KR20230055134A - Indoor unit for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an indoor unit for an air conditioner comprises: a case; a heat exchanger accommodated inside the case; a fan module accommodated inside the case; a front panel coupled to the bottom of the case and forming an intake port and a discharge port; an intake grill mounted on the intake port; a discharge vane assembly which opens and closes the discharge port; and a louver assembly disposed inside the discharge port and tilting to the left and right of the front panel. The louver assembly includes a louver drive bar extending in the left and right directions of the front panel, and a plurality of louvers having rear ends connected to the louver drive bar. An airflow diffusion part is formed on and extending from the lower end of the louver. The airflow diffusion part is formed in a wedge shape with the left and right surfaces sloping so that a thickness increases toward the lower end. According to the present invention, the discharged air spreads farther in a lateral direction of the indoor unit.

Description

Indoor unit for air conditioner}

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner.

The indoor unit of the air conditioner provided to cool indoor air may be of a wall-mounted type, a floor-standing type, a ceiling-attached type, and the like.

Among them, the ceiling-attached indoor unit has an advantage of relatively high utilization of indoor space because the main body of the indoor unit accommodating the heat exchanger is buried inside the ceiling and only the suction grill and the discharge vane are exposed to the room.

In addition, when the indoor unit is used for cooling, since hot air rising toward the ceiling can be quickly cooled, the cooling efficiency is higher than that of the wall-mounted or floor-mounted indoor unit.

In the case of a ceiling-type indoor unit, airflow at a short distance and at a distance is controlled by a vane that tilts up and down while opening and closing the outlet, and wide-angle airflow in the left and right directions is controlled by a louver attached to the outlet and tilted in the left and right directions.

Conventional louver assemblies, as shown in the prior art below, do not sufficiently guide the airflow of air discharged from the blowing fan in the lateral direction in a state tilted at the maximum angle to the left or right. As a result, there is a disadvantage in that the discharge air is bent laterally at an angle smaller than the tilting angle (or bending angle) of the louver. For example, in a conventional indoor unit, when the louver is laterally bent by 40 degrees, the airflow bending angle is confirmed to be approximately 12.5 degrees.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2019-0041807 (April 23, 2019)

The present invention is proposed to improve the above problems.

An indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a case; a heat exchanger accommodated inside the case; a fan module accommodated inside the case; a front panel coupled to the lower surface of the case and having a suction port and a discharge port formed thereon; a suction grill mounted to the suction port; a discharge vane assembly opening and closing the discharge port; and a louver assembly disposed inside the discharge port and tilted to the left and right of the front panel, wherein the louver assembly includes a louver driving bar extending in the left and right directions of the front panel, and a rear end connected to the louver driving bar It includes a plurality of connected louvers, and an air flow diffusion unit is formed extending from the lower end of the louver, and the air flow diffusion unit has a wedge shape with left and right sides inclined so that the thickness increases toward the lower end.

According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention having the configuration as described above, the wedge-shaped airflow diffusion part, which widens downward as it goes downward, is formed at the lower end of the louver, so that it descends along the left or right side of the louver. It has the advantage of forming a wide-angle airflow by increasing the bending angle of the air being discharged while doing so.

In other words, since the inclination angle of the airflow diffuser is added to the lateral tilt angle of the louver, the discharged air spreads farther in the lateral direction of the indoor unit.

In addition, since a plurality of intaglio grooves (recesses) in the form of sawtooth are formed on the surface of the airflow diffusion part, the bending angle of the airflow is further increased by a vortex generation effect.

In addition, it was confirmed as a result of the experiment that noise was reduced by about 0.8 to 1.1 dB and power consumption was reduced by about 1 to 1.5 W by the air flow diffuser and the depressions formed in the air flow diffuser.

1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a side sectional view of the indoor unit;
3 is a partial perspective view of a front panel equipped with a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a front perspective view of a louver constituting a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a rear perspective view of the louver;
6 is a bottom perspective view of the louver;
7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along 7-7 of FIG. 6;
8 is a partial perspective view showing an operating state of a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a view showing an air flow angle of discharged air according to a tilt angle of a louver in an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner indoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the indoor unit, and FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a front panel equipped with a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , an indoor unit 10 of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a box-shaped case 11 having an open bottom surface and a front surface coupled to the bottom surface of the case 11. It includes a panel 12, a heat exchanger 15 accommodated inside the case 11, and a fan module 13 accommodated inside the case 11.

