Air duct components and air conditioners

Abstract

The present invention provides a duct component and an air conditioner, which relates to the technical field of air conditioners, and solves the technical problem that the gear transmission structure of the duct component in the prior art is not tight in closing the air outlet and is not reliable. The duct component includes a cam, an air duct baffle, an elastic locking component and a motor; the cam is fixedly connected to the air duct baffle; the motor can drive the cam and the air duct baffle to rotate together, and the air duct baffle opens or closes the air duct by rotating; the elastic locking component abuts against the cam and reaches the maximum elastic state when the air duct baffle closes the air duct. The present invention cooperates with the cam and the elastic locking component to perform self-locking, opens or closes the air duct under the action of the air duct baffle, and tightly closes the upper air outlet or the lower air outlet, so as to realize the separate upper air outlet or lower air outlet of the cabinet. The cam works reliably and can maintain a long service life, thereby improving the user experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioners, and in particular to an air duct component and an air conditioner. Background Art

[0002] In order to achieve sufficient alternation between hot and cold and improve user comfort, air conditioners with upper and lower air outlets have emerged. With the widespread use of upper and lower air conditioners, the upper or lower separate air supply function has also become a necessary function of cabinet air conditioners. Most upper and lower air conditioners use gear transmission to close the air outlet position, thereby achieving separate upper or lower air outlets. Gear transmission is prone to problems such as unreliable transmission and easy damage of the motor due to frequent use. The complex mechanism also makes after-sales maintenance difficult, affecting user experience.

[0003] The applicant has found that the prior art has at least the following technical problems:

[0004] The gear transmission structure of the air duct component does not close the air outlet tightly and has low reliability. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an air duct component and an air conditioner to solve the technical problem that the gear transmission structure of the air duct component in the prior art is not tight in closing the air outlet and is not reliable. The preferred technical solution among the many technical solutions provided by the present invention can produce many technical effects as described below.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] The air duct component provided by the present invention includes a cam, an air duct baffle, an elastic locking component and a motor; the cam is fixedly connected to the air duct baffle; the motor can drive the cam and the air duct baffle to rotate together, and the air duct baffle opens or closes the air duct by rotating; the elastic locking component abuts against the cam and reaches a maximum elastic force state when the air duct baffle closes the air duct.

[0008] Optionally, the elastic locking component includes a spring and a driven wheel, the spring is connected to the driven wheel, and the driven wheel abuts against the cam.

[0009] Optionally, a limiting structure is provided at the other end of the spring connected to the driven wheel, and the limiting structure is located in the air duct housing.

[0010] Optionally, the air duct component further includes a positioning device, and the air duct baffle stops rotating when it rotates to the positioning device.

[0011] Optionally, the positioning device is a photoelectric switch.

[0012] Optionally, the positioning device and the elastic locking component are located on the same horizontal line.

[0013] Optionally, the cam is a disc cam.

[0014] Optionally, the motor is a stepper motor.

[0015] Optionally, the shape of the air duct baffle matches the shape of the inner wall of the air duct housing.

[0016] Optionally, there are two air duct components, which are respectively located in the upper air duct and the lower air duct of the cabinet.

[0017] An air conditioner comprises an air duct component, wherein the air duct component is any of the air duct components described above.

[0018] Any of the above technical solutions can at least produce the following technical effects:

[0019] The present invention realizes self-locking through the cooperation of the cam and the elastic locking component. Under the action of the air duct baffle, the air duct of the upper and lower air outlet cabinet is opened or closed, and the upper air outlet or the lower air outlet is tightly closed, thereby realizing the separate upper air outlet or lower air outlet of the cabinet. The cooperation of the cam and the elastic locking component only uses one motor, and the structure is simpler, which is convenient for manufacturing and subsequent maintenance. At the same time, the cam works reliably and can maintain a long service life, which also improves the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram when the upper air duct baffle is opened;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram when the upper air duct baffle is closed;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the interior of the cabinet.

