EP1811235A2

EP1811235A2 - Indoor unit of air conditioner

Info

Publication number: EP1811235A2
Application number: EP06256483A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jae Hwan Kim; Chang Yoon Woo
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2006-01-24
Filing date: 2006-12-20
Publication date: 2007-07-25
Also published as: WO2007086643A2; WO2007086643A3; EP1811235A3

Abstract

An indoor unit (100) in an air conditioner is disclosed. The present invention has a cabinet (120) configuring a body of the indoor unit to have an outlet (122), a vane (126) rotatably provided to the cabinet to selectively open/close the outlet, and an outlet guide member (124) detachably provided within the outlet to guide air toward the outlet within the cabinet.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an indoor unit of an air conditioner. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for replacing a broken part only without replacing a whole cabinet broken in part.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, an air conditioner plays such a role as a heater, a cooler, an air cleaner and the like to heat/cool down an indoor space or clean air. The air conditioner is installed to provide a user with a more pleasant indoor environment.
Recently, an air conditioner, of which cabinet thickness is minimized by building a turbofan inside to be hanged on an indoor wall like a picture frame.
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective diagram of an indoor unit in an air conditioner according to a related art.
Referring to FIG. 11, an indoor unit in an aid conditioner consists of a thin rectangular cabinet 1 having a front opening, a blower 2 provided within the cabinet 1, a heat exchanger 5 provided in front of the blower 2, a front panel 6 provided in front of the heat exchanger 5 to have an inlet 7 for air intake, an orifice 8 provided between the blower 2 and the heat exchanger 5, and a front grill 9 provided rotatable against a front side of the front panel 6 by a prescribed angle to open/close the inlet 7.
The blower 2 consists of a turbofan 3 and a motor 4 rotating the.
The orifice 8 is provided between the heat exchanger 5 and the blower 2 to guide air sucked in through the inlet to the blower 2.
Besides, a filter is provided to a front side of the front panel to filter the sucked-in air, and a control box 11 is provided to an upper part of the orifice 8 to configure a control unit.
Outlet guide members 20 are provided in one body to left, right and lower sides of the cabinet 1, respectively, and an air guide 12 is provided to a topside of the cabinet 1 to guide the air blown upward to the left and right side outlet guide members 20.
In this case, the outlet guide members 20 play a role in guiding air, which has exchanged heat with the heat exchanger 5, to be blown into an indoor space and are provided to have the same size of the outlets 28 formed rectangular by cutting left, right and lower end portions of the cabinet 1, respectively.
Each of the outlet guide members 20 includes an outlet grill having a multitude of perforated air passages 25 to guide air from the cabinet 1 to the indoor space and a rounded-rectangular panel type vane 22 provided to cover the outlet grill 24.
The outlet grill 24 is configured to have a curvature corresponding to that of the vane 22 and a multitude of the air passages 25 are provided within the outlet grill 24.
The air passages 25 enable an inside and outside of the cabinet 1 to communicate with each other, whereby the air forced to flow by the blower 3 can be blown into the indoor space.
The vane 22 is rotatably installed to govern a flowing direction of the air blown into the indoor space via the air passages 25.
In particular, the vane 22 is connected to a vane motor 26 assembled to one inner side of the cabinet 1. And, a motor projection 23 is provided to an end portion of the vane 22 and is connected to the vane motor 26 to transfer a rotational power of the vane motor 26. So, once the motor connecting projection 23 is connected to the vane motor 26, the vane receives the rotational power from the vane motor 26 to govern the flowing direction of the blown air.
An internal configuration of the cabinet 1 provided with the vane motor 26 is explained with reference to the attached drawing as follows.
FIG. 12 is a magnified perspective diagram of a cabinet of an air conditioner indoor unit according to a

related art.

