Patent Application
20240210045
The disclosure relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.
In general, air conditioners are devices that use a refrigeration cycle to regulate temperature, humidity, airflow, distribution, and the like in a manner suitable for human activity. The refrigeration cycle typically includes a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and a blowing fan.
Air conditioners may be classified into split air conditioners, in which the indoor and outdoor units are installed separately, and integrated air conditioners, in which indoor and outdoor units are installed together in one cabinet. Of these, the outdoor unit of a split air conditioner may include a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with air drawn into the outdoor unit, and a base that supports the heat exchanger and other components.
The base may include a drain channel through which condensed water flows while supporting the heat exchanger, and may include a base heater located in the drain channel to prevent the condensed water from freezing.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which a heat exchanger is coupled to a base through a support member and a drain channel through which condensed water flows is disposed on a lower portion of the heat exchanger.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which a base heater may be easily replaced, wherein the base heater is disposed on a lower portion of a heat exchanger.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a structure in which an outer side of the heat exchanger is spaced from a base, thereby preventing and/or reducing the outer side of the heat exchanger from freezing.
According to an example embodiment of the disclosure, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner includes: a heat exchanger, a base disposed on a lower side of the heat exchanger configured to support the heat exchanger and having a drain channel configured to collect condensed water flowing from the heat exchanger, and a support disposed on an upper side of the drain channel and configured to support the heat exchanger, the support including a support plate detachably coupled to the base at one end of the support plate and extending from the one end to cover a portion of the drain channel to support the heat exchanger, and an outer plate extending upward from an other end of the support plate to support an outer side of the heat exchanger.
The drain channel may be placed on the lower side of the heat exchanger and extends along the heat exchanger.
The base may include: a first bottom wall, a second bottom wall formed outside the first bottom wall and spaced apart from the first bottom wall, and a recess disposed between the first bottom wall and the second bottom wall, and recessed downward from the first bottom wall and the second bottom wall to form the drain channel.
The recess portion includes: a drain hole configured to allow condensed water to drain, wherein a bottom of the recess portion may be formed to slope downward toward the drain hole.
The one end of the support plate may be coupled to the first bottom wall, and the other end thereof may be seated on the second bottom wall.
The first bottom wall may include: a coupling surface configured to be coupled to the one end of the support plate, and the second bottom wall may include a seating surface configured to allow the other end of the support plate to be seated.
The coupling surface and the seating surface may be arranged to allow the support to be slidable.
The first bottom wall may include a catching surface extending upward from the coupling surface and configured to restrict a movement of the support plate.
The recess may include a receiving groove disposed on one side of the coupling surface configured to receive the support slid from the coupling surface.
The base may include an outer wall extending upwardly from an outer end thereof, and the outer plate may be spaced apart from the outer wall.
The support may further include a guide plate inclined upward from an upper end of the outer plate toward the outer wall of the base.
An upper end of the guide plate may be arranged to be in contact with the outer wall.
The heat exchanger may include: a first heat exchanger portion corresponding to a first short side of the base, and a second heat exchanger portion bent from the first heat exchanger portion and extending along a longitudinal direction of a first long side of the base.
The support may include: a first support disposed adjacent to the first short side of the base configured to support the first heat exchanger portion, and a second support disposed adjacent to the first long side of the base configured to support the second heat exchanger portion.
The outdoor unit may further include a base heater disposed in the drain channel.
According to an example embodiment of the disclosure, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner includes: a heat exchanger including a first heat exchanger portion extending in a first direction and a second heat exchanger portion bent from the first heat exchanger portion and extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction, a base disposed below the heat exchanger and including a first bottom wall, a second bottom wall spaced apart from the first bottom wall, and a drain channel formed between the first bottom wall and the second bottom wall, a first support coupled to the base configured to support the first heat exchanger portion, wherein the first support includes a first support with one end coupled to the first bottom wall and an other end seated on the second bottom wall and extending in the second direction, and a second support coupled to the base configured to support the second heat exchanger portion, wherein the second support includes a second support plate with one end coupled to the first bottom wall and a second end seated on the second bottom wall to extending in the first direction.
The drain channel may be disposed below the heat exchanger and extend along the heat exchanger.
The base may include a recess recessed downward from the first and second bottom walls to form the drain channel, and a bottom of the recess portion may include a drain hole configured to allow condensed water to drain and is inclined downward toward the drain hole.
The first bottom wall may include a coupling surface configured to be coupled to one end of the support plate, the second bottom wall may include a seating surface configured to seat the other end of the support plate, and the coupling surface and the seating surface may be arranged to allow sliding of the first support member in one direction.
