EP3693675B1

EP3693675B1 - Air-conditioning indoor unit and air conditioner having same

Info

Publication number: EP3693675B1
Application number: EP19778781.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Liangrui Chen; Peng Xie; Zhihang Chen
Original assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; GD Midea Air Conditioning Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; GD Midea Air Conditioning Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-14
Filing date: 2019-03-20
Publication date: 2024-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-20
Also published as: JP2021513043A; EP3693675A1; US20220003432A1; EP3693675A4; WO2020118954A1; KR20200074913A; CN209325925U; KR102249899B1; JP7079792B2

Description

FIELD

This invention relates to the field of air handling equipment, in particular to an indoor unit in air conditioner and an air conditioner equipped with it.

BACKGROUND

In the relevant technology, the door is set on the housing of the indoor unit, and the door slides relative to the housing to open or close the air outlet. However, the sliding door is relatively monotonous, lacking the sense of science and technology. Moreover, the air supply mode of the above indoor unit is relatively single, and the indoor temperature distribution is uneven, which seriously affects the user's experience.
CN 106287975 A relates generally to an air conditioning cabinet machine including a casing, an air outlet structure arranged at the upper end of the casing, a positive air outlet structure fixed to the casing and at least one air outlet formed in casing. A rotating structure drives the positive air outlet structure to rotate, in order to open or close an air outlet.

SUMMARY

The purpose of this invention is to address at least one of the technical problems in the existing technology. Therefore, one of the purposes of this application is to propose an indoor unit, which has the advantages of good air supply effect and strong sense of science and technology.
The invention also proposes an air conditioner equipped with such indoor unit.
The indoor unit in accordance with the invention is defined in claim 1.
The indoor unit according to the invention is fitted with the first door and the second door, where the first driving mechanism can realize the opening and closing of the first air outlet by controlling the forward/backward movement of the first door, the second driving mechanism can drive the second door to slide relative to the housing to realize the opening and closing of the second air outlet, which improves the sense of science and technology of the indoor unit. Moreover, the air flowing from the first air outlet and the second air outlet can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air could flow to every corner of the indoor space uniformly, and the indoor temperature could be distributed more evenly, which enhances the comfort level of the indoor unit.
According to the invention, the first door consists of: the flow guiding member which is connected to and is driven by the first driving mechanism, and where the outer wall of the flow guiding member guides the air flow to move when the first door is in open state; and the sealing member which is connected to the flow guiding member, so that the sealing member fits with the housing to close the first air outlet when the first door is in closed state.
Still according to the invention, the vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member increases gradually along the direction from the air inlet to the first air outlet.
According to some embodiments of this invention, the first driving mechanism consists of: the first driving motor which is installed in the housing; the first driving gear which is connected to the first driving motor so that the motor can drive the driving gear; and the first rack which extends along the moving direction of the first door, and fits with and is driven by the first driving gear, and where one end of the first rack is connected to and drives the first door.
In some embodiments of this invention, the first rack is fitted with limiting groove extending along the moving direction of the first door, the first driving mechanism also contains the stop lever extending into the limiting groove, and the stop lever slide-fits with the limiting groove, so that the stop lever will reach one end of the limiting groove to limit the first door when the first door is in the open state.
In some embodiments of this invention, the fan assembly includes an air outlet duct which is mounted directly opposite to the first air outlet, and has mounting space where the first driving mechanism is installed.
In some embodiments of this invention, the first driving mechanism is also equipped with a rack box that is connected to the air outlet duct, on which the guide hole is mounted, and where the first rack passes through the guide hole to reciprocate relative to the rack box.
According to the invention, the second driving mechanism drives the second door sliding in the up-down direction.
In some embodiments of this invention, the second driving mechanism consists of: the second driving motor; the second driving gear which is connected to and is driven by the second driving motor; and the second rack which extends along the moving direction of the second door, it meshes with and is driven by the second driving gear to move, and where one end of the second rack is connected to and drives the second door.
In some embodiments of this invention, the fan assembly consists of the first fan and the second fan, where the first fan and the first outlet are set facing each other, while the second fan and the second outlet are set facing each other.
In some embodiments of this invention, the first fan is a diagonal fan, and the second fan is a counter-rotating fan.
According to some embodiments of this invention, the first outlet is above the second outlet.
The air conditioner of the invention includes the indoor unit according to any of claims 1 to 10.
In the air conditioner of the invention, by setting the indoor unit mentioned above, not only the air conditioner's sense of science and technology can be improved, but also the cooling and heating effect of air conditioner can be enhanced, which promotes the user's comfort greatly, and thus enhances the market competitiveness of air conditioner.
Additional aspects and benefits of this invention will be presented in the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the description of embodiments thereof
in combination with the attached drawings below, where:

Figure 1 is an overall structure diagram of indoor unit as specified in the first embodiment of this invention, in which the first door and the second door are both in closed state;
Figure 2 is a local structure diagram of indoor unit as specified in the embodiment of this invention, in which the first door and the second door are both in open state;
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of indoor unit as specified in the embodiment of this invention;
Figure 4 is an enlarged partial drawing of the part encircled by A in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is an exploded drawing of the indoor unit as specified in the embodiment of this invention;
Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the matching structure of the outlet duct part with the first driving mechanism as specified in the embodiment of this invention;
Figure 7 is an enlarged partial drawing of the part encircled by B in Figure 6;
Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the flow guiding member as specified in the embodiment of this invention;
Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of indoor unit as specified in the embodiment of this invention, in which the first door and the second door are both in closed state.