Referring to FIG. 12, an assembling plate 34 formed in one body of a cabinet 1 is provided to a left upper corner of the cabinet 1.
The assembling plate 34 partially partitions an internal space of the cabinet 1 into an upper part and a lower part. Specifically, the vane motor 26 is assembled to the upper part and the outlet guide member 20 is assembled to the lower part.
A pair of locking bosses 36 are provided to an upper surface of the assembling plate 34 to enable a screw lock after the vane motor 26 has been mounted thereon. And, a passing hole 38 is formed at the assembling plate 34 in the vicinity o the locking boss 36.
So, while the motor connecting projection 23 is upwardly inserted in the passing hole 38, locking pieces (not shown in the drawing) projected from an upper surface of the vane motor 26 in front and rear directions are mounted on a pair of the locking bosses 36. Screws or the like are then fastened to lock the locking bosses and the locking pieces together, whereby the vane motor 26 is able to transfer its rotational power to the vane 22.
However, the above-configured related art air conditioner has the following problems.
First of all, in order to assemble the vane motor 26 to the cabinet 1, the screws or the like should be fastened one by one after the locking pieces of the vane motor 26 have been mounted on the locking bosses 36, respectively while the motor connecting projection 23 is inserted in the passing hole 38. Yet, since a space for fastening the screws is too narrow, it is difficult to fasten the screws. Hence, productivity is decreased.
Secondly, in case that the locking boss 36 formed in one body of the cabinet 1 is broken in the course of assembling the vane motor 26 to the cabinet 26, since it is unable to replace the locking boss 36 only, the whole cabinet 1 of the related art should be replaced.
Thirdly, in case that the outlet grill 24 of the outlet guide member 20 formed in one body of the cabinet 1 is broken, it is unable to replace the outlet grill 24 of the related art separately.
Fourthly, since the outlet grill 24 installed in the cabinet 1 is formed in one body of the cabinet 1, a configuration of an injection molding die becomes complicated. So, it is difficult to prepare the injection molding die. And, the cabinet 1 is not molded correctly in part to increase an injection molding error rate of the cabinet 1.
Fifthly, in case of attempting to modify a design of a configuration of the outlet guide member 20 for the purpose of performance enhancement of the air conditioner and the like, a design of the cabinet 1 has to be changed. So, time and cost for the design modification are considerably wasted.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an indoor unit in an air conditioner that addresses one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the

related art.

