EP3736504B1

EP3736504B1 - Pipe protecting support and air conditioner

Info

Publication number: EP3736504B1
Application number: EP18897880.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Biao HUO; Bin SHANG; Tangtang Gu; Yuzhong Zhang; Huazhong Zhang; Youjian ZENG; Kunpeng Zhang; Yin Zhang; Xian QIN; Nengbing JIN
Original assignee: Aux Air Conditioning Co Ltd; Ningbo Aux Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Aux Air Conditioning Co Ltd; Ningbo Aux Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-01-02
Filing date: 2018-12-29
Publication date: 2024-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-29
Also published as: AU2018399202A1; EP3736504C0; NZ765686A; WO2019134624A1; AU2018399202B2; CN108019834B; CN108019834A; JP2021503064A; EP3736504A4; EP3736504A1

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioning, in particular to an air conditioner having a pipe protecting support.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The air duct of the air conditioner (indoor unit) is easily polluted, which otherwise affects the environmental quality. In order to clean the air conditioner, an air conditioner that is easy to clean is currently being developed. To this end, the middle frame of the air conditioner can be designed to be easily removed from the base, and the base can be split into an upper base and a lower base, so as to realize the cleaning of the interior of the air conditioner.
In the process of cleaning the air conditioner, first the middle frame of the air conditioner is removed from the upper base and the lower base, and then the lower base is removed from the upper base; however, the upper base is fixed on the wall through a wall-mounted plate, i.e., in the process of cleaning the air conditioner, it is only necessary to remove the base to clean the internal components
However, a bundle of pipelines is provided on the back of the joint between the upper base and the lower base, which includes a connecting pipe, a drain pipe, a power cord and the like. The connecting pipes, the drain pipes, the power cords, etc. need to be wrapped with waterproof tape and insulation pipes to form the pipeline bundle, which is connected to the connecting pipes and power cords of the external machine through knockout holes. During the disassembly of the lower base, there is friction between the back of the lower base and the pipeline bundle due to relative movement, and repeated removal and mounting of the lower base can easily cause the insulation pipes around the connecting pipes to be worn out (pipe cutting phenomenon), so that the insulation effect becomes worse, and even the outer walls of the connecting pipes generate condensation. In addition, the pipeline bundle is a small rigid, non-fixed structure, whose position is easily biased by the lower base during the disassembly and mounting of the lower base, which increases the difficulty of mounting and removal.
Some background information can be found at Chinese patent application CN107477696A . CN107477696A discloses a wall-hanging air conditioner and a protective tube support. The wall-hanging air conditioner comprises a wall-hanging plate, an upper base, a lower base and a protective plate, wherein the wall-hanging plate is fixed on the wall during installation and has a plurality of hanging plate connecting characteristics; a heat exchanger is contained in the upper base; the upper base has a hanging characteristic and is detachably hung on at least one of the plurality of hanging plate connecting characteristics of the wall-hanging plate; an air passage component is contained in the lower base; the lower base is detachably connected to the upper base; the protective plate comprises a cavity for containing a pipeline bundle, an upper side wall and a lower side wall which extend outwards from the cavity; the protective plate, the upper base and the lower base are assembled together; and the protective plate has a compression joint characteristic so as to be in compression joint with at least one of the plurality of hanging plate connecting characteristics of the wall-hanging plate..