In detail, the indoor unit 10 includes a suction grill 17 mounted on the suction port 122 of the front panel 12 and a discharge vane assembly 18 mounted on the discharge port 121 of the front panel 12. and a louver assembly.

The outlet 121 may be formed at a point close to the front end of the front panel 12 , and the suction hole 122 may be formed at a point near the rear end of the front panel 12 .

Further, a filter 16 is mounted on the upper side of the inlet 122 so that indoor air sucked through the intake grill 17 is purified while passing through the filter 16 .

A drain pan for receiving condensed water from the heat exchanger 15 is installed inside the case 11, and the drain pan may include a main drain pan 23 and a sub drain pan 24. can

In addition, a discharge port 121 is formed on the other side of the front panel 12 to discharge air cooled while passing through the heat exchanger 15 into the room, and the discharge vane assembly 18 is mounted on the discharge port. .

Further, a rear housing 14 (or a rear guide) for guiding the air forcedly flowing by the fan module 13 to the outlet 121 is mounted inside the case 11, and the rear housing 14 can be understood as a fan housing or fan case. Also, the front end of the main drain pan 23 may function as a stabilizer that generates a positive pressure of the air flowing by the fan module 13 and controls the flow. That is, the air forcedly flowing by the fan module 13 is guided to the outlet 121 through the space between the end of the rear housing 14 and the front end of the main drain pan 23 .

The fan module 13 may include a fan and a motor driving the fan, and the fan may be a cross flow fan.

Meanwhile, the discharge vane assembly 18 may include an outer vane 19 and an inner vane 20, and the discharge vane assembly 18 may be pivotally provided by the link assembly 21.

The outlet 121 has a size and shape that is completely closed by the outer vane 19, and in a state in which the outlet 121 is completely closed, the inner vane 20 is positioned on the upper side of the outer vane 19. located in

Also, when the discharge port 121 is opened by rotating the discharge vane assembly 18, a gap is formed between the front end of the inner vane 20 and the rear end of the outer vane 19. In addition, when the outer vane 19 and the inner vane 20 rotate, interference between the rear end of the outer vane 19 and the front end of the inner vane 20 due to the gap can be prevented. there is. Most of the cool air discharged from the fan module 13 is discharged into the room along the upper surface of the outer vane 19, that is, along the surface facing the inside of the case 11, and the remaining part is discharged into the room through the gap. is discharged with

Meanwhile, the louver assembly includes a louver driving bar 24 and a plurality of louvers 22 connected to the louver driving bar 24 and tilted to the left or right of the indoor unit 10 .

The rear lower end of the louver 22 is rotatably connected to the inner surface of the front panel 12 defining the outlet 121, and a point spaced upward from the rear lower end of the louver 22 is the louver. It is connected to the driving bar 24. The louver driving bar 24 extends long in the left and right directions of the front panel 12, and the plurality of louvers 22 are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the louver driving bar 24.

4 is a front perspective view of a louver constituting a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the louver, FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the louver, and FIG. 7 is 7-7 of FIG. It is a longitudinal section cut along the .

4 to 7 , the louver 22 constituting the louver assembly of the indoor unit 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be formed in a flat plate shape having a predetermined thickness.

In detail, the louver 22 has a front surface 221 extending upward with a width corresponding to the thickness of the louver 22, a rear surface 224 formed on the opposite side of the front surface 221, and the front surface. An inclined surface 229 that extends upward from the upper end of 221 but slopes backward, and the front side 229 that extends further downward from the lower end of the front surface 221 but extends toward the rear surface 224 in a recessed or stepped shape. The skin 222, the rear avoidance part 225 extending upward from the upper end of the rear surface 224 and extending toward the front surface 221 in a recessed or stepped shape, and the upper end of the rear avoidance part 225 The upper surface 228 connecting the upper end of the inclined surface 229, the lower surface 230 connecting the lower end of the rear surface 224 and the lower end of the front avoidance part 222, and the lower surface 230 to the lower side. It includes an air flow diffusion part 223 that is further extended and expanded in a form in which the thickness increases toward the lower end.

