Air conditioner indoor unit

Abstract

This air conditioner indoor unit may comprise: a blowing device for blowing air; a heat exchanger disposed in front of the blowing device and disposed on a path of flow of air discharged from the blowing device; and a noise reduction device disposed in front of the outlet of the blowing device. The noise reduction device may comprise a body forming the exterior thereof, and a side branch formed on the body and provided in a space, one end of the side branch being open. The side branch may comprise a first part disposed such that the longitudinal direction thereof corresponds to the lateral direction, and a second part bent from the first part and disposed such that the longitudinal direction thereof corresponds to the forward / backward direction, the second part being shorter than the first part.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an indoor unit of an air conditioner having a noise reduction structure.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0002] Content described in this section merely provides background information on the present disclosure and does not constitute the prior art.

[0003] In general, an air conditioner is an apparatus that cools a room or lowers humidity using a refrigeration cycle composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator.

[0004] The air conditioner may include an outdoor unit that cools a refrigerant and transfers the refrigerant to the indoor, and an indoor unit that is connected to the outdoor unit via a pipe to receive the refrigerant and discharge air cooled by the refrigerant to the indoor.

[0005] The indoor unit is installed in the room where a user mainly stays, and the air conditioner ejects air into the room via the indoor unit. Therefore, it is important to control a wind direction, a speed, and a change in an airflow of air ejected from the indoor unit such that the user may feel a pleasant feeling.

[0006] In one example, it is necessary to reduce noise generated from the air conditioner such that the user may feel the pleasant feeling. In general, because a large-capacity fan is disposed in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, loud noise may be generated based on the operation of the fan.

[0007] It is common for the indoor unit of air conditioner to generate relatively less noise than the outdoor unit. However, the noise generated from the indoor unit of the air conditioner may be directly heard by the user in daily life.

[0008] Therefore, for user convenience, it is necessary to further reduce the noise generated from the indoor unit.

[0009] Prior technologies that reduce the noise are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0084420 and Korean Utility Model Application Publication No. 20-1993-0022104.DISCLOSURE TECHNICAL PURPOSE

[0010] The present disclosure aims to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner having a structure capable of effectively reducing noise.

[0011] Further, the present disclosure aims to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner including a noise reducer mounted in the indoor unit of the air conditioner and capable of effectively reducing noise generated from a blower of the indoor unit.

[0012] Further, the present disclosure aims to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner including a noise reducer having a structure capable of reducing a size of the entire indoor unit by reducing a volume occupied by the same.

[0013] Further, the present disclosure aims to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner including a noise reducer having a structure capable of effectively reducing noise having various frequency bands.

[0014] Objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure that are not mentioned may be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it will be readily seen that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by means indicated in the claims and combinations thereof.TECHNICAL SOLUTION

[0015] An embodiment of an indoor unit of an air conditioner may include a noise reducer disposed in front of an outlet of a blower. The noise reducer may include a body forming an outer appearance of the noise reducer, and a side branch defined in the body, having one end opened, and defined as a space.

[0016] The side branch according to an embodiment may include a first part having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a lateral direction, and a second part bent from the first part, having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a front-rear direction, and having a smaller length than the first part.

[0017] The side branch may include a third part bent from the second part and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the first part, and the length of the second part may be smaller than lengths of the first part and the third part.

[0018] The side branch may include a plurality of side branches, and the plurality of side branches may be arranged in the body so as to be spaced apart from each other in an up-down direction.

[0019] The side branch may include a plurality of side branches, and the side branches may have different lengths.

[0020] The noise reducer may include a first reducer disposed on one side of a duct and a second reducer disposed on the other side of the duct, and lengths of a plurality of side branches defined in the first reducer and the second reducer may be different from each other.

[0021] An indoor unit of an air conditioner may include a blower that blows air, a heat exchanger disposed in front of the blower and disposed in a flow path of air discharged from the blower, and a noise reducer disposed in front of an outlet of the blower.

[0022] The noise reducer may include a body forming an outer appearance of the noise reducer, and a side branch defined in the body, having one end opened, and defined as a space, and the side branch may include a first part having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a lateral direction, and a second part bent from the first part, having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a front-rear direction, and having a smaller length than the first part.

[0023] The side branch may include a plurality of side branches, and the side branches may have different lengths.

[0024] The plurality of side branches may be arranged in the body so as to be spaced apart from each other in an up-down direction.

[0025] The side branch may include a third part bent from the second part and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the first part.

