AIR CONDITIONER AIR EXHAUST PORT AND AIR CONDITIONERS WITH THIS AIR EXHAUST PORT

Abstract

The invention relates to an air discharge port (100) of an air conditioner comprising two plates, the first plate (120), the second plate (140) making a trough (130) for discharging air from the air conditioner. One of the first plate (120), the second plate (140) includes an upward inclined section (122) extending from the outer end of the plate, where the air is discharged. The upward inclined section (122) is proposed to have grooves (124). The other plate also includes a construction essentially of the form of a step (142) arranged adjacent to the outer end of the plate, where the air is discharged.

Description

[0001] AN AIR OUTLET OF AN AIR CONDITIONER

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to an air outlet of an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air outlet of an air conditioner with an improved structure for solving condensation and dripping issues at the air outlet.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] One of the issues that commonly happens in developing air conditioners is the “sweating” issue especially at the supply air outlet area. It is a phenomenon in which condensation is spotted at the surface of louver or / and the outer edge of the supply air outlet. Such phenomenon is likely to occur when warm, moist ambient air contacts a surface of the supply air outlet area in which the surface is having a temperature below dew point temperature due to the relatively colder supply air. This could result in condensation at the supply air outlet. If the condensation persists, it may further lead to dripping issue which could give user a big hassle.

[0006] One of the conventional practice to deal with the condensation is by adding a moisture absorbing material, for example, a nonwoven fabric or a material with a flocked surface, at the supply air outlet area. In particular, the moisture absorbing material is applied around the outer edge of the supply air outlet area and other area which is likely to experience condensation so that the condensate will be absorbed and gradually evaporated into the air Addition of the moisture absorbing material may incur additional expenses involved in production process, leading to an increase in the overall product cost. Moreover, such addition during production process may require additional time, thus possibly reducing overall manufacturing productivity. Besides, the aesthetic value of the air conditioner might be affected if the moisture absorbing material is exposed. There are other alternatives provided over the prior art aiming to counter the “sweating” issue without the moisture absorbing material. For example, JP6776531 B2 discloses an indoor unit of a ceiling-type air conditioner that provides a plurality of grooves on the outer panel and the wind direction adjusting blade for holding dew condensation water. The plurality of grooves are formed at the lower end of the outer panel portion and the lower surface of the wind direction adjusting blade respectively. However, such configuration may not be capable of preventing condensate from dripping. If there is condensate inside the grooves during swinging of the wind direction adjusting blade, they may probably drip or scatter from the air conditioner. Furthermore, it may be difficult to prevent dripping issue when condensation becomes severe. The grooves on the outer panel and the wind direction adjusting blade are exposed. When the grooves unable to hold more condensate, the condensate will probably drop from the outer panel and the wind direction adjusting blade.

[0007] On the other hand, CN103512176B discloses a plurality of stepped structures provided at the air outlet of a ceiling-type air conditioner in order to prevent the supply air from flowing towards the ceiling and also to avoid condensation on the ceiling. In particular, the plurality of stepped structures are formed at the outer side wall of one of the panels which forms the air outlet of the air conditioner. The stepped structures serve as a barrier for restricting movement of the supply air towards the ceiling. The overall configuration is aim to avoid condensation on the ceiling and there is no mention that it could solve the condensation issue occurred at the air outlet of the air conditioner. Further, there is no preventive means or structure disclosed in this prior art that addresses the same issue. Dripping issue is unlikely to be prevented by such configuration at the air outlet of the air conditioner. Accordingly, it can be seen in the prior art documents that there exists a need to improve configuration of the air outlet of an air conditioner that are capable of solving the aforesaid condensation and dripping issues. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an air outlet structure of an air conditioner that is capable of solving condensation and dripping issues occurred at the air outlet.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide an air outlet structure of an air conditioner for minimizing condensation without requiring any additional material, for example moisture absorbing material, thereby resulting in cost saving and an improved manufacturing productivity.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to allow cold supply air to be discharged in a way that the cold supply air not flowing towards a relatively warmer surface at an air outlet of an air conditioner so as to minimize condensation.

[0011] It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air outlet of an air conditioner that traps condensate and allows the trapped condensate to evaporate so as to deter any condensate from dripping.

[0012] Accordingly, these objects are achievable by following the disclosure and teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to an air outlet of an air conditioner. The air outlet of the air conditioner comprises a first panel and a second panel, forming a channel for discharging air from the air conditioner. The first panel further comprises an upwardly inclined portion extending from the outer end of the first panel at which the air is discharged and the upwardly inclined portion is provided with a plurality of grooves. The second panel further comprises a substantially stepped-shaped structure adjacent to the outer end of the second panel where the air is discharged.

[0013] The substantially stepped-structure is preferably disposed at a position substantially opposite to the plurality of grooves. Further, the substantially stepped-structure is positioned to be substantially aligned with the plurality of grooves. On the other hand, the substantially stepped-structure is positioned to be displaced outward or inward from the axis of the plurality of grooves.

[0014] The first panel and the second panel of the present invention are inclined at a predetermined angle respectively, and preferably, they are inclined in such a manner that air is discharged at an angle of about 10° to 50°, preferably 10° to 25°, relative to a horizontal plane. The first panel and the second panel are preferably parallel in arrangement.

[0015] Preferably, the plurality of grooves are spaced apart from one another by a predetermined interval, forming a series of evenly spaced grooves. More preferably, the predetermined interval is in a range of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. Further, each of the plurality of grooves has a depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm.

[0016] Preferably, the substantially stepped-shaped structure comprises at least a step extending from the second panel, in which the step is disposed lower than the second panel. The step is further curved inwardly forming a substantially J- shaped cross-section. Furthermore, the substantially stepped-shaped structure is provided with a protrusion at its outermost end.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, an air conditioner having the above-described air outlet structure is provided.

[0018] It is preferred that the air conditioner is a ceiling-type air conditioner.

[0019] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[0020] 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 cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane of an air outlet of an air conditioner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 illustrates a close-up view showing configuration of a first panel of the air outlet of the air conditioner of Figure 1.

[0022] Figure 3 illustrates a close-up view showing configuration of a second panel of the air outlet of the air conditioner of Figure 1.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTON OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “more than one” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other components, integers or steps. Any discussion of documents, materials, devices, and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.

[0025] The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawings correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 -3.

[0026] In general, an air conditioner comprises an air inlet for taking air to be conditioned and an air outlet for supplying conditioned air to an environment. Condensation tends to happen at the air outlet of the air conditioner when warm ambient air is in contact with the relatively colder surface of the air outlet. The present invention provides an air outlet (100) of an air conditioner having structures for minimizing condensation occurred at the air outlet (100) so that dripping issue could be avoided when condensation become severe. The air conditioner can be any type of air conditioner such as a ceiling-type air conditioner, a wall mounted air conditioner and a floor standing air conditioner. It is preferred that the air conditioner in the present invention is a ceiling-type air conditioner, more preferably, a ceiling cassette air conditioner.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The air outlet (100) of the air conditioner comprises a first panel (120) and a second panel (140) for forming a channel (130) for discharging air from the air conditioner. The first panel (120) is inclined at a predetermined angle. The second panel (140) is inclined at a predetermined angle. In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first panel (120) and the second panel (140) are inclined in such a manner that supply air is discharged at an angle of about 10° to 50° relative to a horizontal plane, more preferably at an angle of about 10° to 25°. Further, the first panel (120) and the second panel (140) are preferably parallel in arrangement. In a different embodiment of the present invention, the first panel (120) and the second panel (140) may not be parallel to each other, in which the predetermined angle of the first panel (120) is different from the predetermined angle of the second panel (140).

[0028] As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the first panel (120) further comprises an upwardly inclined portion (122) extending from the outer end of the first panel (120) where the air is discharged. The upwardly inclined portion (122) is disposed offset at an oblique angle from the first panel (120). As cold supply air is guided by the first panel (120) to flow through the channel (130), the cold supply air is unlikely to flow upwardly and come in contact with the surface of the upwardly inclined portion (122) which is relatively warmer compared to the first panel (120) of the channel (130) where the cold supply air flows through. Further, the upwardly inclined portion (122) comprises a plurality of grooves (124) disposed at a position close to the first panel (120). The plurality of grooves (124) may act as resistive structures to reduce heat conductivity across the upwardly inclined portion (122) so as to reduce surface area that may turn cold. This could help to minimize possibility of condensation which occurs when warmer ambient air interacts with a relatively colder surface at the air outlet (100). Moreover, the plurality of grooves (124) is adapted for capturing and trapping condensate till the condensate evaporates.

[0029] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of grooves (124) are spaced apart from one another, and more preferably, spaced apart by a predetermined interval forming a series of evenly spaced grooves. The predetermined interval is in preferably, but not limited to, a range of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm, more preferably, a range of 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm. Further, each of the plurality of grooves (124) has a depth of preferably, but not limited to 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm, more preferably, 1.0 mm to 3.0 mm. Moreover, each of the plurality of grooves (124) may have shape of a substantially rectangular shape, a substantially square shape, a substantially triangular shape, a substantially semi oval shape, a truncated triangular shape, or any polygonal shape, or a combination thereof. The configuration of the plurality of grooves (124) plays an important role in ensuring condensate to be captured by the plurality of grooves (124) by surface tension.