In addition, a horizontal plane passing through the lower end of the front face 221 and a horizontal plane passing through the upper end of the rear face 224 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance G, so that the upper end of the rear face 224 is higher than the lower end of the front face 221. is formed in

In addition, the upper surface 228 of the louver 22 extends upward more than the conventional louver, and in this process, the front upper corner of the louver 22 indicated by a dotted line is in line with the rotational trajectory of the fan module 13. In order not to interfere, the upper front corner of the louver 22 is removed to form the inclined surface 229.

A line L1 passing through the center of the inclined surface and extending in a direction orthogonal to the inclined surface meets at a certain point on the rotational trajectory of the fan module 13 . In addition, the tangent line L2 passing through a certain point of the rotation trajectory and the inclined surface 229 may be designed to be parallel to each other.

In addition, the front avoidance part 222 and the rear avoidance part 225 are formed to prevent interference with internal parts of the indoor unit 10 while the louver 22 is tilted left or right.

A connection protrusion 231 protrudes from a certain point on the rear surface 224, and the connection protrusion 231 is inserted into a protrusion fitting hole 241 (see FIG. 8) formed in the louver driving bar 24.

In addition, a hooking end 232 extends downward at the bottom of the rear surface of the louver 22, and a shaft hole 2321 is formed in the hooking end 232. The louver 2 is tilted at a predetermined angle to the left or right of the indoor unit 10 around an axis passing through the shaft hole, and for example, can be tilted to the left or right by up to 40 degrees.

The parts forming the edges of the louver 22, that is, the front side 221, the inclined side 229, the rear avoidance part 225, and the rear side 224, have left guide surfaces 2201 and right guide surfaces 2202 Each of them is formed inclined, so that the air discharged from the fan module 13 flows divided into the left side 226 and the right side 227 of the louver 22 . If the portion forming the edge of the louver 22 is formed flat, air hitting the edge of the louver 22 spreads from side to side and may generate flow resistance.

Although the front avoidance part 22 is shown as being formed flat without a guide surface, it should be noted that the left guide surface and the right guide surface may also be formed in an inclined manner in the front avoidance part 22 .

On the other hand, the air flow diffusion part 223 extending from the lower surface 230 of the louver 22 may be formed in a wedge shape extending obliquely in a direction in which the thickness increases toward the lower side, as shown in FIG. 7 .

In addition, a plurality of left groove parts 2231 may be formed on a left side of the air flow diffusion part 223, and a plurality of right groove parts 2232 may be formed on a right side of the air flow diffusion part 223. A plurality of bottom grooves 2233 may be formed on the bottom surface of the portion 223 . These grooves 2231, 2232, and 2233 may be understood as intaglio grooves. In addition, the left groove part 2231, the bottom groove part 2233, and the right groove part 2232 are formed by being connected to each other. That is, the left groove part 2231 and the right groove part 2232 are formed at points facing each other, and the bottom groove part 2233 connects lower ends of the left groove part 2231 and the right groove part 2232.

The grooves may be formed by cutting the airflow diffuser 223 while passing along the left and right sides of the louver 22 with a cylindrical cutting tool P having a cone shape with a pointed shear end. . Alternatively, it may be plastic injection molded through a mold designed to have the same shape as the depression formed as a result of the cutting process.

Since the left groove part 2231 and the right groove part 2232 are spaced apart from each other in the front-back direction of the louver 22, the flow resistance of the discharged air colliding with the surface of the air flow diffusion part 223 is reduced, and the The effect of increasing the bending angle of the airflow by about 0.4 degrees can be obtained by the vortex generation effect.

In addition, as flow resistance is reduced in the air flow diffuser 223, noise and power consumption may be reduced.

8 is a partial perspective view showing an operating state of a louver assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8, a plurality of louver support shafts 123 protrude from the inner surface of the front panel 12 defining the outlet 121, and each of the plurality of louver support shafts 123 is the louver ( 22) is inserted into the shaft hole 2321 formed in the engaging end 232. In addition, the louver driving bar 24 is mounted on the inner surface of the front panel 12 to be reciprocally movable in the left and right directions of the indoor unit 10 by a driving motor (not shown).

Here, a combination of the louver 22, the louver driving bar 24, and the driving motor driving the louver driving bar 24 may be defined as a louver assembly.