[0026] A side branch having the greatest length among the plurality of side branches may have a length of the second part smaller than lengths of the first part and the third part.

[0027] The blower may include a motor, a blower fan that is connected to the motor via a rotation shaft and receives a driving force from the motor, and a duct accommodating the blower fan therein and having an air outlet disposed toward the heat exchanger, and the noise reducer may be disposed in front of and laterally of the air outlet of the duct.

[0028] The noise reducer may be disposed between the blower and the heat exchanger.

[0029] The side branch may be disposed such that the open end thereof is disposed to face the air outlet of the duct, and the first part may have the longitudinal direction directed in a direction intersecting a flow direction of air passing through the air outlet.

[0030] The noise reducer may include a first reducer disposed on one side of the duct, and a second reducer disposed on the other side of the duct and having a length smaller than a length of the first reducer.

[0031] A plurality of side branches defined in the first reducer and a plurality of side branches defined in the second reducer may have different lengths.

[0032] The noise reducer may include a chamfered portion disposed in front of the air outlet of the duct to diffuse air discharged from the air outlet to the heat exchanger

[0033] The chamfered portion may be formed to be inclined such that a flow channel cross-sectional area of air is expanded in a direction from the air outlet to the heat exchanger

[0034] The open end of the first part may be formed at the chamfered portion.

[0035] The indoor unit may further include a support panel disposed at the air outlet of the duct and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in the lateral direction, and the noise reducer may be disposed in front of the support panel and supported by the support panel.

[0036] The heat exchanger may be disposed to be inclined with respect to a bottom surface of a lower panel of the indoor unit, the noise reducer may be disposed between the bottom surface and the heat exchanger, and a top surface of the body may be formed as an inclined surface.

[0037] The noise reducer may include a third reducer, and a fourth reducer disposed at a position spaced apart from the third reducer in the lateral direction and having a length smaller than a length of the third reducer.

[0038] Lengths of a plurality of side branches defined in the third reducer and the fourth reducer may be different from each other.TECHNICAL EFFECT

[0039] In the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present disclosure, the side branch-type noise reducer may be disposed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner to effectively reduce the noise generated from the blower of the indoor unit. In addition, the noise reducer may be formed in the small size, have the simple structure, and operate without the separate power. Accordingly, the noise of the indoor unit may be effectively reduced with the low installation cost and maintenance cost.

[0040] Further, in the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present disclosure, the plurality of side branches may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction of the indoor unit, thereby effectively reducing the noise in the various bands while having the small volume.

[0041] Because the plurality of side branches are arranged in the up-down direction of the indoor unit and the second part of the side branch is shorter than the first part, in particular, the length in the front-rear direction of the noise reducer may be very small.

[0042] Accordingly, because the length in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit of the air conditioner accommodating the noise reducer therein is also small, the noise reducer may be effectively disposed in the indoor unit while miniaturizing the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

[0043] Further, in the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present disclosure, the plurality of side branches may be disposed, and the side branches may have the different lengths. The noise reducer according to an embodiment may have the plurality of side branches having the different target frequencies for the noise because of the different lengths thereof.

[0044] Because of such a structure, the plurality of side branches may have the different target frequencies, and thus the noise may be reduced in the various frequency bands of the noise.

[0045] In addition to the above-described effects, specific effects of the present disclosure will be described together while describing specific matters for implementing the present disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0046] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram of FIG. 1 viewed from another direction. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first reducer of a noise reducer according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 viewed in a direction of 6-6. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 viewed in a direction of 7-7. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second reducer of a noise reducer according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 viewed in a direction of 10-10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 viewed in a direction of 11-11. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a first reducer of a noise reducer according to an embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a third reducer of a noise reducer according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing target frequencies of a noise reducer according to an embodiment. FIG. 18 is a graph showing results of an experiment using a noise reducer having target frequencies shown in FIG. 17. DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

[0047] The above-mentioned purposes, features, and advantages will be described in detail later with reference to the attached drawings, so that those skilled in the art in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs may easily practice the technical ideas of the present disclosure. In describing the present disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed description of the publicly known technology related to the present disclosure may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, identical reference numerals are used to indicate identical or similar components.

[0048] It will be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", "third", and so on may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section described under could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0049] As used herein, the singular constitutes "a" and "an" are intended to include the plural constitutes as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0050] It will be further understood that the terms "comprise", "comprising", "include", and "including" when used in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, operations, elements, components, and / or portions thereof.

