WO2023003455A1

WO2023003455A1 - An air discharge port of an air conditioning unit

Info

Publication number: WO2023003455A1
Application number: PCT/MY2022/050052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kok Yeong TAN; Her Mei TENG
Original assignee: Daikin Research & Development Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Priority date: 2021-07-22
Filing date: 2022-06-20
Publication date: 2023-01-26
Also published as: CN117677800A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air discharge port (120) of an air 5 conditioning unit (100) in proximity to a ceiling. The air discharge port (120) comprising a first panel, a second panel, and at least a partition member (160) in between both panels for dividing the air discharge port (120) into two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). The partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width, constructed in a manner that each of the air discharge flow passages (120, 120b) has a decreasing width towards the exterior of the air discharge port (120) to allow air discharged with an increasing velocity, hence preventing the air from flowing towards the ceiling and eventually preventing dew formation.

Description

AN AIR DISCHARGE PORT OF AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit, and more particularly to an air discharge port having at least a partition member for preventing air from flowing towards a ceiling surface and subsequently avoiding condensation there around.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An indoor unit of a ceiling-type air conditioning unit is generally equipped with outlet vanes for changing supply air blowing direction. The outlet vanes are made to be adjustable and they are usually positioned to an angle beyond, for instance, a normal position at which the supply air is not directly blown to users. At the angle beyond the normal position, the outlet vane is positioned at a higher level than the normal position, resulting the supply air to flow in a direction which is towards or closer to a ceiling surface. In this situation, the ceiling surface may get soiled or stained if the supply air is blown towards the ceiling surface for a long period of time. On the other hand, if the outlet vane is positioned to a lower level than the normal position, the supply air will be directed toward users, generating a cold draft that may cause unpleasant cooling to users.

One of the prior art documents, for example, KR20060115483A, provides a solution for cold draft phenomenon by improving the structure of the outlet vanes. The outlet vanes is provided with at least one auxiliary vane for changing the direction of the discharged air flow. The auxiliary vane is having a guide surface that directs the discharged air to flow at a higher level as compared to the normal position of the outlet vanes. This may be beneficial in preventing occurrence of the strong draft towards users, yet the prior art does not provide any solution to tackle the condensation and smudging issue of the ceiling surface. Another prior art document, JP4122005B2, disclosing a different configuration of the air discharge port of a ceiling-type air conditioning unit. The ceiling-type air conditioning unit is buried inside a ceiling with a front panel exposed to user. The air discharge port is formed on the front panel with outlet vane to direct the discharged air to flow laterally and downwardly. An auxiliary heater is disposed at the air discharge port and is supported by the heater support member, for performing winter heating operation. As condensation tends to occur on the heater support member, an air guide portion is provided integrally with the heater support member at the air discharge port. The air guide portion serves to reduce flow resistance of the air passing through the air discharge port and also to suppress interference between the heater support member and the discharged air. However, it is not mentioned that such configuration is able to tackle cold draft issue and for preventing condensation and smudging issue on the ceiling.

It can be seen that the above prior art documents do not address a solution for promptly and effectively solving the cold draft issue as well as potential condensation issue. Since the conventional outlet vanes may bring strong draft to users, the present invention is aimed to provide an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit that is optimized to achieve draft-less cooling comfort without the outlet vanes. Further, the air discharge port of an air conditioning unit in the present invention is adapted for directing supply air to flow in a manner that may aid to minimize or prevent condensation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit that is capable of eliminating generation of cold draft and at the same time preventing supply air from flowing towards a ceiling surface or a wall.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit without requiring outlet vanes for creating draft-less cooling environment. A further object of the present invention is to provide an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit for preventing formation of negative air pressure region between the air discharge port and surroundings such as a ceiling surface, thereby minimizing condensation issue around the air discharge port and the ceiling surface.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit that is incorporated with at least a partition member for partially obstructing supply air flow so that conditioned air is discharged with an increasing velocity for avoiding dew formation.

Accordingly, these objects are achieved by following the disclosures and teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit that is in proximity to a ceiling, comprising a first panel and a second panel forming the air discharge port. The air discharge port further comprising at least a partition member at a position along the air discharge port for dividing the air discharge port into at least two air discharge flow passages.

The partition member has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width in such a manner that each of the air discharge flow passages has a decreasing width towards the exterior of the air discharge port so that the air is discharged with an increasing velocity along the air discharge flow passage, thereby preventing the discharged air from flowing towards the ceiling.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width by having at least one inclined, curved or convex surface adjacent to any of the air discharge flow passages. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member may be comprising any combination of an inclined, curved or convex surface at both sides adjacent to the air discharge flow passages. Preferably, the inclined, curved or convex surface is extending at a substantially acute angle relative to a vertical plane across the partition member.

