AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS HAVING AIRFLOW CONTROLLING DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus, and more particularly, to an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device capable of controlling a direction or strength of cold airflow discharged through an outlet of an indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, an air conditioning apparatus according to the related art is formed to introduce external air through a front surface or an upper surface of a case of an indoor unit and discharge cold air through outlets formed on a lower surface or both side surfaces of the case of the indoor unit.

The outlets formed on the lower surface or both side surfaces of the case of the indoor unit are provided with blades, which may be rotated by a predetermined angle, to control an area of the outlet or a direction of airflow.

However, there is a problem in that the indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to the related art restrictively controls the area of the outlet or the direction of airflow. In particular, there is a problem in that a front blowing type air conditioning apparatus discharging cold air to the whole of one surface of the indoor unit may not control the airflow using the blade used in the air conditioning apparatus according to the related art.

DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem

The present disclosure provides an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device capable of variously controlling an open area and an aspect ratio of a discharge region of an outlet.

The present disclosure provides an airflow controlling device capable of being applied to a front blowing air type air conditioning apparatus.

Technical Solution

In one general aspect, an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device includes: a case having at least one surface provided with an outlet through which cold airflow is discharged; and a pair of sliding doors installed on the case to be able to cover the outlet and formed to be able to control an open area of the outlet.

The pair of sliding doors may be installed to move up and down.

Left and right of the outlet may be provided with a pair of rotary doors covering the outlet.

The pair of sliding doors may be a folding type door.

The pair of sliding doors and the pair of rotary doors may be controlled to control an aspect ratio of the outlet.

The pair of sliding doors may be installed to move left and right.

An upper side surface and a lower side surface of the outlet may be provided with a pair of rotary doors covering the outlet.

The pair of sliding doors may be a folding type door.

Lower parts of the pairs of sliding doors may be provided with a plurality of rotary blades rotated up and down inside the case.

The pair of sliding doors and the pair of rotary doors may be controlled to control an aspect ratio of the outlet.

The at least a pair of sliding doors may include a pair of first sliding doors moving left and right and a pair of second sliding doors moving up and down.

The pair of first sliding doors and the pair of second sliding doors may be controlled to control an aspect ratio of the outlet.

The aspect ratio of the outlet may be controlled while keeping the open area of the outlet constant.

The open area and the aspect ratio of the outlet may be simultaneously controlled.

The at least a pair of sliding doors may each include: a rail installed in the case and guiding a movement of the pair of sliding doors; a rack gear installed at one side of the pair of sliding doors; and a motor driving a pinion gear meshed with the rack gear.

Inner surfaces of the pair of sliding doors facing the outlet may have a curved shape.

In another general aspect, an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device includes: a case having at least one surface provided with an outlet through which cold airflow is discharged; and at least one rotary grill installed on the case to cover the outlet and rotatably installed with respect to the case, in which the at least one rotary grill may include: a grill body rotatably installed with respect to the case; and a plurality of blades parallelly arranged with respect to the front surface of the grill body and installed to be rotated at a predetermined angle.

The rotation angle of the grill body and the rotation angle of the plurality of blades may be controlled automatically.

The outlet of the case may be provided with a plurality of rotary grills and at least one of the plurality of rotary grills may have a size different from that of other rotary grills.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioning apparatus according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front blowing type air conditioning apparatus to which an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied.

FIG. 3 is a graph of comparing a cooling rate of a wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus according to the related art with a cooling rate of a front blowing type air conditioning apparatus.

FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram illustrating the airflow controlling device having upper and lower sliding doors and left and right sliding doors.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a case in which a discharge area is kept the same and an aspect ratio is changed, using the airflow controlling device of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating a change in airflow according to the change in the aspect ratio in a state in which the discharge area is kept the same.

FIG. 6A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a case in which the discharge area is controlled using the left and right sliding doors.

FIG. 6B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a case in which the discharge area is controlled using the upper and lower sliding doors.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the change in airflow according to the change in the discharge area.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors and the left and right sliding doors.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right sliding doors.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors and left and right rotary doors.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right sliding doors and upper and lower rotary doors.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right sliding doors and the upper and lower rotary doors installed therein.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including folding type left and right sliding doors.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the folding type left and right sliding doors and the upper and lower rotary doors.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a shape of an inner surface of a pair of sliding doors of the airflow controlling device.

FIG. 17 is a front view illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device configured as a rotary grill.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an airflow control by a plurality of blades of the rotary grill.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating various airflow controls in the air conditioning apparatus having three rotary grills.

FIGS. 20 to 22 are front views illustrating an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device configured as a rotary grill according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments described below are exemplarily described to help understanding of the present disclosure and therefore it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be various changed differently from the embodiments described herein. However, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that the detail description of relevant known functions or components makes subject matters of the present disclosure obscure, the detailed description and illustration thereof will be omitted. Further, to help understanding of the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings are not necessarily illustrated to scale but dimensions of some components may be illustrated to be exaggerated.

A wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art as illustrated in FIG. 1 may feel uncomfortable because external air is introduced into an intake grill 3 provided on a front surface of an indoor unit due to a limitation of a structure of a blower fan and a channel and cold air is discharged through an outlet 5 formed in some region of a lower part of the front surface thereof. In contrast, a front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 as illustrated in FIG. 2 is advantageous in comfort because a heat exchanger is disposed to correspond to the entire region of a front surface 11 of an indoor unit to discharge cold air from the entire region of the front surface 11 of the indoor unit.

Further, the front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 is mainly used to cool a residential area, and therefore has better cooling efficiency than the wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art that performs cooling up to a ceiling part.

FIG. 3 is a graph of comparing a cooling rate of the wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art with a cooling rate of a front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 to which an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. Here, the cooling rate is the time when it takes for an average temperature of an indoor space equal to or less than 1.6 m to be reached from 33° C. to 25° C. The cooling rate of the wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art is about 21 minutes but the cooling rate of the front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 is about 12 minutes. Therefore, it may be appreciated that the cooling rate of the front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 is much faster than that of the wall-mounted type air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art. The front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 cools only a space equal to or less than 1.6 m, and therefore has a cooling time faster than that of the air conditioning apparatus 1 according to the related art.

The front blowing type air conditioning apparatus 10 has a structure of discharging cold airflow to almost the entire area of the front surface 11 of the indoor unit, and therefore is preferable to have the airflow controlling device controlling a direction, a flow rate, or the like of airflow discharged to the whole of the front surface of the indoor unit.

As a method for controlling airflow discharged from an outlet of an air conditioning apparatus, there are a method for constantly keeping an area of a discharge region to which airflow is discharged and controlling only an aspect ratio of the discharge region and a method for controlling an area of a discharge region.

