U.S. patent application number 16/864839 was filed with the patent office on 2020-11-05 for air conditioner.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Mingi CHO, Donggi HAN, Dohoon KIM, Jinbaek KIM, Kyunghoon KIM, Donggyu LEE, Kisup LEE, Yongho SEO, Jaehyoung SIM, Wooseog SONG, Joonho YOON.
Application Number | 20200348030 16/864839 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004913017 |
Filed Date | 2020-11-05 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200348030 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SEO; Yongho ; et
al. |
November 5, 2020 |
AIR CONDITIONER
Abstract
An indoor unit of an air conditioner comprises a housing
comprising a first accommodating part and a second accommodating
part, a heat exchanger provided in the second accommodating part,
extended in a longitudinal direction of the second accommodating
part, and configured to exchange heat with a refrigerant
transferred from an outdoor unit, a first air-blower and a second
air-blower respectively provided in the first accommodating part in
a direction parallel to an extension direction of the heat
exchanger, and configured to introduce air into the first
accommodating part and discharge the introduced air to the second
accommodating part, and a guide provided in the second
accommodating part, extended from the first accommodating part to
the heat exchanger, and configured to guide a flow of air
discharged from the first accommodating part to the second
accommodating part by at least one of the first air-blower and the
second air-blower.
Inventors: |
SEO; Yongho; (Suwon-si,
KR) ; KIM; Kyunghoon; (Suwon-si, KR) ; SONG;
Wooseog; (Suwon-si, KR) ; SIM; Jaehyoung;
(Suwon-si, KR) ; YOON; Joonho; (Suwon-si, KR)
; LEE; Donggyu; (Suwon-si, KR) ; CHO; Mingi;
(Suwon-si, KR) ; KIM; Dohoon; (Suwon-si, KR)
; KIM; Jinbaek; (Suwon-si, KR) ; LEE; Kisup;
(Suwon-si, KR) ; HAN; Donggi; (Suwon-si,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
1000004913017 |
Appl. No.: |
16/864839 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 13/081 20130101;
F24F 1/0063 20190201; F24F 1/0022 20130101; F24F 13/30 20130101;
F24F 13/02 20130101; F24F 1/0033 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 1/0033 20060101
F24F001/0033; F24F 1/0063 20060101 F24F001/0063; F24F 1/0022
20060101 F24F001/0022; F24F 13/08 20060101 F24F013/08; F24F 13/02
20060101 F24F013/02; F24F 13/30 20060101 F24F013/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 3, 2019 |
KR |
10-2019-0052001 |
Claims
1. An indoor unit of an air conditioner comprising: a housing
comprising a first accommodating part and a second accommodating
part; a heat exchanger provided in the second accommodating part,
extended in a longitudinal direction of the second accommodating
part, and configured to exchange heat with a refrigerant
transferred from an outdoor unit; a first air-blower and a second
air-blower respectively provided in the first accommodating part in
a direction parallel to an extension direction of the heat
exchanger, and configured to introduce air into the first
accommodating part and discharge the introduced air to the second
accommodating part; and a guide provided in the second
accommodating part, extended from the first accommodating part to
the heat exchanger, and configured to guide a flow of air
discharged from the first accommodating part to the second
accommodating part by at least one of the first air-blower and the
second air-blower.
2. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein, in the guide, a width on a side of the first accommodating
part is wider than a width on a side of the heat exchanger.
3. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the guide divides the second accommodating part into two
regions which respectively corresponding to the first air-blower
and the second air-blower which are provided at opposite sides in
the first accommodating part to correspond to the two regions.
4. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the guide is curved to have a rounded shape and comprises a
guide surface respectively provided on both sides of the guide,
wherein the guide surface respectively guides the flow of air
discharged from the first accommodating part to the second
accommodating part.
5. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 2,
wherein the guide further comprises a fin placed in a front-end
thereof and extended with a uniform width toward the heat exchanger
along a plate surface of the heat exchanger.
6. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
further comprising one or more lateral guides provided in at least
one of opposite lateral walls of the second accommodating part
facing the guide , and configured to guide the flow of air
discharged.
7. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 6,
wherein the lateral guide comprises a width which becomes narrower
as closer to the heat exchanger.
8. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the first air-blower and the second air-blower are sirocco
fans.
9. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the heat exchanger comprises an upper edge and a lower
edge, and the upper edge is more spaced apart from the first
accommodating part than the lower edge.
10. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 9,
wherein the guide comprises an upper extension length and a lower
extension length and the upper extension length is longer than the
lower extension length.
11. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the guide comprises an uneven pattern.
12. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1,
wherein the indoor unit is a duct-type indoor unit.
13. An air conditioner comprising the indoor unit of claim 1 and
the outdoor unit.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0052001
filed on May 3, 2019 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office,
the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
Field
[0002] The disclosure relates to an air conditioner controlling
various properties of air in a use space in response to a user's
request, and more particularly to a structure for controlling flow
of air inside a duct-type indoor unit.
Description of the Related Art
[0003] An air conditioner refers to an apparatus provided to
control properties such as temperature, humidity, cleanness, air
current, etc. in response to a use space. The air conditioner
basically includes an air blower forming air current, and changes
at least one of properties of air circulated by the air blower,
thereby making the environment of the use space comfortable for a
user. The air conditioner is classified according to the properties
of air to be controlled, and may for example include an air cooler
for cooling air, a dehumidifier for lowering humidity of air, an
air cleaner for enhancing cleanness of air.
[0004] Among them, the air cooler lowers temperature of a room by a
cooling principle based on heat of vaporization. Absorption of heat
occurs when liquid is evaporated into gas, and release of heat
occurs when gas is condensed into liquid. The heat absorbed for the
evaporation is called the heat of vaporization. The air cooler
condenses coolant from a gas state into a liquid state by highly
changing pressure through a compressor, and evaporates and returns
the coolant of the liquid state into vapor by lowering the pressure
in an evaporator, so that the vaporized coolant can absorbs heat,
thereby lowering ambient temperature. The cooling of the air cooler
is performed by a simple cooling cycle capable of efficiently
making a lot of heat of vaporization, and such a method is also
applied to a refrigerator. Although heat transfers from high
temperature to low temperature in a natural phenomenon, the cooling
cycle of the air cooler makes heat transfer in an opposite
direction from low indoor temperature to high outdoor temperature.
To this end, the air cooler includes an indoor unit blowing cold
air, and an outdoor unit blowing hot air. In a similar way, the
refrigerator makes heat transfer from low temperature inside the
refrigerator to high temperature outside the refrigerator.