It is further preferred that the partition member comprising at least two inclined surfaces that are inclined at a substantially acute angle relative to a vertical plane across the partition member. The partition member is preferably having a substantially triangular, a substantially trapezium, or a substantially pentagonal horizontal cross-sectional profile. In another further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member may be comprising at least a convex surface, forming a substantially semi-circular or a substantially semi-oval horizontal cross-sectional profile.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member is provided at a position substantially middle of the air discharge port. Further the partition member is provided with a plurality of grooves disposed at the outer end of the air discharge port. Also, the first panel and the second panel of the air discharge port are formed in a pre-determined manner so that the air is discharged at an angle of up to 10^° to 50^°, preferably 10^° to 25^°, relative to a horizontal plane.

The air conditioning unit could be any type of air conditioning unit, preferably, a ceiling-type air conditioning unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an air conditioning unit and its air discharge port according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates a top cross-sectional view showing a partition member according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention as disposed at an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit.

Figure 3 illustrates top cross-sectional view showing different embodiments of a partition member according to the present invention as disposed at an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit.

Figure 4 is diagram showing a simulated airflow pattern at an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit without a partition member.

Figure 5 is diagram showing a simulated airflow pattern at an air discharge port of an air conditioning unit with a partition member according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The abovementioned and other features and objects of this invention will become more apparent and better understood by reference to the following detailed description. It should be understood that the detailed description made known below is not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed as the invention may assume various alternative forms. All the relevant modifications and alterations made to the present invention as covered in the detailed description should be construed to fall within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the configuration of the invention is not limited to the configuration mentioned in the following description.

The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit (100) having an air discharge port (120) that is in proximity to a ceiling, in which the air discharge port (120) is formed by a first panel and a second panel. The air discharge port (120) of the present invention is preferably not equipped with adjustable outlet vanes to eliminate generation of cold draft towards user so as to achieve draft less cooling effect. Also, the first panel and the second panel of the air discharge port (120) are preferably formed in a predetermined manner to guide the air discharged at an optimized angle which is about 10^° to 50^°, preferably 10^° to 25^°, relative to a horizontal plane.

Further, the air discharge port (120) is provided with at least a partition member (160) that may partially obstruct discharge air stream at the air discharge port (120). The partition member (160) is provided for dividing the air discharge port (120) into at least two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b), leaving a substantially static region in front of the partition member (160) as there is minimal disturbance on ambient air in front of the partition member (160). The ambient air is able to maintain its substantially static state and freely circulates around the substantially static region, and the ambient air pressure surrounding the discharge air stream able to equalize in order to prevent formation of negative pressure region around the discharge air stream.

In addition, the partition member (160) of the present invention is constructed to extend from the interior of the air discharge port (120) towards the exterior of the air discharge port (120), with a wider exterior width relative to the interior width in such a manner that each of the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) is having a decreasing width towards the exterior of the air discharge port (120) to guide the air to be discharged with an increasing velocity along the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) in order to prevent the discharged air from flowing towards any negative pressure region. By having the aforementioned configuration at the air discharge port (120), the present invention ensures the discharge air stream not flowing towards a ceiling nearby, so condensation there around could be avoided.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width by having at least one inclined, curved or convex surface adjacent to any of the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width by having any combination of an inclined, curved or convex surface at both sides adjacent to the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). The inclined, curved or convex surface is preferably extending at a substantially acute angle relative to a vertical plane across the partition member (160), forming the partition member (160) with a wider exterior width relative to its interior width.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the partition member (160) may be comprising at least two inclined surfaces at both sides adjacent to the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). The partition member (160) may have either a substantially triangular horizontal cross-sectional profile as shown in Figure 2, or a substantially trapezium horizontal cross-sectional profile, in which the partition member (160) having its narrower side facing the interior of the air discharge port (120) and its wider side facing the exterior of the air discharge port (120). Furthermore, the partition member (160) may possibly have more than two inclined surfaces at both sides adjacent to the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). For example, the partition member (160) may be having a substantially pentagonal horizontal cross-sectional profile as shown in Figure 3(b). In a further embodiment of the present invention, the partition member (160) may be comprising at least one or more outwardly curved surfaces adjacent to the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) as shown in Figure 3(a).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the partition member (160) may be comprising at least one convex curved surface facing interior of air discharge port (120), forming a substantially semi-circular horizontal cross- sectional profile or a substantially semi-oval horizontal cross-sectional profile as shown in Figure 3(c) so that the exterior of the partition member (160) is wider as compared to the interior thereof. It is possible to have other shapes that have an increasing cross-sectional profile from interior of the air discharge port (120) towards the exterior of the air discharge port (120).

