U.S. patent application number 14/321992 was filed with the patent office on 2015-01-08 for wind-visor and air conditioner having the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Sangmoon JEONG, Myungshik KIM, Yong KIM, Huijae KWON. Invention is credited to Sangmoon JEONG, Myungshik KIM, Yong KIM, Huijae KWON.
Application Number | 20150007967 14/321992 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51162489 |
Filed Date | 2015-01-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150007967 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JEONG; Sangmoon ; et
al. |
January 8, 2015 |
WIND-VISOR AND AIR CONDITIONER HAVING THE SAME
Abstract
Provided are a wind-visor and an air conditioner including the
same. The air conditioner includes a main body including a blower
fan generating an air flow and a heat exchanger that is
heat-exchanged with air flowing by the blower fan, a front panel
including a suction hole through which the air introduced into the
blower fan is suctioned and a discharge hole through which the air
heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger is discharged, and a
wind-visor detachably disposed on a side of the discharge hole.
Inventors: |
JEONG; Sangmoon; (Seoul,
KR) ; KIM; Yong; (Seoul, KR) ; KIM;
Myungshik; (Seoul, KR) ; KWON; Huijae; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
JEONG; Sangmoon
KIM; Yong
KIM; Myungshik
KWON; Huijae |
Seoul
Seoul
Seoul
Seoul |
|
KR
KR
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
51162489 |
Appl. No.: |
14/321992 |
Filed: |
July 2, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/121 ;
454/237 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 2221/26 20130101;
F24F 1/0014 20130101; F24F 7/007 20130101; F24F 1/0047 20190201;
F24F 13/06 20130101; F24F 1/0011 20130101; F24F 13/081 20130101;
F24F 13/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/121 ;
454/237 |
International
Class: |
F24F 13/08 20060101
F24F013/08; F24F 7/007 20060101 F24F007/007 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 2, 2013 |
KR |
10-2013-0077017 |
Claims
1. An air conditioner comprising: a main body comprising a blower
fan generating an air flow and a heat exchanger that is
heat-exchanged with air flowing by the blower fan; a front panel
comprising a suction hole through which the air introduced into the
blower fan is suctioned and a discharge hole through which the air
heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger is discharged; and a
wind-visor detachably disposed on a side of the discharge hole.
2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the wind-visor
is disposed between the discharge hole and the suction hole.
3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the wind-visor
is separably coupled to the front panel.
4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising: a
first magnet disposed on the wind-visor; and a second magnet
disposed on the front panel, the second magnet being selectively
coupled to the first magnet.
5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, further comprising a
second installation groove defined in the front panel so that the
second magnet is disposed therein, the second installation groove
being defined between the discharge hole and the suction hole.
6. The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the wind-visor
is coupled to a front surface of the front panel, and the second
installation groove is recessed from a back surface of the front
panel.
7. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the wind-visor
comprises: a coupling part selectively coupled to a front side of
the front panel; and a guide part extending from the coupling part
to guide the air discharged from the discharge hole in a direction
away from the suction hole.
8. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the guide part
comprises: a blocking portion overlapping with the discharge hole
at a front side of the discharge hole; and an extension portion
extending from the blocking portion without overlapping with the
discharge hole at the front side of the discharge hole.
9. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein the front
panel comprises a first edge and a second edge, which define the
discharge hole, and a first virtual line (11) extending forward
from the first edge and a second virtual line (12) extending
forward from the second edge meet a front portion or front surface
of the wind-visor.
10. The air conditioner according to claim 9, wherein the second
virtual line (12) defines a reference line to distinguish the
coupling part and guide part of the wind-visor from each other.
11. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the coupling
part comprises: a first magnet selectively coupled to a second
magnet of the front panel; and a first installation groove in which
the first magnet is disposed.
12. The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein the coupling
part comprises: a plurality of hollows; and at least one support
rib for partitioning the plurality of hollows.
13. The air conditioner according to claim 12, wherein at least one
hollow of the plurality of hollows comprises the first installation
groove.
14. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the coupling
part has a cross-section size that gradually decreases in width
from the front panel toward the guide part.
15. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a
discharge louver disposed in the discharge hole to adjust an opened
degree of the discharge hole, wherein the wind-visor is coupled to
a side of the discharge louver to guide discharge of the air
through the discharge hole.
16. A wind-visor disposed on a side of a front panel comprising a
suction hole through which air is suctioned, a discharge hole
through which air is discharged, and a discharge louver rotatably
disposed on the discharge hole, the wind-visor comprising: a guide
part comprising a blocking portion that overlaps with the discharge
hole and an extension portion that does not overlap with the
discharge hole; and a coupling part extending from the guide part,
the coupling part being detachably disposed on a side of the
discharge hole.
17. The wind-visor according to claim 16, further comprising a
first magnet selectively coupled to a second magnet of the front
panel.
18. The wind-visor according to claim 16, wherein the coupling part
is coupled to a font portion of the front panel, and a surface
extending forward from a first edge of the discharge hole defines
one surface of the coupling part.
19. The wind-visor according to claim 18, wherein a virtual line
extending forward from a second edge of the discharge hole is a
reference line to partition the blocking portion from the extension
portion.
20. The wind-visor according to claim 16, wherein the coupling part
comprises: a plurality of hollows having a first installation
groove in which the first magnet is disposed; and at least one
support rib for partitioning the plurality of hollows.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119
and 35 U.S.C. 365 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0077017
(filed on Jul. 2, 2013), which is hereby incorporated by reference
in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a wind-visor and an air
conditioner including the same.
[0003] Air conditioners are cooling/heating appliances for cooling
or heating an indoor space through heat-exchange between
indoor/outdoor air and a refrigerant. Air conditioners installed
for maintaining pleasant indoor air in buildings may be classified
into wall mount type air conditioners installed at a predetermined
height on a wall, stand type air conditioners standing up in an
indoor space, and ceiling type air conditioners installed on a
ceiling.
[0004] Among these, the ceiling type air conditioners installed on
a ceiling may be mainly installed in places, which are utilized by
many peoples and make better use of a space, such as offices,
classrooms, public offices, and the like. Such a ceiling type air
conditioner has an inflow hole that is defined in a central portion
of the air conditioner to introduce indoor air and a discharge hole
that is defined outside the inflow hole to discharge conditioned
air in all directions.
[0005] A cover is disposed on the discharge hole. Thus, when the
air conditioner is turned off, the cover may cover the discharge
hole to prevent foreign substances from being introduced into the
air conditioner. When the air conditioner is turned on, the cover
may be opened to open the discharge hole, thereby discharging the
conditioned air into an indoor space. Here, the cover may rotate on
a side of the discharge hole to switch a discharge direction of
air.
[0006] In the ceiling type air conditioners according to the
related art, the cover may not have a sufficient size. For example,
the cover may have a size equal or similar to that of the discharge
hole. In this case, when the cover rotates in a state where the
cover opens the discharge hole, it may be difficult to uniformly
discharge air in various directions, and thus, the air may be
concentrated into a specific position.
[0007] As a result, if a user stays for a long time at the position
of the indoor space into which the air is concentrated, the user
may feel inconvenience or displeasure. For example, when the
discharged air is cold air, hypothermia in which a temperature of
the human body has gone down may occur, or the person may get sick
from overexposure to air conditioning. On the other hand, the
conditioned air may not be sufficiently supplied into positions
spaced apart from the position into which the air is concentrated
to deteriorate reliability of the air conditioner.
[0008] To solve the above-described limitation, Korean Patent
Publication No. 10-2012-011822 discloses a wind guide device that
is mounted and fixed to a front panel of the air conditioner by
using a screw.