It would be desirable to provide an indoor unit in an air conditioner, by which only a broken part can be replaced without replacing a whole cabinet broken in part.
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.
Accordingly, the invention provides an indoor unit in an air conditioner that includes a cabinet configuring a body of the indoor unit to have an outlet, a vane rotatably provided to the cabinet to selectively open/close the outlet, and an outlet guide member detachably provided within the outlet to guide air toward the outlet within the cabinet.
Preferably, the indoor unit further includes a vane motor rotating the vane and a motor mounting module combined with the vane motor to be detachably fixed to the cabinet.
More preferably, the motor mounting module includes a mounting module body sliding to be fitted in the cabinet wherein the vane motor is mounted on the mounting module body and a fixing member selectively fixed to the cabinet not to space the mounting module body apart from the cabinet. More preferably, the mounting module body includes a locking boss having the vane motor assembled thereto and a passing hole configured to be penetrated by at least one of an assembling projection provided to the vane and a rotational shaft of the vane motor to be assembled to the locking boss.
More preferably, the fixing member includes a holding piece provided to one side of the mounting module body and the cabinet includes a holding hook holding the mounting module body by being elastically locked to the holding piece selectively. More preferably, the holding hook includes an elastic member projected from a bottom surface of the cabinet to have elasticity and a holding member vertically extending from an end portion of the elastic member to be selectively held by the holding piece.
More preferably, the fixing member includes a locking piece provided to one side of the mounting module body and the cabinet includes a locking boss selectively combined with the locking piece by a locking member. More preferably, the locking piece is configured vertical to the mounting module body. More preferably, the indoor unit further includes a reinforcement rib connecting the locking piece and the mounting module body together.
More preferably, a locking hole is provided to the locking piece to be penetrated by the locking member.
More preferably, the cabinet includes a sliding guide part guiding the mounting module body to slide. More preferably, the sliding guide part includes a pair of insertion guide grooves provided to the cabinet to have a gap corresponding to a width of the mounting module body. More preferably, the sliding guide part further includes a support piece supporting the mounting module body.
Preferably, at least one side edge of the outlet guide member is fitted in at least one guide groove provided within the cabinet.
Preferably, the outlet guide member includes a plurality of ribs arranged in a horizontal direction and at least one louver arranged in a vertical direction between a plurality of the ribs.
More preferably, the at least one louver is arranged to be tilted against the ribs.
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 an exploded perspective diagram of an indoor unit of an air condition according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective diagram of a motor mounting module shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a vane motor assembled to the motor mounting module shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram of a sliding guide part of a cabinet to which a motor mounting module shown in FIG. 1 is assembled;
FIG. 5 is a perspective diagram of the motor mounting module assembled to the sliding guide part shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of a cabinet and a motor mounting module in an indoor unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram of the motor mounting module assembled to the cabinet shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of an outlet guide member separated from a cabinet in an indoor unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram of the outlet guide member assembled to the cabinet shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram according to a cutting line X-X in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective diagram of an indoor unit in an air conditioner according to a related art; and
FIG. 12 is a magnified perspective diagram of a cabinet of an air conditioner indoor unit according to a related art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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. 1 is an exploded perspective diagram of an indoor unit in an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, an indoor unit 100 in an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a blower 180, a cabinet 120 configuring an exterior of the indoor unit 100, a heat exchanger 150 provided to the cabinet 120 to exchange heat with a sucked-in indoor air, and an air guide 190 guiding air blown out by the blower 180.
The indoor unit 100 is explained in detail as follows.
First of all, a cover panel 110 is provided to a front side of the cabinet 120. And, a rectangular panel type front panel 112 is provided to a front side of the cover panel 110 to be spaced apart from. Thus, a front side of the indoor unit 110 is almost configured.
The front panel 112 is rotatably movable based on its upper or lower end portion. A gap between the front panel 112 and the cover panel 110 configures an air intake port (not shown in the drawing) to enable indoor air to be sucked into the indoor unit 100.
A cabinet 120 is assembled to a rear side of the cover panel 110. The cabinet 120 gears with the cover panel 110 to configure a space in-between in a front direction and various parts are installed within the space.
And, a plurality of outlets 122 are provided to left, right and lower edges of the cabinet 120 to have rectangular shapes formed by cutting corresponding portions of the cabinet 120, respectively.
A plurality of the outlets 122 enable air having been sucked into the indoor unit 100 to be blown into an indoor space again. In particular, an outlet guide member 124 explained in the following description guides air to be blown through the corresponding outlet 122 and is configured to be selectively shielded by a vane 126. The outlet guide member 124 and the vane 126 will be explained in detail later.
Meanwhile, an air filter 130 is provided to a rear side of the front panel 112, and more particularly, to a front center of the cover panel 110.
