Patent Grant
7269965
The present invention relates to an outdoor unit for an air conditioner, and more particularly to, a built-in type outdoor unit for an air conditioner which can be installed indoors.
An air conditioner implying a cooler, a heater or both of them is classified into a window type and a split type. In the case of the cooler, a split type air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed indoors for cooling a room, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipe lines and installed outdoors to contact air, for performing condensation heat exchange on a refrigerant gas in a condenser by using external air as a cooling medium, and supplying the condensed refrigerants to an evaporator of the indoor unit through the refrigerant pipe lines. The indoor unit is composed of the evaporator for performing cooling heat exchange for evaporating the refrigerants and absorbing evaporation heat from internal air, and a ventilating fan for circulating internal air, and the outdoor unit is composed of a compressor for compressing the refrigerant gas and supplying the compressed gas to the condenser, the air-cooled condenser for condensing the refrigerant gas from the compressor, and a cooling fan for forcibly ventilating external air to the air-cooled condenser to cool and condense the refrigerant gas. The compressor, the air-cooled condenser and the cooling fan of the outdoor unit are installed in an outdoor unit casing composing the outer appearance. The conventional hexahedral outdoor unit casing has an air suction unit for sucking air to the air-cooled condenser at its three sides, and an air discharge unit for externally discharging air absorbing condensation heat from the refrigerant gas by the heat exchange in the air-cooled condenser on its top surface.
However, the conventional outdoor unit for the air conditioner is restricted in installation spaces due to high density and strict environment regulations of cities, and increases civil applications due to noise and heat. Especially, a common residential area such as large-scaled apartment buildings regulates the outdoor units to be installed in indoor verandas to improve the appearance and prevent noise.
In order to solve the foregoing problems, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-101873 suggests an air conditioner mounted building where an indoor unit of an air conditioner is installed indoors or adjacent to a room intended to be air-conditioned, and an outdoor unit of the air conditioner is installed outdoors, wherein an opening is formed on the outer wall or roof, a louver is installed in the opening, the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is positioned in the louver, and suction/discharge of the indoor unit is performed through a gap between the louver plates.
In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-213928 discloses a wall built-in type outdoor unit for an air conditioner including an outdoor unit main body for the air conditioner which is built in the wall and which includes a frame having the same size and thickness as the wall, a suction hole for heat exchange air installed on the same surface as the outdoor unit main body, and a discharge hole for heat exchanged air.
However, a volume and weight of the outdoor unit has recently increased due to high air conditioning capacity. Moreover, the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit sucks air through the front surface, namely one surface, and thus has a smaller suction unit area than a conventional three-surface suction type outdoor unit, which increases suction resistance. Nevertheless, the conventional arts relate merely to technologies for inserting the outdoor unit into a space formed on an outer wall of a building. That is, there has never been suggested a structure for efficiently installing the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit having a gradually-increasing volume and weight in a built-in type, or a method for efficiently preventing increase of suction resistance in the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit having a large volume and weight.
An object of the present invention is to provide a realistic installation structure which can prevent increase of suction resistance in a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit, and easily built the outdoor unit having a gradually-increasing volume and weight in an outer wall of a commercial and/or residential building.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling fan structure which can convert an outdoor unit sucking air from three sides and discharging it to a top surface into a front suction/discharge type, and handle increase of suction resistance in the outdoor unit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner which can obtain heat exchange efficiency equal to or greater than a general outdoor unit by supplying a cooling fan structure which can be efficiently applied to the outdoor unit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner which can be easily assembled by supplying a fan frame for stably fixing a cooling fan, and fan frame guides for fixedly coupling the fan frame to the outdoor unit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner which has a drainage structure for guaranteeing a stable function of a cooling fan by discharging rain or snow which may be inputted into the cooling fan through a front surface.