The airflow controlling device using the method for constantly keeping an area of a discharge region and controlling only an aspect ratio of the discharge region includes upper and lower operation doors capable of vertically covering a front surface of an indoor unit that is an outlet and left and right operation doors capable of horizontally covering a front surface of the indoor unit. An example of the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower operation doors and the left and right operation doors is illustrated in FIG. 4A.

Referring to FIG. 4A, upper and lower operation doors 21 and 22 are configured as a pair of upper and lower sliding doors that may straightly move up and down with respect to an outlet 28. The upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 may be controlled to move simultaneously or controlled to move separately. For example, the upper sliding door 21 may be controlled to descend to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 28, and at the same time the lower sliding door 22 may also be controlled to ascend to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 22. Alternatively, the upper sliding door 21 may be controlled to ascend to thereby widen the area of the outlet 28, and at the same time the lower sliding door 22 may also be controlled to descend to thereby widen the area of the outlet 28. Alternatively, when the upper sliding door 21 or the lower sliding door 22 is operated, the lower sliding door 22 or the upper sliding door 21 may also be controlled to keep a stop state. Alternatively, the upper sliding door 21 and the lower sliding door 22 may also be controlled to move in the same direction.

Further, the left and right operation doors 23 and 24 are configured as a pair of left and right sliding doors that may straightly move left and right with respect to the outlet 28. The left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 may be controlled to move simultaneously or controlled to move separately. For example, the left sliding door 23 may be controlled to move to the right to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 28, and at the same time the right sliding door 24 may also be controlled to move to the left to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 28. Alternatively, the left sliding door 23 may be controlled to move to the left to thereby widen the area of the outlet 28, and at the same time the right sliding door 24 may also be controlled to move to the right to thereby widen the area of the outlet 28. Alternatively, when the left sliding door 23 or the right sliding door 24 is operated, the right sliding door 24 or the left sliding door 23 may also be controlled to keep a stop state. Alternatively, the left sliding door 23 and the right sliding door 24 may also be controlled to move in the same direction.

However, in the case of the exemplary embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 are configured to move simultaneously. Therefore, the area of the discharge region (hereinafter, referred to as a discharge area) defined by the upper and lower sliding doors and the left and right sliding doors of the upper part of the outlet are kept the same and when the aspect ratio of the discharge region (hereinafter, referred to as a discharge aspect ratio) is changed, the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 move simultaneously. Here, the aspect ratio represents a horizontal length to a vertical length of the rectangular discharge area 28 as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. That is, aspect ratio=horizontal length/vertical length. For example, when the vertical length of the discharge region is 50 cm and the horizontal length thereof is 100 cm, the discharge aspect ratio becomes 100/50=2.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the case in which the discharge area is the same and the discharge aspect ratio is different. FIG. 4A illustrates a case in which the discharge area is A and the discharge aspect ratio is 1.5 and FIG. 4B illustrates a case in which the discharge area is A and the discharge aspect ratio is 3.5.

FIG. 5 illustrates the experimental results that the discharge area is kept the same and the discharge aspect ratio is changed. Referring to the graph of FIG. 5, it may be appreciated that a rate of discharged air is changed by changing the discharge aspect ratio. It can be appreciated that the rate of the discharged air measured at 1 meter away from the outlet is decreased with the increase in the discharge aspect ratio. Further, it may be appreciated that when the aspect ratio is about 48 or more, the air rate is constantly kept at about 0.12 m/s.

Further, the airflow controlling device using the method for controlling an area of a discharge region may include a pair of operation doors formed to be able to control an open area of the outlet of the front surface of the indoor unit, that is, the discharge area. In detail, the airflow controlling device may include only any one of the upper and lower operation doors capable of vertically covering the outlet of the front surface of the indoor unit and the left and right operation doors capable of horizontally covering the outlet of the front surface of the indoor unit. FIG. 6A illustrates an example of the airflow controlling device including the left and right operation doors and FIG. 6B illustrates an example of the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower operation doors.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the airflow controlling device 30 includes, as left and right operation doors 31 and 32, the left and right sliding doors that may be slightly slid left and right. The airflow controlling device 30 is installed on a front surface of the case 39 of the indoor unit and the left and right sliding doors 31 and 32 may straightly move left and right with respect to the outlet 38 of the front surface of the indoor unit. At this point, the left and right sliding doors 31 and 32 may be controlled to be moved simultaneously or controlled to be moved separately. For example, the left sliding door 31 may be controlled to move to the right to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 38, and at the same time the right sliding door 32 may also be controlled to move to the left to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 38. Alternatively, the left sliding door 31 may be controlled to move to the left to thereby widen the area of the outlet 38, and at the same time the right sliding door 32 may also be controlled to move to the left to thereby widen the area of the outlet 38. Alternatively, when the left sliding door 31 or the right sliding door 32 is operated, the right sliding door 32 or the left sliding door 31 may also be controlled to keep a stop state. Alternatively, the left sliding door 31 and the right sliding door 32 may also be controlled to move in the same direction.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the airflow controlling device 40 includes, as upper and lower operation doors 41 and 42, the upper and lower sliding doors that may be slightly slid up and down. The airflow controlling device 40 is installed on the front surface of a case 49 of the indoor unit and the upper and lower sliding doors 41 and 42 may straightly be slid up and down with respect to the outlet 48 of the front surface of the indoor unit. At this point, the upper and lower sliding doors 41 and 42 may be controlled to be moved simultaneously or controlled to be moved separately. For example, the upper sliding door 41 may be controlled to move downwardly to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 48, and at the same time the lower sliding door 42 may also be controlled to move upwardly to thereby narrow the area of the outlet 48. Alternatively, the upper sliding door 41 may be controlled to move upwardly to thereby widen the area of the outlet 48, and at the same time the lower sliding door 42 may also be controlled to move downwardly to thereby widen the area of the outlet 48. Alternatively, when the upper sliding door 41 or the lower sliding door 42 is operated, the lower sliding door 42 or the upper sliding door 41 may also be controlled to keep a stop state. Alternatively, the upper sliding door 41 and the lower sliding door 42 may also be controlled to move in the same direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the discharge area may be controlled to be changed even in the case of the airflow controlling device 20 including the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24. In this case, only one of the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 may be used. For example, in the case of widening the area of the outlet 28, the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 are kept in the stop state and the upper sliding door 21 moves upwardly and at the same time the lower sliding door 22 moves downwardly. In the case of narrowing the area of the outlet 28, the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 are kept in the stop state and the upper sliding door 21 moves downwardly and at the same time the lower sliding door 22 moves upwardly. As another example, the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 are kept in the stop state and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24 move, thereby controlling the discharge area. Alternatively, the discharge area may also be controlled by moving all of the upper and lower sliding doors 21 and 22 and the left and right sliding doors 23 and 24.

