Air conditioner indoor unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioning indoor units face interference and potential damage during maintenance due to unstable user operation, which can lead to damage of the shaft or bearing when opening the panel for filter access.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioning indoor unit employs a mechanism where the first panel shifts obliquely upward to a second position, maintaining its posture, and then further moves to a maintenance position, ensuring the lower end is distant from the indoor unit body, preventing interference and allowing safe manual access for maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the panel is retained at a maintenance position by a retention mechanism utilizing frictional force, then the panel can be stably held for maintenance, but the panel and the indoor unit body interfere with each other when the panel turns upward
Solution Approach 1:
The panel opening motion is divided into two distinct stages: first motion (oblique upward movement maintaining posture) and second motion (turning upward to maintenance position). This segmentation allows the panel to clear the indoor unit body during the first motion before turning at the second stage, eliminating interference while achieving stable retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel transitions from simple vertical rotation to a two-dimensional motion path combining oblique upward translation followed by rotation. By adding the horizontal displacement dimension in the first motion, the panel clears the interference zone before executing the turning motion, resolving the conflict between stable retention and interference avoidance.
2Ease of operation
If the panel is turned widely to open the front surface for maintenance, then access is facilitated, but unstable user operation may damage the shaft or bearing
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is pre-positioned at a predetermined maintenance position where the lower end is distant from the indoor unit body before the turning motion begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that even with unstable user operation, the panel has sufficient clearance to turn widely without damaging the shaft or bearing, while still providing easy maintenance access.
3Device complexity
If the panel shifts directly to the maintenance position, then the opening process is simplified, but interference with the indoor unit body occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The panel opening process is segmented into first motion (oblique upward shift maintaining posture) and second motion (turning to maintenance position). Although this adds a motion stage, each motion has a clear function: the first motion clears the interference zone, and the second motion achieves the maintenance position, making the overall process systematic and reliable.
Solution Approach 2:
The first position serves as an intermediary state between the closed position and the maintenance position. The panel passes through this intermediate position during oblique upward movement, clearing the interference zone before reaching the final maintenance position, thus resolving the conflict between direct movement and interference avoidance.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
It is an object of the invention to provide an air conditioning indoor unit causing no interference between an indoor unit body and a panel shifting to a maintenance position. An air conditioning indoor unit (1) includes a first panel (111) that is retained at a close position (CP) to cover a front surface of an indoor unit body (10) and is retained at a maintenance position (MP) to open the front surface of the indoor unit body (10) upon maintenance. The first panel (111) shifts to an open position (OP) ahead of the close position (CP) and distant from the indoor unit body (10) upon shifting from the close position (CP) to the maintenance position (MP). The air conditioning indoor unit (1) prevents interference between an upper end of the first panel (111) and the indoor unit body (10).