Indoor unit of air conditioner

• US 10,571,136 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 02/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GD Midea Air-Conditioning Equipment Company Limited (Carrier Global Corporation), Midea Group Co., Ltd
• Original Assignee: GD Midea Air-Conditioning Equipment Company Limited (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: Cai, Zhicai, Liu, Xing, Bai, Xiaofeng, Zhang, Xinzhou
• Primary Examiner(s): Huson, Gregory L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamilton, Frances F.
• Application Number:
  US15/325,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20180010811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,792 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0025 Cross-flow or tangential fans
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0057 mounted in or on a wall
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/20 Casings or covers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/30 Arrangement or mounting of heat-exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/32 Supports for air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation units
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/22 Cleaning ducts or apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/32 preventing human errors during the installation, use or maintenance, e.g. goofy proof

Abstract

An indoor unit (1000) of an air conditioner includes a housing (100) having an upper base plate (110) provided with an air inlet (101), a lower base plate (120) detachably mounted to the upper base plate (110) and provided with an air outlet, and a front cover (130) detachably mounted to the upper base plate (110); a heat exchanger (140) mounted on the upper base plate (110); a fan (142) detachably mounted to the lower base plate (120); and a thrust structure (340) having a body (350) that is disposed to a rear portion of the indoor unit (1000) and has a thrust face (351) abutting against a mounting member to limit a degree of freedom of upward movement of the indoor unit (1000).

Claims

1. An indoor unit of an air conditioner, comprising:

a housing comprising an upper base plate provided with an air inlet, a lower base plate detachably mounted to the upper base plate and provided with an air outlet, and a front cover detachably mounted to the upper base plate;

a heat exchanger mounted on the upper base plate;

a fan detachably mounted to the lower base plate;

a thrust structure comprising a body, the body being disposed to a rear portion of the indoor unit and having a thrust face abutting against a mounting member to limit a degree of freedom of upward movement of the indoor unit; and

a wall-hung plate for mounting on a wall,

wherein the rear portion of the indoor unit is provided with a hanging groove with a downward opening, the indoor unit is hung on the wall-hung plate, an upper end of the wall-hung plate is provided with a turn-up bent forwards, and the thrust face is configured to abut against a bottom of the turn-up.

2. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the upper base plate comprises:

a rear baffle, to which the heat exchanger is mounted;

an upper cover plate having a rear edge connected with an upper edge of the rear baffle and provided with the air inlet;

a left end plate having a rear edge connected with a left edge of the rear baffle and an upper edge connected with a left edge of the upper cover plate; and

a right end plate having a rear edge connected with a right edge of the rear baffle and an upper edge connected with a right edge of the upper cover plate,

wherein the lower base plate is detachably mounted to the left end plate and the rear baffle, the left end plate is located at a left side of the lower base plate and the right end plate is located at a right side of the lower base plate.

3. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the front cover defines a covering chamber, the upper base plate and the lower base plate are disposed in the covering chamber and covered by the front cover, and the front cover is provided with an air supply port in a position corresponding to the air outlet.

4. The indoor unit according to claim 3, wherein the front cover comprises:

a front panel covering front surfaces of the upper base plate and the lower base plate;

a lower panel having a front edge connected with a lower edge of the front panel, and covering a lower surface of the lower base plate, wherein the air supply port is provided at a position where the front panel and the lower panel are connected;

a left panel having a front edge connected with a left edge of the front panel and a lower edge connected with a left edge of the lower panel, and rotatably mounted to a left side face of the upper base plate and covering the left side face of the upper base plate; and

a right panel having a front edge connected with a right edge of the front panel and a lower edge connected with a right edge of the lower panel, and rotatably mounted to a right side face of the upper base plate and covering the right side face of the upper base plate.

5. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the fan comprises:

a fan wheel detachably mounted to the lower base plate; and

a motor detachably mounted to the lower base plate and connected with the fan wheel in a transmission way.

6. The indoor unit according to claim 5, wherein a motor mounting groove is provided in the lower base plate, the upper base plate is provided with a water receiving cover, the motor is mounted in the motor mounting groove, and the water receiving cover is located below the heat exchanger and presses the motor in the motor mounting groove.

7. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein an upper end face of the body is configured as the thrust face.

8. The indoor unit according to claim 7, wherein:

a lower end of the body has a stopping ramp,

the body is pivotably connected to the rear portion of the indoor unit between a first position and a second position,

when the body is in the first position, the stopping ramp abuts against a rear wall face of the indoor unit to make an upper end of the body move rearwards, away from the rear wall of the indoor unit, and open, and

when the body is in the second position, the thrust face abuts upwards against the mounting member to limit the degree of freedom of the upward movement of the indoor unit.