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the present invention aims at providing a pipe protecting support, which can prevent pipe cutting phenomenon, and is easily to be disassembled and mounted, so that the process of maintenance is simple, and time and effort are saved while having good safety performance.
To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is implemented as follows.
An air conditioner having a pipe protecting support, which further includes an upper base and a wall-mounted plate. The upper base is capable of being flippably hung on the wall-mounted plate. The pipe protecting support includes a pipe protecting member and mounting members, the pipe protecting member is provided inside with a pipe protecting cavity for receiving a pipeline bundle, the pipe protecting member is connected to the mounting members, the pipe protecting member is used to be detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate, and the mounting members are used to be rotatably connected to the upper base.
Further, a rotation portion is disposed at one end of the mounting members away from the pipe protecting member, and the rotation portion is used to be detachably connected to the upper base.
Further, the rotation portion includes a first connecting portion, a second connecting portion and a mounting portion; the first connecting portion is connected to the second connecting portion through the mounting portion, and is combined therewith to form a rotation cavity. The upper base passes through the rotation cavity, and is rotatably connected to the mounting portion.
Further, the mounting members have two mounting members, and the two mounting members are oppositely disposed at two ends of the pipe protecting member.
Further, a buckle is disposed at one end of the pipe protecting member away from the mounting members, and the buckle is used to be latched with the wall-mounted plate.
Further, the pipe protecting member is formed by combining a plurality of connecting plates, and sides of the plurality of connecting plates are connected in sequence.
Further, the connecting plates have three plates, which are a first connecting plate, a second connecting plate and a third connecting plate, respectively. The first connecting plate, the second connecting plate and the third connecting plate are sequentially connected, and are combined to form the pipe protecting cavity, and one end of the first connecting plate away from the second connecting plate is flush with one end of the third connecting plate away from the second connecting plate. The mounting member is connected to the first connecting plate, and the third connecting plate is used to be detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate.
Compared with the prior art, the pipe protecting support of the present invention has the following advantages:
In the pipe protecting support of the present invention, a pipe protecting member is provided inside with a pipe protecting cavity for receiving a pipeline bundle, the pipe protecting member is connected to a mounting member, the pipe protecting member is used to be detachably connected to a wall-mounted plate, and the mounting member is used to be rotatably connected to an upper base. Compared to the prior art, the pipe protecting support of the present invention may prevent the pipe cutting phenomenon during mounting and disassembly of the air conditioner due to the adoption of the pipe protecting member provided with the pipe protecting cavity and the mounting member rotatably connected to the upper base, and is easily to be disassembled and mounted, so that the process of maintenance is simple, and time and effort are saved while having good safety performance.
Further, a bottom of the upper base is provided with the rotation portion, the rotation portion has a barb shape, and the rotation portion is detachably and rotatably connected to the mounting member.
Further, the air conditioner includes a lower base, the upper base is detachably connected to the lower base, and the lower base is latched with the wall-mounted plate.
Compared with the prior art, the air conditioner of the present invention has the following advantages:
The air conditioner of the present invention includes the pipe protecting support, which is a simple structure. It may prevent the pipe cutting phenomenon during mounting and disassembly of the air conditioner, and may be easily to be mounted and disassembled, so that the process of maintenance is simple, and time and effort are saved while having good safety performance.
The air conditioner has the same advantages as the above-mentioned pipe protecting support over the prior art, and the advantages are not repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present invention are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and the description thereof are used to explain the present invention, and do not constitute improper limitations on the preset invention. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a structural diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an exploded structural diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a structural diagram of a rotating portion in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a structural diagram of a pipe protecting support according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a partially-enlarged view of a location VI in Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for mounting an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

List of serial numbers in the figures:

1 -	Air conditioner;	2 -	Upper base;	3 -	Lower base;
4 -	Wall-mounted plate;	5 -	Pipe protecting support;	6 -	Pipe protecting member;
7 -	Mounting member;	8 -	Pipe protecting cavity;	9 -	Rotation portion;
10 -	Rotation part;	11 -	First connecting portion;	12 -	Second connecting portion;
13 -	Mounting portion;	14 -	rotation cavity;	15 -	Buckle;
16 -	Clamp groove;	17 -	First connecting plate;	18 -	Second connecting plate;
19 -	Third connecting plate;	20 -	Pipeline bundle;	21 -	Opening;
22 -	Flared structure;	23 -	First end surface;	24 -	Connecting surface;
25 -	Second end surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It should be noted that, in the case of no conflicts, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined mutually.
The present invention is described in detail with reference to drawings and with combination of embodiments.
With combination of Figs. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provided an air conditioner 1, which is used to regulate the air temperature in a room. It may avoid the pipe cutting phenomenon, is easily to be disassembled and mounted, is simple for maintenance, and saves time and effort while having good safety performance. The air conditioner 1 includes an upper base 2, a lower base 3, a wall-mounted plate 4, a pipe protecting support 5 and a pipeline bundle 20. The upper base 2 is detachably connected to the lower base 3, and the two are mounted on a wall of the room through the wall-mounted plate 4 and the pipe protecting support 5 to form a wall-mounted structure. The wall-mounted plate 4 is fixedly mounted on the wall to support the entire air conditioner 1. The upper base 2 may be flippably hung on the wall-mounted plate 4 for facilitate mounting the upper base 2. The lower base 3 is engaged with the wall-mounted plate 4, and the lower base 3 may be separately removed from the wall-mounted plate 4 during disassembly. The pipe protecting support 5 may have one end detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate 4, and the other end rotatably connected to the upper base 2, so as to facilitate the disassembly and mounting during maintenance. The pipeline bundle 20 is mounted inside the pipe protecting support 5 to be protected from being cut under the protection of the pipe protecting support 5.
The pipe protecting support 5 includes a pipe protecting member 6 and a mounting member 7. The pipe protecting member 6 is provided inside with a pipe protecting cavity 8 for receiving the pipeline bundle 20, and the pipe protecting cavity 8 is used to receive the pipeline bundle 20 to protect the pipeline bundle 20 for preventing it from being cut. The pipe protecting member 6 is connected to the mounting member 7, the pipe protecting member 6 is detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate 4, and the mounting member 7 is rotatably connected to the upper base 2 to fix the entire pipe protecting support 5 between the upper base 2 and the wall-mounted plate 4.
With reference to Fig. 3, in the present embodiment, a bottom of the upper base 2 is provided with a rotation portion 9, and the rotation portion 9 has a barb shape; one end of the mounting member 7 away from the pipe protecting member 6 is provided with a rotation part 10, and the rotation part 10 is provided with a column-like structure. The rotation portion 9 is selectively hung on the rotation part 10, and rotatably connected to the rotation part 10, so as to achieve the detachable connection between the upper base 2 and the mounting member 7, and so that the upper base 2 may rotate relative to the mounting member 7 when the maintenance is required, thereby deforming the mounting member 7 for separate disassembly of the lower base 3.
In other embodiments, the bottom of the upper base 2 is provided with a rotation part 10, and the rotation part 10 is provided with a column-like structure; one end of the mounting member 7 away from the pipe protecting member 6 is provided with a rotation portion 9, and the rotation portion 9 has a barb shape. The rotation portion 9 is selectively hung on the rotation part 10, and rotatably connected to the rotation part 10, so as to achieve the detachable connection between the upper base 2 and the mounting member 7, and so that the upper base 2 may rotate relative to the mounting member 7 when the maintenance is required, thereby deforming the mounting member 7 for separate disassembly of the lower base 3.
It should be noted that the mounting member 7 has two members, and the two mounting members 7 are disposed oppositely at both ends of the pipe protecting member 6 to satisfy the requirements for the connection strength. Correspondingly, the bottom of the upper base 2 is provided with two rotation portions 9, and the two rotation portions 9 have positions corresponding to the positions of the two mounting members 7, so as to cooperate with the rotation portions 10 on the mounting members 7. However, it is not limited to this, and the number of the mounting members 7 may be three or four or more, and the number of the mounting members 7 is not specifically limited.
With reference to Fig. 4, the rotation part 10 includes a first connecting portion 11, a second connecting portion 12 and a mounting portion 13. The first connecting portion 11, the mounting portion 13 and the second connecting portion 12 combines with each other to form a U shape, and the first connecting portion 11 is connected to the second connecting portion 12 through the mounting portion 13 and combines therewith to form a rotation cavity 14. The rotation portion 9 on the upper base 2 passes through the rotation cavity 14, and is rotatably connected to the mounting portion 13; the first connecting portion 11 and the second connecting portion 12 limit two sides of the rotation portion 9 respectively to prevent the rotation portion 9 from being slipped out of the rotation cavity 14, and to enhance the strength of the entire rotation part 10.
In the present embodiment, the mounting portion 13 is in a column-like shape to reduce the resistance when cooperating with the rotation portion 9 to rotate. But this is not limited to this, and the mounting portion 13 may also be rounded to form an arc surface only on the contact surface that needs to cooperate with the rotation portion 9, which may also reduce the resistance.
With continuous reference to Fig. 3, in the present embodiment, one end of the pipe protecting member 6 away from the mounting member 7 is provided with a buckle 15, and a bottom of the wall-mounted plate 4 is provided with a clamp groove 16. The buckle 15 is clamped with the clamp groove 16 to mount the pipe protecting member 6 onto the wall-mounted plate 4. But this is not limited to this, the clamp groove 16 may also be mounted on one end of the pipe protecting member 6 away from the mounting member 7, and the bottom of the wall-mounted plate 4 may also be provided with the buckle 15, which similarly may mount the pipe protecting member 6 onto the wall-mounted plate 4.
In the present embodiment, the number of both the buckle 15 and the clamp groove 16 is two, and the two corresponds to each other; the two buckles 15 are disposed on the pipe protecting member 6 at intervals to satisfy the requirements for the connection strength. However, it is not limited to this, and the number of the buckle 15 may be three or four or more, and the number of the buckle 15 is not specifically limited.
With reference to Fig. 5, one end of the pipe protecting member 6 is provided with an opening 21, and the opening 21 is provided with a flared structure 22. The opening 21 is communicated with the pipe protecting cavity 8, the pipeline bundle 20 extends into the pipe protecting cavity 8 through the flared structure 22, the flared structure 22 enlarge the opening 21 for the pipeline bundle 20 to enter, and an inner wall of the flared structure 22 is smooth and without edges, which will not cause cuts to the pipeline bundle 20.
It should be noted that the flared structure 22 extends from an edge of the pipe protecting member 6 in a direction away from the pipe protecting cavity 8, and a cross section area of one end of the flared structure 22 away from the pipe protecting cavity 8 is greater than a cross section area of one end of the flared structure 22 close to the pipe protecting cavity 8 to facilitate the extension of the pipeline bundle 20.
The pipe protecting member 6 is formed by combining a plurality of connecting plates, and sides of the plurality of connecting plates are connected in sequence to combine to form the pipe protecting cavity 8. The cross section of the pipe protecting cavity 8 is a polygon, an arc or other special shape, and the shape of the cross section of the pipe protecting cavity 8 is not specifically limited.
In the present embodiment, the connecting plate has three plates, which are a first connecting plat 17, a second connecting plate 18 and a third connecting plate 19 respectively. The first connecting plate 17, the second connecting plate 18 and the third connecting plate 19 are connected in sequence to combine to form the pipe protecting cavity 8. One end of the first connecting plate 17 away from the second connecting plate 18 is flush with one end of the third connecting plate 19 away from the second connecting plate 18, and the above two abut against the sides of the wall-mounted plate 4; the wall-mounted plate 4 encloses the pipe protecting cavity 8 to limit the pipeline bundle 20 in the pipe protecting cavity 8. The mounting member 7 is connected to the first connecting plate 17, and the third connecting plate 19 is detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate 4.
With reference to Fig. 6, the flared structure 22 has a step-like shape, and the flared structure 22 includes a first end surface 23, a connecting surface 24 and a second end surface 25. The first end surface 23 is connected to the second end surface 25 through the connecting surface 24 and disposed in a bent shape, the first end surface 23 and the connecting surface 24 extend and expand outward, and the second end surface 25 is flush with an inner surface of the pipe protecting member 6. A side where the connecting surface 24 is connected to the second end surface 25 is rounded, the pipeline bundle 20 contacts with a side where the connecting surface 24 is connected to the second end surface 25 during assembly, and the smooth rounded corner may not provide cuts to the pipeline bundle 20. In the present embodiment, the first end surface 23 is disposed flush with the second end surface 25, and both the first end surface 23 and the second end surface 25 are disposed perpendicular to the connecting surface 24. But it is not limited to this, the number of included angles between the first end surface 23 and the connecting surface 24 is not specifically limited, and the number of included angles between the connecting surface 24 and the second end surface 25 is not specifically limited.
In other embodiments, the flared structure 22 is in a trumpet-like shape, a diameter of one end of the flared structure 22 away from the pipe protecting member 6 is larger than a diameter of one end of the flared structure 22 close to the pipe protecting member 6, and a side wall of the flared structure 22 is a smooth arc surface.
In other embodiments, the flared structure 22 is in a curled shape, which is curled from the edge of the pipe protecting member 6 in a direction away from the pipe protecting cavity 8, and the side wall of the flared structure 22 is a smooth arc surface.
With reference to Fig. 7, when the air conditioner 1 is mounted, the process includes steps of:
Step S701: mounting fixedly the wall-mounted plate 4 onto a wall of a room.
Specifically, in the step S701, a surface of the wall is vertical, and the wall-mounted plate 4 is arranged to fit the wall surface, which is also in the vertical direction. The wall-mounted plate 4 may be fixed and mounted on the wall in various ways. In this embodiment, the wall-mounted plate 4 is fixed on the wall by means of screwing.
Step S702: assembling the upper base 2, the lower base 3, the pipeline bundle 20 and the pipe protecting support 5 to form an air conditioner assembly.
Specifically, the step S702 includes three steps of:

Step S7021: inserting two barb-shaped rotation portions 9 into two rotation cavities 14 respectively, so that the rotation portion 9 is rotatably connected to the rotation part 10, to form a connection between the pipe protecting support 5 and the upper base 2.
Step S7022: connecting the upper base 2 to the lower base 3, and receiving the pipeline bundle 20 of the air conditioner 1 into the pipe protecting cavity 8.

The sequence of the steps S7021 and S7022 is not specifically limited, and the assembly of the air conditioner assembly is completed by completing the above two steps.
In the present embodiment, the step S702 is completed before leaving the factory, i.e., the assembly of the air conditioner assembly is implemented in the factory, and then shipped to the factory. In this way, the step S702 needs to be performed before the step S701. But it is not limited to this, the step S702 may also be completed by the user. Therefore, the step S701 may also be performed before step S702, and the sequence of the steps S701 and S702 is not specifically limited.
Step S703: mounting the air conditioner assembly onto the wall-mounted plate 4.
Specifically, the step S703 includes steps of:

Step S7031: first hanging flippably the upper base 2 onto the wall-mounted plate 4, at which time the air conditioner assembly is inclined at a certain angle with respect to the wall-mounted plate 4.
Step S7032: then rotating the air conditioner assembly to be attached to the wall-mounted plate 4 until the two buckles 15 are buckled with the two clamp grooves 16 respectively to complete a connection between the pipe protecting support 5 and the wall-mounted plate 4, during which process the lower base 3 is latched with the wall-mounted plate 4.