In order to achieve the above-described objects of the invention, there is provided a built-in type outdoor unit for an air conditioner, including: a louver frame being fixedly installed on a rectangular space inner wall formed on an outer wall of a building, being divided into a suction area and a discharge area, including a plurality of louver blades in each area, and sucking and discharging air through gaps between the louver blades; an outdoor unit casing being formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, being fixedly installed on the inside bottom of the building to contact the louver frame, having its one surface facing the suction area and the discharge area of the louver frame opened and the other surfaces closed, and being divided into a suction unit and a discharge unit corresponding to the suction area and the discharge area of the louver frame; a compressor installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for compressing a refrigerant gas supplied from an indoor unit through pipe lines; an air-cooled condenser installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for condensing the refrigerant gas from the compressor, and a sirocco cooling fan installed in the discharge unit of the outdoor unit casing, for supplying external air to the air-cooled condenser through the suction area, and discharging heat exchanged air through the discharge area.
Here, the louver frame includes an external frame composing a frame, and an internal frame being fastened to the external frame and including the louver blades.
Preferably, the sirocco cooling fan includes a diffuser having a cutoff angle of at least 90°.
Preferably, one of suction orifices of the sirocco cooling fan faces the surface contacting one opened surface facing the discharge area of the louver frame and being farthest from the suction unit among the other surfaces, the other orifice faces the suction unit, a motor of the sirocco cooling fan is positioned adjacently to the suction orifice below the surface of the outdoor unit casing, and the outdoor unit further includes a dividing plate for intercepting gaps between the cooling fan and the inside surface of the outdoor unit casing so that external air from the suction unit can be sucked through the suction orifice of the sirocco cooling fan facing the air-cooled condenser and discharged.
Preferably, the suction orifices of the sirocco cooling fan face the two surfaces contacting one opened surface facing the discharge area of the louver frame among the other surfaces, the motor of the sirocco cooling fan is installed adjacently to the suction orifice facing one of the two surfaces, a width of fan blades in the side where the motor is installed is smaller than that of fan blades in the opposite side, the motor of the sirocco cooling fan is installed adjacently to the suction orifice facing one side of the two surfaces, and the sirocco cooling fan is installed eccentrically to the side where the motor has been installed on a central line of the air-cooled condenser.
Preferably, the discharge unit of the outdoor unit casing further includes a fan supporting member for supporting the cooling fan, and the supporting member includes a fan frame for reinforcing and supporting the edges of the discharge unit, and a fan bracket for fixedly coupling at least one surface of a housing of the sirocco cooling fan to the fan frame.
Preferably, the fan frame includes a flange unit facing the inside of the discharge unit and contacting the housing of the sirocco cooling fan on the surface contacting one opened surface, and the outdoor unit further includes a coupling member for fixing the flange to the housing of the sirocco cooling fan.
Preferably, the outdoor unit casing is divided into a suction casing corresponding to the suction unit and a discharge casing corresponding to the discharge unit, the fan frame reinforces and supports the discharge casing, the outdoor unit further includes fan frame guides having their one sides coupled to the suction casing and their other sides contacting the fan frame, and the other sides of the fan frame guides contact the inside of the fan frame. Preferably, the outdoor unit further includes a coupling member for fixing the fan frame guides to the fan frame, and the ends of the other sides of the fan frame guides have inwardly-slanted surfaces.
Preferably, the housing of the sirocco cooling fan includes a drainage structure, and the drainage structure includes a drainage caved-in unit formed on the bottom of the housing, a drainage hole formed on the lowest surface of the caved-in unit, and a drainage hose extended from the drainage hole, or the drainage structure includes a drainage hole formed on the lowest surface of the housing, and a drainage hose extended from the drainage hole.
According to another aspect of the invention, a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner includes: an outdoor unit casing being formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, having its one surface externally opened and its other surfaces closed, and being divided into a suction unit and a discharge unit; a compressor installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for compressing a refrigerant gas supplied from an indoor unit through pipe lines; an air-cooled condenser installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for condensing the refrigerant gas from the compressor; and a sirocco cooling fan installed in the discharge unit of the outdoor unit casing, for supplying external air to the air-cooled condenser through the suction area, and discharging heat exchanged air through the discharge area, wherein a housing of the sirocco cooling fan is composed of a drainage structure.
