EP1629236A2

EP1629236A2 - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: EP1629236A2
Application number: EP04721029A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Young Bok Son; Kyoung Suk Sungwon 2Cha APT. 208-1505 LIM; Jeong Hun A-503 Electronics Inc. KIM; Sung Man Hwang; Kwang Won Digital Hwangtoe APT. 202-303 LEE
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2003-06-04
Filing date: 2004-03-16
Publication date: 2006-03-01
Also published as: WO2004109190A2; KR20040104901A; JP2006526755A; WO2004109190A3; KR100565672B1

Abstract

The present invention provides an air conditioner, by which high wind amount and high wind pressure can be simultaneously accomplished with a small size in an axial blowing direction and by which uniform air outflow is enabled in both upper and lower directions. The present invention includes a cabinet (10), a heat exchanger (11) provided within the cabinet, a spiral fan (13) comprising a rotational shaft vertically provided within the cabinet, a hub fixed to the rotational shaft, and a spiral blade formed on an outer circumference of the hub, the spiral fan blowing air in a direction of the rotational shaft, a motor connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft to rotate the spiral fan in a forward or reverse direction, and a support member (20) provided within the cabinet to support the spiral fan and the motor.

Description

Air Conditioner

TECHNICAL FIELD^'

The present invention relates to an air conditioner enabling to provide excellent performance with a small size thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, an air conditioner is an apparatus for cooling or heating an indoor space using a phenomenon that an operational fluid absorbs/discharges heat from/to its ambience on phase change.

An air conditioner according to a related art is explained by referring to the attached drawing as follows.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a related art. Referring to Fig. 1, an air conditioner according to a related art consists of a cabinet 1 having an air outlet 3 at its upper part and an air inlet 2 at its lower part, a heat exchanger 6 provided within the cabinet 1, and a centrifugal blowing fan 4.

The heat exchanger 6 exchanges heat of room air flowing inside the cabinet 1, and the centrifugal blowing fan 4 provided under the heat exchanger 6 sucks the room air via the air inlet 2 to blow to the heat exchanger 6. Moreover, the centrifugal blowing fan 4 blows the heat-exchanged room air through the heat exchanger 6 into the room via the air outlet 3.

Hence, the room air having sucked via the air inlet 2 by the centrifugal blowing fan 4 passes through the heat exchanger 6 for heat exchange and is then blown into the room again via the air outlet 3. However, the related art air conditioner has the following disadvantages or problems.

First of all, the related art air conditioner uses such a centrifugal blowing fan as a sirocco fan and a turbo fan having a flow characteristic that an air-incoming direction is orthogonal to an air-outgoing direction, whereby limitation is put on installation • -5 location and direction of the blowing fan in designing the air conditioner.

Secondly, the related art air conditioner uses the centrifugal blowing fan having

^■ high wind pressure but low wind amount, whereby a size of the centrifugal blowing fan should be increased to attain high wind amount. Therefore, the related art air conditioner has difficulty in providing compactness and slimness because of the 0 increased size of the blowing fan.

Since air can be sucked and discharged in an axial direction if an axial fan is used, there is almost no limitation put on the installation location and direction of the blowing fan in designing the air conditioner.

Yet, a diameter of the axial fan should be greatly increased to gain the wind 15 pressure exceeding a predetermined level since the axial fan provides low wind pressure, whereby an overall size of the air conditioner increases as well. Therefore, the axial fan is hardly used for the air conditioner in general.

Thirdly, the centrifugal blowing fan used for the related art air conditioner is unable to uniformly blow air according to the variation of a rotational direction. Hence,

20 the outflow of the cooling/heating air always takes place via the upper part of the cabinet to put limitation on the function of the air conditioner and to cause dissatisfaction to a user occasionally.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 25 Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an air conditioner that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner, by which high wind amount and high wind pressure can be simultaneously accomplished with a small size in an axial blowing direction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner enabling uniform air outflow in both upper and lower directions.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, an air conditioner according to the present invention includes a cabinet having a plurality of air passages formed therein, a heat exchanger provided within the cabinet, a spiral fan comprising a rotational shaft vertically provided within the cabinet, a hub fixed to the rotational shaft, and a spiral blade formed on an outer circumference of the hub₅ the spiral fan blowing air in a direction of the rotational shaft, a motor connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft to rotate the spiral fan in a forward or reverse direction, and a support member provided within the cabinet to support the spiral fan and the motor.