[0005] There are various models of the indoor unit of the air
cooler according to installed positions. For example, the models of
the indoor unit may include a standing-type model installed on an
indoor floor, a wall-mount-type model mounted to a wall, and a
ceiling-type model installed on a ceiling. Among the ceiling-type
models, there is a duct-type indoor unit used as being embedded in
an upper side of the ceiling, i.e. inside the ceiling. The
duct-type indoor unit cools air inhaled through an air inlet
provided in the ceiling, and sends cooled air to one or more places
through one or more ducts. The duct-type indoor unit is
aesthetically advantageous because it is typically hidden inside
the ceiling from a user's view, and is capable of cooling many
places at a time because it can send cooled air to a plurality of
places through ducts.
[0006] However, when the number or length of ducts through which
air is discharged from the duct-type indoor unit is relatively
increased, a load applied to the duct-type indoor unit, i.e.
external static pressure or duct work increases. When the external
static pressure becomes relatively higher, the external static
pressure causes recirculation flow to increase while air moves from
the inside of the duct-type indoor unit to the heat exchanger. The
increase in the recirculation flow is directly related to
loss-of-cooling, and therefore a structure for reducing the
recirculation flow in the duct-type indoor unit is required.
SUMMARY
[0007] According to an embodiment of the disclosure of the present
disclosure, there is provided an indoor unit of an air conditioner
comprising a housing comprising a first accommodating part and a
second accommodating part; a heat exchanger provided in the second
accommodating part, extended in a longitudinal direction of the
second accommodating part, and configured to exchange heat with a
refrigerant transferred from an outdoor unit, a first air-blower
and a second air-blower respectively provided in the first
accommodating part in a direction parallel to an extension
direction of the heat exchanger, and configured to introduce air
into the first accommodating part and discharge the introduced air
to the second accommodating part, and a guide provided in the
second accommodating part, extended from the first accommodating
part to the heat exchanger, and configured to guide a flow of air
discharged from the first accommodating part to the second
accommodating part by at least one of the first air-blower and the
second air-blower.
[0008] In the guide, a width on a side of the first accommodating
part may be wider than a width on a side of the heat exchanger.
[0009] The guide may include the guide divides the second
accommodating part into two regions which respectively
corresponding to the first air-blower and the second air-blower,
and are provided at opposite sides in the first accommodating part
to correspond to the two regions.
[0010] The guide may be curved to have a rounded shape and
comprises a guide surface respectively provided on both sides of
the guide, wherein the guide surface respectively guides the flow
of air discharged from the first accommodating part to the second
accommodating part.
[0011] The guide may further include a fin placed in a front-end
thereof and extended with a uniform width toward the heat exchanger
along a plate surface of the heat exchanger.
[0012] The air conditioner may further include one or more lateral
guides provided in at least one of opposite lateral walls of the
second accommodating part facing the guide, and configured to guide
the flow of air discharged.
[0013] The lateral guide may include a width which becomes narrower
as closer to the heat exchanger.
[0014] The first air-blower and the second air-blower may be
sirocco fans.
[0015] The heat exchanger may include an upper edge and a lower
edge, and the upper edge is more spaced apart from the second
accommodating part than the lower edge with respect to an
installation surface of the indoor unit of an air conditioner.
[0016] The guide may include an upper extension length and a lower
extension length and the upper extension length is longer than the
lower extension length with respect to the installation surface of
the indoor unit of an air conditioner.
[0017] The guide may include an uneven pattern.
[0018] The indoor unit of an air conditioner may be a duct-type
indoor unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The patent or application file contains at least one drawing
executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application
publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office
upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
[0020] The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more
readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an air conditioner;
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates an example that an indoor unit is
installed;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing that an inhaling duct
and a discharging duct are coupled to an indoor unit;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an inhaling side of an
indoor unit;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a discharging side of
an indoor unit;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of
an air-blowing unit;
[0027] FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of an indoor unit;
[0028] FIG. 8 is a lateral view of the indoor unit of FIG. 7;
[0029] FIG. 9 is a plan view of the indoor unit of FIG. 7;
[0030] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a guide member;
[0031] FIG. 11 is a graph showing comparison in static-pressure
performance between a case where a guide member is applied to the
indoor unit and a case where the guide member is not applied to the
indoor unit;
[0032] FIG. 12 is a graph showing comparison air-blowing noise
between a case where a guide member is applied to the indoor unit
and a case where the guide member is not applied to the indoor
unit;
[0033] FIG. 13 is a lateral view of an indoor unit with a guide
member having a guide surface;
[0034] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an indoor unit including
three air-blowing units;
[0035] FIG. 15 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit without a guide member;
[0036] FIG. 16 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with a guide member;
[0037] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing that a guide member
having a predetermined volume is installed in an indoor unit;
[0038] FIG. 18 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 17,
viewed from above;
[0039] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the guide member in FIG.
18;
[0040] FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing that a guide member
having a predetermined volume is installed in an indoor unit;
[0041] FIG. 21 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 20,
viewed from above;
[0042] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the guide member of FIG.
20;
[0043] FIG. 23 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 20 with a
fin;
[0044] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the guide member of FIG.
23;
[0045] FIG. 25 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with the guide member of
FIG. 10;
[0046] FIG. 26 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with the guide member of
FIG. 18; and
[0047] FIG. 27 is a plan view showing that lateral guide members
are arranged at lateral sides of a front accommodating portion in
an indoor unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0048] Below, embodiments will be described in detail with
reference to accompanying drawings. Further, the embodiments
described with reference to the accompanying drawings are not
exclusive to each other unless otherwise mentioned, and a plurality
of embodiments may be selectively combined within one apparatus.
The combination of these plural embodiments may be discretionally
selected and applied to realize the present inventive concept by a
person having an ordinary skill in the art.
[0049] In the description of the embodiments, an ordinal number
used in terms such as a first element, a second element, etc. is
employed for describing variety of elements, and the terms are used
for distinguishing between one element and another element.
Therefore, the meanings of the elements are not limited by the
terms, and the terms are also used just for explaining the
corresponding embodiment without limiting the disclosure.
[0050] Further, a term "at least one" among a plurality of elements
in the disclosure represents not only all the elements but also
each one of the elements, which excludes the other elements or all
combinations of the elements.
[0051] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an air conditioner.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 1, an air conditioner according to an
embodiment of the disclosure is actualized by an air cooler. The
air conditioner 1 includes an indoor unit 10 to be installed in a
first place having an environment of which temperature is desired
to be controlled like an interior of a building, and an outdoor
unit 20 to be installed in a second place free from the foregoing
environment like an exterior of the building. A refrigerant
circulates between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20, and
each of the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20 adjusts the
state of the refrigerant based on energy, thereby controlling the
temperature in the first place. The circulation of the refrigerant
is achieved as an internal pipe of the indoor unit 10, an internal
pipe of the outdoor unit 20, and outer pipes for connection between
the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20 are connected to
communicate with one another. The indoor unit 10 and the outdoor
unit 20 may be variously provided in a ratio of 1:1, 1:N, N:1, N:N,
etc. (where, N is a natural number).