According to an example embodiment of the disclosure, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner includes: a base including a recess portion forming a drain channel configured to discharge condensed water and an outer wall formed at an outer end thereof, a heat exchanger including a first heat exchanger portion extending corresponding to a first short side of the base and a second heat exchanger portion bending from the first heat exchanger portion and extending along a direction of a first long side of the base, and a plurality of supports disposed below the heat exchanger configured to support the heat exchanger to the base, wherein the plurality of supports includes a support plate with one end coupled to the base and an other end extending to cover a portion of the drain channel to support the bottom of the heat exchanger, an outer plate extending upward from the other end of the support plate to support an outer side of the heat exchanger, and a guide plate inclined from the outer plate toward the outer wall.
According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit of the air conditioner with the drain channel disposed on the lower side of the heat exchanger may be provided.
According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the base heater disposed in the drain channel may be easily replaced.
According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, condensed water may be prevented/reduced from freezing by the outer side of the heat exchanger being spaced from the base.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Embodiments described in the disclosure and configurations shown in the drawings are merely examples of various example embodiments of the disclosure and may be used in various different ways at the time of filing of the present application.
In addition, the same reference numerals or signs shown in the drawings of the disclosure indicate like elements or components performing substantially the same function.
The terms used herein are used to describe the embodiments and are not intended to limit and/or restrict the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, the terms “including”, “having”, and the like are used to specify features, figures, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more of the features, figures, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.
It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, “primary”, “secondary”, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, but elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are simply used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, a first element may be termed as a second element, and a second element may be termed as a first element. The term of “and/or” includes a plurality of combinations of relevant items or any one item among a plurality of relevant items.
As used herein, the terms “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, and the like are defined with reference to the drawings and are not intended to limit the shape and location of each component.
Hereinafter, various example embodiments according to the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The indoor unit 20 may include an indoor heat exchanger (not shown) that exchanges heat with indoor air, an indoor blowing fan (not shown) that draws in and blows out indoor air to allow the indoor air to pass through the indoor heat exchanger, and an expansion valve (now shown) that depressurizes and expands the refrigerant.
Referring to
The housing 14 may include a base 40 forming a bottom surface thereof, on which the heat exchanger 11 and the compressor 13 are mounted thereon. The housing 14 may include a partition 14d installed between the heat exchanger 11 and the compressor 13 to divide a space inside the housing 14 into a first space in which the heat exchanger 11 is installed and a second space in which the compressor 13 is installed.
The housing 14 may include a side plate 14c formed in a rectangular shape with an open front side to form an inner space in which the heat exchanger 11 and the compressor 13 are installed, and a front plate 14a covering a front side of the open side plate 14c. The housing 14 may include a top plate 14b covering an upper side of the side plate 14c and the front plate 14a.
The side plate 14c may include an inlet (not shown) through which outdoor air is drawn in, and the front plate 14a may include an outlet through which air that has been heat exchanged with the heat exchanger 11 is discharged back to the outdoor space.
In addition, the housing 14 may include a control box (not shown) mounted on an inner surface of the side plate 14c, and a valve plate 14e is mounted on which a valve (not shown) to which the refrigerant pipe 30 (see
The outdoor unit 10 may include a discharge pipe 15 through which the refrigerant that has passed through the heat exchanger 11 is discharged. The discharge pipe 15 may be formed as a part of the heat exchanger 11.
The outdoor unit 10 may include a plurality of legs 16 disposed at a lower portion of the base 40. The plurality of legs 16 may be arranged to support the outdoor unit 10 and may be arranged in two along a direction in which the base 40 extends.
In
Referring to
The heat exchanger 11 may include a first heat exchanger portion 11a and a second heat exchanger portion 11b. The second heat exchanger portion 11b may be bent and extended from the first heat exchanger portion 11a. The heat exchanger 11 may be coupled and secured to the base 40 at one end and at a different end.
When the outdoor unit 10 is operated, the heat exchanger 11 may be operated. The outdoor unit 10, which is capable of operating a refrigeration cycle, may cause condensed water or defrosted water to be generated in the heat exchanger 11. In other words, condensed water may be generated during cooling, and defrosted water may be generated during heating. Unless the generated condensed water or defrosted water may not be easily discharged, water may freeze and adversely affect operation of the product. This may require a defrosting operation to remove the frozen water, resulting in a reduction in the efficiency of the air conditioner. Accordingly, the outdoor unit 10 may require a structure to remove condensed water or defrosted water.
Referring to
The heat exchanger 11 may include the first heat exchanger portion 11a arranged to correspond to the first short side 40a of the base 40 and the second heat exchanger portion 11b bent from the first heat exchanger portion 11a. The second heat exchanger portion 11b may be arranged to extend from the first heat exchanger portion 11a along a longitudinal direction of the first long side 40b of the base 40.
