Indoor unit of air conditioner

Disclosed is an indoor unit of an air conditioner, in which discharge units respectively provided on upper and lower portions of the indoor unit have an improved discharge structure such that the discharge units are interchangeable, to increase cooling efficiency regardless of installation position of the indoor unit. The indoor unit includes a cabinet; a first discharge unit being detachably provided on the cabinet and configured to discharge air in a forward direction; and a second discharge unit separated from the first discharge unit, being detachably provided on the cabinet and configured to discharge air in the oblique direction, the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit being interchangeable according to a height of a position at which the cabinet is installed. The indoor unit of the air conditioner sets the optimum direction of discharged air, thus increasing the cooling efficiency of an indoor space.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-0012582, filed Feb. 12, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an indoor unit of an air conditioner in which discharge units respectively provided on upper and lower portions of the indoor unit have an improved discharge structure such that the discharge units are interchangeable.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, air conditioners are apparatuses that regulate the temperature, the humidity, the distribution of an air current, etc., suitable for human living using a refrigerating cycle and remove dust from air. The refrigerating cycle is composed of a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a blower fan, etc.

Air conditioners are divided into integration type air conditioners, in which a refrigerating cycle is installed in a single cabinet and the cabinet is installed on a window, and split type air conditioners, in which a refrigerating cycle is divided into two cabinets and the cabinets are respectively installed inside and outside a room. Split type air conditioners are divided into a wall-mounted type air conditioner, a standing type air conditioner, a ceiling-mounted type air conditioner, a ceiling-buried type air conditioner, etc., according to installation methods. Particularly, an air conditioner, which can be installed by various methods according to user's requirement, i.e., used as a wall-mounted type air conditioner or a standing type air conditioner, is referred to as a convertible type air conditioner.

In order to increase the cooling efficiency of a convertible type air conditioner, the direction of air discharged from an indoor unit of the convertible type air conditioner must be varied according to installation positions. For example, in the case that the indoor unit of the convertible type air conditioner stands on the floor, a discharge hole provided on an upper portion of the indoor unit of the air conditioner discharges air upwardly and a discharge hole provided on a lower portion of the indoor unit of the air conditioner discharges air forwardly so as to rapidly cool an indoor space. On the other hand, in the case that the indoor unit of the convertible type air conditioner is mounted on a wall, the discharge hole provided on the upper portion of the indoor unit of the air conditioner discharges air forwardly and the discharge hole provided on the lower portion of the indoor unit of the air conditioner discharges air downwardly so as to rapidly cool an indoor space.

However, convertible type air conditioners are put on the market under the condition that air discharging directions of upper and lower discharge holes of an indoor unit are already fixed. Thereby, in the case that an installation position is changed by the user's need, the cooling efficiency of an indoor space is lowered and abnormal noise is generated. For example, a wall-mounted type air conditioner is designed such that a discharge hole provided on the upper portion of an indoor unit discharges air forwardly and a discharge hole provided on the lower portion of the indoor unit discharges air downwardly. Thus, even in the case that the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner stands on the floor according to a user's need, the discharge hole provided on the upper portion of the indoor unit discharges air forwardly and the discharge hole provided on the lower portion of the indoor unit discharges air downwardly. In this case, it takes a long time to cool down to the upper region of the indoor space, and thus power consumption is increased. Further, the air discharged from the lower discharge hole generates abnormal noise due to collision with the floor.

On the other hand, a standing type air conditioner is designed such that a discharge hole provided on the upper portion of an indoor unit discharges air upwardly and a discharge hole provided on the lower portion of the indoor unit discharges air forwardly. However, in the case that the indoor unit of the standing type air conditioner is mounted on a wall according to the user's need, the air discharged from the upper discharge hole generates abnormal noise due to collision with the ceiling.

SUMMARY

Therefore, one aspect of the embodiment is to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner in which discharge units respectively provided upper and lower portions of the indoor unit have an improved discharge structure such that the discharge units are interchangeable, so as to increase cooling efficiency regardless of installation position of the indoor unit.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an indoor unit of an air conditioner, including: a cabinet; a first discharge unit being detachably provided on the cabinet and configured to discharge air in a forward direction; and a second discharge unit separated from the first discharge unit, and being detachably provided on the cabinet and configured to discharge air in an oblique direction, the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit being interchangeable according to a height of a position at which the cabinet is installed.

The cabinet may include an upper mounting part provided on an upper portion of the cabinet, on which one of the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit is mounted; and a lower mounting part provided on a lower portion of the cabinet, on which the other of the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit is mounted.

The first discharge unit may be installed on the upper mounting part and the second discharge unit may be installed on the lower mounting part when the cabinet is installed at a relatively high position.

Further, the first discharge unit may be installed on the lower mounting part and the second discharge unit may be installed on the upper mounting part when the cabinet is installed at a relatively low position.