As such, the experimental results for the relationship between the change in the discharge area and the air rate are illustrated in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 7, it may be appreciated that the rate of the discharged air is changed by changing the discharge area. It can be appreciated that the rate of the discharged air measured at 1 meter away from the outlet is decreased in proportion to the increase in the discharge area. Further, it may be appreciated that the rates of the discharged air measured at 1.5 m away from the outlet and at 2 m away from the outlet are approximately decreased proportionally until the discharge area is about 0.15 m².

Hereinafter, the air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure that may change the discharge area and the discharge aspect ratio will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 18. The air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, but the accompanying drawings illustrate only the indoor unit and the airflow controlling device installed in the indoor unit and do not illustrate the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit includes a compressor, a condenser, or the like and is the same as or similar to the outdoor unit according to the related art, and therefore the detailed description of the outdoor unit will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors and the left and right sliding doors.

Referring to FIG. 8, an air conditioning apparatus 100 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 101 and an airflow controlling device 110.

The indoor unit 101 has a structure in which an outlet 103 through which cold air is discharged takes up a large portion of one surface of a body thereof and includes a case 102, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit.

The case 102 forms an appearance of the indoor unit 101 and has the outlet 103 capable of discharging air disposed on a front surface thereof. The outlet 130 is formed to take up a large portion of the front surface of the case 102. The front surface of the indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is only provided with the outlet 103 and the airflow controlling device 100 to be described below that may control an open area of the outlet 103.

The heat exchanger (not illustrated) is installed inside the case 102. A liquefied coolant having low temperature and pressure flows in the heat exchanger. Therefore, when hot airflow passes through the heat exchanger, heat is lost by the coolant, and thus the hot airflow becomes cold airflow. The heat exchanger is formed to correspond to a shape and a size of the outlet 103.

The blowing unit (not illustrated) is to make airflow passing through the heat exchanger and sucks external air to make the airflow passing through the heat exchanger. The blowing unit may be installed before or behind the heat exchanger. As the blowing unit, any unit capable of generating airflow, such as a fan, a piezoelectric actuator, and a mechanical actuator, may be used. Further, one blowing unit may be used or a plurality of blowing units that are arranged in a certain form may be used.

The airflow controlling device 110 is configured to control the open area of the outlet 103 (hereinafter, referred to as a discharge area) of the indoor unit 101. The airflow controlling device 110 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a pair of first sliding doors 121 and 122 straightly moving left and right and a pair of second sliding doors 131 and 132 straightly moving up and down.

The pair of first sliding doors 121 and 122 includes the left sliding door 121 and the right sliding door 122. The left sliding door 121 is at the left of the outlet 103 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 103 and the right sliding door 122 is at the right of the outlet 103 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 103. The left and right sliding doors 121 and 122 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 103.

The left sliding door 121 may move left and right along a rail 123 installed at the case 102 at the left of the outlet 103 and each of the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the left sliding door 121 are provided with rack gears 124. Each rack gear 124 is meshed with pinion gears 125. The pinion gear 125 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 102. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 125 is rotated and when the pinion gear 125 is rotated, the rack gear 124 moves left and right. The rack gear 124 is integrally formed with the left sliding door 121, and therefore when the rack gear 124 moves left and right by the pinion gear 125, the left sliding door 121 also moves left and right along with the rack gear 124. Therefore, a controller (not illustrated) of the air conditioning apparatus 100 may control the motor to control how much the left sliding door 121 opens the outlet 103 in a horizontal direction. Hereinabove, the structure in which the left sliding door 121 moves by two motors, pinion gears 125, and rack gears 124 is described, but the left sliding door 121 may also be configured to move by one motor, pinion gear, and rack gear.

The right sliding door 122 may be installed to move left and right along the rail 123 installed at the case 102 at the right of the outlet 103 and each of the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the right sliding door 122 are provided with the rack gears 124. Each rack gear 124 is meshed with the pinion gears 125. The pinion gear 125 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 102. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 125 is rotated and when the pinion gear 125 is rotated, the rack gear 124 moves left and right and thus the right sliding door 122 moves left and right. The structure of the right sliding door 122 is the same as that of the foregoing left sliding door 121, and therefore the description thereof may use the above-mentioned contents as it is.

The pair of second sliding doors 131 and 132 is installed at the upper parts of the pair of first sliding doors 121 and 122 not to interfere with the pair of first sliding doors 121 and 122 and includes the upper sliding door 131 and the lower sliding door 132. The upper sliding door 131 is at the upper part of the outlet 103 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 103 and the lower sliding door 132 is at the lower part of the outlet 103 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 103. The upper and lower sliding doors 131 and 132 may each have a size enough to vertically cover a half of the outlet 103.

The upper sliding door 131 may be installed to move up and down along a pair of vertical rails 133 installed in the case 102 at the left and right of the outlet 103. The pair of vertical rails 133 is installed at the upper parts of the left and right sliding doors 121 and 122 not to interfere with the left sliding door 121 and the right sliding door 122 and both end parts thereof are fixed to the case 102. The lower sliding door 132 may be installed to move up and down along the pair of vertical rails 133 at which the upper sliding door 131 is installed.

Each of the left side surface and the right side surface of the upper sliding door 131 is provided with the rack gears 134. Each rack gear 134 is meshed with the pinion gears 135. The pinion gear 135 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 102. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 135 is rotated and when the pinion gear 135 is rotated, the rack gear 134 moves up and down. The rack gear 134 is integrally formed with the upper sliding door 131, and therefore when the rack gear 135 moves up and down by the pinion gear 135, the upper sliding door 131 also moves up and down along with the rack gear 134 along the pair of vertical rails 133. Therefore, the controller may control the motor to control how much the upper sliding door 131 opens the outlet 103 in a vertical direction. Hereinabove, the structure in which the upper sliding door 131 moves by two motors, pinion gears 135, and rack gears 134 is described, but the upper sliding door 131 may also be configured to move by one motor, pinion gear, and rack gear.

Each of the left side surface and the right side surface of the lower sliding door 132 is provided with the rack gears 134. Each rack gear 134 is meshed with the pinion gears 135. The pinion gear 135 is connected to the shaft of the motor installed inside the case 102. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 135 is rotated and when the pinion gear 135 is rotated, the rack gear 134 moves up and down, and thus the lower sliding door 132 moves up and down along the pair of vertical rails 133. The structure of the lower sliding door 132 is the same as that of the foregoing upper sliding door 131, and therefore the description thereof may use the above-mentioned contents as it is.