Keys of Drawings:

Indoor unit 100,
housing 1,
front panel 11, first air outlet 11a, second air outlet 11b, third micro air outlet 11c,
backing plate assembly 12, air inlet 12a, air-inlet grille 121,
fan assembly 2,
air outlet frame component 21, first fan 22, second fan 23, first air duct part 24, second air duct part 25, air outlet duct part 26, mounting space 26a, air outlet louver 261,
first door 3,
flow guiding member 31, mounting part 311, air guide part 312, stud 312a, the sealing member 32, first micro air outlet 32a, first connecting bracket 33, first mounting hole 331, second connecting bracket 34, second mounting hole 341,
first driving mechanism 4,
first driving gear 41, first rack 42, limiting groove 421, fitting column 422, stop lever 43, rack box 44, guide hole 441, first driving motor 45,
second door 5, second micro air outlet 5a,
second driving mechanism 6, second driving gear 61, second rack 62,
heat exchange component 7,
door mounting plate 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of this invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the attached drawings, throughout which the identical or similar labels are used to denote the identical or similar elements or elements having identical or similar functions. The embodiments described below by reference to the attached drawings illustrate the invention defined in the claims.
The following part refers to Figures 1-9 to describe the indoor unit 100 of this application embodiment, which can refrigerate and heat indoor air.
As shown in Figures 1-5, the indoor unit 100 as specified in this application embodiment consists of housing 1, fan assembly 2, first driving mechanism 4 and first door 3.
Where, housing 1 contains the air duct flow paths which connects the air inlet 12a to the first air outlet 11a, and connects the air inlet 12a to the second air outlet 11b respectively, and the fan assembly 2 is placed in the housing 1 to guide the air flow circulating in the air duct flow path. Specifically, when the indoor unit 100 works, the fan assembly 2 can be rotated to create negative pressure in the air duct flow path so that the air flow can enter the air path through the air inlet 12a under the effect of such negative pressure, and can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b after circulating in the air path. Besides, the air flow can be discharged only through the first air outlet 11a or the second air outlet 11b respectively, or be discharged through both of them.
As shown in Figure 5, in a specific example of this application, the housing 1 can contain the front panel 11 and the backing plate assembly 12 which can snap-fit with each other. The air inlet 12a equipped with the air-inlet grille 121 can be placed on the backing plate assembly 12. The first air outlet 11a can be installed on the front panel 11, the air duct flow path connecting the first air outlet 11a to the air inlet 12a is installed in the housing 1, and also can contain the heat exchange component 7 which may exchange heat with the air flow in the air duct flow path. After heat exchange, the air flow can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a; in this way, the indoor temperature can be regulated.
As shown in Figures 2-5, the first driving mechanism 4 is placed in the housing 1, and is connected to and drive the first door 3 to move, so that the first door 3 can be in open or closed state; the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to move outwards relative to the housing 1 (forward as shown in Figure 3) to the set position, the first door 3 can be switched to the open state, at which point the first door 2 can open the first air outlet 11a; when the first door 3 is in the closed state, the first door 3 can work with the housing 1 to close the first air outlet 11a.
Specifically, the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 moving forward and backward to open or close the first air outlet 11a. When the indoor unit 100 works, the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 forward to the set position, at which point the first door 3 can open the first air outlet 11a so that the air flow can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a. When the indoor unit 100 stops working, the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 backward, and the first door 3 can work with the housing 1 to close the first air outlet 11a.
As shown in Figure 6, the second driving mechanism 6 is connected to and drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to open or close the second air outlet 11b. Therefore, through the above setting, the indoor unit 100 can discharge the air through the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b simultaneously, so as to improve the air outlet efficiency of the indoor unit 100 and expand the air supply area of the same. In addition, the air flow blown out from the first air outlet 11a can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the first access 3, the air flow from the first air outlet 11a can collide with the air flow from the second air outlet 11b in the indoor space, which can play the role of mixing the flows, make the indoor temperature distribution more uniform, and realize the air outlet effect without feeling the air.
Optionally, the working status of the first door 3 and the second door 5 can be controlled respectively. When the air is required to be discharged through the first air outlet 11a, the first door 3 can be driven by the first driving mechanism 4 so as to switch the first door 3 to the open state, at which point the first air outlet 11a will be opened. When the air is required to be discharged through the second air outlet 11b, the second door 5 can be driven by the second driving mechanism 6 by sliding relative to the housing 1 to open the second air outlet 11b. Of course, it can be understood that the first door 3 and the second door 5 can also move jointly, that is, the first door 3 and the second door 5 can move simultaneously, so that the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be opened or closed simultaneously.
