Accordingly, the first air flow 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 air flow controller 696 and passing through the first air flow controller 691 may be decelerated by the protruding first air flow controller 691.

The second air flow controller 696 may direct the direction of air discharged through the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the vane 670. When the air conditioner 600 is in the still air mode, i.e., when the vanes 670 are closed, a gap G2 may be formed between the front edge 21 of the cover plate 620 near the outlet 40 (see fig. 17) and the outer ends 673 of the vanes 670 (see fig. 20). The second air flow controller 696 may direct the air discharged through the gap G2 to flow in a direction to surround the vane 670.

The air discharged via the gap G2 may flow from the outer end 673 of the blade 670 toward the center portion along the outer side 675b of the blade body 671. Air flow E2 directed by second air flow controller 696 to surround vanes 670 may impede and decelerate air exhaust flow DA exhausted via through holes 674.

In addition, the air flow E2 around the blade 670 may block the blade 670 from being affected by heated and humid outside air, thereby suppressing the dew condensation phenomenon on the blade 670.

The second air flow controller 696 may include a second falling surface 697, a second low point portion 698, and a second rising surface 699. The second descent surface 697, the second low point portion 698, and the second ascent surface 699 may be continuously formed in the downstream direction from the upstream side.

When the vane 670 of the air conditioner 600 horizontally installed on the ceiling is closed, the second low point portion 698 may be at the lowest level among the second falling surface 697, the second low point portion 698, and the second rising surface 699. The second descent surface 697 may be formed on the upstream side more 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 further downward on the downstream side than the second low point portion 698, and may rise as it goes away from the second low point portion 698.

The second descent surface 697 and the second ascent surface 699 may be formed as a plane or a curved surface. However, it is desirable that the second depressed surface 697 is formed as a curved surface bulging upward to change the direction of the airflow toward the vane 670. The second low point portion 698 may be formed in a straight line or a curved line to connect the second falling surface 697 and the second rising surface 699. As a result, the second air flow controller 696 may have a structure protruding toward the outlet 40.

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

The airflow control 690 may include a high point portion 695, where the first rising face 694 of the first airflow control 691 meets the second falling face 697 of the second airflow control 696. The high point portion 695 may be formed as a straight line or a curved line.

The high point part 695 may be formed at a higher level than the first and second

low point parts

693 and 698 when the vane 670 of the air conditioner 600 horizontally installed on the ceiling is closed.

As shown in FIG. 21, in order to satisfy the static air condition of ASHRAE in the indoor space of the residence more than one meter from the air-conditioner, it may be preferable that the following, 0.001 ≦ H1-H2 ≦ H1 ≦ 100. H1 represents the difference in elevation between first low spot portion 693 and high spot portion 695, and H2 represents the difference in elevation between second low spot portion 698 and high spot portion 695.

Further, preferably, 0.001. ltoreq. P/H1. ltoreq.500. P denotes a horizontal distance of the first low point part 693 and the second low point part 698.

Thus, since the air flow E2 around the blade 670, which is formed by the air flow controller 690 when the blade 670 is closed, is discharged through the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the blade 670, it is necessary to form and maintain the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the blade 670 when the blade 670 is closed.

To this end, as described above, the protruding interval-maintaining protrusion 629 may be formed on the cover plate 620 so as to form and maintain the gap G2 between the cover plate 620 and the blade 670 by contacting the blade 670 when the blade 670 is closed.

At least one space maintaining protrusion 629 may be formed along the length of the outlet 40. Alternatively, the interval 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 an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vane 670 may have a vane air direction controller 678 to generate an airflow E1 around the inner end 672 of the vane 670 around the vane 670.

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

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

In fig. 23, the vane air direction controller 678 may direct air discharged 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 discharged through the gap G1 may flow from the inner end 672 of the blade 670 toward the center portion along the outer side 675b of the blade body 671. Air flow E1 directed by vane air direction controller 678 to surround vane 670 may impede and decelerate air exhaust flow DA exiting through apertures 674.

In addition, the air flow E1 around the blade 670 may block the blade 670 from being affected by heated and humid outside air, thus suppressing the dew condensation phenomenon on the blade 670.

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

The air that has passed through the gap G1 may approach the blade 670 due to the blade air direction controller 678 and may flow along the outer side 675b of the blade body 671 to the central portion of the blade 670 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-holes 674 formed near the outer end 673 may have a lower velocity than the air passing through the through-holes 674 formed near the inner end 672. Further, due to the temperature difference, more dew condensation may occur around outer end 673 than around inner end 672.

In order to decelerate the air discharge flow around the inner end 672 while suppressing dew condensation on the vane 670 around the outer end 673 to effectively generate a stationary air flow, the through holes 674 may be formed to be inclined toward the outer end 673 as they are distant from the blower fan 3. Accordingly, the velocity and amount of air discharged toward the inner end 672 may be reduced to effectively generate a stationary air flow, and the velocity and amount of air discharged toward the outer end 673 may be increased to minimize dew condensation.

When the blade 670 of the air conditioner 600 horizontally installed on the ceiling is closed, the inclined axis T (see fig. 22) of the through hole 674 may form an angle θ 3 with the vertical line V, the angle θ 3 being in a range of between about 5 and 45 degrees. Preferably, the angle θ 3 may be about 25 degrees.

Reference numeral 675a denotes the inside of the blade body 671.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the air conditioner may discharge air in various ways by making a 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 undesired cooling due to a cold airflow in a residential indoor space.

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

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. It will therefore be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the actual scope of technical protection is only limited by the claims.

Claims

1. An air conditioner, comprising:

a housing mounted on or embedded in a ceiling;

a cover plate coupled to a 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 discharge the air out of the housing via the outlet; and

a single vane configured to open or cover the outlet, the vane including a vane main body and a plurality of through holes formed in the vane main body to control air discharged out of the casing through the outlet when the vane covers the outlet,

wherein the air conditioner is configured to be operable in each of the following modes:

a static air mode in which the vanes cover 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 downwardly away from the ceiling,

wherein the cover plate includes an edge proximate the outlet,

the blade body includes an inner end and an outer end, the outer end being relatively distant 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 according to 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 member comprises a first guide surface arranged to guide air in a first direction and a second guide surface arranged to change the first direction of the air guided by the first guide surface to a second direction, and

wherein the second direction is closer to parallel to the ceiling than the first direction.

3. The air conditioner according to 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 according to claim 3, wherein the first guide surface is formed to have a smaller inclination of a tangent at a portion of the first guide surface farther from the blower fan.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the second guide surface is formed parallel to the ceiling.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the second guide surface is formed to be more inclined at a portion of the second guide surface farther from the blowing fan.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the first guide surface and the second guide surface are formed as flat surfaces, and the second guide surface has an inclination angle smaller than that of the first guide surface.

8. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the blade further comprises:

a coupling rib protruding from the blade body, and

wherein the outer end portion is at a greater distance from the inlet than the inner end portion.

9. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein the thickness of the outer end portion is smaller than the thickness of the inner end portion.

10. The air conditioner as claimed in claim 8, wherein the blade body has a portion whose thickness increases in a direction from the outer end toward the inner end.

11. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein among the plurality of through holes, a through hole distant from the blower fan is formed to be inclined toward the outer end portion.

12. The air conditioner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover plate includes a panel outlet having a plurality of panel through holes to discharge air out of the case.

13. The air conditioner of claim 12, further comprising: a panel discharge flow passage configured to guide air to the panel outlet, and an opening/closing member configured to open and close the panel discharge flow passage.

14. The air conditioner as claimed in claim 13, wherein the opening/closing member is configured to be operated by cooperating with an operation of the vane.