The air filter 130 plays a role in filtering the indoor air having passed through the front panel 112. A multitude of fine air-passing holes (not shown in the drawing) are formed in the air filter 130 to selectively filtering off particles from air. So, the air having passed through the front panel 112 and the air filter 130 is free from the particles to prevent the particles from being accumulated within the indoor unit 100.
A gear assembly 140 is assembled to a rear side of the cover panel 110.
The gear assembly 140 is configured to force a rotational movement of the front panel 112.
IN particular, the gear assembly 140 includes a grill motor 142 transferring a rotational power in case of power supply application, a motor accommodating body 144 fixed to the rear side of the cover panel 110 by accommodating the grill motor 142 therein, and a fan-shaped gear 146 interlocked with the grill motor 142 to move together and to have a toothed circumference. So, if the grill motor 142 rotates within the motor accommodating body 144 by being supplied with power, the gear 146 rotates to interfere one rear side of the front panel 112 so that a rotational movement of the front panel 112 can be forced.
A heat exchanger 150 is provided in rear of the cover panel 110 to make a heat exchange of the air introduced into the indoor unit 100.
The heat exchanger 150 has a thin rectangular hexahedron shape and is installed upright in the indoor unit 100 in a manner that its left and right sides are located at left and right sides of the indoor unit 100, respectively.
In particular, the heat exchanger 150 is assembled to a rectangular-panel type orifice 160 of which center is circularly perforated and the orifice 160 is locked to one front side of the cabinet 120 by screws, whereby the heat exchanger 150 is prevented from rocking within the indoor unit 100. So, the air sucked into the indoor unit 100 via the front panel 112 passes through the heat exchanger 150 with a large contact area to achieve efficient heat exchange.
And, the orifice 160 plays a role in guiding the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 150 to flow in a rear direction via its center portion.
A drain pan 170 is provided under the heat exchanger 150. A topside of the drain pan 170 is open to have a water collecting space 172.
The drain pan 170 is provided to collect condensed water generated from a temperature difference between the indoor air and a refrigerant in heat exchange by the heat exchanger 150. In particular, the condensed water flows down along an outer surface of the heat exchanger 150 to be collected in the water collecting space 172.
A cylindrical drainpipe 174 is provided to a right rear side of the drain pan 170 to be projected in a rear direction. The drainpipe 174 is configured to have its inner space communicate with the water collecting space 172. So, the condensed water collected in the water collecting space can be externally discharged from indoor unit 100.
A blower 180 is provided in rear of the orifice 160, and more particularly, in the perforated center portion of the orifice 160.
The blower 180 is configured to have a disc shape of which front is open. And, the blower 180 is provided with a fast rotational speed to force air flow within the indoor unit 100.
In particular, the bower 180 receives a rotational power by being connected to a motor shaft 189 of a fan motor 188 accommodated within a motor housing 186 to generate the rotational power in case of power application, The blower 180 is then able to generate a sucking power in a front direction to suck the indoor air into the indoor unit 100, thereby being able to force a circumferential flow direction.
A plurality of blades 182 are provided to an inner circumferential surface of the blower 180 by cutting the corresponding portions of the blower 180 to come into contact with air in case of a rotational movement of the blower 180. A plurality of the blades 182 are then bent in a front direction to form a plurality of passing holes 184. So, air is forced to move in an outer circumferential direction via the passing holes 184.
Meanwhile, an air guide 190 is assembled to a front upper part of the cabinet 120. And, a bottom side of the air guide 190 is rounded upward. So, the air guide 190 is configured to guide the air forced move via the passing holes 184 of the blower 180 toward a plurality of the outlets 122.
In particular, the air guide 190 is installed above the blower 180 in a vertical direction to be spaced apart from the blower 180. And, the air guide 190 guides the air flowing in a circumferential direction of the blower 180 via the passing holes 184 to the corresponding outlets 122 by distributing the air into right and left sides. So, air flow takes place within the cabinet 120 in directions of left, right and lower sides, whereby the air can be strongly blown out through the corresponding outlets 122.
Besides, the vane 126 is provided to each of the outlets 122 provided to the left, right and lower central parts of the cabinet 120 to selectively open/close the corresponding outlet guide member and outlet 124 and 122.
The outlet guide member 124 plays a role in guiding the air within the cabinet 120 to be externally blown via the corresponding outlet 122. And, the vane 126 is rotatably provided to one side of the corresponding outlet 122 to selectively open/close the corresponding outlet 122.
In this case, the outlet guide member 124 includes an outlet grill 123 having a multitude of air passages 128 to enable the air to be externally blown from the indoor unit 100.
The outlet grill 123, as shown in the drawing, includes a multitude of the air passages and is configured to have cross-sectional shape and size matching those of the corresponding outlet 122. So, the air passing through the outlet 122 is able to be blown out via the air passages 128 only.
The vane 126 is rotatably configured to force a flowing direction of the air blown out of the indoor unit 100 via the corresponding outlet 122. In particular, a vane motor 220 generating a rotational power by receiving a power is connected to the vane 126. By the rotational power generated from the vane motor 220, the vane 126 is able to repeatedly rotate within a prescribed angle range.
A motor assembling projection 127 is provided to the vane 126 to be assembled to a rotational shaft (not shown in the drawing) of the vane motor 220. By assembling the motor assembling projection 127 and the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220, the rotational power of the vane motor 220 can be transferred to the vane 126.