Further, according to the present exemplary, the case in which the two pairs of sliding doors 121, 122, 131, and 132 are driven by the rack gear 134 and the pinion gear 135 is described, but the driving structure of straightly moving the two pairs of sliding doors 121, 122, 131, and 132 is not limited thereto. Various structures capable of straightly moving the sliding doors 121, 122, 131, and 132 may be used. For example, the sliding door may also be configured to straightly move by a ball screw, a belt, and a pulley.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 100 controls the motors for the left and right sliding doors 121 and 122 and the upper and lower sliding doors 131 and 132 as described above, the controller may variously control the discharge area of the outlet 103 of the indoor unit 101. Further, the controller may control the motors for the left and right sliding doors 121 and 122 and the upper and lower sliding doors 131 and 132 to arbitrarily control the discharge aspect ratio while keeping the discharge area constant.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right sliding doors.

Referring to FIG. 9, an air conditioning apparatus 200 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 201 and an airflow controlling device 210.

The indoor unit 201 has a structure in which an outlet 203 through which cold airflow is discharged takes up a large portion of one surface of a body of the indoor unit and includes a case 202, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit. The structure of the indoor unit 201 is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 210 is configured to control a discharge area of the outlet 203 of the indoor unit 201. The airflow controlling device 210 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 includes a pair of sliding doors 221 and 222 straightly moving left and right.

The pair of sliding doors 221 and 222 includes the left sliding door 221 and the right sliding door 222. The left sliding door 221 is at the left of the outlet 203 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 203 and the right sliding door 222 is at the right of the outlet 203 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 203. The left and right sliding doors 221 and 222 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 203.

The left sliding door 221 may move left and right along a rail 223 installed at the case 202 at the left of the outlet 203 and each of the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the left sliding door 221 are provided with rack gears 224. Each rack gear 224 is meshed with pinion gears 225. The pinion gear 225 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 202. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 225 is rotated and when the pinion gear 225 is rotated, the rack gear 224 moves left and right. The rack gear 224 is integrally formed with the left sliding door 221, and therefore when the rack gear 225 moves left and right by the pinion gear 224, the left sliding door 221 also moves left and right along with the rack gear 224. Therefore, a controller of the air conditioning apparatus 200 may control the motor to control how much the left sliding door 221 opens the outlet 203 in a horizontal direction.

The right sliding door 222 may be installed to move left and right along the rail 223 installed at the case 202 at the right of the outlet 203 and each of the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the right sliding door 222 are provided with the rack gears 224. Each rack gear 224 is meshed with pinion gears 225. The pinion gear 225 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 202. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 225 is rotated and when the pinion gear 225 is rotated, the rack gear 224 moves left and right and thus the right sliding door 222 moves left and right. The structure of the right sliding door 222 is the same as that of the foregoing left sliding door 221, and therefore the description thereof may use the above-mentioned contents as it is.

Hereinabove, the structure in which the left and right sliding doors 221 and 222 each move by two motors, pinion gears 225, and rack gears 224 is described, but the left and right sliding doors 221 and 222 may also be configured to move by one motor, pinion gear, and rack gear.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 200 controls the motors for the left and right sliding doors 221 and 222 as described above, the controller may variously control the size of the discharge area of the outlet 203 of the indoor unit 201.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors.

Referring to FIG. 10, an air conditioning apparatus 300 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 301 and an airflow controlling device 310.

The structure of the indoor unit 301 including a case 302, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 310 is configured to control a discharge area of an outlet 303 of the indoor unit 301. The airflow controlling device 310 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a pair of sliding doors 311 and 312 straightly moving up and down.

The pair of sliding doors 311 and 312 includes the upper sliding door 311 and the lower sliding door 312. The upper sliding door 311 is at the upper part of the outlet 303 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 303 and the lower sliding door 312 is at the lower part of the outlet 303 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 303. The upper and lower sliding doors 311 and 312 may each have a size enough to vertically cover a half of the outlet 303.

The upper sliding door 311 may be installed to move up and down along a pair of vertical rails 313 installed in the case 302 at the left and right of the outlet 303. The pair of vertical rails 313 is installed in the case 302 at the left and right of the outlet 303 and may be installed to guide the vertical movement of the upper sliding door 311. The lower sliding door 312 may also be installed to move up and down along the pair of vertical rails 313 at which the upper sliding door 311 is installed.

Each of the left side surface and the right side surface of the upper sliding door 311 is provided with rack gears 314. Each rack gear 314 is meshed with pinion gears 315. The pinion gear 315 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 302. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 315 is rotated and when the pinion gear 315 is rotated, the rack gear 314 moves up and down. The rack gear 314 is integrally formed with the upper sliding door 311, and therefore when the rack gear 315 moves up and down by the pinion gear 314, the upper sliding door 311 also moves up and down along with the rack gear 313 along the pair of vertical rails 314. Therefore, the controller may control the motor to control how much the upper sliding door 311 opens the outlet 303 in a vertical direction.

Each of the left side surface and the right side surface of the lower sliding door 312 is provided with the rack gears 314. Each rack gear 314 is meshed with the pinion gears 315. The pinion gear 315 is connected to a shaft of a motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 302. Accordingly, when the motor is rotated, the pinion gear 315 is rotated and when the pinion gear 315 is rotated, the rack gear 314 moves up and down, and thus the lower sliding door 312 moves up and down along the pair of vertical rails 313. The structure of the lower sliding door 312 is the same as that of the foregoing upper sliding door 311, and therefore the description thereof may use the above-mentioned contents as it is.

Hereinabove, the structure in which the upper and lower sliding doors 311 and 312 move by two motors, pinion gears 315, and rack gears 224 is described, but the upper and lower sliding doors 311 and 31 may also be configured to move by one motor, pinion gear, and rack gear.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 300 controls the motors for the upper and lower sliding doors 311 and 312 as described above, the controller may variously control the size of the discharge area of the outlet 303 of the indoor unit 301.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the upper and lower sliding doors and left and right rotary doors.

Referring to FIG. 11, an air conditioning apparatus 400 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 401 and an airflow controlling device 410.

The structure of the indoor unit 401 including a case 402, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 410 is configured to control a discharge area of an outlet 403 of the indoor unit 401. The airflow controlling device 410 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11 includes a pair of sliding doors 411 and 412 straightly moving up and down and a pair of rotary doors 421 and 422.

