Patent Application
20140069543
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exhausting structure, especially to an exhausting structure of a portable air conditioner that is rotatable.
2. Description of the Prior Art(s)
An air conditioner cools, heats, dehumidifies or filters indoor air for thermal comfort. A portable air conditioner is placed on a ground without requiring special adaptation to a window or a wall and is moved and stored conveniently at times when the weather is sufficiently comfortable to not require change. Therefore, the portable air conditioner has become popular.
With reference to
The key feature of the air conditioner is that it is movable to different locations. However, directions in which the exhausting pipe 43 can extend vary according to the locations of the portable air conditioner. Since the housing 41 and the connecting tube 42 connect with each other via the retaining latches 412 and the fastening holes 421, the connecting tube 42 is unable to rotate relative to the housing 41 and thus cannot dissipate torque formed therein. Therefore, the only way to change the direction that the exhausting pipe 43 extends is bending and twisting the exhausting pipe 43, which causes damage to the exhausting pipe 43.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a rotatable exhausting structure of a portable air conditioner. The rotatable exhausting structure has a housing and a connecting tube. The housing has through hole, and multiple holders and a resilient stop separately arranged around the through hole. The connecting tube has a flange formed on and around the an outer surface of the connecting tube and held between the holders and the resilient stop of the housing, and is used to be connected to an exhausting pipe.
Thus, the connecting tube is rotatable relative to the housing. When torque is caused in the exhausting pipe due to redirecting it, the connecting tube rotates accordingly. The exhausting pipe is not bent or twisted and keeps in good condition.
With reference to
With further reference to
With further reference to
With further reference to
The connecting tube 20 is curved, is circular in cross-section, is rotatably connectable to the housing 10 and has a proximal end, an outer surface and a flange 21. The proximal end of the connecting tube 20 corresponds to the through hole 11 of the housing 10. The flange 21 is formed on the outer surface of the connecting tube 20, is disposed around the proximal end of the connecting tube 20, is mountable in the engaging recesses 121 of the positioning holders 12 of the housing 10 and abuts the resilient stop 13 of the housing 10. Thus, the flange 21 is securable in the engaging recesses 121 of the positioning holders 12.
A distal end of the connecting tube 20 is further connected to an exhausting pipe 30. The exhausting pipe 30 is long and flexible, and may be a corrugated pipe.
With reference to
With reference to
When mounting the connecting tube 20 onto the housing 10, the proximal end of the connecting tube 20 slides over the resilient stop 13 and the flange 21 of the connecting tube 20 presses the resilient stop 13. When the flange 21 enters the engaging recesses 121 of the positioning holders 12, the resilient stop 13 returns to its pre-pushed position whereby it abuts an outer periphery of the flange 21 of the connecting tube 20. Thus, the connecting tube 20 is held between the positioning holders 12 and the resilient stop 13.
When the air conditioner it not required, the connecting tube can be released from the housing 10 by a user first pressing the resilient stop 13 toward the housing 10 and away from the outer periphery of the flange 21 and sliding the proximal end of the connecting tube 20 past the resilient stop 13, whereby the flange 21 disengages from the engaging recesses 121 of the positioning holders 12.
The rotatable exhausting structure of the portable air conditioner as described has the following advantages. When the flange 21 of the connecting 20 is mounted in the engaging recesses 121 of the positioning holders 12 of the housing 10, the connecting tube 20 is rotatable relative to the housing 10. Thus, when torque is caused in the exhausting pipe 30 due to redirecting it, the connecting tube 20 rotates accordingly. The exhausting pipe 30 is not bent or twisted and keeps in good condition. Furthermore, the connecting tube 20 can be easily and quickly disconnected from the body 10 to facilitate moving of the apparatus from one place to another.