Meanwhile, the vane motor 200 is mounted on a separate motor mounting module 240 to be detachably assembled to the cabinet 120. So, a plurality of locking pieces 222 are provided to the vane motor 220 to be locked to the motor mounting module 240 via locking members such as screws and the like.
The motor mounting module 240 facilitates the vane motor 220 to be assembled to the cabinet 120. And, the motor mounting module 240 is assembled to a sliding guide part provided to the cabinet 120, which will be explained later, while combined with the vane motor 220.
And, the aforesaid outlets 122, the outlet grills 123, the vanes 126, the vane motors 220, the motor mounting modules 120 and the sliding guide parts are provided to the left, right and lower sides of the indoor unit of the air conditioner, respectively. For convenience of explanation, those provided to the left side of the indoor unit will be explained in detail with reference to the attached drawings as follows.
FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective diagram of a motor mounting module shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a vane motor assembled to the motor mounting module shown in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a motor mounting module 240 includes a mounting module body 242 sliding to be inserted into a cabinet (cf. '120' in FIG. 1) back and forth to have the vane motor 240 220 mounted thereon and a holding piece 248 provided to the mounting module body 242 to be assembled to the cabinet by holding.
The mounting module body 242 approximately has a plate shape. The mounting module body 242 is inserted in the cabinet 120 by having the vane motor 220 mounted thereon to play a role in supporting the vane motor 220 to fix thereto.
A passing hole 244 is provided to the mounting module body 242 to have at least one of the motor assembling projection 127 of the vane 126 and the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220 to pass through the mounting module body 242 to be assembled thereto.
In this case, the passing hole 244 is perforated in a vertical direction to have at least one of the motor assembling projection 127 and the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220 to be inserted therein. The passing hole 244 is configured to have an inner diameter slightly greater than an outer diameter of the motor assembling projection 127 or an outer diameter of the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220. Hereinafter, it is assumed that both of the motor assembling projection 127 and the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220 are aligned to pass trough the passing hole 244.
In case of installing the vane 126, if the motor assembling projection 127 is assembled to the rotational shaft (not shown in the drawing) of the vane motor 220 by inserting the motor assembling projection in the passing hole 244, a rotational power of the vane motor 220 is transferable to the vane 126 due to the assembly between the motor assembling projection 127 and the rotational shaft.
At least one locking boss 246 is projected from the mounting module body 242 to lock a corresponding locking piece 222 of the vane motor 220 by such a locking member as a screw and the like.
In particular, a pair of the locking bosses 246 are provided to one side of the mounting module body 242, and more particularly, to a topside of the mounting module body 242 to have a same shape. And, a topside of the corresponding locking boss 246 comes into a bottom surface of the corresponding locking piece 222 of the vane motor 220 and is then locked by the locking member such as a screw and the like.
Hence, once the locking bosses 246 and the locking pieces 222 of the vane motor 220 are locked to each other while contacting with each other, it is able to prevent the vane motor 220 from being separated from the motor mounting module 240.
Besides, an insertion rib 249 is provided to at least one of left and right edges of the mounting module body 242 to be inserted in a sliding guide part 260 of the cabinet 120 by sliding. In particular, the insertion rib 249 is configured parallel to a sliding direction of the motor mounting module 240.
If the mounting module body 242 is inserted in the sliding guide part 260 of the cabinet 120 which will be explained later, the motor mounting module 240 partitions an internal space of the cabinet 120 into upper and lower or right and left spaces. In particular, the vane motor 220 and the vane 126 are disposed to leave the mounting module body 242 in-between.
A rectangular panel type holding piece 248 is vertically projected from a rear end of the mounting module body 242. The holding piece 248 is configured to have the motor mounting module 240 held by a holding hook (cf. '265' in FIG. 265) of the cabinet 120 not to be separated therefrom. Once the mounting module body 242 is completely inserted in the cabinet 120, the holding piece 248 is locked by the holding hook 265.
FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram of the sliding guide part 260 of the cabinet 120 to which the motor mounting module 240 shown in FIG. 1 is assembled and FIG. 5 is a perspective diagram of the motor mounting module 240 assembled to the sliding guide part 260 shown in FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the sliding guide part 260 includes a pair of insertion guide grooves 262 and 263 on which the mounting module body 242 of the motor mounting module 240 slide and a support piece 264 supporting the mounting module body 242.
Meanwhile, a fixing hook 265 is provided to one side of the cabinet 120 as a separation preventing means for selectively fixing the motor mounting module 240 thereto not to be separated from the cabinet 120 in case that the motor mounting module 240 slides.
In this case, the motor mounting module 240, and more particularly, the mounting module body 242 slides in a pair of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263 to be fixed thereto. And, a pair of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263 are configured to be spaced apart from each other with a gap corresponding to a width of the mounting module body 242.
Once the mounting module body 242 is disposed between a pair of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263. the mounting module body 242 partitions a space within the cabinet 120 into upper and lower spaces.