[0009] Particularly, the wind guide device includes a guide plate
including a flat plate installed in a longitudinal direction of the
discharge hole and a long hole defined in each of both sides of the
plate in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the discharge
hole, a main body including a body installed on a side surface of
the discharge hole and having a predetermined length, a coupling
piece protruding from each of both lower ends of the body, and a
guide surface disposed on a lower end of the coupling piece and
having a semicircular shape, a rotation body inserted into an
insertion groove defined between the coupling pieces of the main
body and including a coupling screw disposed on a lower end thereof
to protrude so that the coupling screw is inserted into the long
hole of the guide plate, and a support body allowing the guide
plate to be closely attached to the guide surface and having a
screw hole coupled to the coupling screw.
[0010] However, in the case of the wind guide device according to
the related art, since a plurality of components are provided, the
wind guide device may have a complex structure. In addition, at
least one portion of the plurality of components may fall down to
cause safety accident due to a weight of each of the plurality of
components.
[0011] For this, when the components are strongly fixed by using
screws or adhesion material so as to prevent the components from
falling down, it may be difficult to attach or detach the
components. Also, after the components are separated, punched holes
or the adhesion material may remain at the positions, at which the
components are separated, to deteriorate an exterior of the air
conditioner.
[0012] Also, since a hole has to be punched in an installation
surface of the air conditioner, the air conditioner may be reduced
in durability.
[0013] Also, an air backflow phenomenon in which the air discharged
from the discharge hole is reflected by the guide plate to return
to an air suction hole of the air conditioner may occur.
SUMMARY
[0014] Embodiments provides a wind-visor that is capable of
preventing hot or warm air from being concentrated into a specific
area to efficiently condition indoor air and an air conditioner
including the same.
[0015] In one embodiment, an air conditioner including: a main body
including a blower fan generating an air flow and a heat exchanger
that is heat-exchanged with air flowing by the blower fan; a front
panel including a suction hole through which the air introduced
into the blower fan is suctioned and a discharge hole through which
the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger is discharged; and a
wind-visor detachably disposed on a side of the discharge hole.
[0016] The wind-visor may be disposed between the discharge hole
and the suction hole.
[0017] The wind-visor may be separably coupled to the front
panel.
[0018] The air conditioner may further include: a first magnet
disposed on the wind-visor; and a second magnet disposed on the
front panel, the second magnet being selectively coupled to the
first magnet.
[0019] The air conditioner may further include: a second
installation groove defined in the front panel so that the second
magnet is disposed therein, the second installation groove being
defined between the discharge hole and the suction hole.
[0020] The wind-visor may be coupled to a front surface of the
front panel, and the second installation groove may be recessed
from a back surface of the front panel.
[0021] The wind-visor may include: a coupling part selectively
coupled to a front side of the front panel; and a guide part
extending from the coupling part to guide the air discharged from
the discharge hole in a direction away form the suction hole.
[0022] The guide part may include: a blocking portion overlapping
with the discharge hole at a front side of the discharge hole; and
an extension portion extending from the blocking portion without
overlapping with the discharge hole at the front side of the
discharge hole.
[0023] The front panel may include a first edge and a second edge,
which define the discharge hole, and a first virtual line (11)
extending forward from the first edge and a second virtual line
(12) extending forward from the second edge may meet a front
portion or front surface of the wind-visor.
[0024] The second virtual line (12) may define a reference line for
distinguishing the coupling part and guide part of the wind-visor
from each other.
[0025] The coupling part may include: a first magnet selectively
coupled to a second magnet of the front panel; and a first
installation groove in which the first magnet is disposed.
[0026] The coupling part may include: a plurality of hollows; and
at least one support rib for partitioning the plurality of
hollows.
[0027] At least one hollow of the plurality of hollows may include
the first installation groove.
[0028] The coupling part may have a cross-section that gradually
decreases in width from the front panel toward the guide part.
[0029] The air conditioner may further include a discharge louver
disposed in the discharge hole to adjust an opened degree of the
discharge hole, wherein the wind-visor may be coupled to a side of
the discharge louver to guide discharge of the air through the
discharge hole.
