GB2360840A

GB2360840A - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: GB2360840A
Application number: GB0031509A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chiharu Odaira; Shunji Fujimori; Hideo Kondou; Hiroaki Nakashima; Keiji Yokoyama
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 1999-12-27
Filing date: 2000-12-22
Publication date: 2001-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 2020-12-22
Also published as: GB2360840B; CN1515837A; GB0031509D0; KR20010062672A; MY125090A; CN1123737C; CN1242217C; KR100396969B1; JP2001182958A; JP3168266B1; CN1308210A

Abstract

An air conditioner having two front panels forming a front face of an oblong cabinet having a fan, heat exchanger and detachable air filter arranged inside the cabinet. The front panels are supported pivotably in a horizontal direction and detachably from the outside ends of the cabinet.

Description

2360840 AIR CONDITIONER The present invention relates to an air

conditioner, particularly preferably to an air conditioner arranged at an elevated spot and having a f ront panel to be capable of open/close at a front face of a cabinet.

There is provided a conventional air conditioner which is provided with an air f ilter, a heat exchanger and an tangential flow fan at inside of an oblong cabinet and in which the cabinet is provided with a rebinmolded cabinet main body constituting a rear portion thereof and a resin-molded decorative cover constituting a front portion thereof, the decorative cover is provided with a decorative cover main body and a f ront panel attached to a front face of the decorative cover main body, the decorative cover main body is formed in a f rame-like shape having an intake port in a shape of a grill at an upper face thereof and is provided with a blow port at a lower face thereof and the front. panel is opened by opening a lower side thereof with an upper portion thereof as a fulcrum and is attached to the decorafive cover main body detachably such that engagement of the fulcrum and both sides of a lower end portion thereof can 2 be disengaged (Related Art 1).

Further, according to the air conditioner of Related Art 1, when the filter is cleaned, the front panel is opened by being pivoted upwardly by lifting the both sides of the lower portion by the both hands and the filter is directly cleaned through the opened portion, or the filter is cleaned by removing the filter from the opened portion.

As a constitution related to Related Art 1, for example, there is provided an air conditioner disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H9-210401.

Further, as another conventional air conditioner, there is provided an air conditioner which is provided with a resin-molded f ront panel f orming a f ront f ace portion of an oblong cabinet and an air filter arranged detachably on an inner side of the front panel and in which the front panel is divided into left and right portions and respective side end portions of the divided front panel are supported pivotably in the horizontal direction (Related Art 2).

Further, in the case of the air conditioner of Related Art 2, when the filter is cleaned, the front panel is pivoted to open to both sides and the filter isremoved and cleaned.

As a constitution related to Related Art 2, for example, there is provided an air conditioner disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Op'e'n No. H8-285314.

25_ However, an air conditioner of this kind is frequently 3 installed generally at an elevated spot at a vicinity of aceiling. In the case of the constitution in which the lower side of the front panel is opened with the upper portion as the fulcrum as in the air conditioner of Related Art 1, in order to open the front panel by a large amount, the lower portion of the front panel must be lifted highly up to the vicinity of the ceiling by the hands and the operation of opening the front panel by the large amount is extremely difficult. Therefore, there is obliged to carry out operation of cleaning the f ilter or operation of removing the f ilter as shown by Fig. 23 at an elevated spot in which the front panel is slightly opened and there poses a problem in performance of the cleaning operation.

Further, when the front panel is opened, in order to disengage engagement of the both sides of the lower end portion of the front panel, it is necessary to lift the front panel by outstretching the both hands and there poses a problem in performance of the cleaning operation also in this respect.

Further, the front panel is formed in one piece as a whole and accordingly, a resinmolddie of the f rontpanel is large-sized and expensive, further, when the f rontpanel is removed andwashed in water in a sink or the like, as shown by Fig. 24, the large front pang!l is extruded considerably from the sink or the like, it is difficult to simply wash a whole of the front panel in water Ad.there poses a problem in performance of the cleaning 25---operationalso in this respect.

4 Further, the intake port is formed at the upper face of the decorative cover main body separately from the front panel. When the intake port at the upper face of the decorative cover main body is cleaned, there is carried out cleaning operation separately from the cleaning operation of the front panel and at a highest position of the air conditioner and therefore, there poses a problem in performance of the cleaning operation also in this respect.

Further, since the decorative cover main body is formed in the frame-like shape, the resin mold die is large-sized and expensive, further, in the case of fabricating a number of variations of air conditioners,, large-sized resin mold dies are needed by the number of variations.

Meanwhile, according to the air conditioner of Related Art 2, the front panel cannot be attached or detached and no consideration is given to removing and washing the front panel in water.

It is an obj ect of the present invention to provide an air conditioner improving cleaning operation performance of an air filter arranged on'an inner side of a front panel, capable of improving cleaning operation performance of the front panel and ca]able of being produced inexpensively.

25. In order to achieve the above-described object, according to a representative aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a front panel at a front face thereof, the front panel being divided leftward.and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet, and supporting means for supporting the f ront panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the f ront f ace of the cabinet. The front panel includes a front face portion opposed to the f ront f ace of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed to extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet. The cabinet includes a notched portion for engaging an upper face portion of the front panel to the upper face of the cabinet and an upper engaging portion for engaging side end portions of the upper face portion of the front panel by the upper f ace of the cabinet in a state in which the upper f ace portion of the f ront panel is engaged with the notched portion Further, the supporting means includes supporting portions for rotatably supporting end portions of the front face portion of the front panel by the end portions of,the cabinet in the longitudinal direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the supporting means includes supporting portions for forming gaps between the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal directzon and the end portions of the front face portion of the f ront panel and rotatably supporting the end portions of the 6 front face portion of the front panel.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, the supporting means includes supporting portions for rotatably supporting the,end portions of the front face portion of the front panel by the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction and detachably supporting the f ront panel in a state in which the front panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a f ront view of the air conditioner of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a right side view of the air conditioner of Fig.

