Air conditioner having independent cooling and purifying paths

• US 7,334,424 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Issued: 02/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WINIADiMCHAE Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: WINIADiMCHAE Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jun Hyung, Jung, Hyoung Bok, Bae, Jung Hwa, Moon, Kwang Oh
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali; Mohammad M.
• Application Number:
  US11/254,606
• Publication Number:
  US 20060086138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 621/80, 621/86, 623/10, 623/14, 623/17, 624/28, 624/19, 454/156, 454/187, 962/23, 422/120, 422/186.04
• US Class Current: 62/428
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/005 mounted on the floor; standing on the floor
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0063 by the mounting or arrangement of the heat exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0071 with means for purifying supplied air perfuming or deodorising means F24F1/008
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0073 characterised by the mounting or arrangement of filters
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/22 using UV light
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/80 Self-contained air purifiers

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an air conditioner having independent cooling and purifying paths. The air conditioner comprises a body casing formed by assembling a front panel with a rear panel, the front panel having a cooled air discharge opening and one or more suction openings to introduce indoor air into the body casing, a first fan arranged in the body casing to suction air via the suction openings, and a heat exchanger located above the first fan to perform heat exchange of the suctioned air. A cooler housing is arranged in the body casing to receive the first fan therein. Also, an air purifier is mounted in the body casing.

Claims

1. An air conditioner having independent cooling and purifying paths, comprising:

a body casing consisting of a front panel and a rear panel assembled with each other;

a first fan arranged in the body casing to suction air; and

a heat exchanger located above the first fan to perform heat exchange of the suctioned air,

wherein the cooling path includes one or more suction openings formed at a lower section of the body casing and a discharge opening formed at a front side of an upper section of the body casing,

wherein the purifying path includes an air purifier suction opening, which is formed at a lateral location or a center location of the front side of the body casing, and a pair of purified air discharge openings, which are formed at opposite lateral sides of the body casing, and

wherein the cooling path is separated from the purifying path to be independently formed from each other.

2. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 1, wherein a pair of suction openings of the cooling path is formed at opposite lateral sides of the front panel to be located in the lower section of the body casing.

3. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 1, wherein a single suction opening of the cooling path is formed at a front side of the front panel to be located in the lower section of the body casing.

4. An air conditioner having independent cooling and purifying paths, comprising:

a body casing formed by assembling a front panel with a rear panel, the front panel having a cooled air discharge opening and one or more suction openings to introduce indoor air into the body casing;

a first fan arranged in the body casing to suction air via the suction openings; and

a heat exchanger located above the first fan to perform heat exchange of the suctioned air,

wherein a cooler housing is arranged in the body casing to receive the first fan therein;

wherein an air purifier is mounted in the body casing, the air purifier including;

a purifier housing formed with an air purifier suction opening to suction air and a pair of purified air discharge openings to discharge purified air, separately from the suction openings and the discharge opening;

a second fan mounted in the purifier housing to suction air; and

a filter member located in front of the air purifier suction opening to filter air;

whereby the cooling path, which consists of the suction openings, the first fan, the heat exchanger, and the discharge opening, is independently formed of the purifying path, which consists of the filter member, the air purifier suction opening, the second fan, and the purified air discharge openings.

5. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 4,

wherein the air purifier suction opening is opened and closed in accordance with driving of a front suction cover, which is mounted to slide forward from the body casing, and

wherein the purified air discharge openings are opened and closed in accordance with driving of a pair of lateral discharge covers, which are mounted to pivotally rotate at opposite lateral sides of the body casing.

6. The air condition as set forth in claim 4, wherein the suction openings of the front panel are formed at opposite lateral sides of the body casing.

7. The air condition as set forth in claim 4, wherein the cooler housing and the purifier housing are integrally formed with each other to be mounted in the body casing.

8. The air condition as set forth in claim 7, wherein the purifier housing is positioned at an upper side of the cooler housing.

9. The air condition as set forth in claim 4, wherein indoor cooling and air purifying operations obtained via the cooling path and the purifying path are independently or simultaneously performed in accordance with a user'"'"'s selective manipulation.

10. The air condition as set forth in claim 5,

wherein the front suction cover is opened and closed by:

four cover sliders mounted to slide forward from the front panel to support respective corners of the front suction cover;

a pair of first drive motors each attached to a supporting structure provided at an inner surface of the front panel;

a pair of pinions each connected to a shaft of one of the first drive motors; and

a pair of racks engaged with the pinions, respectively, each rack penetrating through the front panel to be fixed perpendicularly to the inner surface of the front suction cover, and

wherein each of the lateral discharge covers is opened and closed by;

a second drive motor provided at a side of the lateral discharge cover; and

an opening/closing link to transmit a drive force of the second drive motor to the lateral discharge cover.

11. The air condition as set forth in claim 5,

wherein the front suction cover is opened and closed by:

four cover sliders mounted to slide forward from the front panel to support respective corners of the front suction cover;

a pair of first drive motors each attached to a supporting structure provided at an inner surface of the front panel;

a pair of pinions each connected to a shaft of one of the first drive motors; and

a pair of racks engaged with the pinions, respectively, each rack penetrating through the front panel to be fixed perpendicularly to the inner surface of the front suction cover, and

wherein each of the lateral discharge covers is opened and closed by;

a transfer rod having one end fixed to one of the cover sliders;

a connecting rod having one end coupled with the other end of the transfer rod; and

an opening/closing link provided at the lateral discharge cover to be connected to the other end of the connecting rod,

whereby the lateral discharge covers are linked with the front suction cover to be opened and closed in accordance with operation of the front suction cover.

16. The air condition as set forth in claim 5, wherein the suction openings of the front panel are formed at opposite lateral sides of the body casing.

12. An air conditioner having independent cooling and purifying paths, comprising:

one or more suction openings to suction air via a lower panel of a front panel;

a discharge opening to discharge cooled air after cooling the air suctioned via the suction openings by use of a heat exchanger;

a front suction cover mounted at an upper side of the lower panel to be coupled to and separated from a rear panel, the front suction cover having a separated cover member to define an air purifier suction opening and air purifier suction holes;

a filter member mounted on the inside of the front suction cover to filter impurities contained in the suctioned air;

an electric dust collector mounted close to the filter member to sterilize and purify air by applying electrical stimulations;

a second fan mounted on the inside of the front suction cover to blow air purified by the filter member and the electric dust collector; and

a pair of purified air discharge grills to guide the air, blown from the second fan, to discharge it from opposite lateral sides of the front panel.

13. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 12, wherein the cover member is fixed to a front side of the suction cover by use of a supporting bar.

14. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 12, wherein the filter member and the electric dust collector are configured to be inserted into or be separated from a guide groove, which is defined at an inner surface of the front suction cover by means of a pair of bent guide walls.

15. The air conditioner as set forth in claim 12, wherein each of the purified air discharge grills has fixing protrusions formed at upper and lower surfaces thereof, so that the fixing protrusions are inserted into and rotatably fixed in fixing recesses formed at the front panel.