[0053] The air conditioner 1 basically performs cooling based on
heat of vaporization. The refrigerant absorbs heat when liquid is
evaporated into gas, but releases heat when gas is condensed into
liquid. The heat absorbed when the refrigerant is evaporated is
called the heat of vaporization. Because the air conditioner 1
employs phase change of the refrigerant between liquid and gas, a
refrigerant having a low evaporation point and releasing much heat
of vaporization may be used in the air conditioner 1. Further, the
refrigerant is required not to corrode the metal for the pipes
because the indoor/outdoor pipes of the air conditioner 1 are
generally made of metal. In addition, the refrigerant is required
to stay in a liquid form even at a low temperature according to use
locations because problems arise when the refrigerant is frozen in
winter.
[0054] The air conditioner 1 includes an indoor heat exchanger 110,
a first expansion valve 120, an outdoor heat exchanger 130, a
compressor 140, a second expansion valve 150, an accumulator 160, a
four-way valve 170, and a service valve 180. These elements are
installed in the indoor unit 10 or the outdoor unit 20. The indoor
unit 10 includes the indoor heat exchanger 110 and the first
expansion valve 120, and the outdoor unit 20 includes the outdoor
heat exchanger 130, the compressor 140, the second expansion valve
150, the accumulator 160, the four-way valve 170, and the service
valve 180. Further, pipes are installed to form various routes
between these elements, thereby allowing the refrigerant to move
among the elements.
[0055] Further, the air conditioner 1 includes a controller or
processor 190 for controlling and instructing operation of
structures such as the foregoing elements of the air conditioner 1.
One or more processors 190 are embodied by a hardware circuit such
as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processor, a chipset, a
system-on-chip, etc. mounted on a printed circuit board, and may be
installed in one of the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20 or
in each of the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20, or may be
installed outside the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20.
[0056] Below, the elements will be described briefly.
[0057] The indoor heat exchanger 110 causes a phase change of a
refrigerant and thus adjusts a temperature of an ambient
environment based on thermal interaction between a refrigerant and
air. The indoor heat exchanger 110 serves as an evaporator when the
air conditioner 1 is in a cooling mode, and serves as a condenser
when the air conditioner 1 is in a heating mode. In the cooling
mode, the indoor heat exchanger 110 evaporates the refrigerant to
cause an endothermic reaction, thereby changing the refrigerant
into a gaseous state and lowering a temperature of an ambient
environment. In the heating mode, the indoor heat exchanger 110
condenses a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant to cause
an exothermic reaction, thereby changing the refrigerant into a
liquid state and raising the temperature of the ambient
environment.
[0058] The first expansion valve 120 expands the refrigerant
condensed by the outdoor heat exchanger 130 in the cooling mode and
sends it to the indoor heat exchanger 110. The first expansion
valve 120 lets the refrigerant go through a route having a
relatively decreased diameter to lower the pressure of the
refrigerant, thereby allowing the refrigerant to easily evaporate
in the future.
[0059] The outdoor heat exchanger 130 basically works in a similar
way to the indoor heat exchanger 110. However, the outdoor heat
exchanger 130 works on the contrary to the indoor heat exchanger
110 in each mode. In other words, the outdoor heat exchanger 130
serves as the condenser in the cooling mode and serves as the
evaporator in the heating mode. The outdoor heat exchanger 130
releases heat absorbed in the indoor heat exchanger 110 in the
cooling mode to thereby lower an indoor temperature, and plays the
opposite role in the heating mode.
[0060] The compressor 140 compresses a gaseous cold refrigerant,
which is transferred from the indoor heat exchanger 110 or the
outdoor heat exchanger 130 serving as an evaporator according to
modes, and adjusts the refrigerant into high-temperature and
high-pressure gas. As the compressor 140 compresses the
refrigerant, phase change into liquid is easily performed at a high
temperature. Further, the compressor 140 receives a low-pressure
refrigerant and discharges a high-pressure refrigerant, thereby
urging the refrigerant to form a circulation cycle in the air
conditioner 1.
[0061] The second expansion valve 150 has the same function of
expanding the refrigerant as the first expansion valve 120. The
second expansion valve 150 expands the refrigerant condensed by the
indoor heat exchanger 110 in the heating mode and sends it to the
outdoor heat exchanger 130.
[0062] The accumulator 160 sends only a gaseous refrigerant of an
introduced refrigerant to the compressor 140. The evaporated
refrigerant may not completely evaporate but occasionally include a
liquid refrigerant, and thus the accumulator 160 prevents the
liquid refrigerant from being introduced into the compressor
140.
[0063] The four-way valve 170 changes the route of the refrigerant
in the outdoor unit 20 based on one of the cooling mode and the
heating mode. The four-way valve 170 adjusts the movement of the
refrigerant based on the current mode, thereby switching over
between the indoor heat exchanger 110 and the outdoor heat
exchanger 130 according to the modes.
[0064] The service valve 180 refers to a valve for allowing a
manager to control a vacuum state and replenish a refrigerant, in
the circulation cycle for the refrigerant through the pipes of the
air conditioner 1. When a cooling/heating efficiency is lowered due
to the lack of the refrigerant in the cycle with increased use
time, the refrigerant may be replenished through the service valve
180.
[0065] In this embodiment the indoor unit 10 is embodied by a
duct-type indoor unit. Below, an installed type and structure of
the indoor unit 10 according to this embodiment will be
described.
[0066] FIG. 2 illustrates an example that an indoor unit is
installed.
[0067] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing that an inhaling duct
and a discharging duct are coupled to the indoor unit.
[0068] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an indoor environment is divided
into a lower space 220 below a ceiling 210, and an upper space 230
above the ceiling 210. Typically, the lower space 220 refers to a
room in which a user is present, a living room, etc. of which air
is cooled or heated by the indoor unit 10. The upper space 230
refers to a space under a roof in a case of a one-storied house,
and a space hidden from a user, who is present in the lower space
220, behind the ceiling 210.
[0069] In the accompanying drawings, axes X, Y and Z are orthogonal
to one another. The axis X refers to the left and right directions
of the indoor unit. The axis Y refers to the front and back
directions of the indoor unit, i.e. a main direction in which air
flows. The axis Z refers to the upward and downward directions of
the indoor unit.
[0070] The indoor unit 10 is installed in the upper space 230. The
indoor unit 10 has one side communicating with an air inlet 211
formed in the ceiling 210, and the other side communicating with an
air outlet 212 formed in the ceiling 210 and spaced apart from the
air inlet 211. In this embodiment, the air inlet 211 is
horizontally disposed, and the air outlet 212 is vertically
disposed. However, this embodiment is merely an example.
Alternatively, the air inlet 211 and the air outlet 212 may be
variously disposed. The indoor unit 10 is opened backward and
forward, and couples with an inhaling duct 30 and a discharging
duct 40.