The support member includes an upper support member supporting an upper part of the rotational shaft and a lower support member supporting the motor.

And, the upper support member includes a bearing unit having the upper part of the rotational shaft rotatably connected thereto, a plurality of first supports radially extending from the bearing unit, and a second support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends of a plurality of the first supports.

Preferably, plurality of the first supports extend from the bearing unit to incline upward. And, a pair of the first supports are provided at a left side of the bearing unit and another pair of the first supports are provided at a right side of the bearing unit. The second support may includes a bar-type first fixing part connecting the pair of the first supports in the left side of the bearing unit and a bar-type second fixing part connecting the another pair of the first supports in the right side of the bearing unit. Moreover, the lower support member includes a motor loading part having a lower part of the motor fixed thereto, a plurality of third supports radially extending from the motor ■ loading part,- and a fourth support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends of a plurality of the third supports.

In this case, a fixing hole is formed in the motor loading part to have the lower part of the motor inserted therein. And, a packing made of an elastic material absorbing vibration generated from driving the motor is provided on an inner circumference of the fixing hole to enclose an outer circumference of the lower part of the motor.

Moreover, a pair of the third supports are provided at a left side of the motor loading part and another pair of the third supports are provided at a right side of the motor loading part, and the fourth support includes a bar-type third fixing part connecting the pair of the third supports in the left side of the motor loading part and a bar-type fourth fixing part connecting the another pair of the third supports in the right side of the motor loading part.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner further includes a cylindrical fan housing provided within the cabinet to enclose the spiral fan. A diameter of the fan housing gradually increases upward and downward from a middle part of the fan housing, and the middle part of the fan housing has an identical diameter. ^{* *} . .

And, the fan housing may include first and second fan housings symmetrically confronting each other centering around the rotational shaft.

Moreover, each corner of the first and second fan housings is provided to be contacted with an inner wall of the cabinet.

Meanwhile, an upper part of the motor is inserted into the hub. Moreover, the hub may be plurally aligned to be fixed to the rotational shaft to leave a predetermined interval. And, the cabinet may be cylindrical.

To further achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, an air conditioner includes a cabinet having a plurality of air passages formed therein, a heat exchanger provided within the cabinet, a plurality of axial fans fixed to the rotational shaft to be aligned to leave a predetermined interval from each other, a motor connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft to rotate a plurality of the axial fans in a forward or reverse direction, and a support member provided within the cabinet to support the spiral fan and the motor.

In this case, the support member includes an upper support member supporting an upper part of the rotational shaft and a lower support member supporting the motor. And, the upper support member includes a bearing unit having the upper part of the rotational shaft rotatably connected thereto, a plurality of first supports radially extending from the bearing unit, and a second support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends of a plurality of the first supports.

Moreover, a plurality of the first supports preferably extend from the bearing unit to incline upward. Meanwhile, the air conditioner further includes a fan housing provided within the cabinet to enclose the axial fans.

And,* the cabinet may be cylindrical.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a related art; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a spiral fan according to the present invention; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a fan housing in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an upper support member according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a front view of an upper support member according to the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a lower support member according to the present invention; Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 2, an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10 having a plurality of air passages 101 and 102 formed therein, a heat exchanger 11 provided within the cabinet 10, a spiral fan 13, a motor 12, and a support member 20.

A plurality of the air passages 101 and 102 include a first air passage 101 formed at an upper part of the cabinet and a second air passage 102 formed at a lower part of the cabinet 10, and guide a flow of air flowing in or blown out of the cabinet 10.

The heat exchanger 11 exchanges heat of the air having flown in the cabinet via the first or second air passage 101 or 102. Preferably, the heat exchanger 11 is formed

'V'-shaped to increase a contact area with air. And, the second air passage 102 is preferably formed at both front and rear sides of the cabinet 10 to enable the air to flow via the respective portions of the 'V'-shaped heat exchanger 11.