In a different embodiment of the present invention, the air discharge port (120) may comprise more than one partition member (160) for dividing the air discharge port (120) into more than two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) whenever necessary. Further, it is possible to have each partition member (160) to be constructed in different configuration or/and structure from one another according to different requirement and application.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is preferred that the air conditioning unit (100) in the present invention is a ceiling- type air conditioning unit, more preferably, a ceiling cassette air conditioning unit. It is also applicable to other types of air conditioning unit such as a wall-mounted air conditioning unit as it is not limited to this embodiment. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioning unit (100) comprising an air intake port (140) provided with a suction panel that has a plurality of through holes for sucking air to be conditioned and an air discharge port (120) provided with at least a partition member (160) that divides the air discharge port (120) into at least two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) so as to discharge air with a high velocity at a predetermined angle, which is about 25^° relative to a horizontal plane.

Figure 2 illustrates a top cross-sectional view showing the air discharge port (120) with the partition member (160) according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The partition member (160) comprising at least two inclined surfaces at both sides adjacent to the two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) and the two inclined surfaces are angled offset from one another. Preferably, the two inclined surfaces are formed to be extend at a substantially acute angle relative to a vertical plane across the partition member (160), forming the partition member (160) with a wider exterior width as compared to its interior width. More preferably, the partition member (160) is having a substantially triangular cross-sectional profile as shown in Figures 2 and 3(a).

Further, the partition member (160) is preferably provided at a position substantially middle of the air discharge port (120) so that the air discharge port (120) is evenly divided into two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) at which the air to be discharged with an increasing velocity. Moreover, the partition member (160) is provided with a plurality of grooves that is situated at the outer side of the air discharge port (120), in particular at the outer side of the first panel and the second panel in front of the partition member (160).

Example

An example is provided below to illustrate different aspects and embodiments of the invention. The example is not intended in any way to limit the disclosed invention, which is limited only by the claims.

Example 1 : Air Flow Simulation Study

A simulation airflow study was conducted to determine simulated air flow pattern at an air discharge port of a ceiling-type air conditioning unit without a partition member (160) and at an air discharge port (120) of a ceiling-type air conditioning unit (100) with a partition member (160) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show a perspective view and a top perspective view of the simulated air flow pattern at the air discharge port of the ceiling-type air conditioning unit without the partition member (160), while Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show a perspective view and a top perspective view of the simulated air flow pattern at the air discharge port (120) of the ceiling-type air conditioning unit (100) with a partition member (160) according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

When a discharge air stream is discharged with a high velocity along the air discharge port of the ceiling-type air conditioning unit without the partition member (160), it can been seen in Figure 4 that the ambient air surrounding the air discharge port is likely to be induced to flow along the discharge air stream, causing a lower pressure region to form between the discharge air stream and the surroundings such as a ceiling. As a result, part of the discharge air stream tends to be drawn towards the lower pressure region in order to reach equilibrium, rendering part of the discharge air stream to flow towards the ceiling and thus condensation is likely to occur there around. On the other hand, when a discharge air stream is discharged with a high velocity along the air discharge port (120) of the ceiling-type air conditioning unit (100) with the partition member (160) of the present invention, the air discharge port (120) is partially obstructed by the partition member (160) and the velocity of the discharge air stream is increasing when travelling from the wider interior towards the narrower exterior of the two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b). As shown in Figure 5, there is no lower or negative pressure region formed between the discharge air stream and the ceiling, and the discharge air stream is deterred from flowing towards the ceiling so as to inhibit condensation on the ceiling.

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An air discharge port (120) of an air conditioning unit (100) that is in proximity to a ceiling, comprising: a first panel and a second panel forming the air discharge port (120); wherein the air discharge port (120) further comprising at least a partition member (160) at a position along the air discharge port (120) for dividing the air discharge port (120) into at least two air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b); and wherein the partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width in such a manner that each of the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b) has a decreasing width towards the exterior of the air discharge port (120), so that the air is discharged with an increasing velocity along the air discharge flow passage, thereby preventing the air from flowing towards the ceiling.

2. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width by having at least one inclined, curved or convex surface adjacent to any of the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b).

3. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition member (160) has a wider exterior width relative to the interior width by having any combination of an inclined, curved or convex surface at both sides adjacent to the air discharge flow passages (120a, 120b).

4. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the inclined, curved or convex surface is extending at a substantially acute angle relative to a vertical plane across the partition member (160).

5. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition member (160) has a substantially triangular horizontal cross-sectional profile, a substantially trapezium horizontal cross-sectional profile, a substantially pentagonal horizontal cross-sectional profile, a substantially semi-circular horizontal cross-sectional profile or a substantially semi-oval horizontal cross-sectional profile.

6. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition member (160) is provided at a position substantially middle of the air discharge port (120).

7. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition member (160) is provided with a plurality of grooves situated at the outer side of the air discharge port (120).

8. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first panel and the second panel of the air discharge port (120) are formed in a pre- determined manner so that the air is discharged at an angle of about 10^° to 50^° relative to a horizontal plane.

9. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first panel and the second panel of the air discharge port (120) are formed in a pre- determined manner so that the air is discharged at an angle of about 10^° to 25^° relative to a horizontal plane.

10. The air discharge port (120) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the air conditioning unit (100) is a ceiling-type air conditioning unit.