[0024] In the figure, 1, cam; 2, air duct baffle; 21, upper air duct baffle; 22, lower air duct baffle; 3, elastic locking component; 31, spring; 32, driven wheel; 33, limiting structure; 4, motor; 5, positioning device; 6, centrifugal fan; 7, air duct; 8, air duct housing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] To make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other implementation methods obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] The present invention provides an air duct component, such as Figure 1-3 As shown, it includes a cam 1, an air duct baffle 2, an elastic locking component 3 and a motor 4. The elastic locking component 3 and the motor 4 are both mounted on the air duct housing 8, and the air duct baffle 2 is mounted outside the air duct housing 8. The cam 1 is fixedly connected to the air duct baffle 2, and can be fixedly connected by screws, adhesive bonding, etc., to achieve the common movement of the cam 1 and the air duct baffle 2. The motor shaft of the motor 4 is connected to the cam 1, and the rotation of the motor 4 drives the cam 1 to rotate. Since the cam 1 is fixedly connected to the air duct baffle 2, the motor 4 can drive the cam 1 and the air duct baffle 2 to rotate together. Of course, the motor shaft of the motor 4 can also be directly connected to the air duct baffle 2 to achieve direct driving. The shape of the air duct baffle 2 matches the air duct 7, so that the air duct baffle 2 opens or closes the air duct 7 by rotating. The cabinet is an upper and lower air outlet cabinet, and the air duct baffle 2 also includes an upper air duct baffle 21 and a lower air duct baffle 22, so as to achieve the upper and lower air outlet of the upper and lower air outlet air conditioner, and improve the comfort of the upper and lower air outlet cabinet. The elastic locking component 3 is in contact with the cam 1. The elastic locking component 3 ensures that the high-amplitude motion pair between the cam 1 and the elastic locking component 3 always exists through the elastic force. When the cam 1 rotates, the elastic force of the elastic locking component 3 on the cam 1 changes with the change of the outer contour, and reaches the maximum elastic force state when the air duct baffle 2 closes the air duct 7, that is, the elastic locking component 3 is in the maximum compression state at this time. Taking the upper duct baffle 21 as an example, when the upper duct baffle 21 closes the duct 7, wind is generated inside the duct 7, and the wind exerts an upward pressure on the upper duct baffle 21. At this time, the elastic locking component 3 has a vertical downward component on the tangent surface with the cam 1, that is, the static friction force. Due to the elastic effect of the elastic locking component 3 on the cam 1, the maximum static friction force of the two is greater than the upward thrust generated by the airflow on the upper duct baffle 21, so that the upper duct baffle 21 cannot rotate. At this time, the self-locking purpose is achieved, and the upper duct baffle 21 cannot rotate, thereby realizing the tight closure of the upper air outlet. The function of the lower duct baffle 22 is similar to this. The present invention realizes self-locking through the cooperation of the cam 1 and the elastic locking component 3. Under the action of the air duct baffle 2, the air duct 7 of the upper and lower air outlet cabinet is opened or closed, so as to realize the separate upper air outlet or lower air outlet of the cabinet, and the upper air outlet or the lower air outlet is tightly closed. Moreover, the cooperation of the cam 1 and the elastic locking component 3 only uses one motor 4, and the structure is simpler, which is convenient for manufacturing and subsequent maintenance. At the same time, the cam 1 works reliably and can maintain a long service life, which also improves the user experience.