Of course, it is able to variously modify a shape of the heat exchanger 11 as well as the second air passage 102. For instance, the second air passage 102 can be formed at three locations of the lower part of the cabinet 10. Moreover, the spiral fan 13 forcibly sucks the air via the first or second air passage 101 or 102 according to a rotational direction of the spiral fan 13 so that the sucked air passes through the heat exchanger 11 to be externally blown out via the . second or first air passage^* 102 or 101. .

Specifically, the spiral fan 13 makes the air flow inside via the first or second ^• 5 air passage 101 or 102 according to its rotational direction so that the air is discharged via the second or first air passage 102 or 101.

For this operation, the motor 12 is coupled to a bottom of the spiral fan 13 to rotate in forward or reverse direction. Namely, the motor 12 switches the rotational direction of the spiral fan 13 if necessary, thereby changing a flow direction of the air 0 passing inside the cabinet 10.

And, the support member 20 supports the above-constructed spiral fan 13 and motor 12.

The respective elements constructing the air conditioner according to the present invention are explained in detail as follows. 5 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a spiral fan according to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 3, a spiral fan 13 according to the present invention includes a rotational shaft 131 vertically provided within the cabinet 10, a cylindrical hub 132 fixed to the rotational shaft 131, and a pair of blades 133 spirally formed on an outer circumference of the hub 132. 0 The motor (shown in Fig. 2) 12 is connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft 131, and a pair of the blades 133 are formed not to be reciprocally overlapped with each other if looked in a direction of the rotational shaft 131. Namely, if the hub 132 is cut into halves, a pair of the blades 133 are formed on outer circumferences of the halves of the cut hub 132, respectively. Hence, the hub 132 can be formed by injection 25 molding using upper and lower molds (not shown in the drawing). Of course, at least three blades 133 can be formed so as not to be overlapped with each other. In this case, the hub 132 can be formed using at least three molds.

. The above-constructed spiral fan 13 generates an air flow in the direction of the rotational shaft 131. Namely, having the blades 133 spirally formed on the outer

^"5 circumference of the hub along the direction of the rotational shat 131, the spiral fan 13 rotates to generate the air flow moving in the direction of the rotational shaft 131 along surfaces of the blades 133.

In other words, the spiral fan 13, as mentioned in the above description, rotates in the forward or reverse direction so that the air is sucked via the second or first air 0 passage 102 or 101 to be blown out via the first or second air passage 101 or 102.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner according to the present invention further includes a cylindrical fan housing 15 provided within the cabinet 10 . to enclose the spiral fan 13.

Top and bottom sides of the fan housing 15 are open to guide the flow of the air 5 passing through the spiral fan 13, and enables the air to smoothly flow in and out without attenuating the rotational force of the spiral fan 13. Moreover, the fan housing 15 is operative in raising static pressure of the flowing air.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a fan housing in Fig. 3. Referring to Fig. 4, the fan housing 15 has a curvature radius increasing toward 0 both its upper and lower parts from its middle part. Namely, the upper and lower parts of the fan housing 15 extend upward and downward from the middle part to gradually expand in an outer radial direction, thereby forming a kind of funnel shape.

Hence, the fan housing 15 provides a shape having both expanding upper and lower parts to enable the spiral fan 13 to suck/discharge air more smoothly. 5 And, the middle part of the fan housing 15 is formed to have an identical curvature radius. Hence, the fan housing 15 forms an orifice shape having a concave middle part thereof to provide a pressure difference between both ends of the middle part, whereby the pressure difference enables the spiral fan 13 to blow more air.

Meanwhile, the fan housing 15 may include first and second fan housings 151 and 152 symmetrically confronting each other centering around the rotational shaft 131. In order for the spiral fan 13 to suck/discharge the air more smoothly, a curvature radius of each of the first and second fan housings 151 and 152 is formed to gradually increase toward its upper and lower parts from its middle part.

Besides, when the first and second fan housings 151 and 152 are installed within the cabinet 10, each comer of the first and second fan housings 151 and 152 is installed to be contacted with an inner wall of the cabinet 10.