[0030] In another embodiment, a wind-visor disposed on a side of a
front panel including a suction hole through which air is
suctioned, a discharge hole through which air is discharged, and a
discharge louver rotatably disposed on the discharge hole includes:
a guide part including a blocking portion that overlaps with the
discharge hole and an extension portion that does not overlap with
the discharge hole; and a coupling part extending from the guide
part, the coupling part being detachably disposed on a side of the
discharge hole.
[0031] The wind-visor may further include a first magnet
selectively coupled to a second magnet of the front panel.
[0032] The coupling part may be coupled to a font portion of the
front panel, and a surface extending forward from a first edge of
the discharge hole may define one surface of the coupling part.
[0033] A virtual line extending forward from a second edge of the
discharge hole may be a reference line for partitioning the
blocking portion from the extension portion.
[0034] The coupling part may include: a plurality of hollows having
a first installation groove in which the first magnet is disposed;
and at least one support rib for partitioning the plurality of
hollows.
[0035] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the
accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features
will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according
to an embodiment.
[0037] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the air conditioner according to
an embodiment.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' of
FIG. 1.
[0039] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion A of FIG.
3.
[0040] FIG. 5 is a top view of a wind-visor according to an
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0041] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure
will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings in such a manner that the technical idea of the present
disclosure may easily be carried out by a person with ordinary
skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Moreover,
detailed descriptions related to well-known functions or
configurations will be ruled out in order not to unnecessarily
obscure subject matters of the present invention. Also, portions
having similar function and effect may be expressed with the same
or similar reference symbol throughout.
[0042] In addition, in this disclosure below, when one part (or
element, device, etc.) is referred to as being `connected` to
another part (or element, device, etc.), it should be understood
that the former can be `directly connected` to the latter, or
`electrically connected` to the latter via an intervening part (or
element, device, etc.). Furthermore, when it is described that one
comprises (or includes or has) some elements, it should be
understood that it may comprise (or include or has) only those
elements, or it may comprise (or include or have) other elements as
well as those elements if there is no specific limitation.
[0043] The air conditioner according to an embodiment may be a
split type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor
unit are separated from each other. Also, a ceiling type indoor
unit may be described as an example. However, the ideas of the
prevent disclosure is not limited to the above-described structure.
For example, the ideas of the prevent disclosure may also be
applied to integrated air conditioner, wall mount type air
conditioner, or stand type air conditioners.
[0044] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according
to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the air conditioner
according to an embodiment, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken
along line I-I' of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view
illustrating a portion A of FIG. 3.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an air conditioner 10 according
to an embodiment includes a casing 100 in which a plurality of
components for air-conditioning are built, a front panel 110
disposed on a front surface of the casing 100, and a wind-visor 200
disposed on a side of the front panel 110.
[0046] The air conditioner 10 is buried in a ceiling. In this
specification, a direction from the ceiling toward an indoor space
may be defined as a "front direction", and a direction from the
indoor space toward the ceiling may be defined as a "rear
direction".
[0047] A heat exchanger 120 in which a refrigerant flows to
heat-exchange with surrounding air, a blower fan 130 disposed on a
side of the heat exchanger 120, a blower motor 140 for driving the
blower fan 130, and a filter part for filtering foreign substances
contained in air flowing into the casing 100 may be installed in
the casing 100.
[0048] The heat exchanger 120 may be disposed to surround the
periphery of the blower fan 130. However, the heat exchanger 120
according to the current embodiment is not limited in position or
shape.
[0049] The blower fan 130 includes a turbo fan that introduces air
in an axis direction thereof to discharge the air in a direction
crossing the axis direction, e.g., a radius direction. The blower
fan 130 may be disposed at an inner central portion of the casing
100. However, the blower fan 130 according to the current
embodiment is not limited to kind or position.
[0050] The filter part 150 may be disposed at one point of a flow
path of air that forcibly flows by the blower fan 130. For example,
the filter part 150 may be disposed between the blower fan 130 and
the front panel 110. That is, the filter part 150 may be disposed
at a rear side of the front panel 110 to remove foreign substances
contained in air that is introduced into the blower fan 130. Also,
unlike the drawings, the filter part 150 may be disposed on a side
surface of the heat exchanger 120 or a side of a discharge part of
the air conditioner 10. However, the filter part 150 according to
the current embodiment is not limited to position or shape.