A pair of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263 play a role in guiding the insertion rib 249 to slide in. And, a pair of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263 are recessed in a lateral direction and extended long back and forth, thereby configuring thickness and length corresponding to those of the insertion rib 249.
Once the left and right side edges of the mounting module body 242, and more particularly, the insertion rib 249 slides into the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263, the left and right side edges of the mounting module body 242 are held tight without rocking.
The support piece 264 is provided to interrupt a lower directional movement of the mounting module body 242. When the left and right side edges of the mounting module body 242, and more particularly, the insertion rib 249 is inserted along the guidance of the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263, a topside of the support piece 264 comes into contact with a bottom surface of the mounting module body 242.
So, even if the weight of the motor mounting module 240 increases as the vane motor 220 is mounted on the mounting module body 242, the motor mounting module 240 can be securely supported in a vertical direction by the support piece 264. Preferably, in order to support the motor mounting module 240 more stably, it is able to provide a wider area to the support piece 264.
Meanwhile, a holding hook 265 is projected from the cabinet 120 above the sliding guide part 260 to be spaced apart.
In this case, the holding hook 265 holds the holding piece 248 to prevent the motor mounting module 240 from sliding forward. The holding hook 265 has a '┐' type cross-section in a lateral view within the cabinet 120 to have prescribed elasticity.
In particular, the holding hook 265 includes a rectangular panel type elastic member 266 projected forward from a bottom surface of the cabinet 120 and a holding member 267 vertically projected from an end portion of the elastic member 266 in a lower direction.
When the motor mounting module 260, and more particularly, the mounting module body 242 is inserted in the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263, the elastic member 266 is bent upwardly to generate an elastic recovery power. In particular, the elastic member 266 generates the elastic recovery power by the interference between the holding piece 248 and the holding member 267. So, if the interference between the holding piece 248 and the holding member 267 is released, the elastic member 266 is able to be recovered to its original state by the elastic recovery power.
Meanwhile, the holding member 267 is projected from an end portion of the elastic member 266. The holding member 267 holds a front end of the holding piece 248 to regulate the sliding of the motor mounting module 240. Preferably, the holding member 267 is formed in one body of the elastic member 266 to secure sufficient rigidity.
So, once the mounting module body 242 slides to be fitted into the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263, the holding piece 248 comes into being interrupted with the holding member 267. In particular, an upper end portion of the holding piece 248 is held by the elastic recovery power of the holding hook 265, whereby the motor mounting module 240 can be prevented from being randomly separated in a separation direction (i.e., upper or front direction) in view of FIG. 5.
A process for mounting the vane motor 220 with the mounted structure of the vane motor of the indoor unit in the air conditioner according to the present invention is explained with reference to the attached drawings as follows.
First of all, a user mounts the vane motor 220 on the topside of the motor mounting module 240 while the vane motor 220 and the motor mounting module 240 are separated from each other. In particular, the vane motor 220 is mounted in a manner that the bottom surface of the licking piece 222 comes into contact with the topside of the corresponding locking boss 246 and is then locked by the locking member such as a screw and the like. In this case, the vane motor 220 is completely assembled to the motor mounting module 240 not to be separated from and the rotational shaft of the vane motor 220 is disposed over or within the passing hole 244.
After the vane motor 220 has been mounted on the motor mounting module 240, the motor mounting module 240 is assembled to the cabinet 120.
A process for assembling the motor mounting module 240 to the sliding guide part 260 is explained in detail as follows.
First of all, the motor mounting module 240, and more particularly, the insertion rib 249 as the left side edge of the mounting module body 242 is fitted into the insertion guide groove 264 to interrupt a movement of the left side edge of the mounting module body 242. And, the holding piece 248 of the motor mounting module 240 is inserted in the space configured between the holding hook 265 and the support piece 264 to interrupt the movement.
Simultaneously, the support piece 264 supports the mounting module body 242 upwardly while coming into contact with the bottom surface of the mounting module body 242 to prevent the mounting module body 242 from being downwardly separated.
By the interruption of the above elements, the motor mounting body 240 is able to slide back and forth only against the cabinet 120.
Subsequently, if the motor mounting module 240 is farther pushed in, the holding piece 248 and the holding member 267 are interrupted with each other to generate the elastic recovery power of the elastic member 266. So, by the interruption release between the holding piece 248 and the holding member 267, the elastic member 266 returns to its original state.
In this case, the front end portion of the holding piece 248 is held by the holding member 267, whereby the motor mounting module 240 is unable to move in any direction within the cabinet 120 to complete the mounting of the vane motor 220.
After the motor assembling projection 127 has been inserted in the passing hole 244, if the motor assembling projection 127 is assembled to the rotational shaft (not shown in the drawings) of the vane motor 220, the rotational power generated from the vane motor 220 in case of the power application can be transferred to the vane 126.
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of a cabinet and a motor mounting module in an indoor unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram of the motor mounting module assembled to the cabinet shown in FIG. 6.
Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, comparing a motor mounting module of an indoor unit in an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention to that of the first embodiment of the present invention, a locking piece 254 is provided to one side of a mounting module body 242 and a locking boss 270 is provided to a correspondent position of a cabinet 120. So, the locking piece 254 is locked to the locking boss 270 by a locking member. So, such a difference between the first and second embodiments is taken into consideration for the following explanation.
First of all, the mounting module body 242 of the motor mounting module 240 of the second embodiment of the present invention includes the locking piece 254 to be locked to the cabinet 120 by the locking member 252. And, the locking boss 270 is provided to the correspondent position of the cabinet 120 to be locked by the locking piece 254.
In this case, the locking piece 254 is configured to be vertical to the mounting module body 242 to face a front side of the cabinet 120 in case of being assembled to the cabinet 120. And, a locking piece 256 is provided to the locking piece 254 by perforating the locking piece 254 to be penetrated by the locking member 252. Besides, a reinforcement rib 258 is provided to the motor mounting module 240 to prevent the bending or breakage of the locking piece 254 by vertically crossing over each of the mounting module body 242 and the locking piece 254 to connect them together.
In the vain motor mounted structure of the indoor unit in the air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in case that the locking piece 254 is locked to the locking boss 270 by the locking member 252, it is able to restrict the front-to-rear, upper-to-lower or right-to-left movement or rocking of the motor mounting module 240 and no gap is generated from the motor mounting module 240, and more particularly, between the mounting module body 242 and the insertion guide grooves 262 and 263.
Hence, it is able to prevent the breakage or dewdrops from being generated around the vane motor 220 in case that cold air penetrates through the gap.
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of an outlet guide member separated from a cabinet in an indoor unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram of the outlet guide member assembled to the cabinet shown in FIG. 8.
Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, outlet guide members 240 are detachably provided to outlets 322 formed at left side, right side and lower side of a cabinet 320 to guide flowing directions of air blown from the cabinet 320, respectively. And, a vane 310 is rotatably provided to an outside of the outlet guide member 340 to selectively open/close the corresponding outlet 322.
The outlet guide member 340 includes a plurality of ribs 342 aligned upward to be evenly spaced apart from each other and at least one louver 344 provided between a plurality of the ribs 342 to guide flowing directions of blown air.
For instance, it is able to arrange three louvers 344 between the two ribs 343. And, it is able to configure each of the louvers 344 to be tilted against the correspondent rib 343 by a prescribed angle (e.g., 90°).
The above-configured outlet guide member 340 is detachably provided to the corresponding outlet of the cabinet 320 to facilitate its replacement.
In this case, in order to detachably fix the outlet guide member 340, it is able to provide a guide groove 345 to one side of the outlet 322 of the cabinet 320 so that at least one of both upper and lower ends of the outlet guide member 340 can be fitted in the guide groove 345.
In the third embodiment of the present invention, in order to securely assemble the outlet guide member 340 to the cabinet 320, it is assumed in the following description that the guide grooves 345 are provided to both upper and lower sides of the corresponding outlet 322 provided to the cabinet 320, respectively
Meanwhile, in case that the outlet guide member 340 is fixed to the cabinet 320, the guide groove 345 is provided to the cabinet 320. Instead, a projection is provided to the cabinet 320 and a groove corresponding to the projection can be provided to the outlet guide member 340.
In the third embodiment of the present invention, in order that the outlet guide member 340 is detachably assembled to the air outlet 322 provided to the cabinet 320 in a front-to-rear direction, it is assumed that the guide rove 345 is open in the front-to-rear direction and a front side has an open groove shape to enable a separation of the outlet guide member 340.
Preferably, the above-configured guide groove 345 is configured to have a same size of an inserted portion of the outlet guide member 340 to be fitted into the guide groove 345.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, most upper and lower ribs 342 of the outlet guide member 340 configuring the outlet guide member 340 slide to be fitted into the guide grooves 345 to be fixed to the cabinet 320, respectively.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram according to a cutting line X-X in FIG. 9.
Referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the most upper rib 342 of the outlet guide member 340 is fitted into the guide groove 345.
Meanwhile, in order to prevent the outlet guide member 340 from being separated from the cabinet 320 in the front-to-rear direction after having been assembled to the cabinet 320, it is preferable that the outlet guide member 340 is provided between a base panel 302 of the cabinet 320 and an orifice 160 that will be explained later.
Preferably, if the outlet guide member 340 is assembled to the cabinet 320, the rib 342 of the outlet guide member 340 has a size to enable its front and rear ends to come into contact with the cabinet 320 and the orifice 160, respectively.
Accordingly, the present invention provides the following effects or advantages.
First of all, a vane motor is loaded in a motor mounting module and the motor mounting module then slides in a cabinet to be assembled thereto. So, the present invention facilitates the vane motor to be mounted, thereby reducing a working time to enhance productivity.
Secondly, although a mounting module body is damaged or broken in installing a vane motor, a motor mounting module is replaced only instead of a whole cabinet. So, the present invention facilitates maintenance and repairs.
Finally, since an outlet guide member prepared separate from a cabinet is detachably provided to an air outlet of the cabinet, the outlet guide member that is damaged or broken can be replaced in a simple manner to facilitate defect repair.
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 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