[0071] The inhaling duct 30 is provided between the indoor unit 10
and the air inlet 211. The inhaling duct 30 guides air, which is
inhaled from the lower space 220 into the air inlet 211, toward the
inside of the indoor unit 10. On the other hand, the discharging
duct 40 is provided between the indoor unit 10 and the air outlet
212. The discharging duct 40 guides air, which is subjected to heat
exchange inside the indoor unit 10, for example, cooled air toward
the air outlet 212, thereby discharging the cooled air toward the
lower space 220.
[0072] The lower space 220 is cooled with the cooled air discharged
through the air outlet 212. The air circulating in the lower space
220 is inhaled into the inhaling duct 30 through the air inlet 211.
The air flowing in the inhaling duct 30 is introduced into the
indoor unit 10. Based on such circulation, the indoor unit 10 cools
the lower space 220.
[0073] In this embodiment, the discharging duct 40 and the air
outlet 212 are grouped as one set. Alternatively, a plurality of
sets of discharging ducts 40 and air outlets 212 may be provided.
When the air outlets 212 are provided at a plurality of spaced
positions, the plurality of discharging ducts 40 from the indoor
unit 10 are respectively connected to the air outlets 212, so that
the indoor unit 10 can cool many places at a time.
[0074] Below, the structure of the indoor unit 10 will be
described.
[0075] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an inhaling side of an
indoor unit.
[0076] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a discharging side of
an indoor unit.
[0077] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the indoor unit 10 includes a
main housing 310 shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped, a
plurality of air-blowing units 320 disposed at the inhaling or rear
side of the main housing 310, an indoor heat exchanger 110 disposed
at the discharging or front side of the main housing 310, and a
motor 330 disposed near the plurality of air-blowing units 320. In
the following embodiments, the indoor heat exchanger 110 will be
briefly called a heat exchanger 110.
[0078] The main housing 310 includes a rear opening 311 formed on
the rear, and a front opening 312 formed on the front. The rear
opening 311 refers to an opening through which air is introduced
from the outside of the indoor unit 10 into the indoor unit 10. The
front opening 312 refers to an opening through which air is
discharged from the inside of the indoor unit 10 to the outside of
the indoor unit 10. For convenience of description, the main
housing 310 may be divided into an inhaling side region (or a rear
region) and a discharging side region (or a front area) with
respect to the axis Y, i.e. the main direction in which air flows.
In this embodiment, the discharging side region and the inhaling
side region may also be called a first accommodating portion and a
second accommodating portion, respectively. The main housing 310
accommodates the air-blowing unit 320 in the inhaling side region,
and the heat exchanger 110 in the discharging side region.
[0079] The air-blowing unit 320 blows air toward the heat exchanger
110. The air-blowing unit 320 employs the motor 330 to drive an
internal fan so as to inhale air though the rear opening 311, and
sends the inhaled air to the heat exchanger 110. In this
embodiment, the air-blowing unit 320 includes two units arranged in
parallel along the axis X. Alternatively, the air-blowing unit 320
may be designed to include three or more units. Further, the
air-blowing unit 320 may be embodied by various fan units. In this
embodiment, the air-blowing unit 320 may be embodied by a
centrifugal fan or a sirocco fan.
[0080] The reason why the sirocco fan is used as the air-blowing
unit 320 is as follows. According to this embodiment, the indoor
unit 10 is provided as the duct-type indoor unit, and couples with
a plurality of discharging ducts through the front opening 312,
thereby discharging the cooled air to a plurality of positions. As
a parameter of an airflow rate in the duct-type indoor unit, there
is static pressure. As the total length of the discharging duct
connected to the indoor unit 10 increases and the number of
discharging ducts increases, a load applied to the indoor unit 10
becomes higher. To cope with such a high load, the indoor unit 10
needs the air-blowing unit 320 having high static-pressure
performance. Among various kinds of fan units, the sirocco fan
keeps an appropriate airflow rate even when the load is high, and
this means that the sirocco fan is relatively excellent in the
static-pressure performance. From this point of view, the
air-blowing unit 320 is embodied by the sirocco fan when the indoor
unit 10 is the duct-type indoor unit. Further, when the air-blowing
unit 320 is embodied by the sirocco fan, it is possible to
relatively reduce noise.
[0081] The heat exchanger 110 exchanges heat with the refrigerant
so as to adjust the temperature of air passing through the heat
exchanger 110. The heat exchanger 110 includes a pipe through which
the refrigerant passes, and a fin extended from the pipe. Both the
pipe and the fin contain metal excellent in thermal conductivity.
While air passes through the pipe and the fin of the heat exchanger
110, the air exchanges heat with the pipe and the fin. The air,
which is subjected to the heat exchange via passing through the
heat exchanger 110, is discharged to the outside of the main
housing 310 through the front opening 312.
[0082] According to this embodiment, the heat exchanger 110 is not
vertically disposed in parallel with the axis Z, but the heat
exchanger 110 is not vertically disposed in parallel with the axis
Z, and the upper side of the heat exchanger 110 is inclined at a
predetermined angle to the axis Z. This is designed to enlarge the
area of the heat exchanger 110 to be in contact with air.
[0083] Below, the air-blowing unit 320 will be described.
[0084] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of
an air-blowing unit.
[0085] As shown in FIG. 6, the air-blowing unit 320 includes an
air-blowing unit housing 321, and a centrifugal fan 324 rotatably
accommodated in the air-blowing unit housing 321.
[0086] The air-blowing unit housing 321 includes an air-blowing
unit inlet 322 formed at one side oriented in the direction of X or
-X to inhale air, and an air-blowing unit outlet 323 formed at one
side oriented in the direction of Y to exhale the air. In other
words, the air-blowing unit 320 is designed to have an air inhaling
direction and an air exhaling direction which are substantially
perpendicular to each other, and this is because the centrifugal
fan 324 is structurally provided as the sirocco fan.
[0087] The centrifugal fan 324 includes a plurality of blades 325
arranged in parallel with a rotational axis, and a fan frame 326
supporting the plurality of blades 325. The plurality of blades 325
extended in parallel along the axis X are arranged to have
substantially the same distance from the rotational axis on the
plane Y-Z. The plurality of blades 325 is coupled to the fan frame
326 shaped like a cylinder, and the fan frame 326 is rotatably
coupled to the air-blowing unit housing 321 and the motor. The
motor is driven to rotate the fan frame 326, thereby rotating the
plurality of blades 325. With this structure, air is introduced
into the air-blowing unit housing 321 through the air-blowing unit
inlet 322 along the rotational axis of the centrifugal fan 324, and
then discharged through the air-blowing unit outlet 323 in a radial
direction of the centrifugal fan 324 based on centrifugal force
generated by the rotating centrifugal fan 324.