According to another aspect of the invention, a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner includes: an outdoor unit casing being formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, having its one surface externally opened and its other surfaces closed, and being divided into a suction unit and a discharge unit; a compressor installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for compressing a refrigerant gas supplied from an indoor unit through pipe lines; an air-cooled condenser installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for condensing the refrigerant gas from the compressor, and a sirocco cooling fan installed in the discharge unit of the outdoor unit casing, for supplying external air to the air-cooled condenser through the suction area, and discharging heat exchanged air through the discharge area, wherein one of suction orifices of the sirocco cooling fan is connected to face the surface contacting one opened surface and being farthest from the suction unit among the other surfaces, and the other orifice is connected to face the suction unit.
According to another aspect of the invention, a front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for an air conditioner includes: an outdoor unit casing being formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, having its one surface externally opened and its other surfaces closed, and being divided into a suction unit and a discharge unit; a compressor installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for compressing a refrigerant gas supplied from an indoor unit through pipe lines; an air-cooled condenser installed in the suction unit of the outdoor unit casing, for condensing the refrigerant gas from the compressor, and a sirocco cooling fan installed in the discharge unit of the outdoor unit casing, for supplying external air to the air-cooled condenser through the suction area, and discharging heat exchanged air through the discharge area, wherein suction orifices of the sirocco cooling fan are connected to face the two surfaces contacting one opened surface among the other surfaces.
A built-in type outdoor unit for an air conditioner in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An external frame 4 is fixedly installed on a rectangular space inner wall formed on an outer wall 2 of a residential and/or commercial building, and an internal frame 6 is fixedly installed at the inside of the external frame 4. The internal and external frames 4 and 6 can be incorporated. An inside area of the internal frame 6 is divided into a suction area 7a and a discharge area 7b. A plurality of louver blades 8 are installed in each area, so that air can be sucked or discharged through gaps between the louver blades 8.
An air suction/discharge direction can be controlled by adjusting an open angle of the louver blades 8. In addition, an air suction direction and an air discharge direction can be distinguished by controlling the louver blades 8 of the suction area 7a and the discharge area 7b to have different open angles. A manual open device (not shown) operated by force of the user, and an automatic open device (not shown) for automatically operating the louver blades 8 according to the operation of an outdoor unit 10, namely a control command of the outdoor unit 10 performing a series of operations for cooling/heating can be used as a control means for opening the louver blades 8. The structure and constitution of the manual open device and the automatic open device for the louver blades are easily understood by ordinary people skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is also possible to determine the air suction/discharge direction in consideration of an external environment, and to open and maintain the louver blades 8 in a predetermined direction.
On the other hand, the outdoor unit 10 fixedly installed at the inside of the outer wall 2 of the building to contact the external frame 4 and/or internal frame 6 includes an outdoor unit casing composed of components of
In the outdoor unit casing, one side facing the suction area 7a and the discharge area 7b of the internal frame 6 is opened. The opened side is divided into a suction unit 11a and a discharge unit 11b to correspond to the suction area 7a and the discharge area 7b of the internal frame 6. In addition, three side covers 12a, 12b and 12c, a bottom cover 14 and a top cover 16 are closed to form a rectangular parallelepiped. The outdoor unit casing can be divided into a suction casing corresponding to the suction unit 11a and a discharge casing corresponding to the discharge unit 11b. A plurality of leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d are externally protruded from the bottom cover 14. The leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d are installed on the bottom of a building, for example a veranda of an apartment building, for supporting heavy load of the outdoor unit 10. Preferably, four leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d are formed in consideration of the shape of the bottom cover 14. A leg reinforcing member 19 for connecting and reinforcing the leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d is formed below the bottom cover 14 in the horizontal direction. The leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d further include screws (not shown) for controlling height. Accordingly, when the bottom of the building, for example the veranda of the apartment building is not flat, they can stably position the outdoor unit 10. When the two legs 18a and 18b positioned in the forward direction (toward building outer wall) among the leg members 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d further include screws (not shown), it is much easier to transport the heavy load outdoor unit 10.
