Indoor Unit Housing Grid Grooves for Clean Pipe Openings
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air-conditioning indoor units with arc-shaped pipe hole-opening grooves are difficult to cut efficiently, leading to unclean edges and a degraded design due to obtrusive burrs, and the existing solutions do not effectively address these issues.
Innovation Solution
The indoor unit features a pipe hole-opening groove section in the form of grid-like grooves on the inner surface of the housing, allowing for a flat exterior design and efficient cutting by enabling cell-by-cell removal with a cutting tool, thus improving both design aesthetics and cutting efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If arc-shaped pipe hole-opening groove section is used, then the pipe connection function is achieved, but the cutting efficiency is reduced and burrs are generated degrading the design
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous arc-shaped groove is segmented into multiple small rectangular cells forming a grid pattern. This segmentation allows the cutting tool to easily traverse along the pre-formed groove lines, cutting through material at regular intervals without generating excessive burrs, while maintaining the functional requirement of pipe access.
Solution Approach 2:
The grid-like grooves are pre-formed on the housing inner surface before the final cutting operation. These pre-formed grooves guide the cutting tool along precise paths, enabling efficient removal of material while minimizing burr generation at the edges of the pipe opening.
2Ease of operation
If pipe hole-opening groove section is formed on outer surface, then pipe connection is enabled, but the design appearance is degraded due to visible grooves
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forming the pipe hole-opening groove on the outer surface of the housing, the groove is inverted to be formed on the inner surface. This reversal allows the functional groove to remain hidden from external view, preserving the aesthetic appearance of the housing while still enabling pipe connection through the opening.
3Productivity
If grid-like grooves are formed on inner surface, then the exterior design is improved and cutting efficiency is enhanced, but the structural integrity may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The grid-like grooves are formed only in the local region where pipe access is required, rather than throughout the entire housing structure. This localized grooving maintains the structural integrity of the housing while providing the necessary access points, as the grooves are confined to non-critical areas that do not compromise overall strength.
Data Source
AI summary
An indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus includes a housing defining an outer shape of the indoor unit, and a pipe hole-opening groove section that is in a form of grid-like grooves on an inner surface of the housing. The housing has a box-like shape and includes a lower one surface panel forming a lower end of one side surface of the housing, a one end bottom panel forming one end of a bottom surface of the housing, a lower other surface panel forming a lower end of the other side surface of the housing, and the other end bottom panel forming the other end of the bottom surface of the housing. The pipe hole-opening groove section is formed in at least one of the lower one surface panel, the one end bottom panel, the lower other surface panel, and the other end bottom panel.