EP0756140A2

EP0756140A2 - Air-conditioner of the transferable type

Info

Publication number: EP0756140A2
Application number: EP96830401A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Fernando Marchesi
Original assignee: Olimpia Splendid SpA
Current assignee: Olimpia Splendid SpA
Priority date: 1995-07-27
Filing date: 1996-07-18
Publication date: 1997-01-29
Also published as: ITRE950036U1; EP0756140A3; IT239243Y1

Abstract

Transportable air-conditioner in which movement of the room air (A) is obtained by means of a radial-type fan (7) positioned immediately behind the front part of the casing (19).

Description

The present invention relates to the sector of transferable air-conditioners, and in particular so-called monobloc air-conditioners, in which a single casing contains a cold-generating fluid compressor, a condensation circuit with the forced circulation of external air and an evaporation circuit with the circulation - also forced - of room air.
It is known of monobloc air-conditioners of the transferable type comprising a condenser cooling air circuit consisting of two pipes provided with a union for connection to appropriate ducts, also of the flexible type, which are placed in communication with the external environment, the cooling air circuit being driven by a fan.
In these known air-conditioners, a second fan ensures the circulation of the room air, disposal of the condensate which collects at the bottom of the evaporation set being performed either by means of direct discharging to the exterior or by spraying this condensate onto the condenser set and thus evaporating it externally.
In these known monobloc air-conditioners, the limitations as regards restriction of the dimensions, weight and noise levels adversely affect the general characteristics of the machine, which in practice is of limited efficiency and also noisy.
In fact, the need to reduce the dimensions has oriented designers towards limiting the cross-section of the air ducts and air passageways in general, all of which to the detriment of the noisiness of the machine.
Moreover, the possibility of increasing the ventilation capacity in order to achieve acceptable levels of efficiency results in even higher noise levels.
The object of the present invention is to obtain a monobloc air-conditioner of the transferable type which combines low noisiness with a high level of efficiency.
A further object is to limit the dimensions and the weight of the air-conditioner, resulting in a substantially compact machine.
These objects are obtained by using a radial-type fan in the room-air ventilation circuit and positioning the said fan immediately behind the front part of the casing.
In fact, careful testing carried out by the owner of the patent application has produced the surprising result that a high processing potential is obtained with limited dimensions if a radial fan is employed in place of the normal axial, tangential or centrifugal fans used hitherto.
The invention will emerge more clearly from the description of an example of embodiment provided herein below with the aid of three illustrative plates.
In said plates, Fig. 1 shows a schematic vertical or split cross-sectional view of a transferable monobloc air-conditioner constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the said air-conditioner, partially sectioned along a horizontal plane in the region of the upper zone for processing of the room air;
Fig. 3 shows again a plan view of the said air-conditioner, partially sectioned along a horizontal plane in the region of the lower zone.

With reference to said figures, 1 denotes in its entirety an air-conditioner constructed according to the invention.
2 denotes in its entirety the zone for processing the room air A, consisting of an air filter 4, an evaporating set 5, a collection chamber 6, a radial fan 7 driven by an electric motor 8, and a grill 9 for expelling the processed room air A in a subvertical direction.
The circuit for the external air E cooling the condenser 10 comprises an inlet collar 11 for the duct 12 communicating with the exterior; an internal sealed duct 13 which leads to a sealed chamber 14 containing, among other things, at is base a cold-generating compressor 15; an electric fan 16 which expels air through the connecting collar 17 and the duct 18 to the exterior.
The assembly is sealed by a common casing 19, the room-air processing section 2 being contained inside said common casing 19 and pneumatically separated therefrom via an internal casing 20.
21 shows schematically an external dividing wall.

Operation is as follows:

In the processing zone 2 the room air A is sucked in through the filter 4 in the rear wall of this zone, which is located at a suitable distance from the external wall 21.
The filtered room air passes through the cold evaporation set 5, enters into the collection chamber 6 and is re-introduced into the room by the radial fan 7 in a subvertical direction, via the grill 9.
The bottom part of the air-conditioner 1 has extending through it the path of the external air E which enters the duct 12, passes through the inlet collar 11, enters the collection chamber 14 via the duct 13, passes through the hot condensation set 10, is sucked back in by the electric fan 16 and expelled to the exterior via the collar 17 and the duct 18.
The invention has the further advantage that the air filter 4, from which most of the noise is emitted during operation of an air-conditioner, is located in the rear part of the machine, facing the external wall 21; this position not directly exposed to the environment further limits the emission of noise, resulting in particularly silent operation of the air-conditioner.
The invention may be completed with the application of known devices for collecting the internal condensate, extractable grills housing interchangeable filters, support wheels designed to facilitate transferability of the machine, and other devices, subject to the use and arrangement of a radial fan for movement of the stream of room air.
Although described with regard to application to an air-conditioner of the monobloc type, the invention may also be applied, in a variant achieving the same utility, to wall-mounted air-conditioners of the separable type, subject to installation of a fan of the radial type for movement of the air introduced into the room.

Claims

Monobloc air-conditioner of the transferable type, consisting of a room-air processing section and an external-air processing section which are separate from one another, both being contained inside a single casing or covering, characterized in that a radial-type fan (7) is provided in the room-air processing section (2).
Air-conditioner according to Claim 1, characterized in that the fan (7) is positioned immediately behind the front panel of the air-conditioner.
Air-conditioner according to Claims 1 and 2 above, considered also separately from one another, characterized in that the fan (7) re-introduces the air into the room in a subvertical direction.
Air-conditioner according to Claims 1, 2 and 3 above, considered also separately from one another, characterized in that the zone for sucking back in the room air (4) is provided in the rear part.
Air-conditioner consisting of a wall-mountable room-air processing section and an external-air processing section which are separate from one another, characterized in that a radial-type fan (7) is provided in the room-air processing section (2).