[0027] As an optional implementation, Figure 1-2 As shown, the elastic locking component 3 includes a spring 31 and a driven wheel 32. The spring 31 is connected to the driven wheel 32, and the spring 31 can be directly welded to the driven wheel 32 to achieve fixation. The elastic coefficient of the spring 31 is determined according to the maximum wind force in the air duct 7, so that the air duct baffle 2 is still tightly closed to close the air duct 7 when the maximum wind force is achieved. The driven wheel 32 abuts against the cam 1, so that during the rotation of the cam 1, the positions of the cam 1 and the driven wheel 32 change accordingly with the change of the outer contour, and the spring 31 is also in different compression states, and the compression amount of the spring 31 is proportional to the elastic force of the spring. A limiting structure 33 is provided at the other end where the spring 31 is connected to the driven wheel 32. The limiting structure 33 is located in the air duct housing 8. On the one hand, the limiting structure 33 limits the spring 31 to move left and right but not swing. At the same time, the spring 31 is abutted at this end to ensure that the spring 31 is always in a compressed state, thereby achieving the locking of the cam 1 by elastic force. A horizontal blind hole matching the spring 31 is opened in the air duct housing 8.

[0028] As an optional implementation, Figure 1-2 As shown, the air duct component also includes a positioning device 5, and the air duct baffle 2 stops rotating when it rotates to the positioning device 5. The working rotation angle of the air duct baffle 2 is certain, that is, from blocking the air duct 7 to completely closing the air duct 7 (at this time, the air duct baffle 2 is in a horizontal position) to attaching to the inner wall of the air duct shell 8 to completely open the air duct 7 (at this time, the air duct baffle 2 is located near the vertical position, which is specifically determined by the inclination angle of the inner wall of the air duct shell 8). The entire rotation angle of the air duct baffle 2 is about 90 degrees. If this rotation angle is exceeded, it is easy to cause damage to the air duct component. The positioning device 5 is a photoelectric switch, which is arranged opposite to the cam 1 or the elastic locking component 3 in the air duct 7. The photoelectric switch is arranged opposite to the cam 1 or the elastic locking component 3 and the air duct housing 8, that is, on the air duct housing 8 on the other side. The photoelectric switch detects the blocking of the light beam by the air duct baffle 2 and is connected to the motor 4. When the air duct baffle 2 rotates to the position of completely closing the air duct 7, the air duct baffle 2 blocks the light beam of the photoelectric switch. After the photoelectric switch detects the signal, it transmits the signal to the motor 4, and the motor stops rotating. The positioning device 5 and the elastic locking component 3 are located on the same horizontal line. The positioning device 5 is located in this position so that the motor 4 can be turned off in time after the air duct baffle 2 is closed.

[0029] As an optional implementation, the cam 1 is a disc cam, which is easy to process and facilitates the elastic locking component 3 to move according to a preset motion trajectory, so that the overall structure of the air duct component is relatively simple.

[0030] As an optional implementation, the motor 4 is a stepper motor, which is an open-loop control motor that converts an electrical pulse signal into angular displacement or linear displacement. The angular displacement can be controlled by controlling the number of pulses, so that the rotation angle of the air duct baffle 2 can be accurately controlled by the stepper motor to achieve full opening and closing of the air duct baffle 2.

[0031] As an optional implementation, the shape of the duct baffle 2 matches the shape of the inner wall of the duct housing 8. When the duct baffle 2 is opened, the baffle profile coincides with the profile of the inner wall of the duct housing 8, preventing the centrifugal fan 6 from whistling and making excessive noise during the process of generating wind in the duct 7, thereby providing users with a quiet use environment and improving the user experience.

[0032] As an optional implementation, Figure 3 As shown, there are two duct components, which are respectively located in the upper duct and the lower duct of the cabinet. The duct components cooperate with the duct housing 8 to realize the opening or closing of the upper duct and / or the lower duct, thereby realizing the separate upper or lower air outlet of the cabinet, or the upper and lower air outlet at the same time.

[0033] As an optional implementation, the duct baffle 2 can be rotated at a limited angle (about 90 degrees) through a crankshaft rocker mechanism (the motor 4 drives the crank to rotate, and the rocker is equivalent to the duct baffle 2, rotating at a limited angle), thereby realizing the opening or closing of the air duct 7 by the duct baffle 2.

