U.S. patent application number 15/735351 was filed with the patent office on 2018-06-21 for air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit.
The applicant listed for this patent is Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Invention is credited to Hisanori IKEDA, Masato ISHIKAWA, Masahide KINAMI, Youhei KOYANAGI, Akimoto SUZUKI.
Application Number | 20180172312 15/735351 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58100067 |
Filed Date | 2018-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180172312 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ISHIKAWA; Masato ; et
al. |
June 21, 2018 |
AIR-CONDITIONING APPARATUS INDOOR UNIT
Abstract
An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit to be mounted on a
wall includes: a front panel provided on a front side of an indoor
unit main body; and a design cover formed of a transparent
component and mounted so as to cover the front side of the front
panel. The design cover includes a rectangular flat portion and
peripheral wall portions provided at side portions of the flat
portion and projecting on a back side of the flat portion. A
plurality of projections each of which extends continuously from a
left end portion of the flat portion to a right end portion of the
flat portion in a front view, or a plurality of recesses each of
which extends continuously from the left end portion of the flat
portion to the right end portion of the flat portion, are provided
on a back side of the flat portion, and the projections or the
recesses are aligned in an up-down direction. A pearl coating is
provided on a back side of the design cover, and a background color
coating is further provided on the pearl coating.
Inventors: |
ISHIKAWA; Masato; (Tokyo,
JP) ; SUZUKI; Akimoto; (Tokyo, JP) ; KINAMI;
Masahide; (Tokyo, JP) ; IKEDA; Hisanori;
(Tokyo, JP) ; KOYANAGI; Youhei; (Tokyo,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Family ID: |
58100067 |
Appl. No.: |
15/735351 |
Filed: |
August 24, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
August 24, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2015/073703 |
371 Date: |
December 11, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 13/20 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 13/20 20060101
F24F013/20 |
Claims
1. An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit to be mounted on a
wall, comprising: a front panel provided on a front side of an
indoor unit main body; and a design cover formed of a transparent
component and mounted so as to cover the front side of the front
panel, the design cover including a flat portion having a
rectangular shape and peripheral wall portions provided at side
portions of the flat portion and projecting on a back side of the
flat portion, a plurality of projections each extending
continuously from a left end portion of the flat portion to a right
end portion of the flat portion in a front view or a plurality of
recesses each extending continuously from the left end portion of
the flat portion to the right end portion of the flat portion being
provided on a back side of the flat portion, the projections or the
recesses being aligned, at intervals, in an up-down direction, the
plurality of projections or the plurality of recesses being
provided such that widths thereof in the up-down direction, depths
thereof, and intervals thereof are irregular, a pearl coating being
provided on a back side of the design cover, and a background color
coating being further provided on the pearl coating.
2. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1, wherein
the design cover has a front surface that is wholly flat.
3. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1, wherein
the design cover is colorless and transparent, and the background
color coating is white.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a wall-mounted type
air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit that is installed on a wall
surface, and particularly relates to a front panel structure.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit is installed
within a room where a resident or other person is present, and thus
the appearance thereof comes into sight of the resident or the
other person. Therefore, in some air-conditioning apparatus indoor
units, in order to improve the design property thereof, the front
side of a front panel of an indoor unit main body is subjected to
coating or printing. However, the front side of the front panel is
often subjected to stimulation such as rubbing from the outside,
and thus there is a problem in that the coated surface or the
printed surface is easily flawed or peeled to deteriorate, so that
the design surface deteriorates. Therefore, there are
air-conditioning apparatus indoor units in which deterioration of a
design surface is suppressed (see, for example, Patent Literature 1
and Patent Literature 2).
[0003] In Patent Literature 1, a transparent front panel is
provided on the front side of an indoor unit main body, and color
or a pattern is provided on the back side of the transparent front
panel. In addition, in Patent Literature 2, a transparent front
panel is provided on the front side of an indoor unit main body, a
plurality of recesses and projections are provided on the back side
of the transparent front panel, pearl coating is applied thereunto,
and coating of a background color is further applied thereunto.
[0004] As described above, in Patent Literature 1 and Patent
Literature 2, by providing a design on the back side of the
transparent front panel by means of coating or the like, the design
is made hard to be subjected to stimulation such as rubbing from
the outside, thereby improving the design property while
suppressing deterioration of the design surface.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
[0005] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 2004-184051
[0006] Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent No. 5264860
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0007] When the design surface is seen from below in a state where
the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit is installed on an upper
portion of a wall surface, since a design is provided on the back
side of the transparent front panel by means of coating or the like
in the related art such as Patent Literature 1 and Patent
Literature 2, the design is seen through transparency, but there is
a problem in that it is hard to see the design through
transparency.
[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the
above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is
to provide an air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit having an
improved design property while deterioration of a design surface is
suppressed.