The first discharge unit may have a rectangular cross-section to discharge air in the forward direction, and the second discharge unit may have a fan-shaped cross-section to discharge air in the oblique direction.

The upper mounting part and the lower mounting part may be symmetrical with each other such that the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit are interchangeable on the upper mounting part or the lower mounting part.

Any one of the first and second discharge units may be selectively installed on the upper mounting part, and the other one of the first and second discharge units may be selectively installed on the lower mounting part.

The first discharge unit or the second discharge unit may be attached to the upper mounting part or the lower mounting part by screws or other connecting materials or structure.

First connecting parts may be provided on both side surfaces of the first discharge unit, and second connecting parts may be provided on both side surfaces of the second discharge unit, the upper mounting part including upper connecting parts connected to one of the first connecting parts and the second connecting parts, and the lower mounting part including lower connecting parts connected to the other of the first connecting parts and the second connecting parts.

The first discharge unit and the second discharge unit may have a same distance in a lengthwise direction, and the upper mounting part and the lower mounting part may have a same distance in a lengthwise direction.

Further, the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit may have a same distance in a widthwise direction, and the upper mounting part and the lower mounting part may have a same distance in a widthwise direction.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an indoor unit of an air conditioner, including: a cabinet having an upper portion and a lower portion; a first discharge unit being detachably provided on the upper portion of the cabinet; and a second discharge unit separated from the first discharge unit and detachably provided on the lower portion of the cabinet, the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit discharging air in different directions according to a height of a position at which the cabinet is installed.

Any one of the first and second discharge units may discharge air in a forward direction, and the other one of the first and second discharge units may discharge air in an oblique direction.

The first discharge unit may discharge air in the forward direction when the cabinet is installed at a relatively high position and may discharge air in the oblique direction when the cabinet is installed at a relatively low position.

The cabinet may include an upper mounting part on which the first discharge unit is mounted, the first discharge unit being attached to the upper mounting part by screws.

The second discharge unit may discharge air in the oblique direction when the cabinet is installed at a relatively high position and may discharge air in the forward direction when the cabinet is installed at a relatively low position.

The cabinet may include a lower mounting part on which the second discharge unit is mounted, the second discharge unit being attached to the lower mounting part by screws.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an indoor unit of an air conditioner, including: a cabinet having an upper portion and a lower portion; a first discharge unit being detachably provided on one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the cabinet; and a second discharge unit being detachably provided on the other of the upper portion and the lower portion of the cabinet, wherein the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit discharge air in different directions.

The first discharge unit may discharge air in a forward direction and the second discharge unit may discharge air in an oblique direction.

The first discharge unit may be mounted at the upper portion of the cabinet and the second discharge unit may be mounted at the lower portion of the cabinet when the cabinet is installed at a relatively high position with respect to a ground surface.

The second discharge unit may discharge air obliquely in a downward direction with respect to the position of the cabinet.

The second discharge unit may be mounted at the upper portion of the cabinet and the first discharge unit may be mounted at the lower portion of the cabinet when the cabinet is installed at a relatively low position with respect to a ground surface.

The second discharge unit may discharge air obliquely in an upper direction with respect to the position of the cabinet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiment, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiment is described below to explain the present invention by referring to the annexed drawings.

FIG. 1is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of an indoor unit of a wall-mounted type air conditioner in accordance with the present embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 1, the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner of the present embodiment includes a cabinet10formed by connecting a front frame11and a rear frame12. A display unit14for to display whether or not the air conditioner is operated or the operating state of the air conditioner is provided on a control panel13formed on a front surface of the cabinet10. Buttons are installed on the display unit14, and thus a user can control the air conditioner by hand, or input a signal into the display unit14using a remote controller and thus automatically control the air conditioner.

A front suction part16to suck air is formed through a lower portion of the front surface of a front panel15formed on the front surface of the cabinet10, and side suction parts17to suck air are respectively formed through both side surfaces of the front panel15. A first discharge unit30to discharge air is formed on an upper portion of the front surface of the cabinet10, and a second discharge unit40to discharge air is formed on the lower portion of the front surface of the cabinet10. Thus, indoor air is sucked into the indoor unit through the front and side surfaces of the cabinet10, and air having exchanged heat with the inside of the cabinet10is discharged to the inside of a room through the upper and lower portions of the front surface of the cabinet10.FIG. 1illustrates the cabinet10, which is mounted on a wall at a relatively high position. Here, in order to increase the cooling efficiency of the room, the first discharge unit30provided on the upper portion of the cabinet10discharges air in a forward direction, and the second discharge unit40provided on the lower portion of the cabinet10discharges air in an oblique direction, i.e., a middle direction between the forward direction and a downward direction.

