KR20030072964A - Ceiling-installed air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A ceiling type air conditioner is provided to improve a user's convenience. CONSTITUTION: An air conditioner includes a case installed in a ceiling, and having an inlet and an outlet formed on a bottom thereof to be connected with a room; a fan installed in the case to be near the outlet, and including a rear guide and a stabilizer forming a channel for discharged air to introduce and discharge indoor air; a heat exchanger(30) installed in the case to be near the inlet so as to cool down introduced indoor air; and a drain pan(40) installed on a lower end of the heat exchanger to collect condensed air generated during heat exchange. An auxiliary drain pan(41) is attached on one end of the drain pan to be extended along a side of the heat exchanger. A bottom of the auxiliary drain pan is inclined toward the drain pan. Condensed water is allowed to be collected and discharged by the auxiliary drain pan and/or the drain pan even when flowing direction of the condensed water is changed as position of installation of an indoor unit, thereby.

Description

Ceiling air conditioner {CEILING-INSTALLED AIR CONDITIONER}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner in which an indoor unit is installed on a ceiling.

In general, an air conditioner is a type of air conditioner that cools or purifies indoor air to circulate it in order to create a comfortable environment in the room. Such an air conditioner may be divided into an integral type in which a part constituting a cooling cycle is provided in one unit and a separate type in which two units are separately provided. On the other hand, the air conditioner may be classified into a wall-hung type that hangs the indoor unit on the wall and an upper type that installs the indoor unit on the floor, and a ceiling type that hangs the indoor unit on the ceiling or installs the inside of the ceiling according to the product type.

Among these, the ceiling cassette type air conditioner is a type of ceiling type air conditioner installed inside the ceiling to suck and cool indoor air and supply it to the room again. The ceiling cassette type air conditioner includes an outdoor unit for compressing and liquefying refrigerant by embedding the above-mentioned separate type, that is, a compressor and a condenser, and an indoor unit for cooling indoor air by evaporating the refrigerant by incorporating an evaporator. It is generally composed of units).

On the other hand, recently, ceiling type air conditioners having various structures suitable for the purpose of use have been developed to reflect the needs of users. At the same time, the structural improvement of the ceiling type air conditioners for performance improvement and production cost reduction is continuously made, and this development trend is further increased due to the development of related technologies.

The present invention has been devised in accordance with this tendency, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling-type air conditioner of a new structure suitable for use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling type air conditioner that can improve performance or reduce production costs.

1 is a side sectional view showing an indoor unit of a ceiling air conditioner according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom cross-sectional view showing the indoor unit of the ceiling air conditioner according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a drain structure of the ceiling type air conditioner according to the present invention.

4A is a perspective view showing a modification of the drain structure of the ceiling type air conditioner according to the present invention.

4B is a plan view illustrating in detail the intermediate auxiliary drain pan of FIG. 4A.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

10 case 11 inlet

12: discharge port 20: blowing fan

21: unit fan 21a: boundary plate

21b: Blade 22: rear guide

23: stabilizer 24: motor

30 heat exchanger 40 drain pan

41: auxiliary drain pan 42: intermediate auxiliary drain pan

42a, 42b: intermediate auxiliary drain pan subtitle 42c, 42d: recess

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is installed in the ceiling, the case having a suction port and a discharge port formed on the bottom surface to communicate with the room; A blower fan that sucks and discharges indoor air, including a rear guide and a stabilizer that form a flow path for air discharged and installed in the case and adjacent to the discharge port; A heat exchanger installed in the case adjacent to the suction port and cooling the sucked indoor air; And a ceiling fan installed at a lower end of the heat exchanger and including a drain fan for collecting condensate generated during the heat exchange, wherein an auxiliary drain fan extending along the side of the heat exchanger is attached to one end of the drain pan. It provides a ceiling air conditioner, characterized in that.

In addition, the ceiling air conditioner of the present invention may further include an intermediate auxiliary drain fan extending along the width direction in the middle portion of the heat exchanger.

Here, the intermediate auxiliary drain pan may include a plurality of members having a shape symmetrical with each other and including a plurality of recesses to be joined to the refrigerant pipe of the heat exchanger, so that the intermediate auxiliary drain pan may be separately assembled to the middle part of the heat exchanger. Also more preferably, the pair of symmetrical members are hinged to each other at one end.

On the other hand, in both the auxiliary drain pan and the intermediate auxiliary drain pan, it is preferable that their bottom surfaces are inclined toward the drain pan.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention in which the above objects can be specifically realized are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present embodiment, the same name and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration and additional description thereof will be omitted below.

