EP3662207B1

EP3662207B1 - Portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door

Info

Publication number: EP3662207B1
Application number: EP18890056.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Nezih Mert BOLGUL; Ozgur BAYER
Original assignee: Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi
Current assignee: Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi
Priority date: 2017-08-04
Filing date: 2018-08-01
Publication date: 2023-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-01
Also published as: WO2019125329A2; EP3662207A4; WO2019125329A3; EP3662207A2

Description

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable air conditioner that is capable of being integrated with household doors and which consumes a small space in a room.

Prior Art

There are known some air conditioners that condition (cool, dehumidify, optionally heat and filter dusts and particulates) indoor air in order to ensure a more convenient and efficient environment for people. Due to their nature, air conditioners are generally used for cooling or heating indoor air. Operating method for air conditioners includes evaporating a fluid in liquid state with a determined pressure at a desired temperature and retransforming said fluid into liquid state from gaseous state. A matter in the liquid state is saturated with heat in addition to pressure and is transformed into gaseous state, which is a process called phase change. A refrigerant used as a circuit material is absorbed, compressed and condensed through a compressor. Thanks to the particular chemical compounds used in air conditioners, vaporization is provided and the characteristic of this state change is utilized as heating or cooling. A cycle including recondensing the fluid evaporated through a closed-coil system is provided.
The air conditioners known in the prior art are used in several areas, from houses, vehicles to the places of work and education. As for household air conditioners, the air conditioner is formed of an inner unit and an outer unit. The inner unit is located in the area to be conditioned while the outer unit is placed outside, preferably in an environment where it would be in contact with outdoor air. The air conditioner is in the form of a body wherein its inner unit is located within the environment to be heated or cooled, and said body comprises components including an evaporator, an evaporator fan motor, a thermostat and an expansion valve. The outer unit of the air conditioner is in the form of a body that is located outside the environment, outdoors, and said unit comprises components such as a condenser, a condenser fan and a dryer.
In the prior art, the air conditioners used to have a copper pipe coupling, between its outer unit and inner unit. Walls of buildings need to be drilled in order to enable such pipe coupling between the outer unit and the inner unit. Furthermore, the outer unit has to be fixed to the exterior walls of the buildings. To eliminate these drawbacks occurring during mounting of air conditioners, the air conditioners that can be mounted on windows in the prior art have been provided; however, in these types of air conditioners, some portions of window panes should be cut to allow hot air discharge or the window panes should be kept open so as to allow a hot air pipe to discharge outside. Moreover, the need of cutting window panes of all rooms where air conditioners are located or keeping them open for hot air discharge results in efficiency losses at a very significant rate and it also has a bad appearance aesthetically.
Another disadvantage in the prior art is that the compressor within the inner unit located in a room makes too much noise, and this noise has a negative effect on user convenience.
An invention disclosed in a document numbered CN204254739 in the prior art discloses a household air conditioner comprising an outer unit and an inner unit that performs circulation between indoor air and outdoor air.
Another invention described in a document numbered US7992404B2 in the prior art describes a connecting rod that is used to be secured on household windows and is disposed between an inner body and an outer body, which allows a fluid connection there-between. Said connecting rod forms a bridge between the inner unit and the outer unit, which is used to ensure that the units can be hung on both sides of the window.
Yet another invention described in a document numbered EP0695917A2 in the piror art describes a portable air-conditioning equipment for living areas. Said portable air-conditioning equipment comprises an inner unit, an outer unit and a flexible element that connects the inner unit and outer unit to each other. The inner unit comprises an evaporator with an electric fan and the outer unit comprises condenser with an electric fan. The outer unit also comprises wheels at the bottom so that it can be wheeled.
Another invention in a document numbered US2007051244A1 in the prior art discloses a door mount air conditioning apparatus. Said air conditioning apparatus comprises a casing defining an accommodating space wherein said casing comprises a top open end which serves as an air outlet, and a bottom open end defining the bottom opening; a fan unit mounted in the accommodating space below the top opening in the casing for drawing air thereunder and discharging air through the air outlet. In order to continue to work of the air conditioner, disclosed invention solves the problem of discharging of heat by using an air collecting conduit that is mounted in a space under the door.

Problems Solved by the I nvention

An aim of the invention is to provide a portable air conditioner that can be mounted to/dismounted from a door leaf as an individual body, that consumes a small space in the room to be conditioned, and does not have hose connections extending outside.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door and that can be fixed onto the door after being mounted thereon and which moves together with the door.
Another further aim of the invention is to provide a portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door, and has smart technology.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door that is capable of reducing or eliminating the noise inside a room caused by the operation of the compressor which is located outside the room.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention is defined in claim 1. The dependent claims define preferred embodiments of the invention.
A portable air conditioner that can be integrated to a door which is developed to achieve the aforementioned aims of the present invention, has been depicted in accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 . is the front perspective view of a portable air conditioner that can be integrated Z with a door according to the present invention.
Figure 2 . is the front perspective view of the mounted state of the portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door according to the present invention.
Figure 3 . is the perspective view of the portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door and the air lock mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 . is the front sectional view of an outer unit of the portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door according to the present invention.
Figure 5 . is the front sectional view of an inner unit of the portable air conditioner that can be integrated with a door according to the present invention.