[0034] The air duct component provided by the present invention works as follows: Assuming that the air conditioner is in the downflow state, the upper air duct baffle is closed. Figure 2 As shown, at this position, the cam 1 reaches the maximum compression of the spring 31, and the self-locking torque of the motor 4 and the gravity of the upper air duct baffle 21 itself are ignored. At this time, the spring 31 has an elastic force F=k*x (k is the elastic coefficient, and the elastic coefficient can be selected according to actual needs, and x is the compression amount). At this time, the centrifugal fan 6 starts to work, and air flow pressure is generated inside the air duct 7. This pressure has an upward thrust on the upper air duct baffle 21. At this time, the elastic force of the spring 31 causes the driven wheel 32 and the cam 1 to have a downward component force on the tangent surface. This component force is a static friction force, which makes the upper air duct baffle 21 unable to rotate, and the self-locking purpose is achieved. When the upper air outlet is required, the centrifugal fan 6 stops rotating, and then the motor 4 drives the cam 1 to rotate. When the rotational torque is greater than the rotational torque given to the cam 1 by the elastic force of the spring 31, the upper air duct baffle 21 rotates upward, as shown in FIG. Figure 3As shown, the upper air duct baffle 21 reaches the maximum rotation position, and the motor 4 stops. Since the motor 4 is a stepper motor, the rotation angle of the motor 4 can be set in advance to ensure that the motor stops when the upper air duct baffle 21 is attached to the inner wall of the air duct housing 8. When the upper air outlet is closed again, the motor 4 rotates again, and at this time overcomes the rotation of the spring 31, and stops when it rotates to the positioning device 5. The positioning device 5 is a photoelectric switch. The motor 4 can only stop when it reaches this position. Since the motor 4 is a stepper motor, the rotation angle of the motor 4 can also be set in advance to ensure that the upper air duct baffle 21 tightly closes the upper air outlet. Every time the motor 4 performs a reversing operation, the centrifugal fan 6 must stop rotating to ensure that only the motor 4 is working, to ensure the stable operation of the air duct components, and to reduce the noise when the air duct baffle 2 is closed and opened.

[0035] An air conditioner includes an air duct component, which is the air duct component provided by the present invention. The air duct component is self-locked by cooperating with a cam 1 and an elastic locking component 3. Under the action of an air duct baffle 2, the air duct 7 of the upper and lower air outlet cabinets is opened or closed, thereby realizing the separate upper air outlet or lower air outlet of the cabinet, and the upper air outlet or the lower air outlet is tightly closed, thereby improving the user experience of the air conditioner.

[0036] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An air duct component, characterized in that: It comprises a cam, an air duct baffle, an elastic locking component and a motor; the cam is fixedly connected to the air duct baffle; the motor can drive the cam and the air duct baffle to rotate together, and the air duct baffle opens or closes the air duct by rotating; the elastic locking component abuts against the cam and reaches the maximum elastic state when the air duct baffle closes the air duct; The elastic locking component comprises a spring and a driven wheel, the spring is connected to the driven wheel, and the driven wheel abuts against the cam.

2. The air duct component according to claim 1, characterized in that: The other end of the spring connected to the driven wheel is provided with a limiting structure, and the limiting structure is located in the air duct housing.

3. The air duct component according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that: The air duct component also includes a positioning device, and the air duct baffle stops rotating when it rotates to the positioning device.

4. The air duct component according to claim 3, characterized in that: The positioning device is a photoelectric switch.

5. The air duct component according to claim 3, characterized in that: The positioning device and the elastic locking component are located on the same horizontal line.

6. The air duct component according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cam is a disc cam.

7. The air duct component according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motor is a stepping motor.

8. The air duct component according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape of the air duct baffle matches the shape of the inner wall of the air duct housing.

9. The air duct component according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two air duct components, which are respectively located in the upper air duct and the lower air duct of the cabinet.

10. An air conditioner, comprising an air duct component, characterized in that: The air duct component is the air duct component described in any one of claims 1-9.

Images