1; Fig. 4 is a plane view of the air conditioner. of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the air conditioner of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which a f ront panel of the air conditioner of Fig. 1 is opened; Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of essential portions of the air conditioner of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of a hinge portion of the fr5nt panel of the air conditioner of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner 7 according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a state in which a front panel is; Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 5 Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 16 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to. a ninth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 17 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention; F1g. 18 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to an eleventh embodiment 8 of the present invention; Fig. 19 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative cover of an air conditioner according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention; 5 Fig. 20 is a schematic perspective view showing a decorative.cover of an air conditioner according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 21 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front panel of the air conditioner of Fig. 1 is opened and is being cleaned by a cleaner; Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front panel of the air conditioner of Fig. 1 is removed and is being cleaned at a sink; Fig. 23 is a perspective view showing a state in which a front panel of a conventional air conditioner is opened and is being cleaned by a cleaner; and Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front panel of the conventional air conditioner is removed and is being cleaned at a sink.

An pxplanation will be.,given of respective embodiments of the present invention in reference to the drawings as follows. Furthei., illustration and duplicated explanation will be omitted of a constitution common to that of a f irst embodiment in a second 9 embodiment and thereafter. Further, the same notations in the drawings of the respective embodiments, designate the same portions or equivalent portions.

First, an explanation will be given of a first embodiment of the present invention in reference to Fig. 1 through Fig.

8, Fig. 21 and Fig. 22. Further, left and right side faces of an air conditioner according to the first embodiment are constituted of shapes symmetrical with each other.

First, an explanation will be given of a whole constitution of the air conditioner according to the embodiment in ref erence to Fig. 1 through Fig. 7.

An interior unit 1 is constituted of an oblong cabinet 2 constituting an outer shape of the interior unit 1, an air f ilter 5 arranged on inner sides of intake ports 30a, 41a and 4 lb f ormed in the cabinet 2, a heat exchanger 6 arranged on further inner side of the air filter 5 (refer to Fig. 6), an tangential f low f an 7 f or taking interior air f rom the intake ports 30a, 41a and 41b via the air filter 5 and the heat exchanger 6 and blowing the interior air f rom a blow port 40b, and the like (ref er to Fig. 7). With regard to a size of the interior unit 1, there is generally provided oblong outside dimensions in which a lateral width L is set, to a range of 690 mm L:-5 1000 mm, a height H is set to a range of 240 mm:5: H:5- 320 mm and a depth M is s(t to a range of 140 mm:-!5'W;S 220 mm and the interior unit 1 according to the embodiment is provided with oblong outside dimensions in which the lateral width is set to 798 mm, the height is set to 270 mm and the depth is set to 183 mm and the lateral width is twice as much as the height or more.

The interior unit 1 is generally installed at an upper portion of an interior wall face at a vicinity of a ceiling and is connected to an exterior unit (not illustrated) arranged at an exterior portion via a coolant pipe, a power source connection line, a signal connection line and the like to thereby constitute the air conditioner and carries out operation of cooling, warming, dehumidifying, air cleaning, blowing and the like.

The cabinet 2 is provided with a cabinet main body 3 constituting a rear portion thereof and a decorative cover 4 constituting a front portion thereof. The decorative cover 4 is detachably mounted to the cabinet main body 3. According to a specific mount structure of the decorative cover 4, an upper portion thereof constitutes an engaging structure of a projected portion and an engaged portion and a lower portion thereof constitutes a'fastening structure by screws. To detach the decorative cover 4 f rom the cabinet main body 3, the decorative cover 4 is detached by detaching the screws of the lower portion, thereafter, pivoting the lower portion of the decorative cover 4 in a front upper dirdcti on, 'further, lifting the decorative cover 4 upwardly to thereby release engagement of the upper portioii The cabinet main body 3 is provided with a rear casing 30, a front casing 31 attached to a front side of the rear casing and an operation display unit 32 attached to the front casing 31 (refer to Fig. 4, Fig. 5). When the cabinet main body 3 is integrally formed with the rear casing 30, the front casing 31 and a base portion 32a of the operation display unit 32, the casing main body 3 can be produced inexpensively.

The rear casing 30 is integrally formed with an intake wind path portion 132, a rear dew receive portion 33, a rear fan casing portion 34 and a blow wind path portion 35 by resin molding (ref er to Fig. 7) Further, the rear dew receive portion 33 and the rear fan casing portion 34 share a common portion.

Further, the front casing 31 is provided with a front nose portion 36 opposed to the tangential flow fan 7 and a front dew receive portion 37 f or receiving dew condensed at heat exchangers 61 and 62 by resin molding. The tangential flow fan 7 is arranged between the front nose portion 36 of the front casing 31 and the rear fan casing portion 34 of the rear casing 30 (refer to Fig. 7). Thereby, the tangential flow fan 7 takes interior air via an intake wind path 71 formed on a front side and an upper side of the tangential flow fan 7, and blows the interior air to a blow wind path 72 formed on a lower side thereof.

The.intake wind path 71 is formed by the intake wind path portion 32 of the rear casing 30, an upper portion of a decorative cover nfflin body 40 and front panels 41. The air filter 5 and ' the heat exchanger 6 are arranged at inside of the intake wind 12 path 7 1. Meanwhi le, the blow wind path 7 2 i s f ormed by the blow wind path portion 35 of the rear casing 30 and a lower face of the dew receive portion 37 of the front casing 31'and is communicated with a blow port 40b of the decorative cover main 5 body 40.

The operation display unit 32 is arranged, in a large size, at a central portion of the front face of the cabinet 2, a lower end portion thereof is attached to a front face portion of the front casing 31 and an upper end portion thereof is extended to anupper side of the f ront f ace. Further, the operation display unit 32 is provided with a function of displaying an operating state and a function of receiving a control signal from a remote controller. Further, the operation display unit 32 may be provided with only the function of displaying the operating state and the receiving function may be provided at a separate location.