9. The indoor unit according to claim 8, wherein the body is provided with a resilient arm extending forwards and downwards, and a free end of the resilient arm normally abuts against the rear portion of the indoor unit.

10. The indoor unit according to claim 8, wherein a pivot is disposed at each of two sides of the body, and a pivot hole is provided in the indoor unit to be fitted with the pivot.

11. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein a rear portion of the body is provided with a thrust protrusion protruding rearwards.

12. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the rear portion of the indoor unit is provided with mounting ribs protruding rearwards and disposed in pairs, and the thrust structure is pivotably mounted between two mounting ribs.

13. The indoor unit according to claim 1, further comprising a guide assembly for guiding the lower base plate in a process of mounting and dismounting the lower base plate, wherein the guide assembly comprises:

a guide groove provided in the upper base plate, and

a guide rail fitted with the guide groove and disposed on the lower base plate.

14. The indoor unit according to claim 1, further comprising a supporting rod,

wherein the supporting rod is rotatably mounted to a wall-hung plate or the housing between an unfolded position where a lower portion of the supporting rod supporting the housing is away from the wall-hung plate and a folded position where the supporting rod abuts against the wall-hung plate or the housing.

15. The indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the supporting rod comprises:

a first supporting rod rotatably mounted to the wall-hung plate between the unfolded position and the folded position; and

a second supporting rod rotatably mounted to the first supporting rod between a protruding position where the second supporting rod protrudes and a retracting position where the second supporting rod retracts.

16. The indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein the wall-hung plate is provided with a hook, the first supporting rod is provided with a first rotating shaft, and the first rotating shaft is rotatably fitted with the hook.

17. The indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein the wall-hung plate is provided with a folded positioning clasp, a first supporting plate is provided with a folded positioning boss, and the folded positioning clasp is snap-fitted over the folded positioning boss when the first supporting rod is in the folded position.

18. The indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein the first supporting rod is provided with a shaft hole, the second supporting rod is provided with a second rotating shaft, and the second rotating shaft is rotatably fitted in the shaft hole.

19. The indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein:

the first supporting rod is provided with a retracting positioning boss, the second supporting rod is provided with a retracting positioning groove, and the retracting positioning boss is snap-fitted in the retracting positioning groove when the second supporting rod is in the retracting position;

or

the first supporting rod is provided with a protrusion positioning boss, the second supporting rod is provided with a protrusion positioning groove, and the protrusion positioning boss is snap-fitted in the protrusion positioning groove when the second supporting rod is in the protruding position.

20. The indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein the second supporting rod is provided with a bearing shoulder, and the bearing shoulder abuts against the first supporting rod when the second supporting rod is in the protruding position.

21. The indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein a rear surface of the housing is provided with a supporting groove that is provided with a plurality of supporting ribs spaced apart from one another, when the supporting rod is in the unfolded position, the supporting rod is fitted in the supporting groove and supported on the plurality of supporting ribs.

22. An indoor unit of an air conditioner, comprising:

a housing comprising;

an upper base plate provided with an air inlet and a water receiving cover;

a lower base plate detachably mounted to the upper base plate and provided with an air outlet and a motor mounting groove; and

a front cover detachably mounted to the upper base plate;

a heat exchanger mounted on the upper base plate;

a fan detachably mounted to the lower base plate, the fan comprising;

a fan wheel detachably mounted to the lower base plate; and

a motor detachably mounted in the motor mounting groove and connected with the fan wheel in a transmission way; and

a thrust structure comprising a body, the body being disposed to a rear portion of the indoor unit and having a thrust face abutting against a mounting member to limit a degree of freedom of upward movement of the indoor unit,

wherein the water receiving cover is located below the heat exchanger and presses the motor in the motor mounting groove.

23. An indoor unit of an air conditioner, comprising:

a housing comprising an upper base plate provided with an air inlet, a lower base plate detachably mounted to the upper base plate and provided with an air outlet, and a front cover detachably mounted to the upper base plate;

a heat exchanger mounted on the upper base plate;

a fan detachably mounted to the lower base plate; and

a thrust structure comprising a body, wherein;

an upper end face of the body is configured as a thrust face,

a lower end of the body having a stopping ramp,

the body is pivotably connected to a rear portion of the indoor unit between a first position and a second position,

when the body is in the first position, the stopping ramp abuts against a rear wall face of the indoor unit to make an upper end of the body move rearwards, away from the rear wall of the indoor unit, and open, and

when the body is in the second position, the thrust face abuts upwards against a mounting member to limit a degree of freedom of upward movement of the indoor unit.