[0088] Below, an overall structure of an indoor unit according to
an embodiment of the disclosure will be described.
[0089] FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of an indoor unit.
[0090] FIG. 8 is a lateral view of the indoor unit of FIG. 7.
[0091] FIG. 9 is a plan view of the indoor unit of FIG. 7.
[0092] As shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, an indoor unit 400 includes a
main housing 410, a rear opening 411, a front opening 412, an
air-blowing unit 420, and a heat exchanger 430.
[0093] The main housing 410 may be divided into a rear
inhaling-side accommodating portion or a rear accommodating portion
413, and a front discharging side accommodating portion or a front
accommodating portion 414. The rear accommodating portion 413 and
the front accommodating portion 414 are merely expressed for
convenience of description. Alternatively, the rear accommodating
portion 413 and the front accommodating portion 414 may be called a
first accommodating portion and a second accommodating portion. The
rear accommodating portion 413 accommodates the air-blowing unit
420 therein, and the front accommodating portion 414 accommodates
the heat exchanger 430 therein. Air inhaled into the rear
accommodating portion 413 of the main housing 410 through the rear
opening 411 is introduced into the air-blowing unit 420. The air
introduced into the air-blowing unit 420 is sent to the heat
exchanger 430 provided in the front accommodating portion 414 of
the main housing 410 by centrifugal force of the air-blowing unit
420. Then, the air exchanges heat with the heat exchanger 430 and
is discharged to the outside of the main housing 410 through the
front opening 412.
[0094] Further, the air-blowing unit 420 according to this
embodiment includes a first air-blowing unit 421 and a second
air-blowing unit 422 which are arranged in parallel leaving a
predetermined distance therebetween in the direction of Y. Both the
first air-blowing unit 421 and the second air-blowing unit 422
discharge air in the direction of Y.
[0095] The heat exchanger 430 is microscopically shaped like a
plate, but has a structure including a pipe through which the
refrigerant passes and a fin extended from the pipe. The heat
exchanger 430 is extended in parallel with the rear accommodating
portion 413, and accommodated in the main housing 410 as its upper
edge is inclined forward.
[0096] In other words, a distance of `d1` between the upper edge of
the heat exchanger 430 and the air-blowing unit 420 and a distance
of `d2` between the lower edge of the heat exchanger 430 and the
air-blowing unit 420 are given to satisfy `d1>d2`.
Alternatively, `d1` may be a distance between the upper edge of the
heat exchanger 430 and the rear accommodating portion 413 and `d2`
may be a distance between the upper edge of the heat exchanger 430
and the rear accommodating portion 413. Because the heat exchanger
430 is disposed as above, it is possible to relatively increase the
area for exchanging heat with the area. Although the area for
exchanging heat with air is relatively increased even in a case of
`d1<d2`, `d1>d2` is preferable because it is natural that air
flows down because of gravity.
[0097] Here, the indoor unit 400 according to this embodiment
includes a guide member 440 extended from the rear accommodating
portion 413 between the first air-blowing unit 421 and the second
air-blowing unit 422 toward the heat exchanger 430 and provided in
the front accommodating portion 414. The guide member 440 has a
guide surface 441 for guiding air discharged from the rear
accommodating portion 413 toward the front accommodating portion
414 by the first air-blowing unit 421 and the second air-blowing
unit 422.
[0098] For comparison, it will be assumed that the indoor unit 400
does not include the guide member 440. In this case, a
recirculation flow occurs in the front accommodating portion 414
because of external static pressure. In particular, a flow loss
caused by recirculation increases as the external static pressure
becomes higher. Specifically, for convenience of description, a
certain region of the front accommodating portion 414 positioned
between the first air-blowing unit 421 and the second air-blowing
unit 422 will be called a middle region. In this middle region, air
flowing from the first air-blowing unit 421 and air flowing from
the second air-blowing unit 422 are mixed. This mixture causes the
flow loss, thereby decreasing a flow rate of air discharged from
the indoor unit 400.
[0099] On the other hand, the guide member 440 according to this
embodiment divides the front accommodating portion 414 into a first
channel through which air discharged from the first air-blowing
unit 421 reaches the heat exchanger 430 and a second channel
through which air discharged from the second air-blowing unit 422
reaches the heat exchanger 430. Thus, the guide member 440 of the
indoor unit 400 can prevent turbulence or swirl caused by the
mixture of the plurality of air flows in the middle region, and
guides the air discharged from the first air-blowing unit 421 and
the air discharged from the second air-blowing unit 422 to
individually reach the heat exchanger 430. In this regard, the
guide member 440 may also be called a divider.
[0100] Further, the guide member 440 of the indoor unit 400 can
prevents speed of moving fluid from slowing down in the middle
region.
[0101] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a guide member.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 10, the guide member 440 includes a guide
surface 441 surrounded with a rear edge 442, a front edge 443, a
lower edge 444, and an upper edge 445. The rear edge 442
substantially stands, and faces the rear accommodating portion of
the main housing in which the air-blowing unit is provided.
However, the heat exchanger has a structure of being inclined
frontward, and therefore the front edge 443, the lower edge 444 and
the upper edge 445 have shapes and lengths corresponding to the
structure of the heat exchanger.
[0103] Because the front edge 443 is extended substantially in
parallel with the plate surface of the heat exchanger, the upper
side is inclined frontward at a predetermined angle. The front edge
443 may be in contact with or spaced apart from the plate surface
of the heat exchanger. The lower edge 444 faces the lower plate
surface of the main housing. The upper edge 445 is extended in
parallel with the lower edge 444, and faces the upper plate surface
of the main housing. Because the lower edge of the heat exchanger
is near to the air-blowing unit and the upper edge of the heat
exchanger is spaced apart from the air-blowing unit, the lower edge
444 is shorter than the upper edge 445.
[0104] The guide surface 441 may have an even surface, but may be
designed to have a surface formed with a predetermined uneven
pattern. This will be described later.
[0105] Below, the indoor unit, of which performance is improved by
the guide member 440, will be described.
[0106] FIG. 11 is a graph showing comparison in static-pressure
performance between a case where a guide member is applied to the
indoor unit and a case where the guide member is not applied to the
indoor unit.
[0107] As shown in FIG. 11, comparison between a flow rate of air
measured when the guide member is applied to the indoor unit and a
flow rate of air measured when the guide member is not applied to
the indoor unit may be carried out with respect to external static
pressure. In this graph, the abscissa indicates the flowing amount,
the ordinate indicates the external static pressure, the curve `C1`
indicates a case of excluding guide member, and the curve `C2`
indicates a case of including the guide member. This graph is
merely given to compare the results of `C1` and `C2`, and therefore
detailed numerical values of experimental results will be
omitted.