In the suction unit 11a of the outdoor unit 10, a compressor 20 is installed on a compressor fastening unit 22, and a ‘U’ shaped air-cooled condenser 30 is fixedly supported on the side covers 12a and 12b and the bottom cover 14 by using condenser covers 32a, 32b and 32c and condenser brackets 34a and 34b. In the air-cooled condenser 30, a plurality of condenser pipe lines are formed in a zigzag shape between a plurality of condenser fins. The structure and shape of the air-cooled condenser 30 have been publicly known, and thus are not shown in detail. A refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 20 is transmitted through the pipe lines of the condenser 30, removed its condensation heat by eternally-supplied air, and condensed. In this case, the condenser covers 32a, 32b and 32c and the condenser brackets 34a and 34b form a wind path so as to prevent external air from being supplied to the discharge unit 11b not via the condenser 30. As a result, external air sucked through the gaps between the louver blades 8 of the suction area 7a passes through the ‘U’ shaped condenser 30 along the wind path of the condenser covers 32a, 32b and 32c and the condenser brackets 34a and 34b, and exchanges heat with the refrigerant gas flowing through the condenser pipe lines.
Differently from the general outdoor unit sucking external air from three sides and discharging heat exchanged air to a top surface, the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit of the invention restricts its suction area, and thus increases suction resistance in the system. Accordingly, the outdoor unit uses a sirocco cooling fan instead of using an axial fan. That is, in the discharge unit 11b of the outdoor unit 10, the sirocco cooling fan 40 for supplying external air to the air-cooled condenser 30 through the suction area 7a and discharging heat exchanged air through the discharge area 7b is fixedly installed on the side covers 12a, 12b and 12c and the top cover 16 by a fan frame 42 and a fan bracket 44, and also fixedly installed on a fan front 46. Here, horizontal elements on the top and bottom surfaces of the fan frame 42 have ‘L’ shaped sections, and vertical elements connecting the horizontal elements also have ‘L’ shaped sections.
Referring to
A mesh shaped front grill 60 is additionally installed on the front surface of the outdoor unit 10, namely one opened side facing the suction area 7a and the discharge area 7b of the internal frame 6 to prevent invasion of animals (for example, rats).
In addition, a plate shape vibration isolating member 66 is adhered to the front grill 60 positioned on the front surface of the outdoor unit casing to absorb vibration of the outdoor unit 10 not to be transmitted to the internal and external frames 4 and 6 and the louver blades 8.
The operation of the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for the air conditioner will now be explained.
The refrigerant gas inputted from the indoor unit through the refrigerant pipe lines of the valve assembly 52 is compressed in the compressor 20 and supplied to the condenser 30. Because the cooling fan 40 is operated, external air sucked through the gaps between the louver blades 8 of the suction area 7a evenly passes through gaps between the fins formed on the three surfaces of the ‘U’ shaped condenser 30 through the wind path of the condenser covers 32a, 32b and 32c and the condenser brackets 34a and 34, increases its temperature by taking condensation heat from the refrigerant gas flowing through the condenser pipe lines inserted between the fins, passes through the cooling fan 40, and is externally discharged through the gaps between the louver blades 8 of the discharge area 7b.
As shown in
As illustrated in
Conversely,
Referring to
As described above, the fan frame 42 for reinforcing and supporting the edges of the discharge unit and the fan bracket 44 for fixedly coupling the two surfaces of the sirocco cooling fan 40 to the fan frame 42 are used to fix the sirocco cooling fan 40 to the outdoor unit casing.
Referring to
As described above, the fan frame 42 for reinforcing and supporting the edges of the discharge unit and the fan bracket 44 for fixedly coupling the two surfaces of the sirocco cooling fan 40 to the fan frame 42 are used to fix the sirocco cooling fan 40 to the outdoor unit casing.
The structures of
As illustrated in
In addition, as shown in
When it is rainy and windy like a typhoon, rain drops may be leaked to the front suction/discharge type outdoor unit for the air conditioner. Especially, when rain drops are leaked to the housing of the fan, water stays in the housing, to cause noise and reduce ventilation capability. In accordance with the present invention, the drainage structure for discharging eternally-inputted water such as rain drops is installed in the housing.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to these preferred embodiments but various changes and modifications can be made by one skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2003-0012100 | Feb 2003 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR03/00796 | 4/18/2003 | WO | 00 | 7/3/2003 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO03/088731 | 10/30/2003 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040237559 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |
