CN112032845A

CN112032845A - Easy-to-reach and maintenance air conditioning equipment and indoor unit and bracket thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112032845A
Application number: CN201910482658.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑超; 王宗胜
Original assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Current assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Priority date: 2019-06-04
Filing date: 2019-06-04
Publication date: 2020-12-04

Abstract

An indoor unit (100) for a split type air conditioning apparatus is provided. The indoor unit includes a housing for accommodating components of the indoor unit. The housing has a back and a cradle (120) is disposed in the housing at the back. The bracket has a first leg and a second leg. The bracket has a knee, and the bracket is configured to rotate between a first locked position in which the bracket is configured to hold at least one component of the indoor unit and a second open position in which the bracket is rotated out of the back of the indoor unit. The first leg and the second leg are joined at a knee. Wheels are provided at the knees. Hereby, it is achieved that the bracket can be rotated out of the back and roll against the surface while being rotated out. This will facilitate opening of the stand and, in addition, the risk of damaging the surface under the back during rotation of the stand may be reduced.

Description

Easy-to-reach and maintenance air conditioning equipment and indoor unit and bracket thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioning apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an indoor unit of a split air conditioning unit and to devices associated with the indoor unit of the split air conditioning unit.

Background

"air conditioning" is a general expression for conditioning air to a desired state. It may be heating the air during cold periods, cooling the air during warm periods, or for cleaning the air in case the air contains unwanted particles. However, the expression "air conditioning" is most often used when emphasis is placed on cooling. As a product, the air conditioners may take various appearances and the air conditioners may be used in various ways, but the air conditioners all share the same basic technology. Air conditioning units include a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and typically also an expansion device.

There are different types of air conditioning equipment. One type of air conditioning apparatus may be referred to as a split-type air conditioning apparatus. In a split type air conditioner, a condenser and an evaporator are located in two different divided units connected to each other via pipes to circulate refrigerant from one unit to the other.

Another type of air conditioning apparatus may be referred to as a unitary air conditioning apparatus. Unitary Air Conditioning (AC) can be said to be a type of self-contained system in which all cooling cycle components, such as the compressor, condenser, expansion device, evaporator, and control system, are enclosed in a single package.

Air conditioning units are provided with different components, such as pipes, pipelines and conduits, which often require maintenance and may also need replacement. It is desirable to have easy access to such components that may require repair.

Improvements in air conditioning apparatus are always desirable. There is therefore a need for an improved air conditioning apparatus, in particular of the split-type.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved air conditioning apparatus.

These objects and/or other objects are achieved by an air conditioning apparatus, a bracket and an indoor unit for an air conditioning apparatus as set forth in the appended claims.

According to the present invention, an indoor unit for a split type air conditioning apparatus is provided. The indoor unit includes a housing for accommodating components of the indoor unit. The housing has a back and a bracket is disposed in the housing at the back. The bracket has a first leg and a second leg. The bracket has a knee, and the bracket is configured to rotate between a first locked position in which the bracket is configured to hold at least one component of the indoor unit and a second open position in which the bracket is rotated out of the back of the indoor unit. The first leg and the second leg are joined at a knee. Wheels are provided at the knees. Hereby, it is achieved that the bracket can be rotated out of the back and roll against the surface while being rotated out. This will facilitate opening of the stand and, in addition, the risk of damaging the surface under the back during rotation of the stand may be reduced.

According to one embodiment, the bracket is provided with a lip for locking the bracket to the indoor unit when the bracket is in the locked position. Hereby, an easy to implement locking mechanism for locking the holder in the locked position is obtained.

According to one embodiment, the second leg is bent. Thereby, the second leg can be formed to fit together with the part held by the bracket and the part can be better held in the correct position.

According to one embodiment, the bracket is formed as one integral part, except for the wheel. The bracket can thereby be manufactured easily, since the bracket can be formed or cast as one single manufactured piece. Even the support for the wheel may be formed in the one-piece part.

According to one embodiment, the width of the wheel is at least 2 cm. By providing a wheel with a minimum width, the risk of damaging the surface along which the wheel rolls may be reduced.

The invention also extends to a split air conditioning apparatus comprising an indoor unit and also to a stand according to the above.

Drawings

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit for a split type air conditioning apparatus;

fig. 2 is a side view of an indoor unit for a split type air conditioning apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of an indoor unit for a split-type air conditioning apparatus with the bracket in a locked position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an indoor unit for a split-type air conditioning unit with the bracket in an open position;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the bracket;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bracket; and

fig. 7 is a perspective view of the stand with the wheels removed.

Detailed Description

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather these embodiments are provided by way of example only so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, the same or similar components of the different embodiments may be interchanged between different embodiments. For example, more than one wheel may be used. Some components may be omitted according to different embodiments. Throughout this specification, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

In fig. 1, a perspective view of an air conditioning apparatus is shown. The air conditioning apparatus is shown as an indoor unit 100 for a split type air conditioning apparatus. The indoor unit 100 will typically be connected to an outdoor unit (not shown) when installed. The indoor unit 100 includes a housing 102. The housing 102 also includes a front panel 103.