[0108] When the external static pressure is low, i.e. when a load
applied to the indoor unit is low, the indoor unit needs less
capacity for cooling a place, a small number of discharging ducts
are used in discharging the cooled air from the indoor unit, and a
total length of the discharging duct is short. On the other hand,
when the external static pressure is high, i.e. when a load applied
to the indoor unit is high, the indoor unit needs more capacity for
cooling a place, a large number of discharging ducts are used in
discharging the cooled air from the indoor unit, and a total length
of the discharging ducts is long.
[0109] According to this graph, under the same condition of the
external static pressure, the flow rate of `C2` is higher than the
flow rate of Based on this result, it will be appreciated that
difference in the flow rate in a case of high external static
pressure is larger than that in a case of low external static
pressure. In terms of securing the flow rate, this means that the
guide member according to this embodiment more advantageously works
at high external static pressure.
[0110] FIG. 12 is a graph showing comparison air-blowing noise
between a case where a guide member is applied to the indoor unit
and a case where the guide member is not applied to the indoor
unit.
[0111] As shown in FIG. 12, comparison between a flow rate of air
measured when the guide member is applied to the indoor unit and a
flow rate of air measured when the guide member is not applied to
the indoor unit may be carried out with respect to the air-blowing
noise. Here, the flow rate of air was measured as divided into a
case of relatively low static pressure and a case of relatively
high static pressure. The curve `C3` indicates a case of excluding
the guide member when the static pressure is low, and the curve
`C4` indicates a case of including the guide member under the same
static pressure condition as that of the curve C3. Meanwhile, the
curve `C5` indicates a case of excluding the guide member when the
static pressure is high, and the curve `C6` indicates a case of
including the guide member under the same static pressure condition
as that of the curve C5.
[0112] According to this graph, under the same condition of
air-blowing noise, the flow rate of `C4` is higher than that of
`C3` and the flow rate of `C6` is higher than that of `C5`.
However, under the same condition of air-blowing noise, difference
in the flow rate between `C6` and `C5` is larger than that between
`C4` and `C3`. In terms of silence, this means that the guide
member according to this embodiment more advantageously works at
high external static pressure.
[0113] Like this, the indoor unit including the guide member
according to this embodiment is more effective in securing the flow
rate and the silence than that excluding the guide member. Further,
this effect is remarkable when the external static pressure is
high.
[0114] Below, various alternative embodiments of the guide member
will be described.
[0115] FIG. 13 is a lateral view of an indoor unit with a guide
member having a guide surface.
[0116] As shown in FIG. 13, an indoor unit 500 according to this
embodiment includes a main housing 510 internally divided into a
rear accommodating portion and a front accommodating portion, an
air-blowing unit 520 placed in the rear accommodating portion, a
heat exchanger 530 placed in a front accommodating portion, and a
guide member 540 placed in the front accommodating portion. The
basic structure of the indoor unit 500 in this embodiment is
substantially the same as that of the foregoing embodiment, and
thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. However, the
guide member 540 in this embodiment includes a guide surface 541
formed with a predetermined uneven pattern instead of the even
guide surface unlike that of the foregoing embodiment. The uneven
pattern formed on the guide surface 541 may be achieved by a dimple
pattern including one or more recesses, an embossing pattern
including a plurality of projections, etc.
[0117] The guide member 540 having the guide surface 541 with the
uneven pattern is more improved in a separation delay effect than
that having the even guide surface. Air discharged from the
air-blowing unit 520 moves as being attached to the guide surface
541 when the air is sent to the heat exchanger 530 along the guide
surface 541. Flow speed of air moving as attached to the guide
surface 541 is faster than that of air moving as being detached
from the guide surface 541. Therefore, in terms of the flow speed
of air, it is advantageous to prevent air moving as attached to the
guide surface 541 from being detached from the guide surface 541.
The separation delay effect is that air attached to the guide
surface 541 is interrupted from separation from the guide surface
541. According to this embodiment, the guide surface 541 has a
structure to relatively improve the separation delay effect.
[0118] Meanwhile, the foregoing embodiments described the indoor
units including two air-blowing units. In these cases, the guide
member is interposed between two air-blowing units and therefore
one guide member is applied to the indoor unit. However, three or
more air-blowing units may be employed, and the number of guide
members is varied depending on the number of air-blowing units.
Below, an indoor unit with three air-blowing units will be
described.
[0119] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an indoor unit including
three air-blowing units.
[0120] As shown in FIG. 14, an indoor unit 600 includes a main
housing 610, a plurality of air-blowing units 621, 622 and 623, a
heat exchanger 630, and a plurality of guide members 641 and 642.
The elements in this embodiment perform substantially the same
functions as those of the foregoing embodiments called by the same
name, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof will be
omitted.
[0121] The plurality of air-blowing units 621, 622 and 623 includes
a first air-blowing unit 621, a second air-blowing unit 622, and a
third air-blowing unit 623 which are placed in a rear accommodating
portion of a main housing 610 and arranged in parallel to face the
heat exchanger 630. From a point of view of the heat exchanger 630,
the plurality of air-blowing units 621, 622 and 623 are arranged in
parallel, the first air-blowing unit 621 and the second air-blowing
unit 622 are adjacent to each other, and the second air-blowing
unit 622 and the third air-blowing unit 623 are adjacent to each
other.
[0122] The plurality of guide members 641 and 642 includes a first
guide member 641 and a second guide member 642. The first guide
member 641 is provided in a front accommodating portion and
extended from the rear accommodating portion between the first
air-blowing unit 621 and the second air-blowing unit 622 toward the
heat exchanger 630, and has a guide surface to guide flow of air
discharged from the rear accommodating portion toward the front
accommodating portion by the first air-blowing unit 621 and the
second air-blowing unit 622. Further, the second guide member 642
is extended from the front accommodating portion between the second
air-blowing unit 622 and the third air-blowing unit 623 toward the
heat exchanger 630, and has a guide surface to guide flow of air
discharged from the rear accommodating portion toward the front
accommodating portion by the second air-blowing unit 622 and the
third air-blowing unit 623. The plurality of guide members 641 and
642 has substantially the same effects as described above.
[0123] In this embodiment, the plurality of air-blowing units
includes three air-blowing units 621, 622 and 623. However, the
concept of the disclosure may also be applied to even four or more
air-blowing units 621, 622 and 623. When the number of air-blowing
units 621, 622 and 623 is N, the number of guide members 641 and
642 is (N-1).
[0124] Below, effects of an embodiment will be described based on
difference in measured flow speed between the indoor unit including
the guide member according to an embodiment and the indoor unit
excluding the guide member.
[0125] FIG. 15 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit without a guide member.