[0051] Throughout the present disclosure, "A and / or B" means A, B, or A and B, unless otherwise specified, and "C to D" means C inclusive to D inclusive unless otherwise specified.

[0052] Throughout the present document, an "up-down direction" refers to an up-down direction of an indoor unit when the indoor unit is installed for daily use and viewed from the front. A "front-rear direction" refers to a depth direction of the indoor unit when the indoor unit is viewed from the front, and a direction orthogonal to the up-down direction. A "lateral direction" refers to a direction toward a left or right side of the indoor unit when the indoor unit is viewed from the front, and refers to a direction orthogonal to both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction.

[0053] An orthogonal coordinate system may be used in the drawings. In the orthogonal coordinate system, an x-axis direction represents the front-rear direction, a y-axis direction represents the lateral direction, and a z-axis direction represents the up-down direction.

[0054] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram of FIG. 1 viewed from another direction. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. For the indoor unit shown in the drawings, illustration of an upper panel and a rear panel of the indoor unit is omitted for clear illustration.

[0055] An air conditioner according to an embodiment may include an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The outdoor unit may cool a refrigerant and transfer the cooled refrigerant to the indoor unit. The indoor unit may be disposed in an indoor space, which is a space-to-be-cooled, and may cool the interior using the transferred refrigerant. A combination of the outdoor unit, the indoor unit, and a pipe connecting them to each other and through which the refrigerant flows may constitute one thermodynamic refrigeration cycle.

[0056] The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to an embodiment may be installed, for example, on a ceiling of the indoor space, and may include a blower 100 and a heat exchanger 200. In the indoor unit, the upper panel, a lower panel, and side panels connecting the upper panel with the lower panel may be coupled with each other to define an internal space, and components such as the blower 100 and the heat exchanger 200 may be embedded in the internal space.

[0057] The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to an embodiment may include the blower 100, the heat exchanger 200, and a noise reducer 300. The blower 100 may blow air such that air flows toward the heat exchanger 200 disposed in front of the blower 100.

[0058] The heat exchanger 200 may be disposed in front of the blower 100 and may be disposed in a flow path of air discharged from the blower 100.

[0059] The blower 100 may force indoor air to flow toward the heat exchanger 200. The heat exchanger 200 may include a tube, and a cooled refrigerant may flow through the tube. Air passing through the heat exchanger 200 may be cooled by exchanging heat with the cooled refrigerant flowing through the tube, and cooled air may be discharged from the indoor unit into the indoor space to cool the same.

[0060] The blower 100 may be of, for example, a sirocco fan type suitable for transporting a large amount of air. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0061] The heat exchanger 200 may be disposed in the flow path of air forced to flow by the blower 100. In this regard, the heat exchange may occur between the refrigerant flowing through the tube of the heat exchanger 200 and air flowing outside the heat exchanger 200.

[0062] The noise reducer 300 may be disposed in front of an outlet of the blower 100 and reduce a magnitude of noise generated from the indoor unit.

[0063] The blower 100 may be disposed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to an embodiment, and the blower 100 may include a blower fan 120 that forces air to flow and a motor 110 that rotates the blower fan 120. Noise may be generated by the blower fan 120 and the motor 110, and such noise may cause discomfort to a user.

[0064] Accordingly, an embodiment provides a structure of reducing noise generated by the blower fan 120 by mounting the noise reducer 300 in the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

[0065] The noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment may be of a type of a side branch. The side branch 320 may have a shape including a narrow and long sound wave offset space with one side closed.

[0066] Therefore, when a sound wave is introduced into the sound wave offset space of the side branch 320, the side branch 320 may resonate while absorbing a specific frequency of the sound wave, and may offset the sound wave via an interference phenomenon of the sound wave, thereby reducing noise.

[0067] Specifically, the side branch 320 may have a resonance frequency that offsets the introduced sound wave, and may offset a frequency of the sound wave the same as the resonance frequency and a frequency of the sound wave that reacts with the resonance frequency.

[0068] A sound wave of noise introduced into the side branch 320 may be reflected by the side branch 320 and proceed toward the noise again. In this regard, a reflected wave from the side branch 320 may have a phase opposite to a phase of the noise, and accordingly, the noise and the reflected wave having the opposite phases meet each other and offset each other, thereby reducing the noise.

[0069] In this regard, the resonance frequency of the side branch 320 may vary depending on a volume and a length of the sound wave offset space of the side branch 320. Accordingly, the volume and the length of the side branch 320 may be appropriately selected to produce a target frequency of the side branch 320 that matches a frequency desired to be reduced in the noise having various frequency bands.