All the parts shown in the drawings are each given a reference number, and the corresponding definitions of these numbers are as follows.

1. Portable air conditioner
2. Body
- 21. Inner unit
- 22. Outer unit
- 23. Connection path
- 200. Housing
3. Wheel
4. Locking mechanism
- 41. Locking element
- 42. Connection element
- 43. Elastic element
- K. Door leaf

The portable air conditioner (1) that is used to condition indoor air, which can be integrated with a door leaf (K) is defined in claim 1 and basically comprises:

at least an inner unit (21) including an opening through which the conditioned air is discharged, having an evaporator, fan and expansion valve therein, which is used in the area that is to be conditioned and which can be integrated to the door leaf (K) of a door,
at least an outer unit (22) that is used outside the area to be conditioned, which comprises a condenser and a compressor therein,
at least a body (2) that extends between bottom portions of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22), which connects the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) to each other, and includes at least a connection path (23) comprising a passage channel for the coupling of the pipes between the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22), and comprises at least two wheels (3) that is used for moving the body (2). A housing (200) that is placed between side walls of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) that are facing each other and on the connection path (23) is configured such as to receive the door leaf (K) therein.

The portable air conditioner (1) according to the present invention comprises an individual body (2) formed of an inner unit (21), an outer unit (22) and a connection path (23) and wheels (3) on the bottom of the body (2). A housing (200) that is placed between side walls of the inner unit and the outer unit (22) facing each other and on the connection path (23) is configured such as to receive a door leaf (K) therein. The body (2) is placed on the door leaf (K) such that the inner unit (21) is to be within the room to be conditioned and the outer unit (22) of the body (2) is to be placed outside the room to be conditioned. The body (2) has a housing (200) in the shape of a recess located between side walls of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) and an upper face of the connection path (23) such that the body receives the door leaf (K) therein, and the body (2) is integrated on the door leaf (K) following the mounting of the door leaf (K) in the recess.
The body (2) of the portable air conditioner (1) according to the present invention; comprises 3 parts including the inner unit (21), the outer unit (22) and the connection path (23). Firstly, the body (2) of the portable air conditioner (1) is mounted on the door leaf (K) by means of the wheels (3) and then the air conditioner is operated. The inner unit absorbs the air in the room to be conditioned through a fan and transfers this air through an evaporator containing a refrigerant therein, thereby the air will be cooled as a result of given phase change of the refrigerant (transition from liquid phase to gaseous phase), and the air cooled by means of a fan is redelivered into the room conditioned. The refrigerant needs to be recondensed to enable the realization of the phase change in the inner unit to be continuous. The refrigerant is transferred from the connection path (23) to the outer unit (22) in gaseous form, preferably through copper pipes, and its pressure and temperature is increased by a compressor found in the outer unit (22). The refrigerant in the gaseous form introduced from the compressor is recondensed after being passed through the condenser and then is redelivered to the compressor to be transformed into liquid state, and this cycle continuously proceeds until the air conditioner is shut off. As the compressor is located in the outer unit (22), when the door is closed, the compressor would be outside the room to be conditioned and there would be no noise from the compressor in the room.
The body (2) is provided with a connection path (23) that allows connection between the outer unit (22) and the inner unit (21) and the mutual movement of the outer unit and the inner unit. The connection path (23) extends between bottoms of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) and allows transition for the pipes to convey the refrigerant therein. After the body (2) is attached on the door leaf (K), the connection path (23) remains under the door leaf (K) and thus enables the refrigerant to be transferred between the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) under the door leaf (K).
The wheels (3) provided on the bottom portion of the body (2) both allows the body (2) to be moved easily and allows the body (2) to move in cooperation with the door leaf (K). With a hinge-centered rotary movement of the door (opening and closing movement of the door), the body (2) of the portable air conditioner (1) that is attached on the door leaf (K) through the recess, moves on the wheels (3) together with the door leaf (K).
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheels (3) are capable of rotating for 360 degrees on the body (2) to which they are attached.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a control unit is provided to be used for operating and externally controlling the components within the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22).
Preferably the body comprises the following,

at least a locking element (41) that is used for fixing the body (2) on the door leaf (K) and which is located on the body (2), and has a screw hole thereon,
at least a connection element (screw or bolt) (42) that can reciprocate in the screw hole located on the locking element (41),
a locking mechanism (4) including at least an elastic element (43) that is located at the end portion of the connection element (42) which is in contact with the door (K) and prevents any possible deformation that might occur on the door leaf (K).