[0126] As shown in FIG. 15, speed of fluid may be measured
according to regions and represented as a color distribution in an
indoor unit including a first air-blowing unit 651, a second
air-blowing unit 652, and a third air-blowing unit 653. In this
color distribution, the distribution at the upper side shows a
cross-section with respect to the discharging holes of the
air-blowing units 651, 652 and 653 when the indoor unit is viewed
from above, and the distribution at the lower side shows a
cross-section of the heat exchanger. In this color distribution,
faster speed of fluid is represented with a color inclining to red,
and slower speed of fluid is represented with a color inclining to
blue.
[0127] In the indoor unit excluding the guide member, a region on a
straight line along which each of the air-blowing units 651, 652
and 653 discharges air is represented with red. However, middle
regions A1 and A2 between the air-blowing units 651, 652 and 653
are represented with sky-blue to blue, and thus it will be
appreciated that speed of fluid is largely slowed down in the
regions A1 and A2.
[0128] FIG. 16 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with a guide member.
[0129] As shown in FIG. 16, the indoor unit according to this
embodiment includes the first air-blowing unit 621, the second
air-blowing unit 622, the third air-blowing unit 623, and the first
guide member 641 and the second guide member 642 respectively
placed in the middle regions. Basics about this color distribution
are the same as those of the foregoing color distribution, and thus
descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0130] Although blue to sky-blue regions appear around the first
guide member 641 and the second guide member 642, the area of the
regions is relatively decreased. In particular, it will be
appreciated that the blue to sky-blue regions are significantly
reduced at positions corresponding to the middle regions in the
heat exchanger. This means that the speed of fluid becomes faster
in the middle region. This color distribution shows that the first
guide member 641 and the second guide member 642 provided in the
middle regions prevent turbulence or swirl caused by the mixture of
flows of air respectively discharged from the air-blowing units
621, 622 and 623, and thus interruption of air flows is
considerably removed.
[0131] Meanwhile, the foregoing embodiments described that the
guide member is uniformly extended without width variation. Here,
the guide member is extended in the direction of Y in which air
flows, and the width of the guide member refers to a length of a
widthwise direction (i.e. the direction of X) transverse to the
extension direction of the guide member. However, the concept of
the disclosure is not limited to such embodiments. Below, it will
be described that the guide member is designed differently from
those of the foregoing embodiments.
[0132] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing that a guide member
having a predetermined volume is installed in an indoor unit.
[0133] FIG. 18 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 17,
viewed from above.
[0134] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the guide member in FIG.
18.
[0135] As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19, an indoor unit 700 includes
a main housing 710, a plurality of air-blowing unit 720, a heat
exchanger 730, and a guide member 740. The main housing 710, the
plurality of air-blowing unit 720, and the heat exchanger 730 are
substantially the same as those of the foregoing embodiments.
[0136] In this embodiment, the guide member 740 has a relatively
wide volume unlike the guide members of the foregoing embodiments.
In the foregoing embodiments, the guide member is provided in the
middle region of the front accommodating portion in the main
housing and plays the roles of dividing the channel and guiding
air. On the other hand, the guide member 740 in this embodiment is
reinforced in the role of guiding air between the two roles.
[0137] The guide member 740 includes a guide-member main body 741
forming a main body of the guide member 740. Because a distance
between the upper edge of the heat exchanger 730 and the
air-blowing unit 720 is longer than a distance between the lower
edge of the heat exchanger 730 and the air-blowing unit 720, the
lower surface of the guide-member main body 741 has a narrower area
than the upper surface of the guide-member main body 741. The
guide-member main body 741 includes a guide-member backward surface
742 facing the air-blowing unit 720, a guide-member front-end
surface 744 facing the heat exchanger 730, and a pair of
guide-member lateral surfaces 743 provided between the guide-member
backward surface 742 and the guide-member front-end surface 744.
Substantively, air is guided to flow along this pair of
guide-member lateral surfaces 743.
[0138] The main direction of moving air from the air-blowing unit
720 to the heat exchanger 730 is the direction of Y, and the length
of the direction of X transverse to the direction of Y will be
called the width for convenience of description. In this case, the
width W1 of the guide-member backward surface 742 and the width W2
of the guide-member front-end surface 744 are set to satisfy
W1>W2. Therefore, a distance between the guide-member lateral
surfaces 743 provided at the left and right sides of the
guide-member main body 741 generally decreases as going in the
direction of Y. In this embodiment, the guide-member lateral
surface 743 is rounded at a position near the guide-member
front-end surface 744, but there are no limits to the shape of the
guide-member lateral surface 743. For example, the guide-member
lateral surface 743 may be substantially straight without being
curved when viewed from above.
[0139] Like this, when the guide-member main body 741 is provided
to have a predetermined volume, a distance until air discharged
from the air-blowing unit 720 reaches the guide-member lateral
surface 743 becomes shorter, and air flows as attached to the
guide-member lateral surface 743. Air moving as attached to a
predetermined wall is faster than that moving without being
attached to the wall, and this is called the Coand{hacek over (a)}
effect. According to the Coand{hacek over (a)} effect, airflow
discharged near a wall or ceiling surface has a tendency to flow as
attached to the surface. In this case, the speed of airflow is less
slowed down, and the reaching distance becomes longer. In other
words, the guide member 740 according to this embodiment has an
improved structure for the Coand{hacek over (a)} effect.
[0140] The guide-member backward surface 742 is designed to have
the width W1 so that the rear side of the guide-member lateral
surface 743 can be close to the discharging hole of the air-blowing
unit 720, thereby allowing air to rapidly reach the guide-member
lateral surface 743. Further, the width W2 of the guide-member
front-end surface 744 is narrower than the width W1, so that air
flowing as attached to the guide-member lateral surface 743 can be
guided to easily reach a region, which corresponds to the middle
region between the plurality of air-blowing units 720, of the whole
region of the heat exchanger 730. Thus, it is possible to uniformly
transfer air throughout the heat exchanger 730.
[0141] Meanwhile, the guide member 740 may additionally include a
fin 745 protruding from the guide-member front-end surface 744
toward the heat exchanger 730. The fin 745 has an effect on
preventing two flows of air moving as attached to one pair of
guide-member lateral surfaces 743 from swirling between the
guide-member front-end surface 744 and the heat exchanger 730. When
the guide-member front-end surface 744 is very close to the heat
exchanger 730 or when swirl between the guide-member front-end
surface 744 and the heat exchanger 730 does not have a big effect,
the guide member 740 may exclude the fin 745.
[0142] FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing that a guide member
having a predetermined volume is installed in an indoor unit.
[0143] FIG. 21 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 20,
viewed from above.
[0144] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the guide member of FIG.
20.
[0145] As shown in FIGS. 20, 21 and 22, an indoor unit 800 includes
a main housing 810, a plurality of air-blowing unit 820, a heat
exchanger 830, and a guide member 840. The main housing 810, the
plurality of air-blowing unit 820, and the heat exchanger 830 are
substantially the same as those of the foregoing embodiments.