Solution to Problem
[0009] An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to the
present invention is an air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit to
be mounted on a wall, including: a front panel provided on a front
side of an indoor unit main body; and a design cover formed of a
transparent component and mounted so as to cover the front side of
the front panel, wherein the design cover includes a rectangular
flat portion and peripheral wall portions provided at side portions
of the flat portion and projecting on a back side of the flat
portion, a plurality of projections each of which extends
continuously from a left end portion of the flat portion to a right
end portion of the flat portion in a front view, or a plurality of
recesses each of which extends continuously from the left end
portion of the flat portion to the right end portion of the flat
portion, are provided on a back side of the flat portion, the
projections or the recesses are aligned in an up-down direction, a
pearl coating is provided on a back side of the design cover, and a
background color coating is further provided on the pearl
coating.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0010] According to the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to the present invention, by providing the plurality of
projections on the back side of the flat portion of the design
cover such that the projections project continuously from the left
end portion of the flat portion to the right end portion of the
flat portion and are aligned in the up-down direction, the pearl
coating sufficiently enters between the projections. Thus, the
projections that are provided in the right-left direction are
prominently seen when the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit is
seen from below. In addition, it is possible to adjust the entire
color tone further by the color coating, which is provided on the
pearl coating. As a result, in a state where the air-conditioning
apparatus indoor unit is installed on an upper portion of the wall
surface, even when the design covers, which form the design
surface, are seen from below, it is possible to clearly see the
design of the projections through transparency, and thus it is
possible to improve the design property.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an
air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment of
the present invention as seen from the front side.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the
air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment of
the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a front panel and
design covers of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram
before the design covers are mounted to the front panel.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the front panel and the
design cover of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram
after the design covers are mounted to the front panel.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a first side view schematically showing the design
cover of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to
Embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a second side view schematically showing the
design cover of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a front view schematically showing the design
cover of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to
Embodiment of the present invention,
[0018] FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically
showing the front panel and the design covers of the
air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment of
the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Hereinafter, Embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that
the present invention is not limited by Embodiment described below.
In addition, the relationship of the size of each constituent
element in the drawings described below may be different from the
actual relationship.
Embodiment
[0020] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an
air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment of
the present invention as seen from the front side, and FIG. 2 is a
vertical cross-sectional view of the air-conditioning apparatus
indoor unit according to Embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 2 shows the indoor unit with the left side in the
drawing being the front side of the indoor unit.
[0022] In the following description, for easy understanding, terms
representing a direction (e.g. "up", "down", "right", "left", etc.)
are used as appropriate, but are for description, and are not
intended to limit the invention of the present application. In
addition, in Embodiment, "up", "down", "right", and "left" are used
in a state where an indoor unit main body 100 is seen in a front
view.
[0023] Hereinafter, the configuration of the indoor unit will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0024] The indoor unit according to Embodiment supplies conditioned
air to an air-conditioning target area such as an indoor space by
using a refrigeration cycle through which refrigerant circulates.
In Embodiment, the case where the indoor unit is a wall-mounted
type indoor unit to be mounted on a wall surface in the
air-conditioning target area is shown as an example.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor unit main body 100 includes:
a back case 1 that is provided on a back side and mounted on a wall
surface; a front panel 2 that is provided on a front side and in
which a recess 11 and front air inlets 12 are formed; design covers
3 that are mounted on the front side of the front panel 2; an upper
air inlet 4 that is formed in an upper portion for mainly sucking
indoor air into the inside; and an air outlet 5 that is formed in a
lower portion for supplying conditioned air to the air-conditioning
target area.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, an air-sending fan 6 that sucks indoor
air through the upper air inlet 4 and the front air inlets 12 and
blows out conditioned air through the air outlet 5, and a heat
exchanger 7 that is disposed so as to cover the air-sending fan 6
from above and produces conditioned air by exchanging heat between
the refrigerant and the indoor air, are housed within the indoor
unit main body 100. An air passage is communicated within the
indoor unit main body 100 by these components. In addition, an
electrical item box that houses a circuit board, etc. and is not
shown, and a drain pan 8 that is provided below a lower end portion
of the heat exchanger 7 and collects dew condensation water from
the heat exchanger 7, are further provided within the indoor unit
main body 100.
[0027] The air-sending fan 6 is, for example, a cross-flow fan, and
the heat exchanger 7 is, for example, a fin-tube-type heat
exchanger, but the air-sending fan 6 and the heat exchanger 7 are
not limited thereto.
[0028] A filter 9 for removing dust, etc. included in the sucked
indoor air is provided between the upper air inlet 4 and the front
air inlets 12, and the heat exchanger 7. Furthermore, a vertical
air direction adjusting plate 10 that controls the direction in
which air flow is blown out is provided at the air outlet 5.
[0029] Next, flow of air within the indoor unit main body 100 will
be briefly described.