The pair of sliding doors 411 and 412 includes the upper sliding door 411 and the lower sliding door 412. The upper sliding door 411 is at the upper part of the outlet 403 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 403 and the lower sliding door 412 is at the lower part of the outlet 403 and is installed to move up and down to be able to cover or open the outlet 403. The upper and lower sliding doors 411 and 412 may each have a size enough to vertically cover a half of the outlet 403.

The structure of the upper sliding door 411 and the lower sliding door 412 is the same as or similar to that of the pair of sliding doors 311 and 312 of the airflow controlling device 310 of the air conditioning apparatus 300 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 10 as described above, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The pair of rotary doors 421 and 422 includes the left rotary door 421 and the right rotary door 422. The left rotary door 421 is at the left of the outlet 403 and is installed to be rotated with respect to a rotation shaft to be able to cover or open the outlet 403 and the right rotary door 422 is at the right of the outlet 403 and is installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft to be able to cover or open the outlet 403. The left rotary door 421 and the right rotary door 422 may each have a size enough to horizontally cover a half of the outlet 403.

When the pair of sliding doors 411 and 412 moves up and down, the left rotary door 421 is at the left of the outlet 403 and is installed not to have interference. The left rotary door 421 may be installed to be integrally rotated with the rotation shaft and the rotation shaft is at the left of the outlet 403 and is rotatably supported by a pair of rotation support portions 424 installed in the case 402. The rotation support portion 424 rotatably supports both ends of the rotation shaft and may be configured to be applied with power from the motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 402 to rotate the rotation shaft. As an example, although not illustrated, a gear is fixed to one end of the rotation shaft, the pinion gear is installed at the shaft of the motor, and the gear of the rotation shaft and the pinion gear may be installed to be meshed with each other. Then, by controlling the rotation of the motor, the left rotary door 421 may control the open area of the left part of the outlet 403. When the left rotary door 421 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or more from the outlet 403, the entire area of the left part of the outlet 403 is exposed. However, when the left rotary door 421 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or less from the outlet 403, some of the left part of the outlet 403 is covered and thus the discharge area is reduced.

When the pair of sliding doors 411 and 412 moves up and down, the right rotary door 422 is at the right of the outlet 403 and is installed not to have interference. The right rotary door 422 may be installed to be integrally rotated with the rotation shaft and the rotation shaft is at the right of the outlet 403 and is rotatably supported by the pair of rotation support portions 424 installed in the case 402. The rotation support portion 424 rotatably supports both ends of the rotation shaft and may be configured to be applied with power from the motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 402 to rotate the rotation shaft. As an example, although not illustrated, the gear is fixed to one end of the rotation shaft, the pinion gear is installed at the shaft of the motor, and the gear of the rotation shaft and the pinion gear may be installed to be meshed with each other. Then, when the rotation of the motor is controlled, the right rotary door 422 may control the open area of the right part of the outlet 403. When the right rotary door 422 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or more from the outlet 403, the entire area of the right part of the outlet 403 is exposed. However, when the right rotary door 422 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or less from the outlet 403, some of the outlet 403 is covered and thus the discharge area is reduced.

However, if the left rotary door 421 and the right rotary door 422 are rotated at the same angle in the same direction, only the discharge direction of the airflow may be changed without reducing the discharge area. For example, if the left rotary door 421 is rotated by 60° at the outlet 403 and the right rotary door 422 is rotated by 120° at the outlet 403 (corresponding to the rotation by 60° at the front surface of the case 402), the discharged airflow is discharged in a direction biased by 30° from the front surface by the left and right rotary doors 421 and 422 without reducing the discharge area.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 400 controls the motors for the upper and lower sliding doors 411 and 412 and the left and right rotary doors 421 and 422 as described above, the controller may variously control the area of the discharge region of the outlet 403 of the indoor unit 401, the shape of the discharge area, and the discharge direction of the airflow.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right sliding doors and upper and lower rotary doors.

Referring to FIG. 12, an air conditioning apparatus 500 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 501 and an airflow controlling device 510.

The structure of the indoor unit 501 including a case 502, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 510 is configured to control a discharge area of an outlet 503 of the indoor unit 501. The airflow controlling device 510 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12 includes a pair of sliding doors 511 and 512 straightly moving left and right and a pair of rotary doors 521 and 522.

The pair of sliding doors 511 and 512 includes the left sliding door 511 and the right sliding door 512. The left sliding door 511 is at the left of the outlet 503 and is installed to straightly move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 503 and the right sliding door 512 is at the right of the outlet 503 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 503. The left and right sliding doors 511 and 512 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 503 in a horizontal direction.

The structure of the left sliding door 511 and the right sliding door 512 is the same as or similar to that of the pair of sliding doors 221 and 222 of the airflow controlling device 210 of the air conditioning apparatus 200 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 9 as described above, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The pair of rotary doors 521 and 522 includes the upper rotary door 521 and the lower rotary door 522. The upper rotary door 521 is at the upper part of the outlet 503 and is installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft to be able to cover or open the outlet 503 and the lower rotary door 512 is at the lower part of the outlet 503 and is installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft to be able to cover or open the outlet 503. The upper rotary door 521 and the lower rotary door 522 may each have a size enough to vertically cover a half of the outlet 503.

When the pair of sliding doors 511 and 512 moves left and right, the upper rotary door 521 is installed at the upper part of the outlet 503 not to have interference. The upper rotary door 521 may be installed to be integrally rotated with the rotation shaft and the rotation shaft is at the upper part of the outlet 503 and is rotatably supported by a pair of rotation support portions 524 installed in the case 502. The rotation support portion 524 rotatably supports both ends of the rotation shaft and may be configured to be applied with power from the motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 502 to rotate the rotation shaft. As an example, although not illustrated, the gear is fixed to one end of the rotation shaft, the pinion gear is installed at the shaft of the motor, and the gear of the rotation shaft and the pinion gear may be installed to be meshed with each other. Then, by controlling the rotation of the motor, the upper rotary door 521 may control the open area of the upper part of the outlet 503. When the upper rotary door 521 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or more from the outlet 503, the entire area of the upper part of the outlet 503 is exposed. However, when the upper rotary door 521 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or less from the outlet 503, some of the upper part of the outlet 503 is covered by the upper rotary door 521 and thus the discharge area is reduced.