Meanwhile, the support member 20 includes an upper support member 17 supporting an upper part of the rotational shaft 131 and a lower support member 18 supporting the motor 12. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an upper support member according to the present invention, and Fig. 6 is a front view of an upper support member according to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 5, the upper support member 17 includes a bearing unit 171 having the upper part of the rotational shaft 131 rotatably connected thereto, a plurality of first supports 172 radially extending from the bearing unit 171, and a second support

173 connected to outer ends of a plurality of the first supports 172 and installed on an inner wall of the cabinet 10.

The bearing unit 171 is preferably formed with a self-lubricative material needing no additional lubricant, and a bearing (not shown in the drawing) is provided within the bearing unit 171 to enable smooth revolution of the rotational shaft 131. In the drawing, a pair of the first supports 172 are provided at a left side of the

^" bearing unit 171 and another pair of the first supports 172 are provided at a right side of the bearing unit 171. And, the second support 173 includes a bar-type first fixing part

173 a connecting a pair of the first supports 172a and 172b in the left side of the bearing unit 171 and a bar-type second fixing part 173 b connecting another pair of the first supports 172c and 172d in the right side of the bearing unit 171.

Hence, in a layout view, the upper support member 17 forms a configuration that a pair of triangles confront each other centering on the bearing unit 171.

Of course, at least three first supports 172 can be provided to each of the left and right sides of the bearing unit 171, and the second support 173 can be constructed with a single member connecting all the outer ends of the first supports 172.

Meanwhile, the first supports 172, as shown in Fig. 6, extend from the bearing unit 171 toward the first and second fixing parts 173a and 173b to incline upward, respectively. Specifically, as the air passes through the first supports 172, a vortex having a predetermined frequency is generated around each of the first supports 172. Hence, if the first supports 172 are provided at the identical level, the vortexes having the identical frequency are generated from all spots of the first supports 172 to amplify the noise. Yet, when the first supports 172 are provided to incline, vortexes having different frequencies are generated from the first supports 172, respectively. Hence, the noise can be reduced.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a lower support member according to the present invention. Referring to Fig. 7, the lower support member 18 includes a motor loading part 181 having the lower part of the motor 12 fixed thereto, a plurality of third supports 184 radially extending from the motor loading part 181, and a fourth support 185 installed at the inner wall of the cabinet 10 to connect outer ends of a plurality of the third supports 184. A fixing hole 182 is formed in the motor loading part 181 to have the lower part of the motor 12 inserted therein. And, a packing 183 made of an elastic material absorbing vibration generated from the driven motor 12 is provided on an inner circumference of the fixing hole 182 to enclose an outer circumference of the lower part of the motor 12. In the drawing, a pair of the third supports 184 are provided at a left side of the motor loading part 181 and another pair of the third supports 184 are provided at a right side of the motor loading part 181. And, the fourth support 185 includes a bar-type third fixing part 185a connecting a pair of the third supports 184a and 184b in the left side of the motor loading part 181 and a bar-type fourth fixing part 185b connecting another pair of the third supports 184c and 184d in the right side of the motor loading part 181. Hence, in a layout view, the lower support member 18 forms a configuration that a pair of triangles confront each other centering on the motor loading part 181.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention! Referring to Fig. 8, an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10 having a plurality of air passages 101 and 102 formed therein, a heat exchanger 11 provided within the cabinet 10, a spiral fan 23, a motor 12, and a support member 20.

The spiral fan 23 includes a rotational shaft 231 vertically provided within the cabinet 10, a cylindrical hub 232 fixed to the rotational shaft 231, and a pair of blades 233 spirally formed on an outer circumference of the hub 232.

And, the motor 12 is provided in a manner that its upper part is inserted into the hub 232..Namely, the upper part of the motor 12. is coupled with- the spiral fan_.23 while ^' inserted inside a lower part of the spiral fan 23. ^'• .5 Thus, once the motor 12 is inserted in the spiral fan 23 to be fixed thereto, the

; center of gravity of the spiral fan 23 moves downward to reduce the vibration generated^*

" from the revolution of the spiral fan 23. Besides, the motor 12 occupies less space to reduce an overall size of the air conditioner.