[0051] The front panel 110 is disposed on a front side of the
casing 100. A central portion 110a protruding outward, i.e.,
forward may be disposed on the front panel 110. That is, the
central portion 110a has a curved surface with a predetermined
curvature. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the front panel 110 has
a curved surface in cross-section. However, it is not necessary
that the front panel 110 includes the protruding portion. Unlike
the drawings, the front panel 110 may have a flat plate shape.
[0052] The front panel includes a suction hole 111 for suctioning
indoor air, a front grill 112 disposed on the suction hole 110 to
prevent foreign substances having relatively large volume from
being introduced, a discharge hole 113 that is opened in a side of
the suction hole 110 to discharge air, a discharge louver 114 for
selectively opening or closing the discharge hole, and a wind-visor
200 disposed on a side of the discharge hole 113.
[0053] The suction hole 111 may be defined in the central portion
110a of the front panel 110. For example, the suction hole 110 may
be defined in the protruding central portion 110a of the front
panel 110.
[0054] The front grill 112 may be disposed on the suction hole 111
to filter foreign substances contained in air passing through the
suction hole 111. For example, the front grill 112 may include a
plurality of ribs coupled to each other to form a lattice
pattern.
[0055] At least one discharge hole 113 may be defined in an edge of
the front panel 110. In detail, the discharge hole 113 may be
spaced apart outward from the suction hole 111. Also, the discharge
hole 113 may be provided in plurality along the edge of the front
panel 110.
[0056] For example, if the front grill 112 has a square shape, four
discharge holes 113 may be provided to correspond to four sides of
the front grill 112. Also, the discharge hole 113 may be defined in
the protruding curved surface of the central portion 110a.
[0057] The discharge hole 113 may be defined in a direction in
which the discharge hole 113 is inclined outward toward a front
side of the front panel 110, i.e., inclined outward with respect to
the ground. Thus, air discharged from the discharge hole 113 may be
uniformly spread to the surrounding without being concentrated into
a front side of the air conditioner 10.
[0058] The front panel 110 includes a first edge 113a and a second
edge 113b, which define the discharge hole 113.
[0059] The first edge 113 may be disposed toward the inside of the
front panel 110, and the second edge 113b may be disposed toward
the outside of the front panel 110. The discharge hole 113 may be
defined by a space between the first edge 113a and the second edge
113b.
[0060] The discharge louver 114 may be disposed in the discharge
hole 113 to selectively open or close the discharge hole 113. The
discharge louver 114 may be rotatably connected to a rotation
shaft. For example, the rotation shaft may extend in a direction
perpendicular to a flow direction of the air discharged through the
discharge hole 113 and be coupled to the front panel 110.
[0061] An opened degree of the discharge hole 113 may be determined
according to a rotating angle of the discharge louver 114. When the
discharge louver 114 is disposed in a direction parallel to the
front panel 110 (a first position), the discharge hole 113 may be
closed. On the other hand, when the discharge louver 114 is
disposed in a direction perpendicular to the front panel 110 (a
second position), the discharge hole 113 may be fully opened.
[0062] As the discharge louver 114 is changed in rotating angle
from the first position to the second position, the discharge hole
113 may increase in opened degree. The more the discharge hole 113
increases in opened degree, the more air discharged through the
discharge hole 113 increases in discharge amount. Also, the more
the discharge hole 113 decreases in opened degree, the more the air
decreases in discharge amount. Also, a discharge direction of the
air may be determined according to the rotating angle of the
discharge louver 114.
[0063] The wind-visor 200 may be detachably disposed on the front
panel 110. The wind-visor 200 may prevent air discharged through
the discharge hole 113 from being directly discharged to the user.