Further, the operation display unit 32 is provided with the base portion 32a attached to the f ront casing 31, a large-sized liquid crystal display portion 32b provided at a central portion of a front face of the base portion 32a and lower engaging portions 32c provided on both sides of the base portion 32a for engaging the front panel 41. By the lower engaging portions 32c, the front panel 41 can firmly be engaged with the decorative cover main body 4 0. Therefore, vibration of the cabinet 2 in operation can be rstrained and noise can be reduced. Further, the liquid crystal display portion 32b is provided with the receiving 13 function portion.

The decorative cover 4 is provided with the decorative cover main body 40, a plurality of the front panels 41 attached to the front face of the decorative cover main body 40 and wind direction plates for changing a direction of wind blown from the blow wind path 72 and the blow port 40b. The wind direction plates are constituted of two sheets of horizontal wind direction plates 42a and a number of vertical wind direction plates 42b. The horizontal wind direction plates 42a are for changing the up and down direction of blown air, pivoted by a horizontal wind direction plate motor, brought into a state of substantially blocking the blow port 40b of the decorative cover main body 40 in stopping operation and can select a state of being pivoted to a predetermined opening degree and stopped or a state of repeating pivotal motion in operation. Further, the vertical wind direction plates 42b are for changing the left and right direction of blown air and arranged on inner sides of the horizontal wind direction plates 42a and in the blow wind path 72 pivotably in the left and right direction.

The decorative cover main body 40 is f ormed in a f rame-like shape by resin molding, provided with a notched portion 40a signif icantly notched f rom a front f ace side thereof at an upper f ace portion and is provided with the blow port 40b communicating with tli. e blow wind path 72 at a lower face portion thereof.

25. Further, the decorative cover main body 4 0 is integrally f ormed 14 with an upper engaging portion 40 c projected at a central portion of the notched portion 40a for engaging the front panel 41. By the upper engaging portion 40c, the front panel 41 can firmly be engaged with the decorative cover main body 40. Therefore, vibration of the cabinet 2 in operation can be restrained and noise can be reduced.

In the front panel 41, a section comprising a front face portion thereof and an upper f ace portion thereof extended f rom the front face portion is formed substantially in a shape of inverse L by resin molding to thereby f orm portions of the f ront f ace portion and the upper f ace portion of the cabinet 2. Further, the front panel 41 is provided with the intake port 41a opposed to a front lower heat exchanger 61 at a central portion of a f ront f ace thereof and is provided with the intake port 41b opposed to a f ront upper heat exchanger 62 at a upper f ace portion thereof. The intake port 41a and 41b are formed in a shape of a grill. Further, gaps 43 are formed between both side end portions of the front panels 41 and the decorative cover main body 4 0. Further, a detailed description will be given later of a constitution related to the front panel 41.

In this way, the cabinet 2 is provided with a plurality of the intake ports Ha', 41a, Alb and 43. at the front face, the upper face and the side faces, the intake ports are formed over the f rat f ace, the upper f ace and the side faces. Therefore, the constitution has small intake resistance.

As shown by Fig. 6, the air filter 5 is constituted to be divided leftward and rightward, arranged on the inner side of the front panels 41 over the intake ports 30a, 41a and 41b and mounted to be arranged on the intake side of the heat exchanger 6. The air filter 5 is resinmolded to have the same shape as that in a state of being mounted to the decorative cover main body 40, specifically, formed in an inverse L-like shape in its section. Thereby, in a state in which the front panels 41 are opened, the air filter 5 can be attached and detached simply by operation from the font side, without carrying out operation of pul. ling out in the lower direction. Accordingly, the cleaning operation performance of the air filter 5 can be made excellent.

Further, the air filter 5 is provided with lower end engaging proj ections on both sides of a lower end portion thereof, provided with a central picking portion 5a at a central portion of a front face thereof and provided with locking projections 5b at a rear f ace thereof. Meanwhile, a f ront f ace of the heat exchanger 6 is attached with a locking member having locking recessportions at positions opposed to the locking projections 5b. Thereby, the air filter 5 can be mounted by holding the central picking portion 5a, and pressing the air filter 5 from the f ront, side such that the lower end engaging projections are engaged with the decorative cover main body 40 and the locking projections 5b are locked to the 'locking recess portions and can be removed by operation reverse thereto. Thereby, the 16 cleaning operation performance of the air filters 5 can be made further excellent.

As shown by Fig. 7, the heat exchanger 6 constituting a portion of a refrigerating cycle is constituted of combining a plurality of heat exchangers, specifically, constituted of the f ront lower heat exchanger 6 1, the f ront upper heat exchanger 62 and a rear heat exchanger 63. The front lower heat exchanger 61 is mainly opposed to the intake port 41a and is arranged substantially vertically. The front upper heat exchanger 62 is mainly opposed to the intake port 41b and is arranged to be inclined in an oblique upper direction. The rear heat exchanger 63 is disposed to be opposed mainly to the intake port 63 and is arranged to be inclined in an oblique lower direction. Further, the f ront upper heat exchanger 62 and the rear heat exchanger 63 are formed substantially in a shape of inverse V., Any of the heat exchangers 61, 62 and 63 is constituted of a cross fin heat exchanger in which a number of radiating f ins 6a are arranged in parallel with each other at narrow intervals and penetrated with heat exchange pipes 6b and the single heat exchanger 6 is constituted by connecting and communicating the heat exchange pipes 6b of the respective heat exchangers 61, 62 and 63 by connection pipes. In. this way, the heat exchanger 6 is constituted such that the pliA:ality of heat exchangers 61, 62 and 63 are opposed to 25 the respective intake ports 30a, 41a and 42b and therefore, a 17 large intake area can be constituted.

The tangential flow fan 7 for blowing interior air is provided to dispose on the rear side of the front lower heat exchanger 61 and on the lower sides of the front upper heat exchanger 62 and the rear heat exchanger 63. By rotating the tangential flow fan 7, interior air is taken from the side of the intake wind path 71 and is blown from the blow wind path 72.

