Outdoor Unit Bracket Structure for Safe Wall Mounting and Noise Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing outdoor unit installation methods for air conditioners are hazardous and difficult due to the complexity of attaching and mounting the outdoor unit bracket to a building's outer wall, lacking a simple and safe solution for secure and noise-reduced installation.

Innovation Solution

The outdoor unit bracket features a design with an outer wall coupling portion, upper and lower supporting portions, and a flange for easy alignment and anchoring, allowing for safe and stable installation by distributing the load diagonally and reducing noise through symmetric triangle-shaped frames, facilitating easy adjustment and anchoring with anchor bolts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If traditional outdoor unit bracket installation methods are used, then the outdoor unit can be mounted on the outer wall, but the installation process is hazardous and difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation easeVSAvoidinstallation safety
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket is divided into multiple components: a wall-mounted base portion, vertical support portions, and horizontal support portions. This segmentation allows for simpler, safer installation of individual components rather than attempting to install a complex integrated structure, directly addressing the hazardous and difficult installation process mentioned in the problem statement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The bracket includes pre-formed triangular support structures with integrated reinforcement ribs and flanges that are prepared during manufacturing. These preliminary structural preparations ensure stability and safety are built into the design itself, eliminating the need for complex on-site assembly procedures that create safety hazards.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If the bracket structure is simplified for easier installation, then installation becomes safer and simpler, but structural stability and noise reduction may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation simplicityVSAvoidbracket stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket employs asymmetric triangular support structures where the vertical and horizontal portions are positioned at different distances from the wall surface. This asymmetric geometry optimizes both the simplicity of installation and the structural stability by creating inherent rigidity in the triangular configuration while maintaining ease of mounting.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Solution Approach 2:

The bracket incorporates composite structural elements combining flat plate portions with integrated reinforcement ribs and flanges. This composite design achieves high structural stability and noise reduction capabilities while maintaining a relatively simple overall form that is easy to install, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Stability of the object's composition

If the bracket uses complex reinforcement structures, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebracket rigidityVSAvoidmanufacturing simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The reinforcement ribs and flanges are merged directly into the bracket body as integrated features rather than separate components. This merging approach achieves the necessary structural rigidity and stability through the bracket's own geometry and material distribution, eliminating the need for additional complex reinforcement structures that would increase manufacturing complexity and cost.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Object-affected harmful factors

If the bracket is designed with noise reduction features, then operational noise is reduced, but the design complexity and installation difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenoise reductionVSAvoidbracket design complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket incorporates noise reduction features locally at specific positions where vibration and noise generation occur, such as at the contact points with the outdoor unit and at the wall-mounted base. By applying damping and vibration isolation properties only where needed rather than throughout the entire structure, noise reduction is achieved without unnecessarily increasing overall design complexity or installation difficulty.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2578953B1Outdoor unit bracket and outdoor unit comprising the same
Publication Date: 2019.03.06 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP2578953B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2578953B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2578953B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An outdoor unit bracket and an outdoor unit comprising the same, which can ensure safe and simple installation, are provided. An outdoor unit bracket includes an outer wall coupling portion, an upper supporting portion, an outer wall contacting portion and a lower supporting portion. The outer wall coupling portion is coupled to the outer wall of the building. The upper supporting portion is coupled to a rear upper portion of the outdoor unit, being spaced apart from the outer wall coupling portion in the direction vertical to the outer wall of the building. The outer wall contacting portion contacts the outer wall of the building, being spaced apart from the outer wall coupling portion below the outer wall coupling portion. The lower supporting portion contacts a rear lower portion of the outdoor unit, being spaced apart from the outer wall contacting portion in the direction vertical to the outer wall of the building.