Following the rotation of the connection element (42) around its own axis, the connection element (42) can move inside the screw hole provided on the locking element (41) such that it moves closer towards the door leaf (K) or moves away from the door (K). If it is desired for the body (2) to be secured onto the door leaf (K), an end portion of the connection element (42) is enabled to be in contact with the door leaf (K) by rotating the connection element (42), and therefore the body (2) can be secured on the door leaf (K) by means of the created pressure force.
The elastic element (43) is preferably rubber.
Preferably, the bodies of both the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) have at least one locking mechanism (4) thereon.
According to any further preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism (4) is formec of a piston provided on the body (2) and when a command is given the piston (via a pushbutton, a touch screen, a remote control and so on), the piston moves and applies a certain amount of force on the door leaf (K) and thus secures the body (2) on the door leaf (K). Similarly, when a command is given the piston, the piston retracts and allows the body (2) to be removed from the door leaf (K).
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the piston is a hydraulic system. In a further embodiment of the invention, the piston is a pneumatic system.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the body (2) has at least one handle configurec thereon such that it can be manually grasped by a user. Said handle enables the portable air conditioner (1) to be pulled and to be easily moved on the wheels (3).
Preferably, the body (2) has a sensor thereon that is capable of detecting when the door (K) is in the open or closed position after the body (2) is attached onto the door leaf (K).
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one motor is provided which is couplec on the wheels (3) and transmits motion to allow the wheels (3) to be moved.
Preferably, the portable air conditioner (1) can be remotely activated by means of a user interface (a remote control, a screen or a phone). After the air conditioner is actuated by the user interface and is commanded to set desired temperature values for hot and cold air separately, the control unit of the portable air conditioner (1) receives said command and also the data on whether the door (K) is in the opened or closed position from the sensor. When the door (K) is open, a command is given to the motor and thus the wheels (3) are enabled to move and the door (K) is allowed to be closed. If the air conditioner receives the data that the door (K) is in the closed position from the sensor, it performs processes including activating, heating and cooling its components.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the portable air conditioner (1) has a drainage pool for collecting the water being accumulated therein when it operates in heating and cooling mode during humid air conditions. Preferably, the drainage pool is placed in a drawer provided on the body (2) and said drawer is configured to be opened and closed outside the body (2).

Claims

A portable air conditioner (1) used for conditioning indoors which can be integrated with a door leaf (K) comprises,
• at least an inner unit (21) including an opening through which the conditioned air is discharged, having an evaporator, fan and expansion valve therein, the inner unit (21) being configured for use in the area that is to be conditioned and adapted for being integrated with the door leaf (K) of a door,

• at least an outer unit (22) configured for use outside the area to be conditioned, which comprises a condenser and a compressor therein,

• at least a body (2) that extends between bottom portions of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22), which connects the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) to each other, and includes at least a connection path (23) comprising a passage channel for the coupling of the pipes between the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22);

• at least two wheels (3) located at the bottom of the body (2) and configured for being used for moving the body (2);

• a housing (200) adapted for being placed between side walls of the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22) that are facing each other and on the connection path (23), and configured for receiving the door leaf (K) therein.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, wherein the wheels (3) are capable of rotating 360 degrees on the body (2) to which they are attached to.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, comprising a control unit that is configured for operating and externally controlling the components in the inner unit (21) and the outer unit (22).
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, comprising
- at least a locking element (41) that is placed on the body (2), and has a screw hole thereon,

- at least a locking mechanism (4) with at least a connection element (42) that reciprocates in the screw hole located on the locking element (41),
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 4, comprising at least an elastic element (43), preferably rubber, that is located on an end portion of the connection element (42) and enabled for being in contact with the door (K) so to prevent any possible deformation to occur on the door leaf (K).
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 4, wherein the locking element (41) is a bolt or screw.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, comprising a locking mechanism (4) adapted for being used for fixing the body (2) onto the door leaf (K) and formed of a piston located on the body (2).
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 7, wherein said piston is a hydraulic system or pneumatic system.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least one handle on the body (2) that is configured such as to be manually grasped by user.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 3, comprising a sensor that is placed on the body (2) which is capable of detecting when the door (K) is in the open or closed position after the body (2) is mounted onto the door leaf (K).
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 10, comprising at least one motor that is coupled to the wheels (3) and configured to transmit motion to allow the wheels (3) to be moved.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 11, wherein the control unit is further configured to receive a signal from the sensor and to transmit a command to the motor when the door is in the open position, so to enable the wheels to move.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 12, wherein the control unit is further configured to be activated by a user interface so that when a command is transmitted from the interface, the control unit is adapted to receive data from the sensor on the door (K) corresponding to the door being in an open or closed position, and to transmit a command to the motor when the door (K) is in the open position so as to enable the wheels (3) to move and close the door (K).
A portable air conditioner (1) according to any one of the previous claims, comprising at least one drainage pool in which the water is collected that is formed when the air conditioner operates in the heating or cooling mode during humid air conditions.
A portable air conditioner (1) according to claim 14, comprising a releasable drawer located on the body (2) through which the drainage pool is accessible.