In fig. 2, a side view of the indoor unit 100 is shown. The indoor unit 100 may have a bottom panel 104. The bottom panel 104 may be removed as shown in fig. 2. The indoor unit has a back 105. The indoor unit 100 may be generally mounted on a wall by facing the back 105 toward the wall.

In fig. 3, a cross-sectional view viewed from the side of the indoor unit 100 is shown. The indoor unit includes various conventional components such as an evaporator (heat exchanger) 107 and a fan 109. In addition, a condensation duct 113 and/or a water duct 111 may be provided inside the indoor unit 100. The condensation duct 113 may be connected with an evaporator (heat exchanger), and the water duct 111 may be used to discharge water.

When the stand 120 is in the locked position as in fig. 3, the water tube 111 and/or the condensation duct 113 or some other component such as a cable or the like may be held in place by the stand 120. As will be explained below, the stand may be operable to be opened.

In fig. 4, the indoor unit 100 is shown with the bracket 120 rotated open to be in an open position (which is opposite to the locked position shown in fig. 3). The bracket 120 may be rotated via a hinge 117 provided in the indoor unit 100. Further, the bracket 120 may be locked to the indoor unit by a snap fitting 115 provided in the indoor unit 100. When the stand is in the open position, components such as the water tubes 111 and/or the condenser tubes 113 may be accessed for servicing, such as maintenance or replacement. Furthermore, by the design of the bracket 120, the indoor unit 100 will tilt away from the surface against which the back 105 rests, which is typically a wall or the like. Then, by the tilting motion of the indoor unit, the components held by the bracket 120 can be more easily accessed because there will be more space between the back surface and the water pipes and the condenser pipes or any other components held by the bracket 120.

In fig. 5, the bracket 120 is shown in side view. The bracket 120 may include a first leg 121 and a second leg 122. The first leg may include a hinge member 123, the hinge member 123 for cooperating with the hinge 117 of the indoor unit to enable the bracket 120 to rotate relative to the indoor unit 120. A lip 124 may be provided, the lip 124 to cooperate with the snap-fit 115 to lock the bracket 120 in the locked position shown in fig. 3. The first leg 121 and the second leg 122 are joined at a knee 125. Knee 125 is provided with wheels 127. The wheels may help to rotate the bracket 120 when the back of the indoor unit is resting against a surface such as a wall. The wheels may then roll against the surface when the stand is moved from the locked position to the open position or when the stand is moved from the open position to the locked position. This will provide improved handling of the rack when the rack needs to be moved, such as when performing maintenance on components held by the rack 120.

In fig. 5, all components, such as the first leg 121, the second leg 122, and the knee 125, are formed in one integral component. In particular, all the components of the support 120 except the wheels may be manufactured as one integral part. However, it is also contemplated that different components of the bracket 120 may be formed from different components that are joined together. The angle between the first and second legs may typically be between 30 and 150 degrees and typically close to 90 degrees, such as between 60 and 120 degrees. Further, the second leg portion 122 may have the following bent shape: the bent shape allows the shape of the second leg 122 to be aligned with the shape of the components held by the bracket 120.

In fig. 6, a perspective view of the bracket 120 is shown. The wheel 127 located at the knee of the bracket 120 may be located at the center of the knee, and the width of the wheel 127 is about half of the width of the bracket 120. For example, the width of the carriage 120 may be about 5cm to 10cm, and the width of the wheel 125 may be about 2cm to 5 cm.

In fig. 7, a view similar to that of fig. 6 is shown with the wheel removed. As can be seen, the wheels can be mounted on supports 128 provided at the knee 125, so as to easily assemble the wheels in the knee 125 of the stand 120.

Claims

1. An indoor unit (100) for a split air conditioning unit, the indoor unit (100) comprising a housing (102) comprising a back (105) and a bracket (120) at the back of the indoor unit, the bracket comprising a first leg (121), a second leg (122) and a knee (125), wherein the bracket (120) is configured to rotate between a first locked position in which the bracket is configured to retain at least one component of the indoor unit and a second open position in which the bracket rotates out from the back of the indoor unit, wherein the first leg and the second leg engage at the knee (125), and wherein a wheel (127) is provided at the knee.

2. An indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the bracket is provided with a lip (124), the lip (124) being for locking the bracket to the indoor unit when the bracket is in the locked position.

3. An indoor unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second leg is bent.

4. The indoor unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bracket is formed as one integral part other than the wheel.

5. The indoor unit of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the width of the wheel is at least 2 cm.

6. A split type air conditioning apparatus comprising the indoor unit according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. A bracket (120), the bracket (120) configured to retain at least one component of an indoor unit (100) for a split air conditioning apparatus, the bracket comprising a first leg (121), a second leg (122), and a knee (125), wherein the bracket (120) is configured to rotate between a first locked position in which the bracket is configured to retain the at least one component of the indoor unit and a second open position in which the bracket is rotated out of the back of the indoor unit, wherein the first leg and the second leg are engaged at the knee (125), and wherein a wheel (127) is provided at the knee.

8. The bracket according to claim 7, wherein the bracket is provided with a lip (124), the lip (124) being for locking the bracket to the indoor unit when the bracket is in the locked position.

9. A stent according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second leg is bent.

10. A bracket according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the bracket is formed as one integral part, except for the wheel.

11. A rack as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the width of the wheel is at least 2 cm.