Next, an explanation will be given of a basic operation of operating the air conditioner.

Here, an explanation will representatively given to cooling operation. The cooling operation is carried out by operating the refrigerating cycle and rotating a fan of an exterior unit and the tangential f low fan 7 of the interior unit 1. By the operation of the refrigerating cycle, the temperature of the heat exchanger 6 becomes low. Further, by rotating the tangential flow fan 7, interior air is taken from the intake ports 30a, 41a, 41b and 43, and the air f ilter 5 conducts dedusting.

Thereaf ter, the interior air iscooled and dehumidif ied in passing through the respective heat exchangers 61, 62 and 63, reaches the tangential flow fan 7, passes through the blow wind path 72 and. is, blown f rom the blow port 40b. into a room. Thereby, predetermined cooling operation is carried out. Further, in the codling operation, the horizontal wind direction plates 42a are opened and stopped at predetermined positions or pivoted.

18 In the cooling operation, dew condensed at the front lower heat exchanger 61 and the front upper heat exchanger 62, flows down to the front dew receive portion 37 of the front casing 3 1, is collected f rom the f ront dew receive portion 3 7 to a lower portion of a rear face of the interior unit 1 and is discharged to outside. Meanwhile, dew condensed at the rear heat exchanger 63 flows down to the rear dew receive portion 33, is collected from both sides of the rear dew receive portion 33 to the lower portion of the rear face of the interior unit 1 and is discharged to outside.

Next, an explanation will be given of details of a constitution related to the front panel 41 mainly in reference to Fig. 6 through Fig. 8.

The front panels 41 are constituted to be divided in the horizontal direction and according to the embodiment, constituted of two sheets of the front panels divided leftward and rightward. Theref ore, the size of the f ront panel 41 divided in two sheets becomes a size of a half of that of a single sheet piece. Specifically, the front panel 41 is formed in a size in which a height thereof falls in a range of 240 mm through 320 mm and a lateral width thereof falls in a range of 340 mm through 500 mm. The twosheets,of the f ront panels 41 are arranged to sandwich the operation display unit 32 and the upper engaging portioS, ' 40c. Further, according to the front panel 41, upper -and lower portions thereof on respective side end portion sides 19 disposed on sides of s ide f aces of the cabinet 2, in this embodiment, the upper and lower portions on the side end portion sides on two left and right sides, are supported pivotably in the horizontal direction and elastically to be attachable and detachable. A detailed description will be given later of the support structure.

Further, in the panel 41, upper portions on respective side end portion sides disposed on a central side of the cabinet 2, are engaged with the upper engaging portion 40c to be capable of disengagement and the lower portion thereof are engaged with the operation display unit 32 to be capable of disengagement. According to an engaging structure of the embodiment, there are formed engaging protrusions 41g and 41h at upper and lower portions on rear sides of side end portions of the front panel 41, there are formed engaging recess portions 40e and 32d respectively at an upper engaging portion 40c of the decorative cover main body 40 and a lower engaging portion 32c of theoperation display unit 32 opposed thereto and the engaging protrusions 41g and. 41h are elastically engaged with the engaging recess portions 40e and 32d.

Further, the f ront panels 41 are f ormed with hand touching portions li at front faces of- lower portions of the respective side end.portions disposed on the central side of the f ront f ace. The har,d touching portion 41i is formed by a recess portion such that the finger can be touched from above.

In such a constitution, by touching the hands to the touching portions 4 l i of the front panel 41 and pulling forwardly the hand touching portions 41i, upper and lower engagement on the central side of the front face can be released and the left 5 and right front panels 41 can be opened to both sides.

As shown by Fig. 8, the support structure at the side end portion of the front panel 41 is provided with an upper hinge portion 44 and a lower hinge portion 48.

The upper hinge portion 44 constituting the support structure of the side end portion of the front panel 41, is constituted of an upper support portion 41c provided at an upper portion of the side end portion of the front panel 4 1, an upper rotating shaft 41d in a projected shape provided at an upper face of the upper support portion 4 lc, an upper bearing portion 45 supporting the upper rotating shaft 41d and attached to an upper support portion 40d of the decorative cover main body 40 slidably in directions of the upper rotating shaft 41d (directions of arrow marks P3 and P4), a bearing holding portion 46 for holding the upper bearing portion 45 slidably to the decorative cover mainbody 40, a coil spring 47 provided at inside of the upper bearing portion 45 and attached to holdthe rotating shaft 41d.by always pushing the upper bearing portion 45 in the arrow mark P3 direction and an attaching and detaching lever 45a prc;rided at the upper bearing portion 45 and provided to expose to a lever hole 46a of the bearing holding portion 46 21 slidably along with the bearing portion 45.

According to the upper hinge portion 44 of the embodiment, the rotating shaft 4 ld is held by the decorative cover main body 40 via the bearingportion 45 pushed in the arrow mark P3 direction by stress of the coil spring 47. Further, the rotating shaft 41d is pivotably supported by the bearing portion 45 and accordingly, when the air filter 5 is directly cleaned or is removed to clean, the f ront panel 41 can be pivoted to open or close. Further, fitting of the rotating shaft 41d and the bearing portion 45 can be disengaged by pushing the attaching and detaching lever 45a in the arrow mark P4 direction by the finger or the like or pushing the front panel 41 upwardly in a state in which the front panel 41 is opened by a predetermined angle or more, preferably by 45 degree or more.

Further, the lower hinge portion 48 constituting the support structure of the side end portion of the f ront panel 41, is constituted of a lower support portion 41e provided at the lower portion of the side end portion of the front panel 41, a rotating shaft 41f in a projected shape provided at a lower face of the support portion 41e and the lower bearing portion 4 0 e of the decorative cover main body 4 0 fitting and supporting the rotating shaft 41f.