Therefore, through the above settings, the first driving mechanism 4 can realize the opening and closing of the first air outlet 11a by controlling the forward and backward movement of first door 3, while the second driving mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to realize the opening and closing of second air outlet 11b, which improves the sense of science and technology of the indoor unit 100. In addition, the air flow blowing out from the first air outlet 11a can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the first door 3, the air flows blowing out from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air flows can be circulated uniformly to each corner of the indoor space, and the indoor temperature will be more even. Furthermore, the first door 3 can prevent the air flow blowing directly to the users in the room to avoid discomfort, which enhances the use comfort of the indoor unit 100 significantly.
According to this application embodiment, the indoor unit 100 is adopted by setting the first door 3 and the second door 5, so that the first driving mechanism 4 can realize the opening and closing of the first air outlet 11a by controlling the forward and backward movement of first door 3, while the second driving mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to realize the opening and closing of second air outlet 11b, which improves the sense of science and technology of the indoor unit 100. In addition, the air flows blowing out from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air flows can be circulated uniformly to each corner of the indoor space, and the indoor temperature will be more even, which enhances the use comfort of the indoor unit 100 significantly.
As shown in Figure 5, according to the invention, the first door 3 includes the flow guiding member 31 and the sealing member 32. Flow guiding member 31 is connected to and driven by the first driving mechanism 4. When first door 3 is in the open state, the outer wall of the flow guiding member 31 can guide the air flow to move, and the sealing member 32 is connected to the flow guiding member 31; when the first door 3 is in the closed state, the sealing member 32 works with the housing 1 to close the first air outlet 11a; it thus can make the design form of first door 3 simpler and improve the air guide effect of first door 3.
Specifically, when the first door 3 is in the open state, the air outlet area of first air outlet 11a can be defined between the flow guiding member 31 and the housing 1. The air flow can be blown out along the outer wall of flow guiding member 31. The flow guiding member 31 can serve to guide air flow, which not only can reduce the circulation resistance of the air flow, improve the air outlet efficient of the first air outlet 11a, but also distribute the air properly. The air flow can be distributed around the circumferential direction of flow guiding member 31, so that the indoor temperature distribution will be more uniform.
When the first door 3 is in the closed state, the sealing member 32 works with the housing 1 to seal the first air outlet 11a, so as to protect the indoor unit 100 and prevent the dust and dirt from entering indoor unit 100 through the first air outlet 11a. Optionally, the first air outlet 11a can be formed into a circle, and the sealing member 32 can be formed into a disk. The outer diameter of the sealing member 32 can be larger than the diameter of the first air outlet 11a, so as to improve the sealing effect of first air outlet 11a. Optionally, the sealing member 32 may be either integrated with the flow guiding member 31, or connected to the same by screw fastening or riveting.
As shown in Figure 4 and Figure 8, according to the invention, the vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member 31 increases gradually along the direction from the air inlet 12a to the first air outlet 11a (from back to front as shown in Figure 8), which improves the air guide effect of flow guiding member 31 and prevents the air flow being blown forward to the user who may thus feel uncomfortable.
For example, as shown in Figure 8, the flow guiding member 31 may consist of the mounting part 311 and the air guide part 312 which can be connected in sequential order from the back to the front, and the mounting part 311 can slide-fit with the housing 1. The mounting part 311 is formed to be cylindrical while the air guide part 312 is formed to be truncated cone shaped. The vertical sectional area of air guide part 312 increases gradually to be flared approximately from the back to the front. Therefore, when the air flows out through the first air outlet 11a, the air flow can be dispersed along the outer wall of the air guide part 312 around the first air outlet 11a, which can play a good effect of air dispersion. Optionally, the air guide part 312 can be equipped with several studs 312a spaced in its circumferential direction on the front end, and the sealing member 32 can be bolted to the air guide part 312.
As shown in Figure 9, in some embodiments of this application, the sealing member 32 can be equipped with multiple first micro air outlets 32a distributed at intervals. Each first micro air outlet 32a can run through the sealing member 32 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in Figure 9); the flow guiding member 31 can be equipped with an air guide channel connected to multiple first micro air outlets 32a, which thereby can realize the breezeless air outlet effect and greatly improve users' comfort level.
Specifically, the indoor unit 100 can have the first normal air supply mode and the first breezeless mode. When the indoor unit 100 is in the first normal air supply mode, the first door 3 will be in the open state, and can be driven by the first driving mechanism 4 to move forward to the set position to open the first air outlet 11a so that a part of the air can be dispersed around the flow guiding member 31 to the first air outlet 11a, while another part of the air can flow into the air guide channel and be discharged through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. When the indoor unit 100 is in the first breezeless mode, the first door 3 will be in the closed state, and the air can flow into the air guide channel and be discharged through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. It could be understood that multiple first micro air outlets 32a can divide the air flow into several small branch air flows, and the first micro air outlets 32a with a small diameter can slow down the air flow, so that the air can flow out slowly through multiple micro air outlets. It thus can realize the breezeless air supply effect, prevent the air being blown directly to the users, thus causing discomfort, and make the indoor temperature distribution more uniform, which improves the user experience significantly.
Optionally, when the indoor unit 100 is in the COOL mode, it can be adjusted to the first breezeless mode to prevent the cool air being blown directly to indoor users, and the cool air can be circulated to the indoor space slowly through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. When the indoor unit 100 is in the HEAT mode, it can be adjusted to the first normal air supply mode since the air density of the warm air is relatively small and the circulation speed is relatively slow, so that the warm air can be circulated quickly into the indoor space through the first air outlet 11a, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the indoor unit 100.
As shown in Figure 6, according to some embodiments of this application, the first driving mechanism 4 can consist of the first driving motor 45, the first driving gear 41 and the first rack 42, where the first driving motor 45 can be mounted in the housing 1, the first driving gear 41 can be connected to and driven by the first driving motor 45 to rotate, the first rack 42 can extend along the moving direction of first door 3 (front-rear direction as shown in Figure 6) and mesh with and be driven by the first driving gear 41, and one end of the first rack 42 can be connected to and drive the first door 3 to move. Therefore, the above settings can make the design form of first driving mechanism 4 simpler; the first driving mechanism 4 drives the first door 3 by meshing the gear with the rack, which can make the operation of first door 3 more stable and reduce the working noise of indoor unit 100.
Optionally, the first driving mechanism 4 can consist of two one-to-one matching pairs of first driving gear 41 and first rack 42, which can be spaced and connected to the first door 3 respectively, and which thus makes the matching structure between the first driving mechanism 4 and the first door 3 firmer, and the operation of the first door 3 more stable. Further, the first driving mechanism 4 can include a first driving motor 45 which is of a two-axle motor, and whose two shafts rotate in the same direction and are connected to one of the first driving gear 41 keys respectively. Thus, the above settings can make the overall structure of the first driving mechanism 4 more compact and also improve the operational uniformity of the two first racks 42. Of course, the first driving mechanism 4 can also include two first driving motors 45 that can operate synchronously, and each of which is of a single-axle motor and is connected to the corresponding first driving gear 41.
In the concrete examples shown in Figure 6 and Figure 8, the first door 3 can also include the first connecting bracket 33 and the second connecting bracket 34 which are mounted respectively on flow guiding member 31 and distributed at intervals in the circumferential direction of flow guiding member 31. The first connecting bracket 33 is equipped with the first mounting hole 331 while the second connecting bracket 34 is equipped with the second mounting hole 341. The first driving mechanism 4 consists of two one-to-one matching pairs of first driving gear 41 and first rack 42, as well as a first driving motor 45, which is a two-axle motor and whose two motor shafts rotate in the same direction and are connected to one of the first driving gear 41 keys respectively. Each first rack 42 is equipped with a fitting column 422. When the first driving mechanism 4 and the first door 3 are assembled together, the fitting column 422 of one first rack 42 can be inserted into the first mounting hole 331 of the first connecting bracket 33, while the fitting column 422 on the other first rack 42 can be inserted into the second mounting hole 341 on the second connecting bracket 34. Therefore, the above settings can make the connection structure between the first driving mechanism 4 and the first door 3 simpler and improve the assembly efficiency of indoor unit 100 greatly.
It should be noted that the first driving mechanism 4 is not confined to this design form, as long as it can drive the first door 3 forward and backward. For example, the first driving mechanism 4 can also be a linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder. One end of the linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder can be connected to the housing 1, and the other end can be connected to the first door 3, which can also drive the first door 3 to switch flexibly between the open state and the closed state.
As shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7, in some embodiments of this application, the first rack 42 can be equipped with the limiting groove 421 extending on the moving direction of the first door 3 (front-rear direction as shown in Figures 6-7), the first driving mechanism 4 also may include the stop lever 43 stretched into the limiting groove 421, the stop lever 43 may slide-fit with the limiting groove 421; when the first door 3 is in the open state, the stop lever 43 can push against one end of the limiting groove 421 to limit the first door 3; so, through the above settings, the stop lever 43 can limit the position of the first rack 42, make the first door 3 move accurately to the set position and improve the operational stability of the indoor unit 100.
Optionally, the contact sensor (not shown in the figure) can be mounted on the outer wall of the stop lever 43, and can be connected to communicate with the first driving motor 45. When the first driving mechanism 4 drives the first door 3 to move, the first driving motor 45 can drive the first driving gear 41 to rotate, and the first driving gear 41 meshes with and drives the first rack 42 to move; when the first rack 42 is moving, the stop lever 43 may slide-fit with the limiting groove 421 on the first rack 42. When the first rack 42 moves to the set position, the contact sensor on the stop lever 43 will contact with one end of the limiting groove 421, and transfer the contact signal to the first driving motor 45 that will stop working after receiving such signal. Therefore, the intelligent control of the first driving mechanism 4 can be achieved through the above settings, making the operation of the first driving mechanism 4 more convenient.
As shown in Figure 6, in some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly 2 may include an air outlet duct part 26 which can be mounted facing directly with the first air outlet 11a and have the mounting space 26a in which the first driving mechanism 4 can be mounted. In this way, the fitting structure between the first driving mechanism 4 and the fan assembly 2 would become more compact and the assembly space in the indoor unit 100 can be reduced.
For example, as shown in Figure 6, the air outlet duct part 26 can be formed in a circular loop and define a mounting space 26a internally, in which the first driving mechanism 4 can be mounted. The air outlet duct part 26 can also contain multiple air outlet louvers 261 which are mounted around the mounting space 26a and spaced on the circumferential direction of the air outlet duct part 26, and can serve to guide the air flow and change the air outlet direction. The mounting space 26a can be either connected to the air duct flow path or isolated from the same. When the sealing member 32 is provided with the first micro air outlet 32a, the mounting space 26a can be connected to the air duct flow path in which the air can flow into the mounting space 26a and be discharged through the first micro air outlet 32a. When the mounting space 26a is isolated from the air duct flow path, the air can enter the indoor space through the air outlet area defined between the flow guiding member 31 and the housing 1.
As shown in Figure 7, in some embodiments of this application, the first driving mechanism 4 can also include the rack box 44 that can be connected to the air outlet duct part 26, and can be equipped with the guide hole 441 through which the first rack 42 can pass and reciprocate relative to the rack box 44. The guide hole 441 can guide the first rack 42 and make the operation of the same more regular and stable, thus improving the operation stability of first door 3.
According to the invention as shown in Figures 1-2, the housing 1 is provided with the second air outlet 11b, while the indoor unit 100 is fitted with the second door 5 and the second driving mechanism 6.
As shown in Figure 1, in some embodiments of this application, the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be distributed at intervals in the vertical direction, and the first air outlet 11a is above the second air outlet 11b. The first door 3 is mounted at the first air outlet 11a, and is connected to the first driving mechanism 4 which drives the first door 3 to reciprocate to open or close the first air outlet 11a. The second door 5 is set at second air outlet 11b, and is connected to the second driving mechanism 6 which drives the second door 5 to reciprocate to open or close the second air outlet 11b.
In this case, the open and closed states of the first door 3 and the second door 5 can be controlled respectively. When the indoor unit 100 is in COOL mode, the second driving mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide to close the second air outlet 11b, while the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to move forward to open the first air outlet 11a. It could be understood that the cool air can enter the upper half of the indoor space through the first air outlet 11a since the first air outlet 11a is above the second air outlet 11b; the cool air can circulate slowly from top to bottom in the indoor space as the cool air density is relatively big, which not only improves the cooling effect, but also prevents the cool air from being blown to the indoor users directly through the second air outlet 11b, resulting in discomfort.
When the indoor unit 100 is in the HEAT mode, the second driving mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide to open the second air outlet 11b, while the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to move forward to open the first air outlet 11a. Now the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b output air simultaneously. It could be understood that the heating efficiency of the indoor unit 100 may be enhanced, and the warm air can circulate smoothly to the floor and warm the feet, which improves the use experience of the user when the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b output the air at the same time as the warm air density is relatively small and its circulation speed is relatively low.
It's important to note that the first air outlet 11a and second air outlet 11b on the indoor unit 100 are not confined to this setting. For example, multiple first air outlets 11a and multiple second air outlets 11b can be set on the indoor unit 100, which can be set according to the actual use demand. There is no specific restriction in this application.
In a specific example of this application, the second air outlet 11b is located above the first air outlet 11a, where at the first air outlet 11a there is a first door 3 which is connected to the first driving mechanism 4; the first driving mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to reciprocate to open or close the first air outlet 11a. The second door 5 is set at the second air outlet 11b, and is connected to the second driving mechanism 6 which drives the second door 5 to reciprocate to open or close the second air outlet 11b. In this case, the second door 5 can open the second air outlet 11b by sliding from top to bottom, and close the second air outlet 11b by sliding from bottom to top, or close the second air outlet 11b by sliding from top to bottom and open the second air outlet 11b by sliding from bottom to top.
According to the invention, the second driving mechanism 6 drives the second door 5 to slide in the up-down direction, so that the air outlet area of the second air outlet 11b can be adjusted conveniently. It could be understood that the second air outlet 11b can be extended in the up-down direction, and the air outlet area of second air outlet 11b can be adjusted by controlling the sliding displacement of second door 5 in the up-down direction, which makes the operation more convenient when the height of indoor unit 100 is relatively large. Of course, the second driving mechanism 6 can also drive the second door 5 to slide along the left-right direction (this is outside the scope of the invention) and along a direction that has a tilt angle with the left-right direction and the up-down direction. The settings can be selected according to the actual use needs.