When the pair of sliding doors 511 and 512 moves left and right, the lower rotary door 522 is at the lower part of the outlet 503 and is installed not to have interference. The lower rotary door 522 may be installed to be integrally rotated with the rotation shaft and the rotation shaft is rotatably supported to the lower part of the outlet 503 by a pair of rotation support portions 524 installed in the case 502. The rotation support portion 524 rotatably supports both ends of the rotation shaft and may be configured to be applied with power from the motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 502 to rotate the rotation shaft. As an example, although not illustrated, a gear is fixed to one end of the rotation shaft, the pinion gear is installed at the shaft of the motor, and the gear of the rotation shaft and the pinion gear may be installed to be meshed with each other. Then, by controlling the rotation of the motor, the lower rotary door 522 may control the open area of the lower part of the outlet 503. When the lower rotary door 522 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or more from the outlet 503, the entire area of the lower part of the outlet 503 is exposed. However, when the lower rotary door 522 is positioned at a position rotated by 90° or less from the outlet 503, some of the outlet 503 is covered by the lower rotary door 522 and thus the discharge area is reduced.

However, if the upper rotary door 521 and the lower rotary door 522 are rotated at the same angle in the same direction, only the discharge direction of the airflow may be changed without reducing the discharge area. For example, if the lower rotary door 522 is rotated by 60° at the outlet 503 and the upper rotary door 521 is rotated by 120° at the outlet 503 (corresponding to the rotation by 60° at the front surface of the case 502), the discharged airflow is discharged to be upwardly inclined by 30° from a horizontal surface by being guided by the upper and lower rotary doors 521 and 522 without reducing the discharge area.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 500 controls the motors for the left and right sliding doors 511 and 512 and the upper and lower rotary doors 521 and 522 as described above, the controller may variously control the area of the discharge region of the outlet 501 of the indoor unit 503, the shape of the discharge area, and the discharge direction of the airflow.

Referring to FIG. 13, an air conditioning apparatus 600 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 601 and an airflow controlling device 610.

The structure of the indoor unit 601 including a case 602, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 610 is configured to control a discharge area of the outlet 603 of the indoor unit 601. The airflow controlling device 610 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 includes a pair of sliding doors 611 and 612 straightly moving left and right and a pair of rotary doors 611 and 612.

The pair of sliding doors 611 and 612 includes the left sliding door 611 and the right sliding door 612. The left sliding door 611 is at the left of the outlet 603 and is installed to straightly move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 603 and the right sliding door 612 is at the right of the outlet 603 and is installed to move left and right to be able to cover or open the outlet 603. The left and right sliding doors 611 and 612 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 603 in a horizontal direction.

The structure of the left sliding door 611 and the right sliding door 612 is the same as or similar to that of the pair of sliding doors 221 and 222 of the airflow controlling device 210 of the air conditioning apparatus 200 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 9 as described above, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The plurality of rotary doors 620 are at the outlet 603 and are installed below the left and right sliding doors 611 and 612 not to interfere with the left and right sliding doors 611 and 612. The plurality of rotary doors 620 each are at the outlet 603 and are installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft to be able to cover or open the outlet 603. The plurality of rotary doors 620 may be formed to have a size enough for each rotary door 620 to cover a portion of the outlet 603 and a width of the rotary door 620 may be set so that the entire width of the plurality of rotary doors 620 corresponds to that of the outlet 603. A length of the rotary door 620 may be set to have a length corresponding to that of the outlet 603 or may be set to be smaller than that of the outlet 603. When the length of the plurality of rotary doors 602 is set to be smaller than that of the outlet 603, the outlets 603 at the left and right of the plurality of rotary doors 620 may be opened or covered by the left and right sliding doors 611 and 612.

The plurality of rotary doors 620 each may be installed to be integrally rotated with the rotation shaft and the rotation shaft is at the upper part of the outlet 603 and is rotatably supported by a pair of rotation support portions (not illustrated) installed in the case 602. The rotation support portion rotatably supports both ends of the rotation shaft and may be configured to be applied with power from the motor (not illustrated) installed inside the case 602 to rotate the rotation shaft. As an example, the gear is fixed to one end of the rotation shaft, the pinion gear is installed at the shaft of the motor, and the gear of the rotation shaft and the pinion gear may be installed to be meshed with each other. Then, by controlling the rotation of the motor, the rotary door 620 may control the open area of the outlet 603. Hereinabove, the case in which the plurality of rotary doors 620 each are controlled independently by the individual motor is described, but the plurality of rotary doors 620 may be configured to be simultaneously rotated by one motor.

By controlling the rotation angles of the plurality of rotary doors 620, the discharge area may be controlled. Further, by controlling the rotation directions of the plurality of rotary doors 620 to be the same, the direction of the discharged airflow may be controlled to be upwardly or downwardly inclined with respect to the horizontal surface without reducing the discharge area.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 600 controls the motors for the left and right sliding doors 611 and 612 and a plurality of rotary doors 620 as described above, the controller may variously control the area of the discharge region of the outlet 601 of the indoor unit 603, the shape of the discharge area, and the discharge direction of the airflow.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including a pair of folding type doors.

Referring to FIG. 14, an air conditioning apparatus 700 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 701 and an airflow controlling device 710.

The structure of the indoor unit 701 including a case 702, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 710 is configured to control a discharge area of an outlet 703 of the indoor unit 701. The airflow controlling device 710 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14 includes a pair of folding type doors 711 and 712 straightly moving left and right.

The pair of folding type doors 711 and 712 includes the left folding type door 711 and the right folding type door 712. The left folding type door 711 is at the left of the outlet 703 and is installed to be folded or unfolded in a horizontal direction to be able to cover or open the outlet 703 and the right folding type door 712 is at the right of the outlet 703 and is installed to be folded or unfolded in a horizontal direction to be able to cover or open the outlet 703. The left and right folding type doors 711 and 712 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 703 in a horizontal direction.

The folding type doors 711 and 712 may be configured to automatically cover or open the outlet by using a straight movement mechanism and the motor. In this case, the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 700 may control the motors for the folding type doors 711 and 712 to control the discharge area of the outlet 703. FIG. 14A illustrates the state in which the outlet 703 is entirely exposed by completely opening the pair of folding type doors 711 and 712 and FIG. 14B illustrates the state in which a portion of the outlet 703 is covered by unfolding the pair of folding type doors 711 and 712.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device including the left and right folding type doors and the upper and lower rotary doors.

Referring to FIG. 15, an air conditioning apparatus 800 having an airflow controlling device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 801 and an airflow controlling device 810.

The structure of the indoor unit 801 including a case 802, a heat exchanger, and a blowing unit is the same as the indoor unit 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiment and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The airflow controlling device 810 is configured to control a discharge area of the outlet 803 of the indoor unit 801. The airflow controlling device 810 according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15 includes a pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 straightly moving left and right and a pair of rotary doors 821 and 822 installed at upper and lower parts of the outlet 803.

The pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 includes the left folding type door 811 and the right folding type door 812. The left folding type door 811 is at the left of the outlet 803 and is installed to be folded or unfolded in a horizontal direction to be able to cover or open the outlet 803 and the right folding type door 812 is at the right of the outlet 803 and is installed to be folded or unfolded in a horizontal direction to be able to cover or open the outlet 803. The left and right folding type doors 811 and 812 may each have a size enough to cover a half of the outlet 803 in a horizontal direction.

The folding type doors 811 and 812 may be configured to automatically cover or open the outlet 803 by using a straight movement mechanism and the motor. In this case, the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 800 may control the motors for the folding type doors 811 and 812 to control the folded degree of the folding type doors 811 and 812, thereby controlling the discharge area of the outlet 803.

The pair of rotary doors 821 and 822 is installed at the outlet 803 not to interfere with the pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 and includes the upper rotary door 821 and the lower rotary door 822. The upper rotary door 821 is at the upper part of the outlet 803 and is installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft of the case 802 without interfering with the operation of the pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 to be able to cover or open the outlet 803. The lower rotary door 822 is at the lower part of the outlet 803 and is installed to be rotated with respect to the rotation shaft of the case 802 without interfering with the operation of the pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 to be able to cover or open the outlet 803. The upper rotary door 821 and the lower rotary door 822 may each have a size enough to vertically cover a half of the outlet 803.

The structure of the upper rotary door 821 and the lower rotary door 822 is the same as or similar to that of the upper and lower rotary doors 521 and 522 of the air conditioning apparatus 500 of FIG. 12 as described above and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, when the controller of the air conditioning apparatus 800 controls the motors for the pair of folding type doors 811 and 812 and the pair of rotary doors 821 and 822, the controller may variously control the area of the discharge region of the outlet 803, the shape of the discharge area, and the direction of the discharged airflow.

Hereinabove, examples of the airflow controlling apparatuses 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 according to various exemplary embodiments were described. The airflow controlling devices uses the sliding doors to interrupt the outlet, thereby controlling the areas of the discharge area. When the sliding door stops a portion of the outlet, the inner surface of the sliding door may be formed to have a constant curved surface to minimize the resistance of air discharged from the outlet.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16, inner surfaces 911a and 912a of a pair of sliding doors 911 and 912 of the airflow controlling device 910 facing a front surface of a case 902 of the indoor unit 901 of the air conditioning apparatus 900 may be formed to have a circular arc shape having a predetermined curvature. At this point, one sliding door 911 makes a thickness of one end contacting the other sliding door 912 thin and makes a thickness of the opposite end thick. As such, when the inner surfaces of the pair of sliding doors 911 and 912 are formed to have a circular arc shape having a predetermined curvature, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the airflow discharged from the outlet 903 is discharged to the central opened portion along the inner surfaces 911a and 912a of the pair of sliding doors 911 and 912, thereby reducing the air resistance. In FIG. 16, reference numerals 905 and 907 each illustrate the heat exchanger and the blowing unit.

Further, several exemplary embodiments as described above describe the case in which the sliding door is driven using the rack gear and the pinion gear but the driving structure of straightly moving the sliding door is not limited thereto. Various structures capable of straightly moving the sliding doors may be used. For example, the sliding door may also be configured to straightly move by a ball screw, a belt, and a pulley.

The air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure having the foregoing structure may control the aspect ratio of the outlet or the discharge area of the outlet, thereby efficiently performing the airflow control. In particular, the method for controlling an aspect ratio while keeping a discharge area of an outlet constant may efficiently control airflow while minimizing a pressure loss.

The controller of the air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device as described above may control the airflow controlling device on the basis of the following cooling operation scenario.

In the initial stage of cooling, the controller controls the airflow controlling device to reduce the aspect ratio or the discharge area of the outlet to generate a fast airflow As a result, users may feel fast cooling. After the predetermined time elapses, the controller controls the airflow controlling device to increase the aspect ratio or the discharge area of the outlet, thereby performing cooling without a cold draft. By doing so, the users may feel comport without feeling the cold due to the cold draft.

Further, the controller of the air conditioning apparatus may control the airflow controlling device to control even the direction of airflow. That is, the controller may control the airflow controlling device to intensively cool a location close to the indoor unit or intensively cool a location far away from the indoor unit. Alternatively, the controller may control the airflow controlling device to intensively cool the left or the right of the indoor unit.

Hereinafter, an example of the air conditioning apparatus in which the airflow controlling device is formed as a rotary grill will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 22 of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 17 is a front view illustrating the air conditioning apparatus having the airflow controlling device configured as a rotary grill and FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an airflow control by a plurality of blades of the rotary grill. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating various airflow controls in the air conditioning apparatus having three rotary grills.

Referring to FIG. 17, in an indoor unit 1010 of an air conditioning apparatus 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an outlet of a front surface 1011 of a case is provided with a plurality of rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040. The plurality of rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are installed to cover the entire area of the outlet of the case. In FIG. 17, three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are installed on the front surface of the case of the indoor unit 1010 but when the area of the outlet of the front surface 1011 of the indoor unit is small, the number of rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 may also be installed in only one or two.

The rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are rotatably installed on the front surface 1011 of the case. The rotary grill 1020 includes a grill body 1023 and a plurality of blades 1021.

The grill body 1023 is rotatably installed on the front surface 1011 of the case and has a hollow cylindrical shape. The front surface of the grill body 1023 is provided with the plurality of blades 1021. A back end of the grill body 1023 faces the heat exchanger. Therefore, the cold air passing through the heat exchanger is discharged to the space between the plurality of blades 1021 through the grill body 1023. The grill body 1023 may be rotatably installed with respect to the case manually. As another exemplary embodiment, the grill body 1023 may be rotatably installed with respect to the front surface 1011 of the case automatically. For example, the gear may be formed at the outer circumference of the grill body 1023 that is rotatably supported to the case and the pinion gear coupled with the shaft of the motor may be configured to rotate the gear of the grill body 1023. By controlling the motor by this configuration, the grill body 1023 may be rotated with respect to the case and the rotation amount may be controlled.

The plurality of blades 1021 are parallelly arranged on the front surface of the grill body 1023 and are installed to be rotated at a predetermined angle with respect to the front surface of the grill body 1023. All of the plurality of blades 1021 are installed to be rotated at the same angle with respect to the front surface of the grill body 1023. As such, when the plurality of blades 1021 are installed, the direction of airflow discharged through the rotary grill 1020 may be controlled. FIG. 18 illustrates an example of controlling the direction of airflow using the plurality of blades 1021. FIG. 18A illustrates an appearance in which the plurality of blades 1021 are inclined downwardly to discharge the airflow downward. FIG. 18B illustrates an appearance in which the plurality of blades 1021 is horizontally kept to discharge the airflow horizontally. FIG. 18C illustrates an appearance in which the plurality of blades 1021 are inclined upwardly to discharge the airflow upwardly.