According to the lower hinge portion 48 of the embodiment, the rotAting shaf t 41f is pivotably supported by the lower support portion 40e and accordingly, when the air filter 5 is directly 22 cleaned or removed to clean, the front panel 41 can be pivoted to open or close.

When the front panel 41 is removed and washed in water, firstly, in a state in which the front panel 41 is pivoted by a predetermined angle or more, in this embodiment, by 45 degree or more, by holding and pushing upwardly the lower portion of thefrontpane141, the upper bearing portion 45 is pushed upwardly against spring force of the coil spring 47 and engagement of the lower rotating shaft 41f and the lower support portion 40e is disengaged. Successively, by moving the lower portion of the front panel 41 forwardly and pulling down the front panel 41 to the lower side, engagement of the upper rotating shaft 41d and the upper bearing portion 45 is disengaged. In this way, the f ront panel 41 can simply be removed f rom the decorative cover main body 40.

After lifting the attaching and detaching lever 46a upwardly to disengage fitting of the upper rotating shaft 41d and the upper bearing portion 45, the upper portion of the front panel 41 moved forward and then lifted upward to disengaging the lower rotating shaft 41f and the lower support portion 40e. Thereby, the front panel 41 can simply be removed from the decorativ-e cover main-body 4.0.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the air fil:,.ter 5 is detachably arranged on the inner side of the front panel 41, the front panels 41 are divided leftward and 23 rightward, the respective side end portion sides of the front panels 41 are supported pivotably in the horizontal direction and detachably. Even when the air conditioner is installed at an elevated spot, for example, as shown by Fig. 21, the two front panels 41 can be operated to open easily to both sides and cleaning of the air filter 5 can easily be carried out by significantly opening the f ront f ace of the air f ilter 5. Further, the f ront panel 41 can be produced by a small-sized and inexpensive resin mold die. Further, the f ront panel 41 can be removed and cleaned and when the front panel 41 is washed in a general sink or the like, as shown by Fig. 22, the front.panel 41 which is divided into a half size of the conventional front panel can easily be washed in water.

Further, the front panel 41 is detachably supported in a state in which the front panel 41 is opened by a predetermined pivotal angle or more and accordingly, the f ront panel 41 can be prevented f rom being erroneously removed in a state in which the f ront panel 41 is closed and the air conditioner is.operated and the front panel 41 can be brought into a removable state by simple operation of pivoting the front panel 41 by a predetermined. angle or more.

Further, the front panels 41 are divided leftward and rightward, the upper and lower portions of the side end portion sides c; the respective f ront panels 41 disposed on the side 25---facesides of the cabinet 2, are elastically supported by the 24 cabinet 2 pivotably in the horizontal direction and detachably, the upper and lower portions of the central end portion sides of the respective front panels 41 disposed on the central side of the cabinet 2, are elastically- supported by the cabinet to be capable of disengagement. Respective four portions of the front panels 41 divided leftward and rightward, are elastically supported by the cabinet. The front panels 41 can be prevented from being pivoted spontaneously or generating vibration sound by vibration or the like in operating the air conditioner.

Further, the front panels 41 are divided leftward and rightward and are formed by a size in which the height falls in a range of 240 mm through 320 mm. and the lateral width direction falls in a range of 340 mm. through 500 mm, and accordingly, the front panel can be put into a general sink or the like having a size of about 600 mm WIS standards), thereby, the front panel 41 can be washed in water extremely easily.

Further, the cabinet 2 is extended to form the upper face portion, the intake port 41b is provided at the extended upper f ace portion, the side end portion of the f ront panel 41 is pivoted pivotably in the horizontal direction and accordingly, even when the front panel 41 is extended to form the upper face portion of the cabinet 2, in pivoting'the front panel 41, the extended portion does not collide with the ceiling of a room installed with th air conditioner. The f ront f ace portion and the upper _face portion of the air filter 5 can be opened simultaneously and significantly and accordingly, cleaning of the air filter 5 can be carried out further easily. By removing the air filter 5, the upper face portion of the heat exchanger 6 is also opened and cleaning can be carried out by injecting an air conditioner 5 detergent from the upper face portion of the heat exchanger 6.

Further. the side end portion of the front panel 41 is supported pivotably in the horizontal direction, the side of the front panel 41 opposed to the support portion is engaged to be capable of disengagement, the hand touching portion 41i is provided to dispose at the lower portion of the side of the engaging portion and accordingly, by pivoting the front panel 41 by touching one hand to the hand touching portion 41i of the front panel 41, engagement of the engaging portion can easily be released.

Further, the side end portion of the front panel 41 is supported pivotably in the horizontal direction, the gap is provided between the side end portion and the cabinets ide. There can be ensured the portion of pivoting and supporting the side end portion of the front panel 41 and a. space for the pivotal movement. Further, by utilizing the gap as the air intake port 43, promotion of function of the air conditioner can be achieved by reduci.ng the intake resistance.

Further, the front panels 41 are divided leftward and rightwird, the operation display unit 32 is arranged between the divided f ront panels 41, the f ront f ace portion of the cabinet 26 2 is formed by the front panels 41 and the operation display portion 32 and accordingly, the operation display unit 32 can significantly be ensured easily. The size of the front panel 41 can be reduced by an amount of the operation display portion 32 and the front panel 41 can be molded by a further small-sized resin mold die.

Next, an explanation will be given of a second embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention in reference to Fig. 9.

The air conditioner of the second embodiment dif f ers from the air conditioner of the first embodiment in the cabinet main body 3 and the decorative cover 4 and is the same basically therewith in other respect and therefore, an explanation will be given mainly of a difference therebetween.

The rear casing 30 of the cabinet main body 3 is integrally formed with side mounting portions 39 projected from front end portions of two side faces of the rear casing 30 for mounting side panels 40A and is integrally formed with an upper engaging portion 38 projected forwardly from front end portions of an upper face thereof to engage with upper portions of the front panels 41. Further, similar to the first embodiment, the upper engaging portion 38 is formed with engaging recess portions 38a opposedto the engaging projections 41g of the front panel 41 and theZengaging projections 41g and the engaging recess portions 38a are elastically engaged..

