Ceiling-embedded air conditioner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ceiling-embedded air conditioners experience reduced heat-exchange efficiency due to swirling airflows generated at the back surface of the bell-mouth, leading to air recirculation and uneven wind speed distribution, which existing solutions like radial ribs fail to effectively address, also causing increased wind noise and vibration.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of rectifiers on the back surface of the bell-mouth, which are erected and extend in a specific configuration to forcibly push out swirling airflows towards the heat exchanger, preventing air retention and enhancing heat-exchange efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If radial ribs are provided on the back surface of the shroud to suppress air loss, then air blow loss is reduced, but wind noise and vibration increase
Solution Approach 1:
A rectifier plate is introduced as an intermediary component between the bell-mouth and the heat exchanger. This rectifier plate suppresses swirling airflows without the need for radial ribs on the shroud, thereby reducing air blow loss while avoiding the generation of wind noise and vibration associated with rib structures.
2Device complexity
If the axial height of the outlet is set lower than the height of the heat exchanger, then the blowing range is reduced, but the structure is more compact
Solution Approach 1:
The rectifier plate serves as an intermediary that improves airflow distribution to the heat exchanger. By suppressing swirling airflows and directing air more uniformly across the heat exchanger surface, it enhances heat-exchange efficiency without requiring an increased outlet axial height, thus maintaining structural compactness.
3Quantity of substance
If air is retained on the back surface side of the bell-mouth, then recirculation occurs, but heat-exchange efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The rectifier plate extracts or removes the harmful swirling airflow pattern from the system. By suppressing the rotation of retained air on the back surface of the bell-mouth, it prevents recirculation and ensures that retained air still contributes to effective heat exchange rather than reducing efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The rectifiers effectively suppress swirling airflows, improving heat-exchange efficiency by ensuring air flows directly into the heat exchanger, reducing recirculation, and enhancing the structural strength of the bell-mouth, thus minimizing thermal deformation and noise.
Implementation Method 1
swirling airflows generated by part of air blown from the turbo fan swirling along the back surface of the bell-mouth in the same direction as a rotation direction of the turbo fan
Implementation Method 2
The air blown from the turbo fan is directed to the surrounding heat exchanger, and is heat-exchanged with a refrigerant through the spaces between heat-radiation fins in the heat exchanger
Implementation Method 3
heat-exchanged with a refrigerant through the spaces between heat-radiation fins in the heat exchanger
Implementation Method 4
As the turbo fan is driven, the air is sucked from the air inlet through the bell-mouth to the inside of the turbo fan
Data Source
AI summary
A ceiling-embedded air conditioner includes: a ceiling-embedded casing body that has an air suction path at the center of a lower surface and has an air blowoff path around the air suction path; a turbo fan that is disposed inside the casing body; a heat exchanger that is disposed inside the casing body on an outer peripheral side of the turbo fan; a bell-mouth that guides air sucked from the air suction path toward the inside of the turbo fan; and a rectifier that is provided on a back surface side of the bell-mouth at the air suction path side opposite to an air suction surface of the bell-mouth, the rectifier suppressing swirling airflows generated by part of air blown from the turbo fan swirling along the back surface of the bell-mouth in the same direction as a rotation direction of the turbo fan.