U.S. patent application number 09/804139 was filed with the patent office on 2002-05-16 for air conditioner.
Invention is credited to An, Byong-Hwa.
Application Number | 20020056282 09/804139 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 19698511 |
Filed Date | 2002-05-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020056282 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
An, Byong-Hwa |
May 16, 2002 |
AIR CONDITIONER
Abstract
Disclosed herein is an air conditioner that is capable of
increasing its cooling capacity with its improved evaporator and
control box. The air conditioner includes an indoor air inlet
formed on an air conditioner body. An evaporator is disposed in the
air conditioner body behind the indoor air inlet. A control box
including various electric and electronic parts is situated in the
indoor portion of the air conditioner body. The control box is
positioned over the evaporator and the evaporator is extended
relatively wide. The width of the evaporator may be substantially
analogous to the width of the air conditioner body. The width of
the indoor air inlet may be substantially analogous to the width of
the evaporator. The condenser of the electric and electronic parts
may be provided with terminals, the portion of the condenser
including the terminals is preferably situated in the control box,
and the remaining portion is downwardly projected from the control
box.
Inventors: |
An, Byong-Hwa; (Suwon-City,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert E. Bushnell
1522 K Street, N. W., Suite 300
Washington
DC
20005-1202
US
|
Family ID: |
19698511 |
Appl. No.: |
09/804139 |
Filed: |
March 13, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/262 ;
62/298 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 13/20 20130101;
F24F 2013/207 20130101; F24F 1/027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/262 ;
62/298 |
International
Class: |
F25D 023/12; F25D
019/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 11, 2000 |
KR |
2000-67001 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An air conditioner, comprising: an indoor air inlet formed on an
air conditioner body; an evaporator disposed in said air
conditioner body behind said indoor air inlet; and a control box
including various electric and electronic parts, said control box
being situated in the indoor portion of said air conditioner body;
wherein said control box is positioned over said evaporator and
said evaporator is extended relatively wide.
2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the width of
said evaporator is substantially analogous to the width of said air
conditioner body.
3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the width of
said indoor air inlet is substantially analogous to the width of
said evaporator.
4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the condenser
of said electric and electronic parts is provided with terminals,
the portion of said condenser including the terminals is preferably
situated in said control box, and the remaining portion is
downwardly projected from said control box through an opening.
5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein said control
box further comprises a support plate downwardly extended from the
edge of the opening of said control box, and said condenser is
secured to the support plate by a band clamp.
6. An air conditioner, comprising: an indoor air inlet formed on an
air conditioner body; and an evaporator disposed in said air
conditioner body behind said indoor air inlet; wherein the width of
said evaporator is substantially analogous to the width of said air
conditioner body.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application makes reference to, incorporates the same
herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
from an application for AIR CONDITIONER earlier filed in the Korean
Industrial Property Office on Nov. 11, 2000 and there duly assigned
Serial No. 67001/2000 by that Office.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to air conditioners,
and more particularly to an air conditioner that is capable of
increasing its cooling capacity with its improved evaporator and
control box.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] In a general window air conditioner, an indoor air inlet and
an indoor air outlet are formed on the indoor side of the air
conditioner to suck and exhaust indoor air, while an outdoor air
inlet and an outdoor air outlet are formed on the outdoor side of
the air conditioner to suck and exhaust outdoor air. An evaporator
and an evaporator fan are mounted in the indoor portion of the air
conditioner to cool and circulate indoor air, while a condenser and
a condenser fan are mounted in the outdoor portion of the air
conditioner to dissipate heat and circulate outdoor air. A motor is
mounted in the space between the indoor and outdoor portions of the
air conditioner to operate the evaporator and condenser fans, and a
compressor is mounted in the same space to compress gaseous coolant
to high-temperature and high-pressure coolant. A control box
containing various electric and electronic parts for controlling
the above-mentioned elements is mounted in the indoor portion of
the air conditioner.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional window air
conditioner. An indoor air inlet 2a and an indoor air outlet 4 are
formed on one side of the front of an air conditioner body 1. An
evaporator 3 is situated behind the indoor air inlet 2a. A control
box 5 including a function selection switch, a temperature
adjustment switch and a condenser 6 for a motor and a compressor is
mounted beside the evaporator 3. The control box 5 is constructed
to enclose various electrical and electronic parts so as to protect
the parts from moisture. Generally, the control box 5 vertically
extends long to accommodate an elongated condenser.