The wind-visor 200 includes a portion that vertically overlaps with
the discharge hole 113 and a portion that does not overlap with the
discharge hole 113. Although described below, the overlapping
portion may be defined as a blocking portion 260, and the
non-overlapping portion may be defined as an extension portion
270.
[0064] In detail, a first virtual line 11 extending forward from
the first edge 113a of the discharge hole 113 may meet a front
portion or front surface of the wind-visor 200. Also, a second
virtual line 12 extending forward from the second edge 113b of the
discharge hole 113 may meet the front portion or front surface of
the wind-visor 200.
[0065] That is to say, when the discharge louver 114 is disposed at
the first position, the virtual line extending forward from each of
both ends of the discharge louver 114 may meet the wind-visor
200.
[0066] Here, the first virtual line 11 may be a reference line for
distinguishing a coupling part 210 and a guide part 250 of the
wind-visor 200 from each other. That is, the coupling part 210 and
the guide part 250 may be partitioned by the first virtual line
12.
[0067] Also, the second virtual line 12 may be a reference line for
distinguishing the blocking portion 260 and the extension portion
270 of the guide part from each other. That is, the blocking
portion 260 and the extension portion 270 may be partitioned by the
second virtual line 12.
[0068] The wind-visor 200 includes the coupling part 210 attached
to the front panel 110 and the guide part 250 extending from the
coupling part 210. The coupling part 210 and the guide part 250 may
be integrated with each other. Also, the coupling part 210 may be
selectively coupled to the front panel 110, and the guide part 250
may extend from the coupling part 210 to guide the air discharged
from the discharge hole 113 in a direction away from the suction
hole 111.
[0069] In detail, the coupling part 210 may be attached between the
discharge hole 113 and the suction hole 111. The coupling part 210
may have one surface that is defined by extending forward from the
first edge 113a of the discharge hole 113. That is, the one surface
of the coupling part 210 and the first edge 113a may form a flat
surface.
[0070] In FIG. 5, both sides of the coupling part 210 may be
rounded toward both sides of the discharge hole 113 when compared
to a central portion of the coupling part 210. That is, the
coupling part 210 may be gradually bent outward from the central
portion thereof toward both sides of the discharge hole 113 to
effectively discharge air toward both sides of the discharge hole
113.
[0071] In FIG. 4, the coupling part 210 may have a shape that
gradually decreases in cross-section downward from an upper portion
thereof. That is to say, the portion (a first portion) of the
coupling part 210 coupled to the front panel 110 may have a
cross-section greater than that of a portion (a second portion)
extending forward from the first portion. That is, the coupling
part 210 may have a cross-section that gradually decreases from the
front panel 110 toward the guide part 250.
[0072] When the central portion 110a of the front panel 110
protrudes forward, the portion of the coupling part 210 coupled to
the front panel 110 may have a shape of which a central portion is
bent forward to correspond to the shape of the front panel 110.
[0073] A first coupling unit 220 to be coupled to the front panel
110 may be disposed on the coupling part 210. The first coupling
unit 220 may include a first installation groove 222 that is
recessed from one side of the coupling part 210 and a first magnet
224 disposed in the first installation groove 222.
[0074] Here, the one side of the coupling part 210 may be
understood as a coupling surface to be coupled to the front panel
110.
[0075] The first magnet 224 may be disposed in the first
installation groove 222.
[0076] For another example, the coupling part 210 may be
manufactured in a state where the first magnet 224 is built in the
coupling part 210. That is, the wind-visor 200 may be
injection-molded in a form in which the first magnet 224 is
inserted into the coupling part 210.
[0077] The front panel 110 may include a second coupling unit 116
that is selectively coupled to the first coupling unit 220. The
second coupling unit 116 may include a second magnet 118 that
exerts an attractive force with respect to the first magnet 224 and
thus is selectively coupled to the first magnet 224 and a second
installation groove 117 in which the second magnet 118 is
inserted.
[0078] The second installation groove 117 may be defined between
the discharge hole 113 and the suction hole 111 with respect to the
front panel 110.
