AIR CONDITIONER

Provided is an air conditioner that can include a housing, a protruding portion protruding outwardly from the housing and defining an accommodating cavity, and a controller, at least a portion of the controller being arranged in the accommodating cavity, wherein: the protruding portion is provided with an operating hole communicated with the accommodating cavity, an operating surface of the controller is arranged in the operating hole so that the operating surface is exposed, or the operating surface of the controller is arranged on an outer side surface of the protruding portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 202121632827.6, filed in China on Jul. 16, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of air conditioner manufacturing, and more particularly to an air conditioner.

BACKGROUND

Air conditioners mainly function to adjust the temperature, which can be applied to different life scenarios with different heat exchangers. The further refinement of air conditioning products will have higher requirements for product function requirements and after-sales maintenance. Centralized heating integrated water heaters and a swimming pool machines in related art integrate an indoor unit and an outdoor unit of the original air conditioners into one, making the installation and use of the product more convenient. A controller of such products is mainly divided into two types. One is an external controller that can be separated from the air conditioner body, and mounted to an indoor wall or an outdoor wall, etc.; the other is a built-in controller that is arranged on the air conditioner, and arranged, for example, on a front panel or a right rear panel of the air conditioner. When disassembling the air conditioner, it is necessary to disassemble a peripheral sheet metal of the air conditioner, thus an operation to disassemble the air conditioner is inconvenient, and the arrangement of the built-in controller is also not flexible enough.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the related art to at least some extent. Therefore, the present disclosure proposes an air conditioner with high space utilization.

The air conditioner according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a body, the body comprising a housing, the housing comprising a protruding portion protruding outwards, the protruding portion defining an accommodating cavity; and a controller, at least a part of the controller being located in the accommodating cavity, the protruding portion being provided with an operating hole communicated with the accommodating cavity, an operating surface of the controller being opposite to the operating hole so that the operating surface is exposed, or the operating surface of the controller being arranged on an outer side surface of the protruding portion.

In the air conditioner provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller is arranged in an accommodating cavity formed by the protruding portion of the housing, the accommodating cavity may be utilized without affecting the original appearance of the housing of the air conditioner, thus improving the space utilization inside the air conditioner.

Therefore, the air conditioner provided by embodiments of the present disclosure has the advantage of high space utilization.

Furthermore, the air conditioner according to the present disclosure also has the following additional technical features.

In some embodiments, the housing includes a housing body and a handle casing, the handle casing is detachably arranged on the housing body, the handle casing constitutes the protruding portion, the handle casing includes an end plate and a surrounding plate surrounding the end plate, the operating hole is defined in the end plate, and the controller is detachably connected with the handle casing, or the operating surface is arranged on the end plate and integrated with the end plate.

In some embodiments, a part of the end plate is recessed inwards relative to another part of the end plate to form a handle slot.

In some embodiments, the controller includes an operating panel, the operating panel has the operation surface, at least a part of the operating panel is fitted in the operating hole, a remaining part of the controller is located at a rear side of the operating panel and is located in the accommodating cavity, and the remaining part of the controller abuts against a part of the end plate located near the operating hole, so that the controller is limited in a forward direction.

In some embodiments, the air conditioner includes a controller support member, the controller support member is connected to a rear wall surface of the end plate and surrounds the remaining part of the controller, and the remaining part of the controller is fitted into the controller support member, so that the controller is limited and supposed in up, down, left and right directions.

In some embodiments, the controller support member is also connected with a limiting part abutting against the controller in the front-and-rear direction so that the controller is limited in a backward direction, or, the air conditioner further includes a controller limiting member, the controller limiting member is connected with the controller support member or is connected with the rear wall surface of the end plate, and the controller limiting member includes a part abutting against the controller in the front-and-rear direction, so that the controller is limited in the backward direction.

In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes a sealing ring, the sealing ring is fitted in the operating hole and located between the operating panel and the end plate.

In some embodiments, the operating hole is defined in the end plate, the air conditioner includes a controller mounting box, the controller mounting box defines a mounting cavity, a front side of the mounting cavity is open, the controller is mounted in the mounting cavity, the operating surface is opposite to a front side opening of the mounting cavity so that the operating surface is exposed, and at least a part of the controller mounting box is located in the accommodating cavity and connected to the end plate.