A direction of the first short side 40a may be a first direction, and a direction of the first long side 40b may be a second direction. The first direction and the second direction may be crossing directions.
The base heater 50 may be disposed between the base 40 and the heat exchanger 11. The base heater 50 may be formed as a curve corresponding to the first short side 40a and the first long side 40b of the base 40.
Typically, the base 40 may form a structure to facilitate the drainage of condensed water, if ice grows on the base 40, the piping of the heat exchanger 11 may be destroyed. The base heater 50 may be disposed below the heat exchanger 11 to prevent/reduce condensed water from freezing. The base heater 50 may be supplied with external electricity.
The support members 60 and 160 may be provided between the base heater 50 and the heat exchanger 11. The support members 60 and 160 may include the first support member 60 and the second support member 160. The first support member 60 may be disposed adjacent to the first short side 40a of the base 40 to support the first heat exchanger portion 11a. The second support member 160 may be disposed adjacent to the first long side 40b of the base 40 to support the second heat exchanger portion 11b.
With reference to
The first support member 60 may include a support plate 61, an outer plate 62, and a guide plate 63. The support plate 61 may have one end detachably coupled to the base 40. The support plate 61 may be screw-coupled to the base 40 via a hole 65 and may extend from one end 61a to the other end 61b.
The first support member 60 may include the outer plate 62 extending upward from the other end 61b of the support plate 61 to support the outside of the heat exchanger 11 (see
The first support member 60 may include bending plates 64 that bend downward from opposite sides of the support plate 61. The bending plate 64 may enhance the strength of the support plate 61.
The first support member 60 may include the hole 65 provided in one end 61a of the support plate 61 for coupling to the base 40.
Referring to
The recess portion 43 may include a drain channel 44 formed to collect condensed water from the heat exchanger 11 (see
The drain channel 44 may include a drain hole 45 formed to allow condensed water to drain. Although the drain hole 45 is shown as a single drain hole in the drawings, but is not limited thereto and may be provided in a plurality.
The base 40 may include an outer wall 46 extending upward from an outer end thereof. The outer wall 46 may protect the base 40 from the outside.
The first bottom wall 41 may include a coupling surface 41a. Through the coupling surface 41a, the support plate 61 of the first support member 60 may be coupled thereto. For example, the first bottom wall 41 may include a first catching surface 41b formed on one side of the coupling surface 41a, and an inclined surface 41d formed on the opposite side of the recess portion 43 of the coupling surface 41a. One side of the coupling surface 41a may be in a direction in which the recess portion 43 extends. The inclined surface 41d may be formed in a direction intersecting the first catching surface 41b. A hole 41d may be formed in the coupling surface 41a.
Through the hole 41d, the one end 61a of the support plate 61 may be screw-coupled to the coupling surface 41a. In other words, the hole 65 of the support plate 61 and the hole 41d of the coupling surface 41 may be disposed correspondingly and may be coupled through a fastening member S inserted into the hole 65 and the hole 41d.
However, the coupling between the support plate 61 and the coupling surface 41a is not limited to a screw-coupling.
The other end 61b of the support plate 61 may be seated on a seating surface 42a of the second bottom wall 42. The second bottom wall 42 may include the seating surface 42a and a second catching surface 42b formed on one side of the seating surface 42a. The second catching surface 42b may be provided to correspond to one side of the coupling surface 41a on which the first catching surface 41b is formed, wherein the one side may be in the direction in which the recess portion 43 extends.
The outer wall 46 may be formed opposite the recess portion 43 of the seating surface 42a. The one end 61a of the support plate 61 may be coupled to the coupling surface 41a, whereas the other end 61b may be seated on the seating surface 42a.
The first catching surface 41b and the second catching surface 42b may be formed to restrict a movement of the support member 60. The first support member 60 may slide in one direction even when decoupled from the base 40 due to the structure of the first catching surface 41b and the second catching surface 42b.
The inclined surface 41c may form a step to allow the support member 60 to be placed on an upper side of the coupling surface 41a to couple. Due to the step of the inclined surface 41c, the support member 60 may be guided to the upper side of the coupling surface 41a. In other words, a user may carry the first support member 60 over the base 40 in order to couple the first support member 60 to the base 40, in which case the user may carry the first support member 60 in the correct position by the coupling surface 41a and the first catching surface 41b. Similarly, the second catching surface 42b may be provided in a similar configuration to the first catching surface 41b.