[0079] Also, the second installation groove 117 may be recessed
from one surface of the front panel 110, i.e., "a back surface" of
the front panel 110. That is, the second installation groove 117
may be disposed so that the second installation groove 117 goes out
of sight. Here, it may be understood that the wind-visor 200 is
coupled to a "front surface" of the front panel 110.
[0080] The guide part 250 may guide the air discharged through the
discharge hole 113 toward the outside of the front panel 110. The
guide part 250 may include a blocking portion 260 that vertically
overlaps with the discharge hole 113 and an extension portion 270
that extends from the blocking portion 260.
[0081] The blocking portion 260 may be understood as a portion of
the guide part 250 disposed between the first virtual line 11 and
the second virtual line 12.
[0082] The blocking portion 260 may block the air discharged
directly downward from the discharge hole 113. In detail, the
blocking portion 260 may extend from the coupling part 210 toward
the outside of the front side of the front panel 110 to prevent the
air from being discharged directly downward from the discharge hole
113.
[0083] In FIG. 5, both sides of the blocking portion 260 may be
bent toward both sides of the discharge hole 113 when compared to a
central portion of the blocking portion 260. That is, the blocking
portion 260 may be gradually bent outward from the central portion
thereof toward both sides of the discharge hole 113 to guide the
air blocked by the blocking portion 260 to both sides of the
discharge hole 113.
[0084] The extension portion 270 may guide the air discharged from
the discharge hole 113 in a direction that is far away from the air
conditioner 10. The extension portion 270 may be defined as a
portion of the guide part 250 that does not vertically overlap with
the discharge hole 113.
[0085] In summary, the front panel 110 may include a first panel
part between the discharge hole 113 and the suction hole 111 and a
second panel part disposed on a side opposite to the suction hole
with respect to the discharge hole 113. The coupling part 210 may
vertically overlap with the first panel part, and the blocking
portion may vertically overlap with the discharge hole 113. Also,
the extension portion 270 may vertically overlap with the second
panel part.
[0086] FIG. 5 is a top view of a wind-visor according to an
embodiment.
[0087] Referring to FIG. 5, a hollow 212 and a support rib 214
crossing the hollow 212 may be defined or disposed in the coupling
part 210.
[0088] The coupling part 210 may be reduced in weight due to the
hollow 212. Also, the hollow 212 may be partitioned into a
plurality of spaces by the support rib 214.
[0089] At least one space of the plurality of spaces may form the
first installation groove 222 in which the first magnet 224 is
inserted. In FIG. 5, the first installation groove 222 may be
defined in a position that is bilaterally symmetrical with respect
to the central portion of the wind-visor 200.
[0090] The coupling part 210 may be maintained in strength by the
support rib 214. The support rib 214 may be understood as a
structure that forms one wall of the first installation groove
222.
[0091] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a
number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood
that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by
those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope
of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various
variations and modifications are possible in the component parts
and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within
the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.
In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts
and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
[0092] According to the embodiments, it may prevent the conditioned
air, i.e., the hot or warm air from being concentrated into a
specific position with the indoor space to uniformly condition air
in the indoor space.
[0093] Also, since the wind-visor has a simple structure, the
manufacturing process of the wind-visor may be simplified to reduce
manufacturing costs. Also, the wind-visor may be lightweight to
reduce a load applied to the air conditioner and prevent the safety
accident due to the falling of the wind-visor from occurring.
[0094] Also, since the wind-visor is detachably provided according
to the operation mode or indoor conditions, it may be unnecessary
to form a separate hole in the outer surface of the air
conditioner. Thus, the front panel of the air conditioner may not
be deteriorated in durability.
[0095] Also, the air backflow phenomenon in which the air
discharged from the discharge hole returns to the suction hole of
the air conditioner may be prevented to improve energy efficiency
in the air conditioner.
[0096] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a
number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood
that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by
those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope
of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various
variations and modifications are possible in the component parts
and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within
the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.
In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts
and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
* * * * *