As shown in Figure 5, in some embodiments of this application, the second driving mechanism 6 can include a second drive motor (not shown in the figure), a second driving gear 61 and a second rack 62, where the second driving gear 61 can be connected to and driven by the second drive motor to rotate; the second rack 62 can be extended along the moving direction of second door 5 (up-down direction shown in Figure 5); the second rack 62 can mesh with and be driven by the second driving gear 61; one end of the second rack 62 can be connected to and drive the second door 5 to move; in this case, the above settings can make the design form of the second driving mechanism 6 simpler. Moreover, the second door 5 is driven by the second driving mechanism 6 through the gear-rack structure, making the operation of the second door 5 more stable.
Optionally, the second driving mechanism 6 can include two one-to-one matching pairs of second drive motor, second driving gear 61 and second rack 62. Both second racks 62 are extended in the up-down direction and are spaced in the left-right direction. Both second racks 62 are connected to the inner walls of second door 5. When the second driving mechanism 6 works, two second drive motors rotate synchronously and two second racks 62 drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1, thereby making the operation of the second door 5 more stable.
In a specific example of this application, the indoor unit 100 can also include the door mounting plate 8 on which the second driving mechanism 6 can be mounted. In this case, the second rack 62 can be mounted on the front wall of the door mounting plate 8 and attached to the inner wall of the second door 5. The door mounting plate 8 is equipped with the slide track (not shown in the figure) while the second door 5 slide-fits with the slide track. Therefore, the above settings can facilitate the installation and fixation of the second driving mechanism 6, and besides, the second door 5 can work with the slide track to reduce the sliding resistance of the second door 5, thus making its operation smoother and reducing the working load of the second drive motor.
It should be noted that this is not the only structural design form of the second driving mechanism 6, as long as it can drive second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1. For example, the second driving mechanism 6 can also be a linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder, one end of which can be connected to the housing 1 and the other end can be connected to the second door 5, which can also drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1.
As shown in Figure 5, in some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly 2 can be composed of the first fan 22 and the second fan 23, where the first fan 22 can be set in alignment with the first air outlet 11a, and second fan 23 can be set in alignment with second air outlet 11b, so that the working states of the first fan 22 and second fan 23 can be controlled separately according to the use requirements, thereby enhancing the use flexibility of the user.
Optionally, the first fan 22 can be an axial fan, a diagonal fan or a counter-rotating fan. Optionally, the second fan 23 is can be an axial fan, a diagonal fan or a counter-rotating fan.
In some embodiments of this application, the first fan 22 can be a diagonal fan, and the second fan 23 can be a counter-rotating fan, which makes for an improved ventilation effect of the indoor unit 100. Understandably, the diagonal fan adopts the mode of axial air inlet and air outlet inclined at a certain angle along the axial direction for air supply. Moreover, the air outlet volume of the diagonal fan is relatively large, which not only improves the air outlet volume of first fan 22, but also increases the air outlet angle of first fan 22, thereby expanding the air supply range of the first fan 22.
This counter-rotating fan can include two wind wheels mounted on the opposite sides, whose blades are distributed in the opposite directions. When the counter-rotating fan is working, if two wind wheels rotate in opposite directions, the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can be cancelled out in the tangential directions of their rotation directions, while the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can overlap in the axial directions, which can increase the axial air supply speed of the second fan 23, extend the air supply distance of the second fan 23 and enable the second fan 23 to supply air for long distance. If two wind wheels of the counter-rotating fan rotate in the same direction, the air supply speeds of two wind wheels may overlap in the tangential direction of their rotation directions, and the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can be cancelled out in the axial direction, so that the air can be dispersed all around the second fan 23 and be prevented from being blown directly to the indoor user through the second air outlet 11b, thereby realizing breezeless air outlet effect and improving the use comfort of the user.
In this case, when only one wind wheel is working, the counter-rotating fan can be used to realize breezeless air outlet effect. Specifically, when one wind wheel of the counter-rotating fans is rotating, another inactive wind wheel also can rotate under the effect of the air flow. At this time, the two wind wheels will rotate in the same direction; according to the above description, the counter-rotating fan also can realize breezeless effect at this moment.
Besides, when two wind wheels in the counter-rotating fan rotate simultaneously at low speed, they can realize the breezeless air outlet effect regardless of their rotation directions. It could be understood that the air can flow out slowly through the first air outlet 11a, thus realizing breezeless effect since two wind wheels in counter-rotating fan rotate at low speed, and the circulation speed of air is relatively low.
Therefore, through the above settings, the first fan 22 can be turned on when the air supply angle needs to be increased. The first fan 22 can achieve the effect of air supply in a wide range. When it is required to supply air for long distance, the second fan 23 can be turned on and the two wind wheels of second fan 23 can be controlled to rotate in the opposite directions, thus improving the air supply distance of second fan 23 greatly. When the breezeless mode is required, two wind wheels of the second fan 23 can be controlled to rotate in the same direction, so that the second fan 23 can disperse the air all around, preventing the air being blown directly to the indoor users through the second air outlet 11b. When the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 work at the same time, two air flows from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b may be mixed in the indoor room so that the indoor temperature distribution will be more uniform since the air outlet angles of the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b are different.