[0030] First, indoor air flows through the upper air inlet 4 and
the front air inlets 12 of the indoor unit main body 100 into the
indoor unit main body 100 by the air-sending fan 6. At this time,
dust, etc. included in the air is removed by the filter 9. The
indoor air is heated or cooled into conditioned air by the
refrigerant flowing within the heat exchanger 7, when passing
through the heat exchanger 7. Then, the conditioned air is adjusted
in direction by the vertical air direction adjusting plate 10, and
is blown out through the air outlet 5 to the outside of the indoor
unit main body 100, that is, to the air-conditioning target
area.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the front panel 2 and
the design covers 3 of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram
before the design covers 3 are mounted to the front panel 2, and
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the front panel 2 and the
design covers 3 of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram
after the design covers 3 is mounted to the front panel 2. The
arrows in FIG. 3 indicate a position to which the design covers 3
are mounted.
[0032] The front panel 2 has a front surface with a flat surface
shape as a whole for improving the design property thereof. In
addition, the front panel 2 has a rectangular shape, and the
lengthwise direction of the front panel 2 is the right-left
direction, that is, the horizontal direction, and the crosswise
direction of the front panel 2 is the up-down direction, that is,
the vertical direction, in a state where the indoor unit main body
100 is mounted on the wall surface. In addition, the recess 11 is
formed at the center in the up-down direction in a front view so as
to extend from the inner side of a left end portion to the inner
side of a right end portion. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the front
panel 2 is recessed at the center in the up-down direction from the
front side toward the back side, and the front surface is flat at
the left side and the right side of the recess 11. In addition, the
recess 11 is recessed from the front side toward the back side, and
the front air inlets 12 are formed below the recess 11.
[0033] The position at which the recess 11 is formed may not be
exactly the center in the up-down direction.
[0034] FIG. 5 is a first side view schematically showing the design
cover 3 of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to
Embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a second side view
schematically showing the design cover 3 of the air-conditioning
apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment of the present
invention, FIG. 7 is a front view schematically showing the design
cover 3 of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit according to
Embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a vertical
cross-sectional view schematically showing the front panel 2 and
the design covers 3 of the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit
according to Embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] Each design cover 3 is formed of a transparent component,
and has a front surface with a flat surface shape as a whole
similarly to the front panel 2. The lengthwise direction of the
design cover 3 is the right-left direction, that is, the horizontal
direction, and the crosswise direction of the design cover 3 is the
up-down direction, that is, the vertical direction, in a state
where the indoor unit main body 100 is mounted on the wall surface.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the design cover 3 includes a
rectangular flat portion 3a and peripheral wall portions 3b that
are provided at four side portions of the flat portion 3a,
respectively, and project on the back side. The design cover 3
improves the design property by being mounted to the front side of
the front panel 2 by means of claws that are provided at part or
all of the peripheral wall portions 3b and are not shown.
[0036] The peripheral wall portions 3b may not be provided at all
of the four side portions of the flat portion 3a, and may be
provided at part of the four side portions. In addition, the method
for mounting the design cover 3 to the front panel 2 is not limited
to the method using the claws, and the design cover 3 may be
mounted, for example, by using an adhesive.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 6, a design is provided on the back side of
the design cover 3 by projections 20, a pearl coating 21, and a
color coating 22. Since the design is provided on the back side of
the design cover 3 as described above, the design is hard to be
subjected to stimulation such as rubbing from the outside, and it
is possible to suppress deterioration of the design surface.
[0038] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a plurality of projections 20 are
provided on the back side of the flat portion 3a of the design
cover 3 so as to project continuously from the left end portion of
the flat portion 3a to the right end portion of the flat portion
3a, and are aligned in the up-down direction. In addition, as shown
in FIG. 7, the projections 20 are provided such that the widths
thereof in the up-down direction and the depths thereof are
irregular. Furthermore, the projections 20 are also provided such
that the intervals between the adjacent projections 20 are
irregular. That is, the back side of the flat portion 3a of the
design cover 3 is subjected to hairline processing in which the
plurality of minute projections 20 are provided in a single
direction. By providing the projections 20 as described above, part
of the projections 20 is easily shaded, and the projections 20 are
easily seen due to contrast between the shaded part and the other
part of the projections 20 on which light is reflected. Moreover,
it is possible to represent a sophisticated design with quality
appearance.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 6, the pearl coating 21 is provided on the
back side of the design cover 3, that is, on the back side of the
flat portion 3a and the inner side of the peripheral wall portions
3b, and the color coating 22 that provides a background color is
provided thereon.
[0040] The pearl coating 21 is a coating obtained by mixing fine
particles of mica of stone, and gives a shine by the fine particles
when light is applied thereto. Thus, light of pearl color is
refracted and scattered by the projections 20 with the color of the
color coating 22 as the background color. Due to the scattering of
the light, pearl-color glow prominently appears even when the
design cover 3, which is a transparent component, is seen from any
angle.