[0030] With reference to Figures 1 and 3, the second panel (140) according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention further comprises a substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) adjacent to the outer end of the second panel (140) where the air is discharged. A flat surface is provided between the second panel (140) and the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142). The substantially stepped-structure (142) provides a space for ambient air to circulate freely so that the cold supply air unable to come close and to be in contact with the relatively warmer surface of the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) as compared to the cold supply air, thereby reducing possibility of condensation. Further, if condensation happened at the second panel (140) particularly near the outer end of the second panel (140), the substantially stepped-structure (142) could serve to collect the condensate, allowing it to evaporate so as to avoid dripping issue.

[0031] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) comprises at least a step extending from the second panel (140). The substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) is not only limited to one step, but it is possible to have more than one step. The step is disposed lower than the second panel (140). Further, the step is preferably curved inwardly forming a substantially J-shaped cross-section as shown in Figure 3. In another embodiment of the present invention, the step may not be curved inwardly at its lower end. Furthermore, the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) is provided with a protrusion at its outermost end that may form a drain-like structure for preventing condensate from dripping.

[0032] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substantially stepped-structure (142) is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the plurality of grooves (124). The substantially stepped-structure (142) could be positioned to be substantially aligned with the plurality of grooves (124). On the other hand, the substantially stepped-structure (142) could be positioned to be displaced outward from the axis of the plurality of grooves (124). With reference to Figure 1 , the substantially stepped-structure is preferably at a position that is slightly displaced outward from the axis of the plurality of the grooves (124). Under certain circumstances, if there is condensate dropped from the plurality of grooves (124), the condensate may be collected by the substantially stepped- structure (142) and then evaporates. In another possible embodiment of the present invention, the substantially stepped-structure (142) may be positioned to be displaced inward from the axis of the plurality of grooves (124). In this case, the step of the substantially stepped-structure (142) may be made to extend to a point that is either right under the plurality of grooves (124) or beyond the plurality of grooves (124) for allowing condensate to drop from the plurality of grooves (124) onto the step.

[0033] In an example according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a ceiling cassette air conditioner comprising the above-described air outlet (100) configuration is provided. The air outlet (100) of the ceiling cassette air conditioner comprising a first panel (120) and a second panel (140) forming a channel (130) for discharging air at an angle of 25° relative to a horizontal plane. The outer end of the first panel (120) is further provided with the upwardly inclined portion (122) having the plurality of grooves (124) and the outer end of the second panel (140) is provided with a substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) for minimizing condensation at the air outlet (100) as well as trapping and collecting condensate so as to prevent dripping issue. 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 outlet (100) of an air conditioner comprising: a first panel (120) and a second panel (140) forming a channel (130) for discharging air from the air conditioner; wherein the first panel (120) further comprises an upwardly inclined portion (122) extending from the outer end of the first panel (120) at which the air is discharged and the upwardly inclined portion (122) is provided with a plurality of grooves (124); and wherein the second panel (140) further comprises a substantially stepped- shaped structure (142) adjacent to the outer end of the second panel (140) at which the air is discharged.

2. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the substantially stepped-structure (142) is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the plurality of grooves (124).

3. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the substantially stepped-structure (142) is positioned to be substantially aligned with the plurality of grooves (124).

4. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the substantially stepped-structure (142) is positioned to be displaced outward from the axis of the plurality of grooves (124).

5. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the substantially stepped-structure (142) is positioned to be displaced inward from the axis of the plurality of grooves (124).

6. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first panel (120) is inclined at a predetermined angle.

7. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second panel (140) is inclined at a predetermined angle.

8. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claims 6 and 7, wherein the first panel (120) and the second panel (140) are substantially parallel.

9. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first panel (120) and the second panel (140) are inclined in such a manner that air is discharged at an angle of about 10°to 50°relative to a horizontal plane.

10. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of grooves (124) are spaced apart from one another by a predetermined interval, forming a series of evenly spaced grooves.

11. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the predetermined interval is in a range of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm.

12. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of grooves (124) has a depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm.

13. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) comprises at least a step extending from the second panel (140).

14. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step is further curved inwardly forming a substantially J-shaped cross-section.

15. The air outlet (100) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the substantially stepped-shaped structure (142) is provided with a protrusion at its outermost end.

16. An air conditioner comprising an air outlet (100) as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

17. The air conditioner as claimed in claim 16, wherein the air conditioner is a ceiling-type air conditioner.

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