The rotation angle of the plurality of blades 1021 may be controlled manually. According to another exemplary embodiment, the rotation angle of the plurality of blades 1021 may be controlled automatically. For example, the rotation angle of the plurality of blades 1021 may be controlled by the motor or the linear actuator.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example in which the direction of airflow discharged from the outlet is variously controlled by the three rotary grills of the air conditioning apparatus of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19A illustrates the state in which in the central rotary grill 1030, a plurality of blades 1031 are vertical, in the left rotary grill 1020, a plurality of blades 1021 are upwardly inclined toward the center, and in the right rotary grill 1040, a plurality of blades 1041 are upwardly inclined toward the center. Then, the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are collected to the center as shown by an arrow and therefore are in a centralized discharge state.

FIG. 19B illustrates the state in which in all of the left rotary grill 1020, the central rotary grill 1030, and the right rotary grill 1040, the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, 1041 are upwardly inclined to the right. Then, the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are discharged to be biased to the right as shown by an arrow and therefore are in a right concentrated discharge state. At this point, if the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, and 1041 are inclined in a right direction with respect to the front surface of the grill body, the discharged airflow may be biased to the right more certainly.

FIG. 19C illustrates the state in which in all of the left rotary grill 1020, the central rotary grill 1030, and the right rotary grill 1040, the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, 1041 are upwardly inclined to the left. Then, the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are discharged to be biased to the left as shown by an arrow and therefore are in a left concentrated discharge state. At this point, if the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, and 1041 are inclined in a left direction with respect to the front surface of the grill body, the discharged airflow may be biased to the left more certainly.

FIG. 19D illustrates the state in which in all of the left rotary grill 1020, the central rotary grill 1030, and the right rotary grill 1040, the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, 1041 are horizontal. Then, the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are uniformly discharged to the front surface as shown by an arrow and therefore are in a normal discharge state. At this point, if the plurality of blades 1021, 1031, and 1041 are inclined upwardly or downwardly with respect to the front surface of the grill body, the discharged airflow may be biased upwardly or downwardly with respect to the horizontal surface.

FIG. 19E illustrates in the state in which in the central rotary grill 1030, the plurality of blades 1031 are horizontal, in the left rotary grill 1020, the plurality of blades 1021 are downwardly inclined toward the center, and in the right rotary grill 1040, the plurality of blades 1041 are inclined downwardly toward the center. Then, the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 are separated without interference as shown by an arrow and therefore three airflows may be controlled individually.

FIG. 19F illustrates an example of the state in which the airflows discharged from the three rotary grills 1020, 1030, and 1040 as illustrated in FIG. 19E are controlled individually. That is, FIG. 19F illustrates that the central rotary grill 1030 is in the state in which the plurality of blades 1031 are horizontal, in the left rotary grill 1020, the plurality of blades 1021 are downwardly inclined toward the center, and in the right rotary grill 1040, the plurality of blades 1041 are inclined downwardly toward the center. In the state, the left rotary grill 1020 may control the plurality of blades 1021 to discharge a maximum flow rate of airflow, the central rotary grill 1030 may control the plurality of blades 1031 to discharge a minimum flow rate of airflow, and the right rotary grill 1040 may control the plurality of blades 1041 to discharge a middle flow rate of airflow.

Hereinafter, an air conditioning apparatus having an airflow controlling device configured as a rotary grill according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 22.

Referring to FIG. 20, in an indoor unit 1100 of an air conditioning apparatus 1110 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an outlet of a front surface 1111 of a case is provided with a plurality of rotary grills 1120, 1130, and 1140. The plurality of rotary grills 1120, 1130, and 1140 are installed to cover the entire area of the outlet of the case. Unlike the air conditioning apparatus 1000 illustrated in FIG. 17, in the air conditioning apparatus 1100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, rotary grills having different sizes are installed on a front surface 1111 of the case of the indoor unit. The left and right of the outlet of the front surface of the indoor unit are provided with the rotary grills 1120 and 1130 having a large size and the center thereof is provided with three rotary grills 1140 having a small size. The rotary grills 1120 and 1130 installed at the left and right and having a large size and the rotary grill 1140 installed at the center and having a small size are the same as the rotary grill 1120 of the foregoing exemplary embodiment, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 21, in an indoor unit 1210 of an air conditioning apparatus 1200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an outlet of a front surface 1211 of a case is provided with a plurality of squared grills 1220. The plurality of squared grills 1220 are installed to cover the entire area of the outlet of the case. The squared grill 1220 installed in the air conditioning apparatus 1200 according to the present exemplary embodiment may not be rotated with respect to the case unlike the foregoing rotary grill 1020. However, the plurality of blades 1221 may be installed to be rotated at a predetermined angle with respect to the front surface of the grill body, like the plurality of blades 1021 of the rotary grill 1020 as described above. In FIG. 21, three squared grills 1220 are installed on the front surface of the case of the indoor unit but when the area of the outlet of the front surface of the indoor unit is small, the number of squared grills 1220 may also be installed in only one or two. That is, the number of squared grills 1220 installed on the front surface of the indoor unit is not limited to three but may be variously determined depending on the size of the outlet and the size of the squared grill 1220.

Referring to FIG. 22, in an indoor unit 1310 of an air conditioning apparatus 1300 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an outlet of a front surface 1311 of a case is provided with a plurality of rotary grills 1320 and a squared grill 1340. The plurality of rotary grills 1320 and the squared grill 1340 are installed to cover the entire area of the outlet of the case. In the air conditioning apparatus 1300 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the center of the outlet is provided with one squared grill 1340 and the left and right of the outlet are provided with two rotary grills 1320, unlike the air conditioning apparatus 1000 illustrated in FIG. 17. The rotary grill 1320 installed at the left and right is the same as the rotary grill 1020 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17 described above and the square grill 1340 installed at the center is the same as the squared grill 1220 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 21 described above, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinabove, the present disclosure is described based on an exemplary method. Terms used herein is for description and is not to be understood as the limited meaning. The present disclosure may be variously modified and changed according to the above contents. Therefore, unless additionally mentioned, the present disclosure may be freely practiced within a scope of claims.

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS HAVING AIRFLOW CONTROLLING DEVICE

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