[0070] Although two noise reducers 300 are shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the present disclosure may not be limited thereto, and a plurality of noise reducers may be equipped.

[0071] Air passing through the noise reducer 300 may have a vortex because of the structure of the side branch 320 disposed in the noise reducer 300, and power consumption of the blower 100 may increase because of the vortex. Accordingly, the number of noise reducers 300 may be determined in consideration of all of the effect of noise reduction, the power consumption of the blower 100, a spatial margin in which the noise reducer 300 may be disposed inside the indoor unit, and the like.

[0072] The blower 100 may include the motor 110, the blower fan 120, and a duct 130. The motor 110 may provide a driving force to the blower 100. The blower fan 120 may be connected to the motor 110 via a rotation shaft, and may be rotated by receiving the driving force from the motor 110 to force surrounding air to flow toward the heat exchanger 200. The sirocco fan is suitable for the blower fan 120, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0073] The duct 130 may accommodate the blower fan 120 therein and may include an air outlet 131 disposed toward the heat exchanger 200. The duct 130 may guide a flow of air such that air discharged from the blower fan 120 flows toward the heat exchanger 200 disposed in front of the blower fan 120.

[0074] The noise reducer 300 may be disposed in front of and laterally of the air outlet 131 of the duct 130. Because there is a free space in which the noise reducer 300 is to be disposed in front of and laterally of the air outlet, the noise reducer 300 may be disposed therein to increase a space efficiency of the indoor unit.

[0075] The noise reducer 300 may be disposed between the blower 100 and the heat exchanger 200. Accordingly, air discharged from the blower fan 120 may pass through the noise reducer 300 and be discharged toward the heat exchanger 200.

[0076] Accordingly, noise propagated by being carried in air passing through the noise reducer 300 may be effectively reduced in magnitude in the noise reducer 300, so that the indoor unit of the air conditioner may become quiet. In addition, the noise reducer 300 may reduce the noise of the sound wave propagated to the side branch 320 regardless of the flow of air.

[0077] The noise reducer 300 may include a body 310 and the side branch 320. The body 310 may form an outer appearance of the side branch 320. The body 310 may have an approximately hexahedral shape.

[0078] The side branch 320 may be defined in the body 310, and may be defined as a space with one end open. The side branch 320 may be defined by recessing the inside of the body 310. The noise introduced into the side branch 320 may be reduced in magnitude by the interference phenomenon.

[0079] The side branch 320 may be defined such that the open end thereof faces the air outlet 131 of the duct 130. Therefore, the open end of the side branch 320 may be disposed to face air discharged from the duct 130 and flowing. Accordingly, the side branch 320 may be in communication with air forced to flow by the blower fan 120.

[0080] Because of such a structure, the noise propagated by being carried in air discharged from the duct 130 may be effectively reduced.

[0081] In addition, the open end of the side branch 320 may be formed in a direction intersecting the flow direction of air. Because of such a structure, the noise reducer 300 may effectively reduce the noise generated by the blower 100 without interfering with the flow of air flowing in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit.

[0082] In an embodiment, the side branch 320-type noise reducer 300 may be disposed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner to effectively reduce the noise generated by the blower 100 of the indoor unit. In addition, the noise reducer 300 may be formed in a small size, have a simple structure, and operate without separate power.

[0083] Accordingly, the noise of the indoor unit may be effectively reduced with low installation cost and maintenance cost.

[0084] Hereinafter, the noise reducer 300 will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first reducer 301 of the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 viewed in a direction of 6-6. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 viewed in a direction of 7-7.

[0085] The length of the side branch 320 may be appropriately set to set the target frequency. When the side branch 320 is excessively long to satisfy the set length of the side branch 320, the entire noise reducer 300 may become greater, and thus a volume efficiency of the indoor unit may decrease.

[0086] Accordingly, by forming a bent portion in the side branch 320 to reduce the volume occupied by the side branch 320, even when the side branch 320 is formed to be relatively long, the space occupied by the noise reducer 300 in the indoor unit of the air conditioner may be effectively reduced.

[0087] The side branch 320 having the bent portion may include a first part 321 and a second part 322. The first part 321 may have a longitudinal direction directed in the lateral direction of the indoor unit. The second part 322 may be bent from the first part 321, may have a longitudinal direction directed in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit, and may have a smaller length than the first part 321.

[0088] Because the second part 322 has the smaller length than the first part 321, the noise reducer 300 may be formed to be shorter in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit as a whole. Accordingly, a cross-sectional area of the noise reducer 300 may be formed to be small in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit.

[0089] Accordingly, the noise reducer 300 may occupy a small space in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit. Because of such a structure, a length of the indoor unit in the front-rear direction may be reduced and the volume of the entire indoor unit may be reduced.

[0090] The plurality of side branches 320 may be equipped, and the side branches 320 may have different lengths. In this regard, the length of each side branch 320 means a total length. Therefore, in the side branch 320 without the bent portion, a length of the first part 321 becomes the length of the side branch 320.

[0091] In the side branch 320 having the bent portion, the length of the side branch 320 is a sum of lengths of the first part 321 and the second part 322 or a sum of lengths of the first part 321 to a third part 323.

[0092] The noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment may include the plurality of side branches 320 having different target frequencies for the noise because of the different lengths thereof.

[0093] Because of such a structure, the plurality of side branches 320 may have the different target frequencies, and thus the noise may be reduced in the various frequency bands.

[0094] The plurality of side branches 320 may be defined in the body 310 so as to be spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction of the indoor unit. When the plurality of side branches 320 are arranged in the front-rear direction or the left-right (lateral) direction of the indoor unit, a cross-sectional area of the noise reducer 300 may be increased in a plan view of the indoor unit.

[0095] When the cross-sectional area of the noise reducer 300 increases, the space occupied the noise reducer 300 may increase. In this case, it may be difficult for the noise reducer 300 to be accommodated in the indoor unit because of spatial constraints, and thus, a cross-sectional area of the entire indoor unit may eventually increase to place the noise reducer 300.

[0096] Therefore, the plurality of side branches 320 may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction of the indoor unit, thereby effectively reducing the noise in the various bands while having the small volume.

[0097] Because the plurality of side branches 320 are arranged in the up-down direction of the indoor unit and the second part 322 of the side branch 320 is shorter than the first part 321, in particular, a length of the noise reducer 300 in the front-rear direction may be very small.

[0098] Accordingly, because the length in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit of the air conditioner accommodating the noise reducer 300 therein is also small, the noise reducer 300 may be effectively disposed in the indoor unit while miniaturizing the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

[0099] The indoor unit may have a certain amount of internal space in the up-down direction because of the placement of the blower 100 and the heat exchanger 200. Therefore, even when the side branch 320 occupies a certain amount of space in the up-down direction of the indoor unit, the internal space of the indoor unit may have a margin in the up-down direction to accommodate the side branch 320.

[0100] In one example, when the indoor unit has a limited internal space in the up-down direction, the number of plurality of side branches 320 defined in the noise reducer 300 may be reduced to correspond to the spatial limitation.

[0101] The side branch 320 may include the third part 323 bent from the second part 322 and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the first part 321.

[0102] The side branch 320 is formed to have the first part 321 to the third part 323, and is formed in a substantially U-shape by having two bent portions, thereby effectively reducing an area occupied by the same while having a relatively great length.

[0103] When the side branch 320 is defined to have a set length, the bent portion may be formed in the side branch 320 for a case in which the space in which the side branch 320 is to be defined is insufficient or the side branch 320 becomes excessively long and thus the entire noise reducer 300 becomes greater, thereby effectively reducing the space occupied by the side branch 320.

[0104] In this regard, by forming the two bent portions in the side branch 320, the space occupied by the side branch 320 may be further reduced, and as a result, a space occupied by the noise reducer 300 in the indoor unit of the air conditioner may be more effectively reduced.

[0105] In an embodiment, the lengths of the plurality of side branches 320 may be set differently based on the target frequencies. Accordingly, among the side branches 320, there may be some having only the first part 321 to match the length, some having the first part 321 and the second part 322, and some having all of the first part 321, the second part 322, and the third part 323.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 6, a side branch 320 having the greatest length among the plurality of side branches 320 may be formed such that a length of the second part 322 is smaller than lengths of the first part 321 and the third part 323.

[0107] The second part 322 directed in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit may be formed to be very short, and the first part 321 and the third part 323 directed in the lateral direction of the indoor unit may be formed to be long.

[0108] Accordingly, the side branch 320 may be formed to be long, so that the target frequency for the noise reduction may be freely adjusted, and at the same time, the length of the noise reducer 300 in the front-rear direction may be reduced. Accordingly, a length of the indoor unit in which the noise reducer 300 is disposed in the front-rear direction may be reduced to reduce a size of the indoor unit.

[0109] The first part 321 may have a longitudinal direction directed in a direction intersecting the flow direction of air passing through the air outlet 131.

[0110] Because of such a structure, the first part 321 may have the longitudinal direction directed in the lateral direction of the indoor unit, which is the direction intersecting air flowing in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit, so that the noise reducer 300 may be formed to be short in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit while forming the first part 321 to be long, thereby increasing the space efficiency.

[0111] In addition, because of such a structure, the noise reducer 300 may effectively reduce the noise generated from the blower 100 without interfering with the flow of air passing through the noise reducer 300.

[0112] The noise reducers 300 may include a plurality of noise reducers 300. For example, the noise reducer 300 may include the first reducer 301 and the second reducer 302 disposed at positions separated and spaced apart from each other. Referring to FIG. 3, in a front view of the indoor unit, the first reducer 301 may be disposed at a left side of the indoor unit, and the second reducer 302 may be disposed at a right side of the indoor unit.

[0113] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the second reducer 302 of the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 viewed in a direction of 10-10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 viewed in a direction of 11-11.

[0114] The first reducer 301 may be disposed on one side of the duct 130 and may be equipped independently of the second reducer 302. The second reducer 302 may be disposed on the other side of the duct 130 and may be equipped independently of the first reducer 301. A length of the second reducer 302 may be smaller than a length of the first reducer 301.

[0115] To set the target frequency in the first reducer 301 or the second reducer 302, the length of the side branch 320 may be appropriately adjusted. Accordingly, when the length of the side branch 320 is small, some of the plurality of side branches 320 may have only the first part 321 without the bent portion. In addition, some of the plurality of side branches 320 may be formed of the first part 321 and the second part 322 with only one bent portion without having the third part 323.

[0116] A plurality of side branches 320 defines in the first reducer 301 and the second reducer 302 may have different lengths. For example, a total of 10 side branches 320 may be defined in the first reducer 301 and the second reducer 302.

[0117] In this regard, the total of 10 side branches 320 may have different lengths, thereby implementing the total of 10 side branches 320 having different target frequencies for the noise. By differentiating the target frequencies by differentiating the lengths of the side branches 320 as such, the noise in a wide band may be effectively reduced.

[0118] FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the first reducer 301 of the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. Hereinafter, the same part as the above-described content may be omitted.

[0119] The noise reducer 300 disposed in the indoor unit according to another embodiment may include a chamfered portion 330 that is disposed in front of the air outlet 131 of the duct 130 and diffuses air discharged from the air outlet 131 to the heat exchanger 200.

[0120] A cross-sectional area of the heat exchanger 200 disposed in front of the duct 130 may be greater than a cross-sectional area of the air outlet 131 of the duct 130. Accordingly, air discharged from the air outlet 131 of the duct 130 may diffuse and uniformly pass through the entire heat exchanger 200 having the wide cross-sectional area, thereby improving a heat transfer efficiency.

[0121] The first reducer 301 and the second reducer 302 disposed adjacent to the air outlet 131 may interfere with the diffusion of air discharged from the air outlet 131. Accordingly, to smoothly diffuse air, the noise reducer 300 may have the chamfered portion 330 formed at a portion in contact with flowing air.

[0122] The chamfered portion 330 may be formed to be inclined such that a cross-sectional area of a flow channel of air expands from the air outlet 131 toward the heat exchanger 200. That is, the chamfered portion 330 may be formed in a structure in which the cross-sectional area of the flow channel of air expands in a frontward direction of the indoor unit.

[0123] Because of such a structure, air discharged from the air outlet 131 may smoothly diffuse while flowing to uniformly pass through the entire heat exchanger 200, and thus a heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 200 may be improved.

[0124] An open end of the first part 321 may be formed at the chamfered portion 330. The chamfered portion 330 may partially reduce the length of the noise reducer 300. Accordingly, when a closed end of the side branch 320 is disposed at the chamfered portion 330, the length of the side branch 320 may be reduced by the chamfered portion 330 formed to be inclined. Accordingly, a restriction on the length of the side branch 320 may occur.

[0125] When an inlet of the side branch 320, that is, the open end of the first part 321, is formed at the chamfered portion 330, the restriction on the length of the side branch 320 may be somewhat reduced compared to the case in which the closed end of the side branch 320 is disposed at the chamfered portion 330.

[0126] In the above-described embodiments, the noise reducer may be disposed between the duct 130 and the heat exchanger 200. In this regard, to stably couple the noise reducer to the inside of the indoor unit, the indoor unit may include a support panel 400.

[0127] The indoor unit of the air conditioner may include the support panel 400 disposed at the air outlet 131 of the duct 130 and having a longitudinal direction directed in the lateral direction. The support panel 400 may be coupled to the lower panel and the side panels of the indoor unit via a coupling mechanism such as a screw or the like.

[0128] The noise reducer 300 may be disposed in front of the support panel 400 and supported by the support panel 400. For example, the noise reducer 300 may be coupled to the support panel 400 via the coupling mechanism such as the screw or the like, and may be stably supported by the support panel 400. Accordingly, the noise reducer 300 may be remained at the installed position without being affected by air forced to flow inside the indoor unit.

[0129] FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a third reducer 303 of the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 15.

[0130] In the indoor unit, the heat exchanger 200 may be disposed to be inclined with respect to a bottom surface 500 of the lower panel of the indoor unit. Because of such a structure, in a state of being disposed in the indoor unit, a cross-sectional area of the heat exchanger 200 in the front-rear direction may become smaller than an original cross-sectional area thereof, and accordingly, the indoor unit may be miniaturized.

[0131] The noise reducer 300 may be disposed between the bottom surface 500 and the heat exchanger 200. Because there is a free space between the bottom surface 500 of the lower panel and the heat exchanger 200 in the indoor unit, the noise reducer 300 may be disposed therein to efficiently use the space of the indoor unit, thereby increasing the space efficiency.

[0132] Because the heat exchanger 200 is disposed to be inclined, it is appropriate that the noise reducer 300 is manufactured in a shape corresponding to a shape of the space between the bottom surface 500 and the heat exchanger 200. Accordingly, a top surface of the body 310 of the noise reducer 300 may be formed as an inclined surface 340. Because of such a shape, the noise reducer 300 may be disposed in a relatively narrow space between the bottom surface 500 of the lower panel and the heat exchanger 200.

[0133] The noise reducer 300 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 may include the third reducer 303 and a fourth reducer 304. In a front view of the indoor unit, the third reducer 303 may be disposed at a left side of the indoor unit, and the fourth reducer 304 may be disposed at a right side of the indoor unit.

[0134] The third reducer 303 may be formed longer in the lateral direction of the indoor unit than the fourth reducer 304. The fourth reducer 304 may be disposed at a position spaced apart from the third reducer 303 in the lateral direction, and may have a length smaller than that of the third reducer 303.

[0135] The plurality of side branches 320 may be defined in the third reducer 303 and the fourth reducer 304, and the side branches 320 may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction of the indoor unit. Because of such a structure, sizes of the third reducer 303 and the fourth reducer 304 in the front-rear direction of the indoor unit may be reduced, so that the third reducer 303 and the fourth reducer 304 may be disposed even in a relatively small space.

[0136] The plurality of side branches 320 defined in the third reducer 303 and the fourth reducer 304 may have different lengths. For example, a total of 12 side branches 320, six in the third reducer 303 and six in the fourth reducer 304, may be defined, and the side branches 320 may have different lengths.

[0137] As described above, the lengths of the plurality of side branches 320 may be different from each other by adjusting the lengths of the side branches 320 in such a manner that the length of the side branch 320 is extended while reducing the size of the space occupied by the side branch 320 by forming the bent portion in the side branch 320.

[0138] Because the plurality of side branches 320 having the different lengths are defined, the noise reducer 300 including the third reducer 303 and the fourth reducer 304 may have different target frequencies for the respective side branches 320, thereby effectively reducing the noise in the wide band.

[0139] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing target frequencies of the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment. FIG. 18 is a graph showing results of an experiment using the noise reducer 300 having target frequencies shown in FIG. 17. FIGS. 17 and 18 show results of an experiment using the first reducer 301 and the second reducer 302 shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 8.

[0140] In the experiment, the first reducer 301 disposed at the left side of the indoor unit and the second reducer 302 disposed at the right side of the indoor unit may have a total of 10 side branches 320, with five in each. In this regard, cross-sectional areas of the respective side branches 320 are the same, but lengths thereof are adjusted to set specific frequencies, that is, target frequencies, at which the noise is to be reduced within the frequency band of the noise.

[0141] The target frequencies are set within a range of 180 to 200Hz in the first reducer 301 and set within a range of 240 to 260Hz in the second reducer 302. In this regard, a gap between target frequencies of adjacent two side branches is 5Hz. The longer the side branch 320 is, the lower the target frequency becomes, and the shorter the side branch 320 is, the higher the target frequency becomes.

