Ceiling Indoor Unit Control Box Layout for Wire-Free Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing air-conditioning apparatus indoor units embedded in ceilings face difficulties in maintenance and repair due to the need to disconnect and manage on-site wires, which requires specialized electrician skills and restricts workspace, especially when components are vertically arranged, necessitating the removal of lower components before upper ones, and the housing structure is constrained by the need for wire allowance lengths.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a housing with a cutout part and a detachable wire pass-through plate at the lower side, allowing the control box to be removed while connected to the wire, eliminating the need for long wire housing within the unit, thus enabling easier maintenance and downsizing of the air-conditioning apparatus by positioning the control box adjacent to the wire pass-through plate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the control box is installed at a lower part in the housing, then it is easy to access for maintenance, but the on-site wire needs to be disconnected which requires specialized electrician skills
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into an upper housing and a lower housing that can be separated. The control box is installed in the lower housing, which can be detached from the upper housing. This segmentation allows the control box to be accessed and removed without disconnecting the on-site wire from the terminal board, as the wire remains connected to the upper housing while the lower housing with the control box is removed separately.
2Ease of repair
If the on-site wire is housed in a long length in the housing, then the control box can be removed without disconnecting the wire, but the housing structure is constrained and downsizing is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the housing into upper and lower parts that can be separated, the patent eliminates the need for a long wire allowance within the housing. The control box in the lower housing can be removed without requiring the wire to extend throughout the entire housing, thus avoiding the volume constraint while still enabling easy maintenance.
3Volume of moving object
If components are disposed in the vertical direction in a small-sized unit, then the housing is compact, but lower components must be removed before upper components which complicates maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into an upper housing containing upper components and a lower housing containing the control box. This segmentation allows the lower housing with the control box to be removed first, providing easy access to the control box without requiring removal of upper components. The vertical arrangement is maintained for compactness, but the separable design reverses the maintenance sequence advantage.
Data Source
AI summary
An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit on which maintenance work can be performed without removing a wire from a control box is provided. An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to the present invention is an air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit to be embedded in an indoor ceiling surface. The indoor unit includes a housing, a heat exchanger installed in the housing, a drain pan installed below the heat exchanger, a wire extending into the housing from outside, and a control box connected with the wire in the housing and installed below the drain pan. The housing includes a cutout part at a lower end part of a side plate as a side surface of the housing, and a wire pass-through plate is detachably fitted to the cutout part. The wire pass-through plate includes a hole through which the wire passes. The control box is adjacent to the wire pass-through plate.