An indoor unit in an air conditioner, comprising:
a cabinet configuring a body of the indoor unit to have an outlet;

a vane rotatably provided to the cabinet to selectively open/close the outlet; and

an outlet guide member detachably provided within the outlet to guide air toward the outlet within the cabinet.
The indoor unit of claim 1, further comprising:
a vane motor rotating the vane; and

a motor mounting module combined with the vane motor to be detachably fixed to the cabinet.
The indoor unit of claim 2, the motor mounting module comprising:
a mounting module body sliding to be fitted in the cabinet wherein the vane motor is mounted on the mounting module body; and

a fixing member selectively fixed to the cabinet not to space the mounting module body apart from the cabinet.
The indoor unit of claim 3, the mounting module body comprising:
a locking boss having the vane motor assembled thereto; and

a passing hole configured to be penetrated by at least one of an assembling projection provided to the vane and a rotational shaft of the vane motor to be assembled to the locking boss.
The indoor unit of claim 3, wherein the fixing member includes a holding piece provided to one side of the mounting module body and wherein the cabinet includes a holding hook holding the mounting module body by being elastically locked to the holding piece selectively.
The indoor unit of claim 5, the holding hook comprising:
an elastic member projected from a bottom surface of the cabinet to have elasticity; and

a holding member vertically extending from an end portion of the elastic member to be selectively held by the holding piece.
The indoor unit of claim 3, wherein the fixing member comprises a locking piece provided to one side of the mounting module body and wherein the cabinet includes a locking boss selectively combined with the locking piece by a locking member.
The indoor unit of claim 7, wherein the locking piece is configured vertical to the mounting module body.
The indoor unit of claim 8, further comprising a reinforcement rib connecting the locking piece and the mounting module body together.
The indoor unit of claim 7, wherein a locking hole is provided to the locking piece to be penetrated by the locking member.
The indoor unit of claim 3, wherein the cabinet includes a sliding guide part guiding the mounting module body to slide.
The indoor unit of claim 11, wherein the sliding guide part includes a pair of insertion guide grooves provided to the cabinet to have a gap corresponding to a width of the mounting module body.
The indoor unit of claim 12, the sliding guide part further comprising a support piece supporting the mounting module body.
The indoor unit of claim 1, wherein at least one side edge of the outlet guide member is fitted in at least one guide groove provided within the cabinet.
The indoor unit of claim 1, the outlet guide member comprising:
a plurality of ribs arranged in a horizontal direction; and

at least one louver arranged in a vertical direction between a plurality of the ribs.
The indoor unit of claim 15, wherein the at least one louver is arranged to be tilted against the ribs.