[0041] As described above, the projections 20 are provided on the
back side of the flat portion 3a, and the pearl coating 21 and the
color coating 22 are provided on the back side of the flat portion
3a, but such projections 20 are not provided on the peripheral wall
portions 3b, and the pearl coating 21 and the color coating 22 are
merely provided on the inner side thereof. Therefore, the
peripheral wall portions 3b are not shaded like the flat portion 3a
and are seen shiningly due to the transparency thereof, so that the
flat portion 3a and the peripheral wall portions 3b are seen
differently. Then, this produces contrast and accent and thus is
able to improve the design property.
[0042] In addition, by providing the plurality of projections 20 on
the back side of the flat portion 3a of the design cover 3 such
that the projections 20 project continuously from the left end
portion of the flat portion 3a to the right end portion of the flat
portion 3a and are aligned in the up-down direction, the pearl
coating 21 sufficiently enters between the projections 20. Thus,
the projections 20 that are provided in the right-left direction
are prominently seen when the air-conditioning apparatus indoor
unit is seen from below, and it is further possible to adjust the
entire color tone by the color coating 22, which is provided on the
pearl coating 21.
[0043] As a result, in a state where the air-conditioning apparatus
indoor unit is installed on an upper portion of the wall surface,
even when the design covers 3, which form the design surface, are
seen from below, it is possible to clearly see the design of the
projections 20 through transparency, and thus it is possible to
improve the design property.
[0044] The color coating 22 corresponds to a "background color
coating" of the present invention.
[0045] As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 8, the design covers 3 are
mounted on the front side of the front panel 2 and at the upper
side and the lower side of the recess 11. Specifically, the design
cover 3 that is mounted at the upper side of the recess 11 of the
front panel 2 is mounted so as to cover the area from the left end
portion of the front panel 2 to the right end portion of the front
panel 2 over the area from the upper end portion of the recess 11
to the upper end portion of the front panel 2. In addition, the
design cover 3 that is mounted at the lower side of the recess 11
of the front panel 2 is mounted so as to cover the area from the
left end portion of the front panel 2 to the right end portion of
the front panel 2 over the area from the lower end portion of the
recess 11 to the lower end portion of the front panel 2. By
mounting the design covers 3 on the front side of the front panel 2
in this manner, the design property is improved when the indoor
unit main body 100 is seen from the front.
[0046] In Embodiment, the design covers 3 are mounted at the upper
side and the lower side of the recess 11 of the front panel 2 one
by one, but the configuration is not limited thereto, the design
cover 3 that is mounted at the upper side of the recess 11 of the
front panel 2 may be divided into a plurality of sections, for
example, two sections, and the design cover 3 that is provided on
the lower side of the recess 11 of the front panel 2 may be
similarly divided into a plurality of sections, for example, two
sections. Moreover, the recess 11 may be eliminated from the front
panel 2, and one design cover 3 may be mounted so as to cover the
entire front surface of the front panel 2.
[0047] As described above, according to the air-conditioning
apparatus indoor unit according to Embodiment, the design is
provided on the back side of the design covers 3, and thus it is
possible to suppress deterioration of the design surface. In
addition, by providing the plurality of projections 20 on the back
side of the flat portion 3a of the design cover 3 such that the
projections 20 project continuously from the left end portion of
the flat portion 3a to the right end portion of the flat portion 3a
and are aligned in the up-down direction, the pearl coating 21
sufficiently enters between the projections 20. Thus, the
projections 20 that are provided in the right-left direction are
prominently seen when the air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit is
seen from below, and it is further possible to adjust the entire
color tone by the color coating 22, which is provided on the pearl
coating 21.
[0048] As a result, in a state where the air-conditioning apparatus
indoor unit is installed on an upper portion of the wall surface,
even when the design covers 3, which form the design surface, are
seen from below, it is possible to clearly see the design of the
projections 20 through transparency, and thus it is possible to
improve the design property.
[0049] In Embodiment, the plurality of projections 20 are provided
on the back side of each design cover 3 so as to project
continuously from the left end portion of the flat portion 3a to
the right end portion of the flat portion 3a, but a plurality of
recesses may be provided so as to be recessed continuously from the
left end portion of the flat portion 3a to the right end portion of
the flat portion 3a, instead of the projections 20, or both
projections 20 and recesses may be provided.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0050] 1 back case 2 front panel 3 design covers 3a flat portion 3b
peripheral wall portion 4 upper air inlet 5 air outlet 6
air-sending fan 7 heat exchanger 8 drain pan 9 filter 10 vertical
air direction adjusting plate 11 recess 12 front air inlet 20
projection 21 pearl coating 22 color coating 100 indoor unit main
body
* * * * *