In detail, a connection protrusion 231 protruding from the rear surface 224 of the louver 22 is inserted into the louver driving bar 24 . With this structure, when the driving motor operates, the louver driving bar 24 reciprocates in the left and right directions. As the louver driving bar 24 reciprocates left and right, the louver 22 is tilted left and right with the louver support shaft 123 as a rotation center. Specifically, as the louver 22 is tilted, the upper surface 228 of the louver 22 is tilted up to 40 degrees to the left and right, respectively, centered on the vertical plane on the rotation center of the louver 22.

9 is a view showing an airflow angle of discharged air according to a tilting angle of a louver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9 , as the tilting angle θ of the louver 22 increases, the air flow angle φ of the air discharged into the room through the outlet 121 also increases. The air flow angle φ may be understood to mean the degree to which discharged air is deflected to the left or right with respect to a vertical plane, or the degree to which it is bent. As the airflow angle φ increases, there is an effect that the air discharged from the indoor unit 10 can be supplied farther in the left and right directions of the indoor unit 10 .

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the air flow angle φ is further increased compared to the existing indoor unit by the structure of the air flow diffuser 223 formed at the lower end of the louver 22, thereby achieving wide-angle discharge. .

Claims (12)

case;
a heat exchanger accommodated inside the case;
a fan module accommodated inside the case;
a front panel coupled to the lower surface of the case and having a suction port and a discharge port formed thereon;
a suction grill mounted to the suction port;
a discharge vane assembly opening and closing the discharge port; and
A louver assembly disposed inside the discharge port and tilted to the left and right of the front panel,
The louver assembly,
A louver drive bar extending in the left and right directions of the front panel;
The rear end includes a plurality of louvers connected to the louver driving bar,
An air flow diffusion part is formed extending from the lower end of the louver,
The indoor unit of an air conditioner, characterized in that the air flow diffuser is formed in a wedge shape with left and right sides inclined so that the thickness increases toward the lower end. According to claim 1,
A plurality of grooves are formed on each of the left and right sides of the air flow diffusion unit,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner, characterized in that the plurality of grooves are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the louver. According to claim 2,
The plurality of grooves,
A left groove portion formed on a left side of the air flow diffusion portion;
And a right groove portion formed on a right side of the air flow diffusion portion,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner, characterized in that the left groove and the right groove are formed opposite to each other. According to claim 3,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner, characterized in that the plurality of grooves extend from an upper end to a lower end of the air flow diffusion part. According to claim 4,
A plurality of bottom grooves are formed at the lower end of the air flow diffusion unit,
The plurality of bottom grooves connect the plurality of left grooves and the plurality of right grooves. According to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The louver,
a front surface extending upward;
A rear surface formed on the opposite side of the front surface;
An inclined surface extending upward from the upper end of the front surface and inclined backward;
A rear side avoidance portion extending upward from the upper end of the rear side and formed to be recessed or stepped toward the front side;
A front side avoidance portion extending downward from the lower end of the front side and formed to be recessed or stepped toward the rear side, and
Including a lower surface connecting the lower end of the front avoidance part and the lower end of the rear surface,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the air flow diffusion part further extends downward from the lower surface. According to claim 6,
A connection protrusion protrudes at any point on the rear surface,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner, characterized in that the louver driving bar is formed with a protrusion fitting hole into which the connecting protrusion is inserted. According to claim 7,
A hooking end extends downward at the lower end of the rear surface,
A shaft hole is formed in the hanging end,
A louver support shaft inserted into the shaft hole protrudes from the inner surface of the front panel defining the discharge port,
The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the connecting protrusion is formed at a point spaced upward from the hanging end. According to claim 8,
The connection protrusion reciprocates in the left and right directions as one body with the louver drive bar,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner, characterized in that the louver is tilted by a set angle in the left and right directions with the louver support shaft as a rotation center. According to claim 6,
An indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein a tangential line passing through a point on a rotational locus of the fan module where a line orthogonal to the inclined surface meets a center of the inclined surface is parallel to the inclined surface. According to claim 6,
The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein an upper end of the rear surface is located at a higher point than a lower end of the front surface. According to claim 6,
The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein at least a left guide surface and a right guide surface are formed to be inclined on at least the front surface, the inclined surface, the rear avoidance part, and the rear surface.

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