Indoor unit of an air conditioner
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing configuration of indoor air conditioner units, which reduces size by placing the fan motor in a recess of an openable lid, hinders efficient maintenance of the electrical component board and fails to effectively minimize the unit's width due to the increasing size of the heat exchanger, leading to inefficient maintenance and size reduction.
Innovation Solution
An electrical component box with a tilted surface part within the box body allows the electrical component board to be tilted, enabling components to project towards an openable lid, reducing extra space and allowing maintenance without removing the entire box, while using the vacant space for refrigerant pipes to minimize the unit's width.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the electrical component board is vertically installed in the electrical component box, then the electrical components are properly accommodated, but a useless space is produced and the width of the electrical component box increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the installation orientation of the electrical component board from vertical to tilted (e.g., 45 degrees), transforming the spatial arrangement from a single-dimensional vertical layout to a multi-dimensional tilted configuration. This allows the board to be positioned at an angle that optimizes both space utilization and maintenance accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a movable or adjustable mounting structure for the electrical component board, allowing it to be tilted or rotated into position during installation and then fixed. This dynamic positioning capability enables optimal space utilization while maintaining accessibility for maintenance operations.
2Volume of moving object
If the openable lid is unevenly formed to eliminate useless spaces, then the width of the electrical component box is reduced, but the fan motor cannot be properly accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a recessed portion in the openable lid at a specific location to accommodate the fan motor, while the rest of the lid maintains its tilted configuration to eliminate useless spaces. This localized modification allows the fan motor to be properly accommodated without compromising the overall space-saving design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent nests the fan motor within a recessed portion of the openable lid, effectively placing one component inside the structure of another. This nesting approach allows both the fan motor and the tilted electrical component board to coexist in the limited space of the electrical component box.
3Ease of repair
If the electrical component board is tilted along the tilted surface part, then the electrical components project toward the openable lid and maintenance is facilitated, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the mounting function and the tilting function into a single integrated structure. The tilted surface part serves both as the mounting surface for the electrical component board and as the structural element that provides the tilt, eliminating the need for separate mounting brackets or adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The openable lid is designed with multiple functions: it serves as the access cover for maintenance, provides structural support for the tilted electrical component board, and includes the recessed portion for accommodating the fan motor. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components and simplifies the overall structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
.An indoor unit of an air conditioner accommodates an electrical component box 30 in an exterior case 10. The electrical component box 30 has an electrical component board 32 having various electrical components 31a, 31b ... mounted thereon and a box body 33 accommodating the electrical component board 32. The box body 33 includes an openable lid 34 placed along an inner surface of the exterior case 10 and a tilted surface part 35 that is placed so as to be opposed to the openable lid 34 and that is tilted relative to a vertical plane so as to narrow an extra space of an accommodation space 45 in the box body 33. The electrical component board 32 is placed with a tilt along the tilted surface part 35 so that the electrical components 31a, 31b, ... project toward the openable lid 34.