Indoor unit for air conditioner

Abstract

The present invention discloses an indoor unit 1 for an air conditioner comprising: an integrated front frame 20 including a lower panel 22 with a slot 24, and a supporting plate 40 with an opening 42. The supporting plate 40 includes a fixing structure 50 for fixing the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40 and is configured to be inserted into and secured to the slot 24.

Description

[0001] INDOOR UNIT FOR AIR CONDITIONER

[0002] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to an indoor unit for an air conditioner.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is known that an indoor unit for air conditioners includes a rear base, a front panel configured to be detachably attached to the front of the rear base and that has a lower portion inclined upward from the rear side to the front side and that has a panel hole formed in the lower portion thereof, and a sensor for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned, as disclosed in International Publication No. WO 2021 / 0730360 Al hereinafter called PTL1.

[0006] In PTL1, the sensor is disposed lower than the upper edge of the panel hole in the up- down direction and is disposed on the front side of the lower edge of the panel hole in the frontrear direction. When attaching the front panel to the rear base, the sensor can be assembled by inserting the sensor into the panel hole provided in the curved front panel.

[0007] As such, when attaching the front panel to the rear base, it is necessary to take care not to damage the sensor, which causes troublesome installation work.

[0008] Moreover, the front panel is the component that most affects the aesthetics of the indoor unit. However, depending on the position of the panel hole into which the sensor is inserted, there is a possibility that it is difficult to change the design of the front panel.

[0009] Therefore, the development of the indoor unit for the air conditioner, which includes the sensor for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned, that is easy to assemble and can easily correspond to a change in the design due to improvements in the designability, is required.

[0010] CITATION LIST

[0011] Patent Literature

[0012] PTL 1: International Publication No. WO 2021 / 0730360 Al

[0013] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] It is an objective of the present inventions to provide an indoor unit for an air conditioner, that is easy to assemble as well as that can easily correspond to a change in the design due to improvements in the designability, even if the indoor unit includes the sensor for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned.

[0015] In order to achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the present invention provides an indoor unit for an air conditioner comprising: an integrated front frame including a lower panel with a slot, and a supporting plate with an opening, wherein the supporting plate includes a fixing structure for fixing the sensor to the supporting plate and is configured to be inserted into and secured to the slot.

[0016] Firstly, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the indoor unit includes the integrated front frame including the lower panel with the slot, the front frame can be easily changed as long as the slot in the lower panel into which the supporting plate is inserted and secured is formed in a predetermined position and shape even if there is a design change.

[0017] Secondly, since the front frame is an integrated frame member, it is possible to easily correspond to a change in the design due to improvements in the designability only by changing the front frame.

[0018] Finally, since the supporting plate includes a fixing structure for fixing the sensor to the supporting plate and is configured to be inserted into and secured to the slot, it is easy to assemble the indoor unit even if the sensor is inserted into the opening in the supporting plate for mounting the sensor.

[0019] Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the indoor unit for the air conditioner, can be easy to assemble as well as can easily correspond to a change in the design due to improvements in the designability, even if the indoor unit includes the sensor for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned.

[0020] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The principle of the present invention and its advantages will become apparent in the following description taking in consideration with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.1A is a perspective view of an indoor unit 1 for an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. IB is an explanation view of a condition that an integrated front frame 20 is removed from the indoor unit 1 ;

[0023] FIG.2A is an enlarged view of the indoor unit 1 on the side where a sensor 30 is installed;

[0024] FIG.2B is an enlarged view of a slot 24 in a lower panel 22 of the integrated front frame 20;

[0025] FIG.3A is a sectional view taken along line IIIA-IIIA of FIG.2A;

[0026] FIG.3B is an end view taken along line IIIB-IIIB of FIG.2A; FIG.4A is a perspective view of a supporting plate 40 when viewed from diagonally above;

[0027] FIG.4B is a plan view of the supporting plate 40;

[0028] FIG.4C is a bottom view of the supporting plate 40;

[0029] FIG.4D is a side view of the supporting plate 40;

[0030] FIG.5A is a perspective view of the sensor 30 and the supporting plate 40 with the sensor 30 inserted and secured into the supporting plate 40;

[0031] FIG.5B is a perspective view of the sensor 30 when viewed from diagonally below;

[0032] FIG.6A is an explanation view to explain how to attach the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40; and

[0033] FIG.6B is an explanation view to explain how to attach the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40 when viewed from another direction.

