Indoor Unit Pipe Retainer Layout for Heat Exchanger Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional indoor units of air conditioners require significant time and effort for maintenance, such as cleaning the heat exchanger, due to the need to dismount the entire unit from the wall to access and remove the pipe retaining member, which involves decoupling auxiliary piping from communication piping and risks refrigerant leakage.
Innovation Solution
The indoor unit design features a pipe retaining member positioned near the lateral and underside of the mounting frame, allowing easy removal without dismounting the unit from the wall, thus eliminating the need for decoupling auxiliary piping, enabling efficient maintenance like cleaning without refrigerant leakage concerns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pipe retaining member is positioned only on the backside of the mounting frame, then the piping is securely retained, but the indoor unit must be dismounted from the wall to remove the pipe retaining member for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe retaining member is repositioned from the backside to the lateral side of the mounting frame, changing the spatial dimension of access. This allows maintenance personnel to reach the pipe retaining member from the side without dismounting the entire indoor unit from the wall, while still maintaining secure piping retention through the side-facing engagement structure.
2Ease of repair
If the indoor unit is dismounted from the wall to access the pipe retaining member, then the pipe retaining member can be removed, but the auxiliary piping must be decoupled from communication piping requiring refrigerant handling procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting frame is designed with segmented functionality where the pipe retaining member is separated from the main mounting structure and positioned independently on the lateral side. This segmentation allows the pipe retaining member to be accessed and removed separately without requiring dismounting of the entire indoor unit or decoupling of the auxiliary piping from communication piping, thus avoiding refrigerant handling procedures and reducing maintenance time.
3Device complexity
If the pipe retaining member is exposed only on the backside, then the structure is simple, but maintenance requires complete disassembly of the indoor unit
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of exposing the pipe retaining member on the backside as in conventional designs, the invention inverts the exposure location to the lateral side of the mounting frame. This inversion maintains structural simplicity while fundamentally improving maintenance accessibility, allowing service personnel to access the pipe retaining member from the side without complex disassembly procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
An indoor unit of an air conditioner wherein a pipe retaining member retaining auxiliary piping connected to a heat exchanger is disposed near both a lateral side and an underside of a mounting frame. The pipe retaining member is bent in an L-shape, and its short plate is exposed on the underside of the mounting frame. The pipe retaining member can be removed only by slightly separating a lower part of the mounting frame from a wall in the fixed state of the indoor unit to the wall. Since the heat exchanger can be separated from the mounting frame without disconnecting the auxiliary piping from communication piping, maintenance work such as washing of the heat exchanger is efficiently performed without requiring much time and effort for separating the auxiliary piping from the communication piping.