Meanwhile, in the air conditioner according to the first or second embodiment 10 of the present invention, the cabinet 10 may have a shape of rectangular parallelepiped like a general air conditioner. Yet, considering the shape of the spiral fan 13 or 23, the cabinet 10 can be cylindrical. If the cabinet 10 is cylindrical, a size of the cabinet 10 is reduced as well as a design of the air conditioner can be enhanced better than that of the related art air conditioner. 15 Moreover, the hub 132 or 232 can be plurally fixed to the rotational shaft 131 or

231 of the spiral fan 13 or 23 to leave a predetermined interval from each other. Namely, the spiral fan 13 or 23 can have a multi-stepped structure that a plurality of hubs 132 or 23 are loaded on the rotational shaft 131 or 231 to leave a predetermined interval from each other. 20 . An operational process of the air conditioner according to the present invention is explained as follows.

The operational process is described by referring to the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention, for example. And, it is assumed that the air is sucked by the revolution of the spiral fan 13 via the second air

25 passage 102 formed at the lower part of the cabinet 10 and is then discharged via the first air passage 101 formed at the upper part of the cabinet 10.

Once a user actuates the air conditioner, a refrigerant is supplied to the heat exchanger 11 from an outdoor unit (not shown in the drawing) including a compressor, a condenser and the like. And, the motor 12 is driven to rotate the spiral fan 13.

^{'• '}5 Accordingly, the spiral fan 13 sucks air via the second air passage 102 formed

; at the lower part of the cabinet 10 and the sucked air passes through the heat exchanger

11 to^' exchange heat.

Subsequently, the heat-exchanged air flows to the upper part of the spiral fan 13 from the lower part thereof in the direction of the rotational shaft 131. In doing so, the 10 fan housing 15 facilitates the flow of the air passing through the spiral fan 13.

Thereafter, the air having passed through the spiral fan 13 is blown out via the first air passage 101 formed at the upper part of the cabinet 10, thereby cooling or heating the room at the requested temperature.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner according to the present invention enables to 15 change the revolution direction of the spiral fan 13 to change the direction of the air flow. Specifically, if the revolution direction of the spiral fan 13 is changed, the air is sucked via the first air passage 101 formed at the upper part of the cabinet 10, passes through the spiral fan 13 and heat exchanger 11, and is then blown out into the room via the second air passage formed at the lower part of the cabinet 10. 20 Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 9, an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention utilizes a plurality of axial fans 333 and 334 instead of the spiral fan

13 or 23 of the first or second embodiment of the present invention. The axial fans 333

25 and 334 are aligned to be fixed to a rotational shaft 331 vertically provided within the cabinet 10 to leave a predetermined interval from each other.

Once the rotational shaft 331 revolves by the operation of the motor 12, the axial fans 333 and 334 connected to the rotational shaft 331 simultaneously rotate to generate the air flow that the air flows in or out of the cabinet 10. Of course, the rotational direction of the axial fans 333 and 334 is switched by the motor 12, whereby the air is sucked via the first or second air passage 101 or 102 to be blown out via the second or first air passage 102 or 101.

As is the case of the air conditioner adopting the spiral fan 13 or 23, the air conditioner enables the axial fans 333 and 334 to make the air flow in the direction of the rotational shaft and increases the static pressure using the fan housing 15.

Moreover, the cabinet 10 can be variously shaped like rectangular parallelepiped, cylinder and the like.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY Accordingly, the present invention provides the following advantages or benefits.

First of all, the air conditioner according to the present invention adopts the spiral or axial fans generating air flow parallel with the rotational shaft. Hence, there is almost no limitation put on the locations for installing the axial or spiral fans and a high wind amount can be provided with a small size. Therefore, an overall size of the air conditioner can be reduced to implement compactness and slimness.

Secondly, the air conditioner according to the present invention enables to prepare the variously shaped cabinet such as rectangular parallelepiped, cylinder and the like. Thirdly, the air conditioner according to the present invention provides uniform wind amount even if the rotational direction of the spiral or axial fans, thereby enabling ' ^• to blow out the air uniformly in upper/lower directions of the air conditioner.