[0034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0036] An air conditioner includes an indoor unit 1 provided in a room and an outdoor unit (not shown) connected to the indoor unit 1 by piping and provided outside the room. The indoor unit 1 sucks air from the room, adjusts the temperature or humidity thereof and then blows out the air to the room, thereby performing air-conditioning in the room.

[0037] As shown in FIG.1A and FIG. IB, the indoor unit 1 includes a main body 10 including a fan, a heat exchanger (both are not shown), etc., a front frame 20 which covers the main body 10, a front panel 12 which cover a front surface of an upper portion of the front frame 20, and a sensor 30 for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned. The sensor 30 is attached to a predetermined position in the main body 10 by being attached to a control box 16 in the main body 10.

[0038] An air inlet port (not shown) for sucking indoor air is provided on the top surface of the indoor unit 1, and an air outlet port 14 communicating with the air passage is provided from the lower portion, on the front side to the lower surface of the indoor unit 1.

[0039] The front frame 20 is one integrated member which is formed so as to cover the top surface, the front surface, side surfaces and the lower surface of the main body 10. The front frame 20 is configured to be attached and detached to the main body 10.

[0040] The front frame 20 includes a lower panel 22 at the bottom of the front frame 20 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the front frame 20. The lower panel 22 has a slot 24, which is a notch formed in a tapered shape that opens on the rear side of the front frame 20 (See FIG.2B.). The slot 24 is formed to widen from the front side toward the back side of the front frame 20. As described later, a supporting plate 40 is inserted into the slot 24, and the supporting plate 40 is attached to the lower panel 22 of the front frame 20 (See FIG.2A).

[0041] As shown in FIG.4A to FIG.4D, the supporting plate 40 is a plate-like member formed in a substantially tapered shape when viewed from above, that can be inserted into and attached to the slot 24. Namely, to make it easier to insert the supporting plate 40 into the slot 24 smoothly, the slot 24 is formed in a tapered shape, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the supporting plate 40 is inserted into the slot 24, as well as the supporting plate 40 is configured to be inserted into smoothly and secured to the slot 24.

[0042] Moreover, the supporting plate 40 is the member provided with a circular opening 42 formed so that a part of the sensor 30 can be inserted and attached to the supporting plate 40. The shape of the opening 42 is not limited to a circle, but may be rectangular or the like, as long as the sensor 30 can be inserted into the opening 42 and attached to the supporting plate 40.

[0043] As shown in FIG.3A to FIG.4D, a downwardly protruding recess 44 is formed around the opening 42 from near the center of the supporting plate 40 to the front side. When the sensor 30 is attached to the supporting plate 40, it is required that an exposed part of the sensor 30 protrudes as much as possible from the indoor unit 1. However, when there is no recess, when looking at the indoor unit 1 with the sensor 30 attached to the supporting plate 40, the exposed portion of the sensor 30 is noticeable. Therefore, from the viewpoint of aesthetics, the recess 44 is provided in the supporting plate 40.

[0044] Moreover, an outer edge of the supporting plate 40 includes an extension portion 46 protrude formed so that the extension portion 46 can be placed on the lower panel 22 facing the slot 24 when the supporting plate 40 is inserted into the slot 24 and secured to the lower panel 22. Specifically, the extension portion 46 is formed on the outer edges of the front side and both sides of the supporting plate 40, as well as is formed to protrude outward in a stepped manner so as to be higher than the portion of the supporting plate 40 other than the extension portion 46.

[0045] In this embodiment, although the extension portion 46 is formed as one continuous part of the supporting plate 40, it may be formed as a plurality of extension portions at the front outer edge, the left outer edge, and the right outer edge of the supporting plate 40.

[0046] Moreover, the supporting plate 40 includes a fixing structure 50 for fixing the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40. The fixing structure 50 includes a front engaging portion 51 formed to be engageable with a front hook 33 of the sensor 30 and a rear engaging portion 52 formed to be engageable with a rear hook 34 of the sensor 30 when the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40 and placed on the supporting plate 40. The front engaging portion 51 is formed in the extension portion 46 at the front central portion of the supporting plate 40, and the central portion of the front engaging portion 51 is provided with a through hole formed to be engageable with the front hook 33 of the sensor 30.

[0047] The rear engaging portion 52 is located behind the recess 44 of the supporting plate 40 and is formed in the shape of a bridge that protrudes from the surface of the supporting plate 40. The central portion of the rear engaging portion 52 is provided with a through hole formed to be engageable with the rear hook 34 of the sensor 30.