In some embodiments, the air conditioner includes a cover plate, the cover plate is connected to the controller mounting box in a rotatable manner between a covering position of covering the operating surface and an exposing position of exposing the operating surface.

In some embodiments, the air conditioner includes a cover plate, the cover plate is connected to the handle casing in a rotatable manner between a covering position of covering the operating surface and an exposing position of exposing the operating surface.

REFERENCES SIGNS

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative. It should be understood that the embodiments described are intended to explain the present disclosure, but not to limit the present disclosure.

An air conditioner100of embodiments of the present disclosure is described below according toFIGS.1-3. The air conditioner100includes a body and a controller110.

The body includes a housing120and a protruding portion protruding outwards from the housing120. The protruding portion defines an accommodating cavity121. At least a part of the controller110is located in the accommodating cavity121, that is, at least part of the controller110is located in the accommodating cavity121formed by the protruding portion protruding outwards from the housing120, and the accommodating cavity121is located at a rear space of the protruding portion.

The protruding portion is provided with an operating hole122communicated with the accommodating cavity121, an operating surface111of the controller110is exposed through the operating hole122. Since the operating surface111is exposed through the operating hole122, an operator may perform a touch operation on the operating surface111of the controller110. Alternatively, the operating surface111of the controller110is arranged on an outer side surface of the protruding portion, and the operator may also perform the touch operation through the operating surface111on the outer side surface of the protruding portion.

In the air conditioner100provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller110is arranged in the accommodating cavity121formed by the protruding portion protruding outwards from the housing120, and the accommodating cavity121may be utilized without affecting the original appearance of the housing120of the air conditioner100, thus improving the space utilization inside the air conditioner100.

Therefore, the air conditioner100provided by embodiments of the present disclosure has the advantage of high space utilization.

In some embodiments, the housing120includes a housing body123and the protruding portion includes a handle casing124that is detachably arranged on the housing body123. Further, the handle casing124includes an end plate1241and a surrounding plate1242surrounding and connected to the end plate1241.

Further, in some embodiments, the controller110is detachably connected with the handle casing124, the end plate1241is provided with the operating hole122communicated with the accommodating cavity121, the operating surface111of the controller110is exposed through the operating hole122. The operator may perform a touch operation on the operating surface111exposed through operating hole122with the controller110being built-in the handle casing124. Since the controller110is detachably connected to the handle casing124, the controller110may be removed from the handle casing124and placed on an indoor wall or an outdoor wall, and in this time, the controller110is external. When removing the controller110, the handle casing124may be removed from the housing body123first, and then the controller110connected to the handle casing124may be removed, without disassembling the peripheral sheet metal of the housing body123of the housing120, which is convenient and quick, convenient for after-sales maintenance, and makes the arrangement of the controller110more flexible.

Alternatively, in other embodiments, the end plate1241is not provided with the operating hole122, and the operating surface111of the controller110is arranged on the end plate1241and integrated with the end plate1241. The outer side surface of the end plate1241is the outer side surface of the protruding portion. Further, the handle casing124is integrated with the operating surface111of the controller110. The operating surface111is a touch-sensitive operating board, for example, the handle casing124is made of plastic, and the controller110may be controlled by touching the operating surface111arranged on the end plate1241.

Several embodiments provided by the present embodiment are described in detail below according toFIGS.1-3.

As shown inFIGS.1and2, in the present embodiment, an air conditioner100includes a body and a controller110. The body includes a housing120and a handle casing124. The housing120includes a housing body123. The handle casing124is detachably arranged on the housing body123. The handle casing124protrudes outwards with respect to the housing body123to form a protruding portion. The handle casing124includes an end plate1241and a surrounding plate1242, and the end plate1241and the surrounding plate1242define an accommodating cavity121located on a rear side of the end plate1241. A part of the end plate1241is recessed towards an interior of the accommodating cavity121relative to a remaining part of the end plate1241to form a handle slot1243, and the handle slot1243is convenient for an operator to handle the air conditioner100.