It should be noted that the design forms of the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 are not confined herein. The first fan 22 may be an axial fan, diagonal fan or counter-rotating fan, and the second fan 23 also may be an axial fan, diagonal fan or counter-rotating fan. It can be used in combination according to the actual use requirements, and there is no specific restriction in this application.
In the specific example shown in Figure 5, the indoor unit 100 can also be composed of the air outlet frame component 21, which can be connected to the housing 1. The air outlet frame component 21 has the first air duct part 24 and the second air outlet part 25 which are distributed at intervals in the up-down direction. The first air duct part 24 is set in alignment with the first air outlet 11a, while the second air duct part 25 is set in alignment with the second air outlet 11b. The first fan 22 is installed in the first air duct part 24, while the second fan 23 is installed in the second air duct part 25. In this case, through the above settings, not only the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 can be installed and fixed conveniently, but also the first air duct part 24 and the second air duct part 25 can be used to guide the air flow, improving the air supply efficiency of the indoor unit 100.
As shown in Figure 9, in some embodiments of this application, the second door 5 can be equipped with multiple second micro air outlets 5a distributed at intervals. Each second micro air outlet 5a can run through the second door 5 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in Figure 9), which thereby can realize the breezeless air outlet effect and greatly improve users' comfort level.
Specifically, the indoor unit 100 can have the second normal air supply mode and the second breezeless mode. When the indoor unit 100 is in the second normal air supply mode, the second driving mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to open the second air outlet 11b, through which the air can be discharged. When the indoor unit 100 is in the second breezeless mode, the second door 5 can work with the housing 1 to close the second air outlet 11b, so that the air can be discharged through multiple second micro air outlets 5a. It could be understood that multiple second micro air outlet 5a can divide the air flow into several small branch air flows, and the second micro air outlet 5a with small diameter can slow down the air flow, so that the air can flow out slowly through the second micro air outlet 5a. It thus can realize the breezeless air supply effect, and prevent the air being blown directly to the users, causing discomfort, which improves the user experience significantly.
Optionally, when the indoor unit 100 is in the COOL mode, it can be adjusted to the second breezeless mode to prevent the cool air being blown directly to indoor users, and the cool air can be circulated to the indoor space slowly through multiple second micro air outlets 5a. When the indoor unit 100 is in the HEAT mode, it can be adjusted to the second normal air supply mode since the air density of the warm air is relatively small and the circulation speed is relatively slow, so that the warm air can be circulated quickly into the indoor space through the second air outlet 11b, improving the heating efficiency of the indoor unit 100.
As shown in Figure 9, in some embodiments of this application, multiple third micro air outlets 11c, which are distributed at intervals along the periphery of second air outlet 11b, can be installed on the housing 1, and each third micro air outlet 11c can run through the housing 1 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in Figure 9). Each third micro air outlet 11c can be connected to the air duct flow path, increasing indoor unit 100's air supply efficiency and enhancing the indoor unit 100's cooling and heating in the second breezeless mode.
For example, as shown in Figure 9, the second air outlet 11b can be formed into a circle and multiple second micro air outlets 5a can be distributed on the second door 5 at intervals, placed on the opposite direction of the second air outlet 11b. Multiple third micro air outlets 11c, which are located at the periphery of second air outlet 11b, are placed at intervals on the housing 1, and are roughly formed into a circle. Therefore, through the above settings, the third micro air outlets 11c on the second door 5 and the third micro air outlets 11c on the housing 1 can discharge air simultaneously, which greatly improves the air outlet efficiency of indoor unit 100, and makes the appearance design of indoor unit 100 more artistic.
The air conditioner in the embodiment of this application includes the indoor unit 100 in the aforesaid embodiment of this application.
In the air conditioner in the embodiment of this application, by setting the indoor unit 100 mentioned above, not only the air conditioner's sense of science and technology can be improved, but also the cooling and heating effect of air conditioner can be enhanced, which promotes the user's comfort greatly, and thus enhances the market competitiveness of air conditioner.
In the description of this application, it should be understood that a feature defined as "first" or "second" may, explicitly or implicitly, include one or more such features.
In the description of this application, it should be noted that unless otherwise expressly specified and defined, the terms "installation", "linking" and "connection" shall be understood generally, for example, it may be fixed connection, detachable connection, or integral connection; or mechanical or electrical connections; or direct linking, indirect linking through an intermediate medium, or internal connection of two components. The specific meaning of the above terms in this application may be understood on a case by case basis by ordinary technical personnel in the field.
Although the embodiments of this application have been presented and described, the ordinary technical personnel in the field can understand that multiple variations of such embodiments can be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