The recess portion 43 may include a receiving groove 47 formed in the coupling surface 41a in a direction opposite to the first catching surface 41b. The receiving groove 47 may be disposed on the other side of the coupling surface 41a to receive the first support member 60 slid from the coupling surface 41a. The receiving groove 47 may be formed to face inwardly from the drain channel 44 towards the base 40. In other words, the receiving groove 47 may be located further inwardly of the base 40 than the coupling surface 41a.
The coupling surface 41a may be the first coupling surface 41a, and the inclined surface 41c may be the first inclined surface 41c. The seating surface 42a may be the first seating surface 42a, and the receiving groove 47 may be the first receiving groove 47.
Such a structure may be provided between the first short side 40a of the base 40. Correspondingly, a second coupling surface 141a, a third catching surface 141b, a second inclined surface 141c, a second seating surface 142a, a fourth catching surface 142b, and a second receiving groove 147 may be provided. The second support member 160 including a support plate, one end of which is coupled through the second coupling surface 141a and a hole 141d, and the other end of which is seated through the second seating surface 142a and the fourth catching surface 142b, may be provided between the first long side 40b of the base 40.
To provide support for the heat exchanger 11 (see
Thereafter, by aligning the first heat exchanger portion 11a of the heat exchanger 11 with the first short side 40a of the base 40, and the second heat exchanger portion 11b with the first long side 40b of the base 40, the heat exchanger 11 may be seated to be supported on the support members 60 and 160.
Such an arrangement may allow the base heater 50 to be disposed immediately below the heat exchanger 11 to prevent/reduce condensed water flowing through the drain channel 44 from freezing in the recess portion 43.
With reference to
In such cases, after moving the heat exchanger 11 externally away from the support members 60 and 160, the fastening member S may be released from the support members 60 and 160. After releasing the separate fixing member F from the base heater 50, and the support members 60 and 160 may be slid towards the first receiving groove 47 and the second receiving groove 147, respectively.
The first receiving groove 47 may be formed to be larger in size than the one end of the slid first supporting member 60, and thus the first supporting member 60 may be receive in the first receiving groove 47. The space between the first receiving groove 47 and the first support member 60 may allow the base heater 50 to be removed from the base 40. A corresponding arrangement may be provided for the second support member 160 and the second receiving groove 147.
In other words, such an arrangement may allow the base heater 50 to be positioned below the heat exchanger 11 and at the same time facilitate its release in the event that repairs are required. However, the arrangement is not limited to the above.
With reference to
The heat exchanger 11 may have an outer side 11c supported by the outer plate 62 and a lower side 11d supported by the support plate 61. The drain channel 44 formed by the recess portion 43 may be located below the support plate 61. The support plate 61 may extend in the direction intersecting the direction in which condensed water flows in the drain channel 44 to cover a portion of the drain channel 44.
When the outer side 11c of the heat exchanger 11 meets the outer wall 46, condensed water may freeze on the outer portion. To prevent/reduce such a situation, the other end 61b of the support plate 61 of the support member 60 may not extend to an outer end of the seating surface 42a. The support member 60 may include the outer plate 62 extending upward from the other end 61b of the support plate 61 and parallel to the outer wall 46. The support member 60 may include the guide plate 63 extending upward from the upper end 62a of the outer plate 62 in the direction in which the support plate 61 extends. The guide plate 63 may have an inclined shape.
Due to the outer plate 62 and the guide plate 63, the outer plate 62 and the outer wall 46 of the base 40 may be maintained at a predetermined distance d. In other words, with the structure of the outer plate 62 and the guide plate 63, the outer plate 62 may be spaced apart from the outer wall 46 of the base 40. Since the heat exchanger 11 disposed inside the outer plate 62 is kept spaced apart from the outer wall 46 of the base 40, freezing due to condensed water in such a space may be prevented/reduced.
The one end 61a of the support plate 61 may be seated on the coupling surface 41a, and the other end 61b thereof may be seated on the seating surface 42a. In such a state, when the support plate 61 is coupled to the coupling surface 41a via the fastening member S, the other end 61b may be rotated and positioned in a undesired position. To prevent/avoid such a situation, the upper end 63a of the guide plate 63 may be located in contact with the outer wall 46. As a result, it is possible to prevent/reduce the support member 60 from rotating when the fastening member S rotates. Similarly, the second support member 160 may correspond to the first support member 60.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to various example embodiments, it will be understood that the various example embodiments are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the present disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents. It will also be understood that any of the embodiment(s) described herein may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment(s) described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0157046 | Nov 2021 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/014746 designating the United States, filed on Sep. 30, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Receiving Office and claiming priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0157046, filed on Nov. 15, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2022/014746 | Sep 2022 | WO |
| Child | 18599897 | US |