[0048] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the supporting plate 40 includes three supporting plate ribs 54 having two supporting plate front rib 54a and a supporting plate rear rib 54b extending from an outer edge of the opening 42 of the supporting plate 40 upwardly. In order to securely attach the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40 and prevent the sensor 30 from becoming unstable, the supporting plate rear rib 54b is located at the rear end of the opening 42, and two supporting plate front rib 54a are located to sandwich the front end of the opening 42, when viewed from above. In addition, the number of the supporting plate ribs 54 of the supporting plate 40 is not limited to three, but may be three or more.

[0049] Specifically, two supporting plate front rib 54a and the supporting plate rear rib 54b are formed in a T-shaped when viewed from above. Moreover, two supporting plate front ribs 54a are provided on the supporting plate 40 so that the contact surfaces with the sensor front ribs 54a face each other so that the two supporting plate front ribs 54a can come into contact with the sensor front ribs 35a (described later) of the sensor 30. The support plate rear rib 54b is provided on the supporting plate 40 so that a contact surface with a sensor rear rib 54b (described later) faces the opening 42

[0050] The sensor 30 is a member attached to the supporting plate 40 and is composed of an upper member 31 formed substantially in a shape of a housing, and a substantially cylindrical lower member 32 that extends downward from a part of the bottom surface of the upper member 31 and has a radius that can be inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40. The cylindrical lower member 32 is equipped with an infrared sensor 30 inside to obtain information about the heat source in the air-conditioned space where the indoor unit 1 is installed.

[0051] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.4A to FIG.4C, the opening 42 is formed in a circular shape, but is not limited to this. Moreover, although the lower member 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape, it is not limited to the cylindrical shape as long as it conforms to the shape of the opening 42 and the lower member 32 can be inserted into the opening 42 and fixed securely.

[0052] As shown in FIG.5A and FIG.5B, the sensor 30 includes the front hook 33 front formed to be engageable with the front engaging portion 51, and the rear hook 34 formed to be engageable with the rear engaging portion 52, when the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40 and placed on the supporting plate 40.

[0053] Moreover, the sensor 30 includes two sensor front ribs 35a formed so as to be able to come into contact with the two supporting plate front ribs 54a respectively, and a sensor rear rib 35b formed so as to be able to come into contact with the surface of the supporting plate rear rib 54b of the supporting plate 40 on the side of the opening 42.

[0054] Specifically, two sensor front ribs 35a are formed to be inserted between two supporting plate front ribs 54a so that two sensor front rib 35a are positioned at predetermined position, as well as the sensor rear rib 35b is formed so as to be able to come into contact with the surface of the supporting plate rear rib 54b of the supporting plate 40 on the side of the opening 42 so that the sensor rear rib 35b is positioned at a predetermined position, when the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40 and placed on the supporting plate 40.

[0055] The number of hooks is not limited to two and may be at least one, as long as the sensor 30 can be securely fixed to the supporting plate 40 and the sensor 30 can be prevented from becoming unstable. Namely, the sensor 30 may include at least one hook, and the supporting plate 40 includes at least one engaging portion formed to be engageable with the at least one hook.

[0056] Next, a method for assembling the indoor unit 1 is described in detail with reference to FIG.6A to FIG.6B.

[0057] Firstly, the sensor 30 is attached to the supporting plate 40. Specifically, the lower member 32 of the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 of the supporting plate 40 and secured to the supporting plate 40.

[0058] As shown in FIG.4A to FIG.4D and FIG.5A and FIG.5B, since the supporting plate 40 includes the front engaging portion 51 formed to be engageable with the front hook 33 as well as the rear engaging portion 52 formed to be engageable with the rear hook 34, the sensor 30 is securely fixed to the supporting plate 40 when the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40 and placed on the supporting plat (See FIG.6A and FIG.6B).

[0059] Moreover, since the supporting plate 40 includes three ribs 54a, 54b extending from an outer edge of the opening 42 of the supporting plate 40 upwardly, it is possible to securely attach the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40 and prevent the sensor 30 from becoming unstable.

[0060] Specifically, since each of two supporting plate front ribs 54a contacts the sensor front ribs 54a as well as the support plate rear rib 54b contacts the sensor rear rib 54b, it is possible to more securely attach the sensor 30 to the supporting plate 40 and prevent the sensor 30 from becoming unstable. Secondly, the assembly of the sensor 30 and the supporting plate 40 is attached to the control box 16 that is part of the main body 10. Since the control box 16 is pre-installed in the predetermined position in the main body 10 (See FIG. IB and FIG.3B), the assembly of the sensor 30 and the supporting plate 40 is also installed in place.