[0007] In the conventional air conditioner, one side of the front
of the conditioner body 1 is occupied by the control box 5, so
there is only a small space for an evaporator, thereby restricting
the evaporator to a relatively small size. Moreover, the evaporator
is restricted to a relatively small size owing to the spatial
restriction, so there is a limit to the increase of the cooling
capacity of the air conditioner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in
mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object
of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner, which is
capable of providing sufficient room for a relatively large
evaporator while keeping its overall size constant, thereby
increasing its cooling capacity.
[0009] In order to accomplish the above object, the present
invention provides an air conditioner, comprising: an indoor air
inlet formed on an air conditioner body; an evaporator disposed in
the air conditioner body behind the indoor air inlet; and a control
box including various electric and electronic parts, the control
box being situated in the indoor portion of the air conditioner
body; wherein the control box is positioned over the evaporator and
the evaporator is extended relatively wide.
[0010] The width of the evaporator may be substantially analogous
to the width of the air conditioner body.
[0011] The width of the indoor air inlet may be substantially
analogous to the width of the evaporator.
[0012] The condenser of the electric and electronic parts may be
provided with terminals, the portion of the condenser including the
terminals is preferably situated in the control box, and the
remaining portion is downwardly projected from the control box
through an opening.
[0013] The control box may further comprise a support plate
downwardly extended from the edge of the opening of the control
box, and the condenser is secured to the support plate by a band
clamp.
[0014] In addition, the present invention provides an air
conditioner, comprising an indoor air inlet formed on an air
conditioner body and an evaporator disposed in the air conditioner
body behind the indoor air inlet, wherein the width of the
evaporator is substantially analogous to the width of the air
conditioner body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The above and other objects, features and other advantages
of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional window air
conditioner;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air conditioner of the
present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the air
conditioner of the present invention, showing the arrangement of
the evaporator and control box of the air conditioner;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the control
box of the air conditioner of the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is a partial cross section showing the assembled
control box of the air conditioner of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the
same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings
to designate the same or similar components.
[0022] As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, in an air conditioner of the
present invention, an upper case 11, a base plate 12, a front panel
13 and a rear panel (not shown) constitute the exterior of an air
conditioner body 10. In such a case, the front panel 13 of the
conditioner body 10 is situated inside of a building, whereas the
rear panel of the conditioner body 20 is situated outside of the
building.
[0023] An indoor air inlet 14 and an indoor air outlet 15 are
formed on the front panel 13 to suck and exhaust indoor air, and
outdoor air inlets 16 are formed on the top and sides of the upper
case 11. Although not shown, an outdoor air outlet is formed on the
rear panel of the conditioner body 10.
[0024] An evaporator 17 is situated in the conditioner body 10
while being inwardly spaced apart from the indoor air inlet 14 of
the front panel 13, so as to cool indoor air. An evaporator fan 18
is placed behind the evaporator 17 to suck indoor air. A partition
19 is mounted behind the evaporator fan 18 to divide the interior
space of the conditioner body 10 into an indoor portion and an
outdoor portion. Two ducts 20 and 21 are positioned around and over
the evaporator fan 18 to form an air passage to guide the indoor
air sucked through the evaporator 17 toward the indoor air outlet
15.
[0025] A condenser 22 and a condenser fan 23 are mounted in the
outdoor portion of the conditioner body 10 to dissipate heat to and
circulate outdoor air. A motor 24 is mounted behind the partition
19 to drive the evaporator fan 18 and the condenser fan 23. A
compressor 25 is mounted behind the partition 19 to compress
gaseous coolant into high-temperature and high-pressure coolant. A
control box 30 containing various electric and electronic parts is
positioned behind the control section 13a of the front panel 13, on
which adjusting knobs 26 are mounted, to start, stop and control
the air conditioner.
[0026] In accordance with the present invention, while the overall
size of the air conditioner is not increased, the size of the
evaporator 17 can be increased, which can be achieved by a
reduction in the size of the control box 30, thereby increasing the
cooling capacity of the air conditioner.
[0027] To this end, the evaporator 17 situated behind the front
panel 13 is extended wide to have a width W1 analogous to the width
of the conditioner body 10, and the indoor air inlet 14 of the
front panel 13 is extended to have a width and a height
corresponding to the width and height of evaporator 17.
[0028] The control box 30 is miniaturized, so the control box 30
can be situated over the evaporator 17 beside the indoor air outlet
15. In the air conditioner of the present invention, the sum of the
width of the indoor air outlet 15 and the width of the control box
30 is substantially analogous to the width W1 of the evaporator
17.
[0029] As indicated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the control box 30 is
comprised of a lower cover 31 into which a front wall, a rear wall
and a floor are integrated and an upper cover 32 into which a roof
and a sidewall are integrated. A function selecting switch 33 and a
temperature adjusting switch 34 are mounted in the lower cover 31
to be connected to the control knobs 26 that are mounted on the
control section 13a of the front panel 13. A condenser 35 is held
by the floor of the lower cover 31 at its upper portion while
penetrating the floor of the lower cover 31, so as to start the
motor 24 and the compressor 25. In this case, the condenser 35 is
generally cylindrical, and is provided with electric terminals 35a
to which an electric wire is connected. All the components of the
condenser 35 are enclosed by a casing 35b except the terminals
35a.
[0030] In seating the condenser 35 on the control box 30, the
portion of the condenser 35 including the terminals 35a is
preferably situated in the control box 30, while the remaining
portion is downwardly projected from the control box 30 through an
opening 37 formed on the floor of the lower cover 31. This
construction protects the terminals 35a of the condenser 35 to be
insulated and minimizes the size of the control box 30, thereby
allowing the control box 30 to be positioned over the
evaporator.
[0031] A support plate 38 is downwardly extended from the edge of
the opening 37 to allow the condenser 35 to be secured thereto. A
band clamp 39 secures the condenser 35 to the support plate 38 by
holding the condenser 35 and the support plate 38 together.
[0032] Hereinafter, the operation of the air conditioner of the
present invention is described.
[0033] When the compressor 25 is operated, coolant is circulated
through the evaporator 17 and the condenser 22.
[0034] Meanwhile, when the motor 24 is operated, the evaporator fan
18 and the condenser fan 23 are operated to circulate indoor air
and outdoor air. In more detail, the indoor air is sucked toward
the evaporator 17 through the indoor air inlet 14 of the front
panel 13, exchanges heat with the evaporator 17, and is exhausted
to indoor space through the indoor air outlet 15. In this case, the
width of the indoor air inlet 14 and the width W1 of the evaporator
17 each are substantially analogous to the width of the conditioner
body 10, so a large amount of indoor air is sucked through the
indoor air inlet 14 and the sucked indoor air is sufficiently
cooled through heat exchange with the wide evaporator 17, thus
improving the cooling capacity of the air conditioner. The outdoor
air is sucked into the conditioner body 10 through the outdoor air
inlets 16 formed on the top and sides of the upper case 11, cools
the compressors 25 and the motor 24, exchanges heat with the
condenser 22, and thereafter is exhausted to the outside.
[0035] As described above, the present invention provides an air
conditioner, which is capable of providing sufficient room for a
relatively large evaporator while keeping its overall size constant
by miniaturizing its control box through an improvement in the
structure of the control box, thereby increasing its cooling
capacity.
[0036] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention
have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
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