Indoor Unit Air Inlet Panel Layout for Low-Resistance Concealment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ceiling-mounted air conditioner indoor units face challenges in designing a decorative panel that minimizes visible inner parts while maintaining low ventilation resistance at the inlet opening, leading to increased noise due to higher fan workload.
Innovation Solution
The indoor unit incorporates a decorative panel with a plate member that extends along the air inlet, dividing it into multiple openings to reduce ventilation resistance and conceal inner parts, featuring a non-porous plate and a plate member configuration that curvingly recesses from the outer edge, creating separate ventilation paths to optimize airflow and visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the opening area of the inlet opening is reduced to improve the design of the decorative panel, then the visibility of inner parts is reduced, but the ventilation resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet opening is divided into multiple separate openings by the plate member extending along the inner surface. This segmentation allows the total opening area to be maintained while distributing the openings in a way that reduces visibility of inner parts and optimizes airflow patterns to minimize ventilation resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The plate member acts as an intermediary element that partially blocks the inlet opening. It is positioned to obscure the view of inner parts while maintaining sufficient open area for airflow, serving as a mediator between aesthetic requirements and ventilation needs
2Shape
If the opening area of the inlet opening is reduced to improve the design of the decorative panel, then the visibility of inner parts is reduced, but the fan workload increases leading to increased noise
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the inlet opening into multiple openings distributed around the plate member, the airflow is evenly distributed across different paths. This prevents concentrated high-velocity flow that would increase noise, while still achieving the aesthetic goal of reducing inner part visibility
Solution Approach 2:
The configuration changes the distribution parameters of the inlet openings rather than simply reducing the total area. By adjusting the number, size, and position of individual openings, the design achieves aesthetic improvement while maintaining airflow characteristics that minimize fan workload and noise generation
Data Source
AI summary
A grille (52) is provided at a lower end portion of an air inlet (51 a), and covers a central portion of the air inlet (51 a) to form an inlet opening (60) between an outer peripheral edge of the grille (52) and an opening edge of the air inlet (51a) in plan view. A plate member (53) extends along an inner surface of the air inlet (51a), and provided inside the air inlet (51a) such that an upper edge of the plate member (53) is located more inward than a lower edge of the plate member (53). The upper edge of the plate member (53) is located above the lower end of the air inlet (51a). The lower edge of the plate member (53) surrounds an outer periphery of the grille (52) in plan view.