[0146] The guide member 840 according to this embodiment includes a
guide-member main body 841 forming a main body of the guide member
840. The guide-member main body 841 includes a guide-member
backward surface 842 facing the air-blowing unit 820, a
guide-member front-end surface 844 facing the heat exchanger 830,
and a pair of guide-member lateral surfaces 843 provided between
the guide-member backward surface 842 and the guide-member
front-end surface 844.
[0147] The width W3 of the guide-member backward surface 842 and
the width W4 of the guide-member front-end surface 844 are set to
satisfy W3>W4, and therefore a distance between the guide-member
lateral surfaces 843 provided at left and right sides of the
guide-member main body 841 is generally decreased as going in the
direction of Y. Whereas the guide-member lateral surfaces of the
foregoing embodiment (see `743` in FIGS. 18 and FIG. 19) is curved
having a gentle curvature at a position near the guide-member
front-end surface 844, the guide-member lateral surface 843
according to this embodiment is bent between the guide-member
backward surface 842 and the guide-member front-end surface
844.
[0148] FIG. 23 is a plan view of the guide member of FIG. 20 with a
fin.
[0149] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the guide member of FIG.
23.
[0150] As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a guide member 940 includes a
guide-member main body 941 forming a main body of the guide member
940. The guide-member main body 941 includes a guide-member
backward surface 942 facing the air-blowing unit, a guide-member
front-end surface 944 facing the heat exchanger, and a pair of
guide-member lateral surfaces 943 between the guide-member backward
surface 942 and the guide-member front-end surface 944. According
to this embodiment, the guide member 940 basically has the same
structure as the guide member (see `840` in FIGS. 21 and 22) of the
foregoing embodiment, and additionally includes a fin 945.
[0151] The fin 945 protrudes from the guide-member front-end
surface 944 toward the heat exchanger, and is extended along the
plate surface of the heat exchanger. The fin 945 has an effect on
preventing two flows of air moving as attached to one pair of
guide-member lateral surfaces 943 from swirling between the
guide-member front-end surface 944 and the heat exchanger.
[0152] Below, experimental results about speed of fluid will be
described with respect to a case where the guide member is shaped
as shown in FIG. 10 and a case where the guide member is shaped as
shown in FIG. 18.
[0153] FIG. 25 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with the guide member of
FIG. 10.
[0154] As shown in FIG. 25, in an indoor unit 1100 including a
plurality of air-blowing unit 1110, a heat exchanger 1120, and a
guide member 1130, speed of fluid may be measured according to
regions on the surface of the heat exchanger 1120 and represented
as a color distribution. Here, the indoor unit 1100 is seen through
from the back side. The guide member 1130 is provided in a middle
region A3 between a plurality of air-blowing units 1110. In this
color distribution, faster speed of fluid is represented with a
color inclining to red, and slower speed of fluid is represented
with a color inclining to blue.
[0155] In the indoor unit 1100 including a relatively narrow guide
member 1130, the region of the air-blowing unit 1110 includes a lot
of red but the middle region A3 includes a lot of blue, green and
yellow. In other words, this color distribution shows that the
speed of fluid in the middle region A3 is slower than that in the
other regions except the middle region A3.
[0156] FIG. 26 illustrates a colorful speed-distribution of a
moving fluid measured in an indoor unit with the guide member of
FIG. 18.
[0157] As shown in FIG. 26, in an indoor unit 1100 including a
plurality of air-blowing unit 1210, a heat exchanger 1220, and a
guide member 1230, speed of fluid may be measured according to
regions on the surface of the heat exchanger 1220 and represented
as a color distribution. In this embodiment, the guide member 1230
has a wider width than the guide member (see `1130` in FIG. 18) in
the foregoing embodiment.
[0158] In comparison between the results of this embodiment and the
results of the foregoing embodiment, it will be appreciated that
blue, green and yellow included in the middle region A4 in this
embodiment are relatively decreased, but red is increased. In other
words, the guide member 1230 having a relatively large volume
enhances the speed of air flowing toward the region of the heat
exchanger 1220 corresponding to the middle region A4. Nevertheless,
the foregoing embodiment may be effective when the indoor unit has
a relatively narrow width or inner space, and thus selectively
applied according to the design of the indoor unit.
[0159] Meanwhile, the guide member having a predetermined volume to
have the Coand{hacek over (a)} effect does not need to be placed in
the middle region between the plurality of air-blowing units.
Below, it will be described that the guide member is placed in not
the middle region but another position.
[0160] FIG. 27 is a plan view showing that lateral guide members
are arranged at lateral sides of a front accommodating portion in
an indoor unit.
[0161] As shown in FIG. 27, an indoor unit 1300 includes a main
housing 1310, a plurality of air-blowing units 1321 and 1322, a
heat exchanger 1330, and a guide member 1340. The guide member 1340
is placed in a middle region between a plurality of air-blowing
units 1321 and 1322 in the front accommodating portion. In other
words, when a first air-blowing unit 1321 is placed at the left
side of the rear accommodating portion in FIG. 27 and a second
air-blowing unit 1322 is placed at the right side, the guide member
1340 is placed at the right side of the first air-blowing unit 1321
and at the left side of the second air-blowing unit 1322 in the
front accommodating portion. This configuration is substantially
the same as those of the foregoing embodiments.
[0162] Here, the indoor unit 1300 according to this embodiment
further includes one or more lateral guide members 1351 and 1352
respectively installed in the outmost regions at the opposite sides
of the front accommodating portion and guiding air to flow. In
other words, the indoor unit 1300 may additionally include a first
lateral guide member 1351 extended from a left wall of the front
accommodating portion in the main housing 1310 along an air-flowing
direction, and a second lateral guide member 1352 extended from a
right wall of the front accommodating portion along the air-flowing
direction. The lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 may be formed
integrally with the main housing 1310, or may be provided as
separate members and coupled to the inside of the main housing
1310.
[0163] Each of the lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 may have a
rear-side width close to the air-blowing units 1321 and 1322 and a
front-side width close to the heat exchanger 1330, in which the
rear-side width is wider than the front-side width. Further, each
width of the lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 may become
narrower as closer to the heat exchanger 1330. In other words, the
closer the heat exchanger 1330, the shorter the distance between
the side of the front accommodating portion to which each of the
lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 is coupled and each side of the
lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 with which air meets.
Therefore, the closer the heat exchanger 1330, the wider the
channel for air discharged from each of the air-blowing units 1321
and 1322.
[0164] When air discharged from each of the air-blowing units 1321
and 1322 meets the lateral guide members 1351 and 1352, the air
moves as attached to the lateral guide members 1351 and 1352 based
on the Coand{hacek over (a)} effect. Therefore, the speed of fluid
is enhanced at the left and right sides in the front accommodating
portion.
[0165] Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be
made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and
spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the
appended claims and their equivalents.
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