In the present invention, since the outdoor unit of the ceiling type air conditioner has the same structure as the general outdoor unit of the separate type air conditioner, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the indoor unit structure of the ceiling type air conditioner will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. If outlined as follows.

1 is a side cross-sectional view showing the indoor unit of the ceiling air conditioner according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a bottom cross-sectional view showing the indoor unit of the ceiling air conditioner according to the present invention.

The indoor unit of the ceiling type air conditioner is a case 10 installed inside the ceiling as a whole, a blower fan 20 which is installed at one side of the case 10 and forcibly sucks and discharges indoor air, and the case 10. It is installed on the other side of the inner heat exchanger (30) for cooling the indoor air sucked by the blowing fan (20). In addition, the indoor unit of the ceiling-type air conditioner is installed at the lower end of the heat exchanger 30 and the drain pan (40) having a box shape having an upper surface open to collect the condensate generated during the heat exchange process Include.

First, the case 10 has a box shape (ie, a cassette), and basically protects components such as an internal blower fan 20 or a heat exchanger 30. In addition, the case includes a suction port 11 and a discharge port 12 formed at its bottom surface and communicating with the room, respectively. More specifically, the inlet 11 is adjacent to the heat exchanger 30, the discharge port 12 is adjacent to the blowing fan 20. In addition, a control unit (not shown) is attached to the outside of the case 10, and a controller and related parts for controlling the operation of the blower 20 and the heat exchanger 30 according to an external input therein. Is located.

The blower fan 20 is a cross-flow fan in the present invention, and the cross-flow fan sucks and discharges air in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the fan instead of the suction flow in the axial direction. . A crossflow fan having such characteristics is generally advantageous for air conditioners, particularly ceiling type air conditioners such as the present invention, because it can produce a fixed pressure large airflow and evenly flow in the axial direction.

More specifically, the crossflow blower fan 20 is rotatable entirely, as shown in FIG. 2, in which some components such as the heat exchanger 20 are omitted for detailed illustration of the blower fan 20. Directly connected to the motor 24 provided on one side by the drive shaft. In addition, the blowing fan 20 is composed of a plurality of unit fans 21 connected in series via an annular boundary plate 21a. Each unit fan 21 includes a pair of boundary plates 21a and a plurality of blades 21b arranged in the circumferential direction thereof between the boundary plates 21a. In addition, the blower fan 20 includes a rear guide 22 and a stabilizer 23 having a structure for guiding the discharged air due to the characteristics of the crossflow fan. Here, the rear guide 22 is a plate-shaped member installed at the rear of the outer fan fan 20, and is curved in accordance with a predetermined curvature so as to guide the discharged air to the discharge port 12 and extends to the discharge port 12. In addition, the stabilizer 23 is a plate-shaped member installed along the axial direction at the bottom of the outer shell of the blower fan 20. The stabilizer 23 stabilizes the vortices occurring in the inner and peripheral regions of the blower fan 20 and forms a flow path extending to the discharge port 12 for air discharged together with the rear guide 22. .

The heat exchanger 30 is an evaporator which is connected to a compressor and a condenser and a refrigerant pipe provided in an outdoor unit to form a refrigeration cycle. It cools the indoor air. In addition, the heat exchanger 30 is preferably inclined toward the inlet 11 as shown in FIG. 1 in order to increase the heat transfer area. Here, when the heat exchanger 30 is inclined too much, condensed water may fall from the heat exchanger 30 to the outside of the drain pan 40 by its own weight. Therefore, the inclination angle θ of the heat exchanger 30 with respect to the horizontal plane is preferably set to about 50 ° -60 ° in consideration of the condensate flow in the heat exchanger 30.

Finally, the drain pan 40 includes a drain pipe (not shown) connected to one side and communicating with the outside in order to discharge the condensed water continuously generated during operation. In addition, although not shown in the drain pipe is connected to the drain pump for forcibly discharging the condensed water in the drain pan 40 to the outside.