In the present embodiment, the controller110is placed inside the handle casing124just by utilizing the accommodating cavity121defined by the handle casing124of the air conditioner100, which does not change the original appearance of the air conditioner100, and improves the space utilization. It should be noted that the present embodiment only takes the handle casing124as an example. In other embodiments, the controller110may also be placed in an accommodating cavity121defined by the other protruding portions formed on the housing120of the air conditioner100, which may also improve the space utilization,

As shown inFIG.2, an operating hole122is defined in the end plate1241for exposing the operating surface111of the controller110. The controller110is detachably connected to the handle casing124. In some specific embodiments, the operating surface111is located in the operating hole122, that is, the operating surface111is located between a front wall surface and a rear wall surface of the end plate1241in the front-and-rear direction of the end plate1241, or the operating surface111is flush with the front wall surface of the end plate1241, which is not limited herein.

Specifically, the controller110includes an operating panel, and the operating surface111is arranged on the front side surface of the operating panel. The remaining part of the controller110is located at a rear side of the operating panel. At least a part of the operating panel is fitted in the operating hole122, and the remaining part of the controller110is located in the accommodating cavity121. The remaining part of the controller110abuts against the rear wall surface of the end plate1241, and more specifically, the remaining part of the controller110abuts against a part of the end plate1241located near the operating hole122, so that movement of the controller110is limited in the forward direction.

When the controller110in the present embodiment is mounted, the control panel of the controller110is mounted into the operating hole122of the handle casing124from rear to front. The above arrangement enables movement of the controller110to be limited during the mounting from rear to front, so that the controller110will not move forward out of the operating hole122.

In some specific embodiments, the size of the remaining part of the controller110is larger than the size of the operating panel part, thereby forming a step structure on the controller110. Further, in order to connect the controller110with the handle casing124mutually, the air conditioner100of the present embodiment also includes a controller support member130and a controller limiting member140.

As shown inFIG.2, the controller support member130is configured to support the controller110. The controller support member130is connected to the rear wall surface of the end plate1241and surrounds the remaining part of the controller110located in the accommodating cavity121. In addition, the remaining part of the controller110is fitted into the controller support member130, so that the controller support member130limits and supports the controller110in up, down, left and right directions. In other words, the controller support member130is a hollow frame, and the controller110passes through a through hole of the controller support member130from rear to front, so that the controller support member130is sleeved on the remaining part of the controller110. Thus, the controller110will not shift or move in the up, down, left and right directions.

After the controller110is fitted with the controller support member130, the controller limiting member140is mounted on the rear wall surface of the end plate1241from the rear, the controller limiting member140includes a part that abuts against the controller110in the front-and-rear direction, and the part that abuts against the rear side of the controller110to limit movement of the controller110in the backward direction. That is, the controller limiting member140is connected to the rear wall surface of the end plate1241, and the controller limiting member140is configured to limit movement of the controller110in the backward direction. Thus, through the controller support member130and the controller limiting member140, the controller110and the handle casing124are mutually fixed. It is understood that the controller limiting member140may also be connected to the controller support member130.

In other embodiments, the air conditioner100may also exclude the controller limiting member140, so that the controller support member130is connected with a limiting part, and the limiting part abuts against the controller110in the front-and-rear direction, which may also realize limit on movement of the controller110in the backward direction. That is, the controller support member130is configured to limit movement of the controller110in the up, down, left and right directions and backward direction simultaneously.

In some specific embodiments, the air conditioner100also includes a sealing ring150. The sealing ring150is fitted in the operating hole122and located between the part of the operating panel fitted in the operating hole122and the end plate1241. In other words, an outer peripheral surface of the seal ring150abuts against a surface of the end plate1241on the periphery of the operating hole122, an inner peripheral surface of the seal ring150abuts against a part of the operating panel located in the operating hole122, and the seal ring150is used for sealing between the controller110and the end plate1241, to prevent water or dust from entering the interior of the air conditioner100through the gap between the controller110and the end plate1241to affect the operation of the air conditioner100.

In a specific embodiment, the air conditioner100further includes a cover plate160. The cover plate160is connected to the handle casing124in a rotatable manner between a covering position of covering the operating surface111and an exposing position of exposing the operating surface111. Specifically, the cover plate160may be connected to the end plate1241, and a connection position with the end plate1241may be located above the operating hole122. When the operating surface111does not need to be operated, the cover plate160may be rotated to the covering position of covering the operating surface111to prevent water and dust from contacting the operating surface111. When an operation of the operating surface111is needed, the cover plate160may be rotated to the exposing position to expose the operating surface111to facilitate the operation of the operating surface111. In addition, when the controller110needs to be removed and placed externally, the cover plate160may be moved to the covering position of covering the operating surface111, to prevent water or dust from entering the interior of the air conditioner100through the operating hole122.