In order to clean the air duct assemblies in the air conditioner 1, the lower base 3 usually has to be removed separately. When the lower base 3 is disassembled, the upper base 2 is flipped upward, and a bottom of the upper base 2 displaces towards one side away from the wall-mounted plate 4, then the rotation portion 9 rotates relative to the rotation part 10 and the mounting member 7 is driven by the upper base 2 to deform to also displace to one side away from the wall-mounted plate 4, so that an exit space of the lower base 3 is larger, which is convenient for removing the lower base 3 from the wall-mounted plate 4; and then, the lower base 3 is split from the upper base 2 to complete the separate removal of the lower base 3. During the above process, no cuts will be exerted on the pipeline bundle 20 in the pipe protecting cavity 8.
In the pipe protecting support 5 of the embodiments of the present invention, a pipe protecting member 6 is provided inside with a pipe protecting cavity 8 for receiving a pipeline bundle 20, the pipe protecting member 6 is connected to a mounting member 7, the pipe protecting member 6 is used to be detachably connected to a wall-mounted plate 4, and the mounting member 7 is used to be rotatably connected to an upper base 2. Compared to the prior art, the pipe protecting support 5 of the present invention may prevent the pipe cutting phenomenon during mounting and disassembly of the air conditioner due to the adoption of the pipe protecting member 6 provided with the pipe protecting cavity 8 and the mounting member 7 rotatably connected to the upper base 2, and may be easily to mount and disassembly, so that the process of maintenance is simple, and time and effort are saved while having good safety performance. Therefore, during the mounting and separate disassembly of the lower base 3 for the air conditioner 1 mounted with the pipe protecting support 5, no cuts will occur, which is safe and reliable in operation.
The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention being defined by the claims.

Claims

An air conditioner having a pipe protecting support (5), the air conditioner further comprising an upper base (2) and a wall-mounted plate (4), the upper base (2) being capable of being flippably hung on the wall-mounted plate (4), characterized in that, the pipe protecting support comprises a pipe protecting member (6) and mounting members (7), the pipe protecting member (6) is provided inside with a pipe protecting cavity (8) for receiving a pipeline bundle (20), the pipe protecting member (6) is connected to the mounting members (7), the pipe protecting member (6) is used to be detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate (4), and the mounting members (7) are rotatably connected to the upper base (2).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a rotation portion (10) is disposed at one end of the mounting members (7) away from the pipe protecting member (6), and the rotation portion (10) is used to be detachably connected to the upper base (2).
The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the rotation portion (10) comprises a first connecting portion (11), a second connecting portion (12) and a mounting portion (13); the first connecting portion (11) is connected to the second connecting portion (12) through the mounting portion (13), and is combined therewith to form a rotation cavity (14); the upper base (2) passes through the rotation cavity (14), and is rotatably connected to the mounting portion (13).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the mounting members (7) have two mounting members, and the two mounting members (7) are oppositely disposed at two ends of the pipe protecting member (6).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a buckle (15) is disposed at one end of the pipe protecting member (6) away from the mounting members (7), and the buckle (15) is used to be latched with the wall-mounted plate (4).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the pipe protecting member (6) is formed by combining a plurality of connecting plates, and sides of the plurality of connecting plates are connected in sequence.
The air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the connecting plates have three plates, which are a first connecting plate (17), a second connecting plate (18) and a third connecting plate (19), respectively; the first connecting plate (17), the second connecting plate (18) and the third connecting plate (19) are sequentially connected, and are combined to form the pipe protecting cavity (8), and one end of the first connecting plate (17) away from the second connecting plate (18) is flush with one end of the third connecting plate (19) away from the second connecting plate (18); the mounting member (7) is connected to the first connecting plate (17), and the third connecting plate (19) is used to be detachably connected to the wall-mounted plate (4).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a bottom of the upper base (2) is provided with the rotation portion (9), the rotation portion (9) has a barb shape, and the rotation portion (9) is detachably and rotatably connected to the mounting member (7).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner further comprises a lower base (3), the upper base (2) is detachably connected to the lower base (3), and the lower base (3) is latched with the wall-mounted plate (4).