Finally, the air conditioner according ^" to the present invention .installs . the support member to incline, thereby enabling to reduce the noise generated from the blown air.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

_. 1. An air conditioner comprising: a cabinet having a plurality of air passages formed therein; •, 5 a heat exchanger provided within the cabinet; a spiral fan comprising: a rotational shaft vertically provided within the cabinet; a hub fixed to the rotational shaft; and a spiral blade formed on an outer circumference of the hub, the spiral 10 fan blowing air in a direction of the rotational shaft; a motor connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft to rotate the spiral fan in a forward or reverse direction; and a support member provided within the cabinet to support the spiral fan and the motor. 15

2. The air conditioner of claim 1, the support member comprising: an upper support member supporting an upper part of the rotational shaft; and a lower support member supporting the motor.

20 3. The air conditioner of claim 2, the upper support member comprising: a bearing unit having the upper part of the rotational shaft rotatably connected

thereto; a plurality of first supports radially extending from the bearing unit; and a second support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends

25 of a plurality of the first supports.

4. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein a plurality of the first supports extend from the bearing unit to incline upward.

5. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein a pair of the first supports are provided at a left side of the bearing unit and another pair of the first supports are provided at a right side of the bearing unit, and wherein the second support comprises a bar-type first fixing part connecting the pair of the first supports in the left side of the bearing unit and a bar-type second fixing part connecting the another pair of the first supports in the right side of the bearing unit.

6. The air conditioner of claim 2, the lower support member comprising: a motor loading part having a lower part of the motor fixed thereto; a plurality of third supports radially extending from the motor loading part; and a fourth support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends of a plurality of the third supports.

7. The air conditioner of claim 6, wherein a fixing hole is formed in the motor loading part to have the lower part of the motor inserted therein.

8. The air conditioner of claim 7, wherein a packing made of an elastic material absorbing vibration generated from driving the motor is provided on an inner circumference of the fixing hole to enclose an outer circumference of the lower part of the motor.

9. The air conditioner of claim 6, wherein a pair of the third supports are " ^* provided at a left side of the motor loading part and another pair of the third supports

^• are provided at a right side of the motor loading part, and wherein the fourth support comprises a bar-type third fixing part connecting the pair of the third supports in the left , -5 side of the motor loading part and a bar-type fourth fixing part connecting the another pair of the third supports in the right side of the motor loading part.

10. The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising a cylindrical fan housing provided within the cabinet to enclose the spiral fan.

10

11. The air conditioner of claim 10, wherein a diameter of the fan housing gradually increases upward and downward from a middle part of the fan housing.

12. The air conditioner of claim 11, wherein the middle part of the fan 15 housing has an identical diameter.

13. The air conditioner of claim 11 , wherein the fan housing comprises first and second fan housings symmetrically confronting each other centering around the rotational shaft.

20

14. The air conditioner of claim 13, wherein each corner of the first and second fan housings is provided to^'be contacted with an inner wall of the cabinet.

15. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein an upper part of the motor is 25 inserted into the hub.

16. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the hub is plurally aligned to be fixed to the rotational shaft to leave a predetermined interval,

•_% 5 17. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the cabinet is cylindrical.

18. An air conditioner comprising: a cabinet having a plurality of air passages formed therein; a heat exchanger provided within the cabinet; 10 a plurality of axial fans fixed to the rotational shaft to be aligned to leave a predetermined interval from each other; a motor connected to a lower part of the rotational shaft to. rotate a plurality of the axial fans in a forward or reverse direction; and a support member provided within the cabinet to support the spiral fan and the 15 motor.

19. The air conditioner of claim 18, the support member comprising: an upper support member supporting an upper part of the rotational shaft; and a lower support member supporting the motor. 20

20. The air conditioner of claim 19, the upper support member comprising: a bearing unit having the upper part of the rotational shaft rotatably connected thereto; a plurality of first supports radially extending from the bearing unit; and 25 a second support installed at an inner wall of the cabinet to connect outer ends of a plurality of the first supports.

21. The air conditioner of claim 20, wherein a plurality of the first supports extend from the bearing unit to incline upward.

22. The air conditioner of claim 18, further comprismg a fan housing provided within the cabinet to enclose the axial fans.

23. The air conditioner of claim 18, wherein the cabinet is cylindrical.