An air conditioner100of the present embodiment is described below with reference toFIG.3as an example. In the present embodiment, the air conditioner100includes a body and a controller110. The body includes a housing120, and a handle casing124. The housing120includes a housing body123. The handle casing124is detachably arranged on the housing body123. The handle casing124protrudes outwards with respect to the housing body123to form the protruding portion. The handle casing124includes an end plate1241and a surrounding plate1242, and the end plate1241and the surrounding plate1242define an accommodating cavity121located on the rear side of the end plate1241. A part of the end plate1241is recessed towards the interior of the accommodating cavity121relative to the remaining part of the end plate1241to form a handle slot1243, and the handle slot1243is convenient for an operator to handle the air conditioner100.

As shown inFIG.3, an operating hole122is defined in the end plate1241. In the present embodiment, the controller110is detachably connected to the handle casing124.

Specifically, the air conditioner100includes a controller mounting box170. The controller mounting box170defines a mounting cavity, and a front side of the mounting cavity is open. The controller110is mounted in the mounting cavity of the controller mounting box170. An operating surface111of the controller110is exposed through a front side opening of the mounting cavity. At least a part of the controller mounting box170is located in the accommodating cavity121and connected to the end plate1241. It is understood that, in order to expose the operating surface111, the front side opening of the mounting cavity is opposite to the operating hole122.

When assembling the air conditioner100in the present embodiment, the handle casing124may be first mounted on the housing body123, the controller110may be mounted in the mounting cavity of the controller mounting box170, the controller mounting box170having the controller110mounted therein is passed through the operating hole122from front to rear, and the controller mounting box170may then be mounted into the accommodating cavity121. Alternatively, the controller mounting box170having the controller110mounted therein may be mounted on the end plate1241from rear to front. The handle casing124may then be connected to the housing body123. In adopting the first mounting method of passing the controller mounting box170through the operating hole122from front to rear, when the controller110needs to be disassembled, the controller mounting box170may be directly removed from the handle casing124without disassembling the handle casing124from the housing body123, which is more convenient and quicker.

In some specific embodiments, the air conditioner100further includes a cover plate160. The cover plate160is connected to the controller mounting box170in a rotatable manner between a covering position of covering the operating surface111and an exposing position of exposing the operating surface111. When the operating surface111does not need to be operated, the cover plate160may be rotated to the covering position of covering the operating surface111to prevent water and dust from contacting the operating surface111. When an operation of the operating surface111is needed, the cover plate160may be rotated to the exposing position to expose the operating surface111to facilitate operation on the operating surface111.

In other embodiments, the cover plate160may also be connected to the handle casing124in a rotatable manner between the covering position of covering the operating surface111and the exposing position of exposing the operating surface111.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the orientation or position relationship indicated by the terms “center”, “longitudinal”, “transverse”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “outer”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial” and “circumferential” and the like, is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, and be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, so it cannot be understood as a limitation of the present disclosure.

In addition, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the feature defined as “first” or “second” may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present disclosure, “a plurality of” means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as “mount”, “interconnect”, “connect”, “fix” shall be understood broadly, and may be, for example, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; may also be mechanical or electrical connections or intercommunication; may also be direct connections or indirect connections via intervening media; may also be inner communications or interactions of two elements, unless otherwise specifically defined. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to the specific situations.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly defined and specified, a structure in which a first feature is “on” or “below” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or may further include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second feature are in indirect contact through intermediate media. Furthermore, a first feature “on”, “above”, or “on top of” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely “on”, “above”, or “on top of” the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height higher than that of the second feature, while a first feature “below”, “under”, or “on bottom of” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely “below”, “under”, or “on bottom of” the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height lower than that of the second feature.

In the description of the present disclosure, terms such as “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “an example”, “a specific example” or “some examples” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of these terms in various places throughout the present specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, without contradiction, those skilled in the art may combine and unite different embodiments or examples or features of the different embodiments or examples described in the present specification.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and shall not be understood as limitation to the present disclosure, and changes, modifications, alternatives and variations can be made in the above embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art.