27 Further, according to the.operation display unit 32, the base portion 32a and the lower. engaging portion 32c are formed integrally from an upper end portion of a front portion of the dew receive portion 37 of the front casing 31. Thereby, the air conditioner can be produced inexpensively. Further, even when the base portion 32a is molded integrally with the dew receive portion 37, the liquid crystal display portion 32b is formed separately f rom the base portion 32a and is mounted detachably. The liquid crystal display portion 32b can easily be taken out to subject to maintenance operation.

The decorative cover 4 is constituted to divide into the side panels 40A, the front panels 41 and an under panel 40B.

The side panels 40A are mounted to the side face mounting portions 39 of the rear casing 30 by screws or the like and constitute the side faces of the decorative cover 4 and are extended to constitute both side portions of the upper face and the bottom face of the decorative cover 4 disposed on both sides of portions of the heat exchanger 6 having the radiating fins, in other words, portions thereof for circulating interior air.

The front panel 41 is formed to extend by an amount of eliminating the upper face portion of the decorative cover main body 40 of the first embodiment. According to the front panel 41, the side end portion disposed on the side of the side face of the babinet 2 is supported pivotably and detachably by the side panel 40A and the side end portion on the side of the central 28 portion of the front face is engaged with the upper engaging portion 38 and the lower engaging portion 32c to be capable of disengagement. Further, the supporting structure and the engaging structure are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The under panel 40B is mounted to lower end portions of the side panel 40A and forms the blow port 40b. Further, the blow port 40b is pivotably attached with the two sheets of horizontal wind direction plates 42a.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the decorative cover 4 is constituted by combining the front panels 41 f or f orming the f ront f ace portion and the upper f ace portion, the side panels 4 OA f or f orming the two side f ace portions and the under panel 40B for forming the lower face blow port 4 Ob and accordingly, members of constituting the decorative cover 4 can be downsized and can be dealt with easily. Further, there can be provided a variety of variations of the decorative covers 4 by changing constituent members thereof, resin mold dies of the constituent members can be downsized and a reduction in installation cost can be achieved.

Next, an explanation will be given of a third embodiment through a fifth embodiment of the air conditioners according to the present invention in reference to Fig. 10 through Fig.

12. The air conditioners according to the third embodiment throughthe f if th embodiment, relate to the hand touching portion 41i of the front panel 41.

29 The air conditioners according to the third embodiment through the fifth embodiment differ from the air conditioner according to.the first embodiment only at the hand touching portions and are the same as the air conditioner according to 5 the first embodiment in other respect.

According to the air conditioner of the third embodiment, as shown by Fig. 10, the hand touching portion 41i is of a touch panel type. By touching the touch panel type touching portion 41i by the finger, built-in control apparatus and engaging apparatus are operated and engagement of the front panel 41 can be released automatically.

According to the air conditioner of the f ourth embodiment, as shown by Fig. 11, the hand touching portions 41i constitute end portions of the front panel 41 sandwiching the operation display unit 32. The front panel 41 is opened by touching the finger to the end portion 41i of the front panel 41 from a gap between the front panel 41 and the operation display unit 32.

According to the air conditioner of the f if th embodiment, as shown by fig. 12, the hand touching portion 41i is of a latch type. By pulling the latch type hand touching portion 41i by touching the finger, the front panel 41 can easily be opened by diseng.3ging latch engagement built in the front panel 41 and the decorative cover main body 40.

DTiaxt, an explanation will be given of a sixth embodiment through a thirteenth embodiment of air conditioners according to the present invention in reference to Fig. 13 through Fig. 20. The air conditioners according to the sixth embodiment through the thirteenth embodiment relate to a system of opening the front panel 41. Further, although according to the respective embodiments, the air intake port in the shape of a grill is provided to the central portion of the front panel 41 similar to the f irst embodiment, illustration thereof is omitted in the respective drawings.

As shown by Fig. 13, the air conditioner according to the sixth embodiment dif f ers f rom the air conditioner of the f irst embodiment in that the operation display unit is not disposed at the front face portion of the decorative cover 4, a whole of the front face portion of the decorative cover 4 is covered by the two sheets of front panels 41 and the side end faces of the central sides of the front panels 41 at the front face portion of the decorative cover 4, are formed linearly to be opposed to each other. Thereby, the resin mold die of the front panel 41 can be simplified. Further, the operation display unit is provided at the lower face of the decorative cover main body 40.

According to the air conditioner of the seventh embodiment, as shown by Fig. 14, in'comparison with.the air conditioner of the first embodiment, the upper face of the decorative cover main boay 40 is integrally formed with c-in intake port 40f and the portion of the front panel 41 extended to the upper face 31 is eliminated. Thereby, the front panel 41 can be formed in a simple flat shape, cleaning operation of the front panel 41 at a sink or the like can further be facilitated and the resin mold die of the front panel 41 can be made in small size and 5 inexpensively.

As shown by Fig. 15, the air conditioner according to the eighth embodiment is combinedwith the air conditioners according to the sixth embodiment and the seventh embodiment. That is, according to the air conditioner, the upper f ace of the decorative cover main body 40 is integrally formed with the intake port 40f, the portion of the front panel 41 extended to the upper face is eliminated, the operation display unit is eliminated f rom the central portion of the f ront f ace and a whole of the front face is covered by two sheets of front panels 4 1. Thereby, advantages of the sixth embodiment and the seventh embodiment are provided.