[0142] The noise reducer 300 may be made of a material that is low in cost and easy to define the side branch 320, for example, Styrofoam or polypropylene (PP). However, the material of the noise reducer 300 is not limited thereto. In the experiment, the noise reducer 300 made of Styrofoam and PP is used.

[0143] In the experiment, the noise reducer 300 having the structure shown in FIG. 17 is installed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner and operated to measure the noise. In FIG. 18, Reference is a result of measuring noise in an indoor unit of an air conditioner in which the noise reducer 300 is not disposed.

[0144] As a result of the experiment, as shown in FIG. 18, it may be seen that, when the frequency of the noise is about 200Hz, the noise reduction effect is remarkable compared to when the frequency of the noise was about 250Hz.

[0145] In addition, it may be seen that, when the frequency of the noise is about 200Hz, the noise reducer 300 made of the PP material has a more remarkable noise reduction effect than the noise reducer 300 made of the Styrofoam material. As a result of the experiment, when the frequency of the noise is about 200Hz, the noise is reduced by about 2.8dBA.

[0146] From the experimental results, it may be seen that the noise reducer 300 according to an embodiment may effectively reduce the noise generated from the indoor unit within the target frequency bands.

[0147] As described above, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments disclosed herein and the drawings, and it is obvious that various modifications may be made by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present disclosure. In addition, even when effects according to the configuration of the present disclosure are not explicitly described and illustrated while describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is natural that effects predictable by the corresponding configuration should also be recognized.

Claims

1. An indoor unit of an air conditioner, the indoor unit comprising: a blower configured to blow air; a heat exchanger disposed in front of the blower and disposed in a flow path of air discharged from the blower; and a noise reducer disposed in front of an outlet of the blower, wherein the noise reducer includes: a body forming an outer appearance of the noise reducer; and a side branch defined in the body, having one end opened, and defined as a space, wherein the side branch includes: a first part having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a lateral direction; and a second part bent from the first part, having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in a front-rear direction, and having a smaller length than the first part.

2. The indoor unit of claim 1, wherein the side branch includes a plurality of side branches, and the side branches have different lengths.

3. The indoor unit of claim 2, wherein the plurality of side branches are arranged in the body so as to be spaced apart from each other in an up-down direction.

4. The indoor unit of claim 2, wherein the side branch includes a third part bent from the second part and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the first part.

5. The indoor unit of claim 4, wherein a side branch having the greatest length among the plurality of side branches has a length of the second part smaller than lengths of the first part and the third part.

6. The indoor unit of claim 3, wherein the blower includes: a motor; a blower fan connected to the motor via a rotation shaft and configured to receive a driving force from the motor; and a duct accommodating the blower fan therein and having an air outlet disposed toward the heat exchanger, wherein the noise reducer is disposed in front of and laterally of the air outlet of the duct.

7. The indoor unit of claim 6, wherein the noise reducer is disposed between the blower and the heat exchanger.

8. The indoor unit of claim 6, wherein the side branch is disposed such that the open end thereof is disposed to face the air outlet of the duct, wherein the first part has the longitudinal direction directed in a direction intersecting a flow direction of air passing through the air outlet.

9. The indoor unit of claim 6, wherein the noise reducer includes: a first reducer disposed on one side of the duct; and a second reducer disposed on the other side of the duct and having a length smaller than a length of the first reducer.

10. The indoor unit of claim 9, wherein a plurality of side branches defined in the first reducer and a plurality of side branches defined in the second reducer have different lengths.

11. The indoor unit of claim 6, wherein the noise reducer includes a chamfered portion disposed in front of the air outlet of the duct to diffuse air discharged from the air outlet to the heat exchanger.

12. The indoor unit of claim 11, wherein the chamfered portion is formed to be inclined such that a flow channel cross-sectional area of air is expanded in a direction from the air outlet to the heat exchanger.

13. The indoor unit of claim 11, wherein the open end of the first part is formed at the chamfered portion.

14. The indoor unit of claim 6, further comprising a support panel disposed at the air outlet of the duct and having a longitudinal direction thereof directed in the lateral direction, wherein the noise reducer is disposed in front of the support panel and supported by the support panel.

15. The indoor unit of claim 3, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed to be inclined with respect to a bottom surface of a lower panel of the indoor unit, wherein the noise reducer is disposed between the bottom surface and the heat exchanger, wherein a top surface of the body is formed as an inclined surface.

Images