An indoor unit (100) for an air conditioner, comprising:
a housing (1) provided with an air inlet (12a), a first air outlet (11a), and a second air outlet (11b), an air duct flow path communicating the air inlet (12a) with the first air outlet (11a) and an air duct flow path communicating the air inlet (12a) with the second air outlet (11b) being provided in the housing (1);

a fan assembly (2) provided in the housing (1) to guide air to circulate in the air duct flow paths;

a first driving mechanism (4) and a first door (3), wherein the first driving mechanism (4) is provided in the housing (1) and is connected to the first door (3) to drive the first door (3) to move, so that the first door (3) has an open state and a closed state; when the first driving mechanism (4) drives the first door (3) to move outwards relative to the housing (1) to a set position, the first door (3) is switched to the open state; in the open state, the first door opens the first air outlet (11a); in the closed state, the first door (3) cooperates with the housing (1) to close the first air outlet (11a);

a second door (5) and a second driving mechanism (6), wherein the second driving mechanism (6) is connected to the second door (5) to drive the second door (5) to slide relative to the housing (1) to open or close the second air outlet (11b);

the first door (3) comprising:
a flow guiding member (31) connected to the first driving mechanism (4) to be driven to move by the first driving mechanism (4), so that an outer peripheral wall of the flow guiding member (31) guides air flow when the first door (3) is in the open state; and

a sealing member (32) connected to the flow guiding member (31), so that the sealing member (32) cooperates with the housing (1) to close the first air outlet (11a) when the first door (3) is in the closed state;

characterised in that:
a vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member (31) increases gradually along a direction from the air inlet (12a) to the first air outlet (11a); and

the second driving mechanism (6) drives the second door (5) to slide in a vertical direction.
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 1, wherein the first driving mechanism (4) comprises:
a first driving motor (45) provided in the housing (1);

a first driving gear (41) connected to the first driving motor (45) to be driven to rotate by the first driving motor (45); and

a first rack (42) extending along a moving direction of the first door (3), meshing with the first driving gear (41) to be driven to move by the first driving gear (41), and having an end connected to the first door (3) to drive the first door (3) to move.
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 2, wherein the first rack (42) is provided with a limiting groove (421) extending in the moving direction of the first door (3), the first driving mechanism (4) further comprises a stop lever (43) stretching into the limiting groove (421) and slidably fitted with the limiting groove (421), and the stop lever (43) abuts an end of the limiting groove (421) to limit the a position of the first door (3) when the first door (3) is in the open state.
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 2, wherein the fan assembly (2) comprises an air outlet duct part arranged corresponding to the first air outlet (11a), the air outlet duct part has a mounting space, and the first driving mechanism (4) is arranged within the mounting space.
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 4, wherein the first driving mechanism (4) further comprises a rack box (44) connected to the air outlet duct part, and the rack box (44) is provided with a guide hole through which the first rack (42) runs to reciprocate relative to the rack box (44).
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member (32) is equipped with multiple first micro air outlets (32a) distributed at intervals, and the flow guiding member (31) is equipped with an air guide channel connected to multiple first micro air outlets (32a).
The indoor unit (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second driving mechanism (6) comprises:
a second driving motor;

a second driving gear (61) connected to the second driving motor to be driven to rotate by the second driving motor;

a second rack (62) extending along a moving direction of the second door (5), meshing with the second driving gear (61) to be driven to move by the second driving gear (61), and having an end connected to the second door (5) to drive the second door (5) to move.
The indoor unit (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the fan assembly (2) comprises a first fan (22) and a second fan (23), the first fan (22) is arranged corresponding to the first air outlet (1 1a), and the second fan (23) is arranged corresponding to the second air outlet (11b).
The indoor unit (100) according to claim 8, wherein the first fan (22) is a diagonal fan and the second fan (23) is a counter-rotating fan.
The indoor unit (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first air outlet (11a) is located above the second air outlet (11b).
An air conditioner, comprising an indoor unit (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10.