As shown by Fig. 16, the air conditioner according to the ninth embodiment differs from the air conditioner according to the eighth embodiment in that the upper face of the decorative cover main body 40 is integrally formed with the intake port 40f, the portion of. the front panel 41 extended to the upper face is e1iminated, further,,on the inner sides of the front panels 41, the operation display unit 32 is provided at the central portioS of the front face in a strip- like shape extended totally in the up and down direction and a portion of the front panel 32 41 covering the operation display unit 32 and opposed to the liquid crystal display portion 32b, constitutes a light transmitting portion 41j. Further, the light transmitting portion 41j is formed by transparent synthetic resin. BY constructing such a constitution, the front panel 4 l can be formed in a simple flat shape, cleaning operation of the front panel 41 at a sink or the like can further be facilitated, the resin mold die of the front panel 41 can be made to be small-sized and inexpensive, further, the central side of the air filter 5 can easily be mounted by utilizing both side portions of the operation display unit 32 and design of the front face portion can be simplified.

As shown by Fig. 1.7, the air conditioner according to the tenth embodiment dif f ers from the air conditioner according the first embodiment in that the upper face of the decorative cover main body 40 is integrally formed with the intake portion 40f, the portion of the front panel 41 extended to the upper face is eliminated, further, the operation display unit 32 is formed integrally with the decorative cover main body 40 on one side of the front face and the front panel 41 is provided contiguous to the operation display unit 32. Thereby, the front panel 41 can be f orined in a simple flat shape and in a small size, cleaning operation of the front panel 41 at a sink or the like can further be facSlitated, the resin mold die of the front panel 41 can be made to be small-sized and inexpensive, further, it is not 33 necessary to independently provide the operation display unit 32.

As shown by Fig. 18, the air conditioner according to the eleventh embodiment dif f ers from the air conditioner according to the eighth embodiment in that the upper face intake port 4 Of is formed separately from the decorative cover main body 40 and is pivotably mounted and an air cleaning exclusive filter 5A is detachably mounted to the inner side of the intake port 40f. Thereby, the air cleaning exclusive filter 5A can easily be attached and detached. Further, by mounting the air cleaning exclusive filter 5A additionally to the outer side of the air f ilter 5, presence or absence of the air cleaning exclusive f ilter 5A can be selected, further convenient air cleaning function can be achieved.

As shown by Fig. 19, the air conditioner according to the twelf th embodiment dif f ers f rom the air conditioner according to the tenth embodiment in that a small panel 41A for covering the operation display unit 32 is pivotably provided at the f ront face of the operation display unit 32. Thereby, a portion of the operation display unit 32 which is not normally needed can be covered.

As shown by Fig. 20, the air conditioner according to the thirteenth embodiment dif f ers f rom the air conditioner according to the;ighth embodiment in that the operation display unit 32 is integrally formed with the decorative cover main body 40 at 34 the lower portion of the front face. The front panel 41 can be formed in a simple flat shape and in a small size, cleaning operation of the f ront panel 41 at a sink or the like can further be facilitated, the resin mold die of the front panel 41 can be made small-sized and inexpensive, further, it is not necessary to provide the operation display unit 32 independently.

According to the present invention, there can be provided the air conditioner improving the cleaning operation perf ormance of the air filter arranged on the inner side of the front panel, improving the cleaning operation performance of the front panel and capable of being produced inexpensively. - Z.

Claims

1. An air conditioner comprising: an oblong cabinet having a front panel at a front face thereof, said front panel being divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; and supporting means for supporting the front panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the front face of the cabinet: wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to the f ront f ace of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed to extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet; wherein the cabinet includes a notched portion f or engaging an upper f ace portion of the f ront panel to the upper f ace of the cabinet and an upper engaging portion for engaging side end portions of the upper face portion of the front panel by the upper face of the cabinet in a state in which the upper face portion of the f ront panel is engaged with the notched portion; and wherein the supporting means includes supporting portions for rotatably supporting end portions of the front face portion of the front panel by 'the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction.

2'. An air conditioner comprising:

an oblong cabinet. having a f ront panel at a f ront f ace 36 thereof, said front panel being -divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; and supporting means for supporting the front panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the front face of the cabinet:

wherein the front panel includes an upper face portion opposed to the f ront f ace of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed to extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet; and wherein the supporting means includes supporting portions for forming gaps between the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction and end-portions of the f ront f ace portion of the front panel and rotatably supporting end portions of the front face portion of the front panel.

3. An air conditioner comprising:

an oblong cabinet having a front panel at a front face thereof, said front panel being divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; and supporting means for supporting the front panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the front face of the cabinet:

wherein the front panel includes an upper face portion opposed to the f ront f ace of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed t. o extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet; and 37 wherein the supporting means includes supporting portions for rotatably supporting end portions of the front face portion of the front panel by the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction and detachably supporting the f ront panel in a state in which the f ront panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

4. An air conditioner comprising: an oblong cabinet having a front panel at a front face thereof, said front panel being divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; and supporting means for supporting the front panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the front face of the cabinet: wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to the f ront f ace of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed to extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet; wherein the f ront f ace portion of the f ront panel includes an engaging protrusion portion formed at a rear face thereof f or engaging the f ront f ace portion of the f ront panel with the front face of the cabinet; wherein the cabinet includes an operation display unit attached to the front f ace of the cabinet and disposed at a portion of dividing the f ront panel and an engaging recess portion f ormed at a surrounding of the operation display unit and engaged with 38 the engaging protrusion portion; wherein the cabinet further includes an upper engaging portion formed at an upper face of the cabinet for engaging an upper face portion of the front panel with the upper face of the cabinet; and wherein the supporting means includes supporting portions for engaging the engaging protrusion portion with the engaging recess portion and rotatably supporting the end portions of the front face portion of the front panel by the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction such that the front panel sandwiches the operation display portion.

5. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a heat exchanger, an air filter and a fan at inside thereof:

wherein the cabinet includes a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover includes a decorative cover main body attached to a front side of the cabinet main body and a front panel provided at a front face of the decorative cover main body and formed to be divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; whepein the front panel includes. a front face portion opposed to a f ront face of the decorative cover main body and an uppe f ace portion f ormed by extending f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper face of the decorative cover main body; 39 and wherein the decorative cover main body includes a notched portion for engaging the upper face portion of the front panel with the upper face of the decorative cover main body, an upper engaging portion for engaging side end portions of the upper face portion of the front panel with the upper face of the decorative cover main body in a state in which the upper f ace portion of the front panel is engaged with the notched portion and supporting means for supporting the front panel by end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction.

6. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a heat exchanger, an air filter and a fan at inside thereof:

wherein the cabinet includes a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover includes a decorative cover main body attached to a front side of the cabinet main body and a front panel provided at a front face of the decorative cover main body and f ormed to be divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to a f ront f ace of the decorative cover main body and an upper. f ace portion f ormed by extending f rom the f ront f ace portior along an upper f ace of the decorative cover main body; and wherein the decorative cover main body includes supporting means for forming gaps between end portions of the decorative cover main body in a longitudinal direction and end portions of the front face portion of the front panel and supporting the 5 front panel.

7. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a heat exchanger, an air filter and a fan at inside thereof:

wherein the cabinet includes a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover includes a decorative cover main body attached to a front side of the cabinet main body and a front panel provided at a front face of the decorative cover main body and f ormed to be divided lef tward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to a front face of the decorative cover main body and an upper f ace portion f ormed by extending f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper face of the decorative cover main body; and' wherein the decorative cover main body includes supporting means f or rotatably supporting the front panel by end portions of the decorative cover main body in a longitudinal direction and de-Sachably supporting the f ront panel in a state in which the front panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

41

8. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a heat exchanger, an air filter and a fan at inside thereof: wherein the cabinet includes a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover includes a decorative cover main body attached to a front side of the cabinet main body and a front panel provided at a front face of the decorative cover main body and f ormed to be divided lef tward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet; wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to a front face of the decorative cover main body and an upper f ace portion f ormed by extending f rom. the f ront f ace portion along an upper face of the decorative cover main body; wherein the f ront f ace portion of the f ront panel includes an engaging protrusion portion f ormed at a rear f ace of the f ront panel for engaging the front face portion of the front panel with a front face of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover main body includes an operation display unit attached to the front face of the decorative cover main bodyand disposed at a portion of dividing the front.panel, an engagingrecess portion formed at a surrounding of the operation display unit and engaged with the engagini protruslon portion and an upper engaging portion f ormed at an upper face of the decorative cover main body for engaging 42 the upper face portion of the front panel with an upper face of the cabinet; and wherein the decorative cover main body includes supporting means for engaging the engaging protriusion portion with the engaging recess portion and rotatably supporting the f ront panel by end portions of the decorative cover main body in a longitudinal direction such that the front panel sandwiches the operation display unit..

9. The air conditioner according to any one of Claim 1 through Claim 8:

wherein the front panel includes a hand touching recess portion formed at a front face of a lower portion of a respective side end portion disposed on a central side of the front face portion.

10. The air conditioner according to any one of Claim 1 through Claim 8:

wherein the front panel includes a rotating shaft formed at an end portion of the front face portion of the front panel; and wherein the supporting means includes a supporting portion formed at the end portion of the decorative cover main body in the longitudinal direction f or., rotatably. supporting the rotating shaft.

11. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a f ront panel at a f ront f ace thereof, said f ront panel being 43 divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the cabinet, and supporting means f or supporting the f ront panel at end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction to be capable of open/close relative to the f ront f ace of the cabinet:

wherein the front panel includes a front face portion opposed to the f ront face of the cabinet and an upper f ace portion f ormed to extend f rom the f ront f ace portion along an upper f ace of the cabinet; and wherein the supporting means rotatably supports the f ront panel by the end portions of the cabinet in the longitudinal direction and is constituted to be capable of removing the front panel f rom the cabinet by pushing up the f ront panel in a direction of the upper face of the cabinet in a state in which the front panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

12. An air conditioner comprising an oblong cabinet having a heat exchanger, an air filter and a fan at inside thereof:

wherein the cabinet is constituted of a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet; wherein the decorative cover is constituted of a decorative cover mai.n body attached to a front side of the cabinet main body and. a f ront panel provided at a f ront f ace of the decorative cover irhin body and formed to be divided leftward and rightward relative to a longitudinal direction of the decorative cover 44 main body; wherein the front panel is constituted of a front face portion opposed to the front face of the decorative cover main body and an upper face portion formed by being extended from the front face portion along an upper face of the decorative cover main body; and wherein the decorative cover main body rotatably supports the front panel by supporting means provided at end portions in the longitudinal direction and the supporting means is constituted to be capable of removing the front panel from the decorative cover main body by pushing up the f ront panel in a direction of an upper face of the decorative cover main body in a state in which the front panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

13. The air conditioner according to Claim 11 or Claim 12:

wherein the f ront panel is f ormed with hand touching recess portions at front faces of lower portions of respective side end portions disposed on a central side of the f ront f ace portion; and wherein the front panel is opened by touching the hands to the hand touching recess portions.

14. The air conditioner according to Claim 11 or Claim 12: Z.

wherein the front panel is formed with a rotating shaft at an end portion of the front face portion; wherein the rotating shaft is supported by a supporting portion formed at the end portion of the decorative cover main body in the longitudinal direction; and 5 wherein the f ront panel is removed by removing the rotating shaft from the supporting portion in a state in which the front panel is rotated by a predetermined angle.

15. An air conditioner comprising a cabinet having a cabinet main body constituting a rear portion of the cabinet and a decorative cover constituting a front portion of the cabinet and an air filter arranged detachably on an inner side of the cabinet, wherein the decorative cover is constituted of combining a front panel forming a front face portion and an upper face portion of the decorative cover, side panels f orming two side faces of the decorative cover and an under panel forming a lower face blow port and side end portions of the front panel are supported by the side panels pivotably in a horizontal direction and detachably.

1 Z.'