[0061] Finally, the front frame 20 is attached to the above assembly placed on a belt conveyor, etc. by moving the front frame 20 from top to bottom.

[0062] Since the supporting plate 40 includes the extension portion 46 at the outer edge of the supporting portion, it is possible to insert the supporting plate 40 into the slot 24 smoothly by simply sliding the extension portion 46 of the supporting plate 40 while placing it on the back side of the edge of the slot 24 of the lower panel 22. Moreover, since the slot 24 is formed in a tapered shape, it is easy for the supporting plate 40 to be inserted into smoothly and secured to the slot 24.

[0063] According to the embodiment, the indoor unit 1 for an air conditioner, can be easy to assemble as well as can easily correspond to a change in the design due to improvements in the designability, even if the indoor unit 1 includes the sensor 30 for acquiring information on a space to be air-conditioned.

[0064] In another embodiment, instead of at least one hook of the sensor 30, the sensor 30 may be provided with the fixing structure that includes at least one engaging portion formed to be engageable with said at least one hook when the sensor is inserted into the opening 42 in the supporting plate 40 and placed on the supporting plate 40. In this case, the supporting plate 40 is provided with said at least one hook so that the lower member 32 can be firmly fixed when the sensor 30 is inserted into the opening 42 of the support plate 40 and placed on the support plate 40.

[0065] Although specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described as well as illustrated in the companying drawings, it is simply for the purpose of better understanding of the principle of the present invention and it is not as a limitation of the scope and spirit of the teaching of the present invention. Adaption and modification to various structures such as design or material of the invention, mounting mechanism of various parts and elements or embodiments are possible and apparent to a skilled person without departing from the scope of the present invention which is to be determined by the claims.

[0066] List of reference:

[0067] 1 : indoor unit

[0068] 10: main body : front panel : air outlet port : control box : front frame : lower panel : slot : sensor : upper member : lower member : front hook : rear hook a: sensor front rib b: sensor rear rib : supporting plate : opening : recess : extension portion : fixing structure : front engaging portion: rear engaging portion : supporting plate rib a: supporting plate front ribb: supporting plate rear rib

Claims

CLAIMS1. An indoor unit (1) for an air conditioner comprising: an integrated front frame (20) including a lower panel (22) with a slot (24), and a supporting plate (40) with an opening (42), wherein the supporting plate (40) includes a fixing structure (50) for fixing the sensor (30) to the supporting plate (40) and is configured to be inserted into and secured to the slot (24).

2. The indoor unit (1) of claim 1, wherein the sensor (30) includes at least one hook, and the fixing structure (50) of the supporting plate (40) includes at least one engaging portion formed to be engageable with the at least one hook when the sensor (30) is inserted into the opening (42) in the supporting plate (40) and placed on the supporting plate (40).

3. The indoor unit (1) of claim 2, wherein the at least one hook of the sensor (30) includes a front hook (33) and a rear hook (34), and the at least one engaging portion of the supporting plate (40) includes a front engaging portion (51) formed to be engageable with the front hook (33) and a rear engaging portion (52) formed to be engageable with the rear hook (34) when the sensor (30) is inserted into the opening (42) in the supporting plate (40) and placed on the supporting plate (40).

4. The indoor unit (1) of claim 2, wherein the supporting plate (40) includes at least three ribs (54) extending from an outer edge of the opening (42) of the supporting plate (40) so as to securely attach the sensor (30) to the supporting plate (40).

5. The indoor unit (1) of claim 4, wherein the at least three ribs (54) of the supporting plate (40) include two supporting plate front ribs (54a) located to sandwich the front end of the opening (42) and a supporting plate rear rib (54b) located at the rear end of the opening (42), and wherein the sensor (30) includes two sensor front ribs (35a) formed so as to be able to come into contact with the two supporting plate front ribs (54a) respectively, and a sensor rear rib (35b) formed so as to be able to come into contact with the surface of the supporting plate rear rib (54b) of the supporting plate (40) on the side of the opening (42).

6. The indoor unit (1) of claim 1, wherein the slot (24) is formed in a tapered shape, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the supporting plate (40) is inserted into the slot (24).

7. The indoor unit (1) of claim 1, wherein an outer edge of the supporting plate (40) includes an extension portion (46) formed so that the extension portion (46) can be placed on the lower panel (22) facing the slot (24) when the supporting plate (40) is inserted into the slot (24) and secured to the lower panel (22).

Images