On the other hand, in general, the flow direction of the condensed water in the heat exchanger 30 is changed according to the installation position of the indoor unit of the air conditioner and the structure of the drain pan 40 is designed to discharge the condensed water in accordance with the changed flow direction . Therefore, once designed indoor unit is limited in its installation position and structure, as is the ceiling air conditioner according to the present invention. To this end, in the present invention, the drain pan 40 preferably further includes an auxiliary drain pan 41 attached to one side end thereof as shown in FIG. 3. The auxiliary drain pan 41 extends along the side of the heat exchanger 30 as shown, and has a structure similar to that of the drain pan 40 to accommodate and discharge the condensate.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4A, the drain pan 40 may further include an intermediate auxiliary drain pan 42 extending along the width direction in the middle of the heat exchanger. The intermediate auxiliary drain pan 42 has a structure similar to that of the intermediate drain pan 41 to share the role of the auxiliary drain 41 so that more condensate discharge is achieved. In more detail, the intermediate auxiliary drain pan 42 may be integrally assembled with the refrigerant pipe when the heat exchanger 30 is manufactured, but the intermediate part of the completed heat exchanger 30 may be used for ease of manufacturing process. It is desirable to have a structure that can be assembled separately to. Such an assembled intermediate auxiliary drain pan 42 is a pair of members 42a and 42b which are respectively inserted to face each other between the fins of the heat exchanger 30 to be coupled with the refrigerant pipe as shown in FIG. 4B. Is done. The pair of members 42a and 42b include a plurality of recesses 42c and 42d that are joined to the refrigerant pipe of the heat exchanger 30 and have a symmetrical shape. In addition, the pair of members 42a and 42b may be hinged to each other at one end, and the hinged auxiliary drain pan members 42a and 42b may be assembled to the heat exchanger 30 without a separate member. And can be fixed. A plurality of intermediate auxiliary drain pans 42 of this type may be installed in the heat exchanger 30 as necessary.

On the other hand, in both the auxiliary drain pan 41 and the intermediate auxiliary drain pan 42, the bottom surface is preferably inclined downward toward the drain pan 40, so that the condensed water collected therein is quickly discharged. Can be.

Referring to the operation of the ceiling-type air conditioner according to the present invention having such a configuration as follows.

First, when the blowing fan 20 is rotated by the motor 24, a vortex is generated inside the blowing fan 20, the forced flow of air is generated by this vortex. More specifically, a low pressure region is formed in front of the blowing fan 20 (right side in the drawing) and a high pressure region is formed in the rear side (left side in the drawing) during the rotation. That is, the air is sucked into the blower fan 20 through the low pressure region, and becomes a vortex that rotates and is discharged through the high pressure region while being guided by the rear guide 22 and the stabilizer 23. As such, the indoor air forcedly sucked through the suction port 11 formed on the bottom surface of the case 10 by the action of the blowing fan 20 is cooled while passing through the heat exchanger 30, and then flows through a predetermined distance. The cooling fan 20 is finally cooled by being introduced into a predetermined indoor space through the discharge port 12.

In this case, as the auxiliary drain pan 41 is installed, the condensate may be collected and discharged through the auxiliary drain pan 41 and / or the drain pan 40 even if the flow direction of the condensate is changed as the installation position of the indoor unit is changed. Can be. In addition, the intermediate auxiliary drain fan 42 serves to additionally assist the function of the auxiliary drain fan 41. Therefore, the indoor unit of the present invention can be installed not only on the ceiling but also on the wall or even upright on the floor.

Although several embodiments have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents are included within the scope of the present invention.

Referring to the effect of the ceiling-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

In the present invention, the auxiliary drain fan is installed on the side of the heat exchanger so that the condensate can be smoothly discharged even when the flow direction of the condensate is changed in accordance with the change of the indoor unit installation position. In addition, the intermediate auxiliary drain pan shares the role of the auxiliary drain pan to enhance the correspondence with the condensate flow direction in the present invention. Therefore, the selection range for the installation position of the indoor unit of the present invention is substantially extended, resulting in an effect of increasing user convenience.

Claims (5)

A case installed inside the ceiling and having a suction port and a discharge port formed on a bottom surface thereof so as to communicate with a room; A blower fan that sucks and discharges indoor air, including a rear guide and a stabilizer that form a flow path for air discharged and installed in the case and adjacent to the discharge port; A heat exchanger installed in the case adjacent to the suction port and cooling the sucked indoor air; And In the ceiling air conditioner is installed on the bottom of the heat exchanger and including a drain pan for collecting the condensate generated during the heat exchange, Ceiling air conditioner, characterized in that the auxiliary drain pan extending along the side of the heat exchanger is attached to one end of the drain pan. The method of claim 1, Ceiling air conditioner further comprises an intermediate auxiliary drain fan extending along the width direction in the middle portion of the heat exchanger. The method of claim 2, Ceiling type characterized in that the intermediate auxiliary drain fan comprises a plurality of members having a symmetrical shape with a plurality of recesses for mating with the refrigerant pipe of the heat exchanger so that it can be separately assembled in the middle of the heat exchanger Air conditioner. The method of claim 3, wherein Ceiling air conditioner, characterized in that the pair of symmetrical members are hinged to each other at one end. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the bottom surface of the auxiliary drain pan and the intermediate auxiliary drain pan are inclined toward the drain pan.