FIG. 2is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal constitution of the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner in accordance with the present embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 2, in the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner of the present embodiment, a centrifugal fan22and a driving motor23to drive the centrifugal fan22are installed at a center of the front frame12. Since a heat exchanger20is installed in front of the centrifugal fan22, the indoor air sucked through the front suction part16and the side suction parts17passes through the heat exchanger20such that the indoor air can exchange heat with a refrigerant. Here, moisture contained in the sucked air is condensed into water by the heat exchanger20. A drain21to collect the condensed water is installed under the heat exchanger20.

The air passed through the heat exchanger20is discharged in upward and downward directions by the centrifugal fan22. The air discharged in the upward and downward directions by the centrifugal fan22is guided by upper and lower guide parts24and25provided on the upper and lower portions of the rear frame12to be discharged to the front portion of the cabinet10. That is, the air blown upwardly by the centrifugal fan22is guided to the first discharge unit30by the upper guide part24, and the air blown downwardly by the centrifugal fan22is guided to the second discharge unit40by the lower guide part25.

The air guided by the upper guide part24is discharged in the forward direction through the first discharge unit30, and the air guided by the lower guide part25is discharged in the oblique direction, i.e., the middle direction between the forward direction and the downward direction, through the second discharge unit40. The guidance of the air occurs due to the shapes of the first discharge unit30and the second discharge unit40, in which first discharge holes31provided in the first discharge unit30face forwardly and a second discharge hole41provided in the second discharge unit40faces obliquely.

FIG. 3is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner in accordance with the present embodiment.

As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, in the indoor unit of the wall-mounted type air conditioner, the first discharge unit30is detachably formed on the upper portion of the front surface of the cabinet10, and the second discharge unit40is detachably formed on the lower portion of the front surface of the cabinet10.

An upper mounting part35, on which the first discharge unit30is mounted, is provided on the upper portion of the cabinet10. The upper mounting part35includes an upper end36of the rear frame12by which an upper end32of the first discharge unit30is supported, an upper surface37of the control panel13by which a lower surface33of the first discharge unit30is supported, and upper connecting parts38of the rear frame12by which the side surfaces of the first discharge unit30are supported. The first discharge unit30and the upper mounting part35are connected by screws. That is, first connecting parts34, each having a screw hole (H) formed therethrough, are respectively protruded from both side surfaces of the first discharge unit30, and a screw hole (H) is formed through each of the upper connecting parts38of the upper mounting part35at a position corresponding to the first connecting part34. Thus, after the first discharge unit30is mounted on the upper mounting part35, the first discharge unit30is connected to the upper mounting part35by screws (S). On the other hand, when the screws (S) are loosened, the first discharge unit30is easily separated from the upper mounting part35.

A lower mounting part45, on which the second discharge unit40is mounted, is provided on the lower portion of the cabinet10. The lower mounting part45includes a lower end46of the rear frame12by which a lower end42of the second discharge unit40is supported, a lower surface47of the drain21by which an upper surface43of the second discharge unit40is supported, and lower connecting parts48of the rear frame12by which the side surfaces of the second discharge unit40are supported. The second discharge unit40and the lower mounting part45are connected by screws. That is, second connecting parts44each having a screw hole (H) formed therethrough are respectively protruded from both side surfaces of the second discharge unit40, and a screw hole (H) is formed through each of the lower connecting parts48of the lower mounting part45at a position corresponding to the second connecting part44. Thus, after the second discharge unit40is mounted on the lower mounting part45, the second discharge unit40is connected to the lower mounting part45by screws (S). On the other hand, when the screws (S) are loosened, the second discharge unit40is easily separated from the lower mounting part45.

The first discharge unit30can be detachably attached to the upper mounting part35or the lower mounting part45selectively, and the second discharge unit40can be detachably attached to the upper mounting part35or the lower mounting part45selectively. For this reason, the first discharge unit30and the second discharge unit40have the same length and width, the upper mounting part35and the lower mounting part45have the same length and width, and the rear frame12has a symmetrical shape in which the upper and lower portions of the rear frame12is symmetrical with respect to the horizontal center line. Thereby, the first discharge unit30and the second discharge unit40can be installed interchangeably. That is, the first discharge unit30separated from the upper mounting part35can be connected to the lower mounting part45, and the second discharge unit40separated from the lower mounting part45can be connected to the upper mounting part35.

FIG. 4is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of a standing-type air conditioner in accordance with the present embodiment, andFIG. 5is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit of the standing-type air conditioner in accordance with the present embodiment.

As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the indoor unit of the standing-type air conditioner of the present embodiment includes a cabinet10, which stands on the floor, i.e., is installed at a relatively low position. Here, in order to increase the cooling efficiency of an indoor space and reduce unnecessary noise, a second discharge unit40provided on the upper portion of the cabinet10discharges air in an oblique direction, i.e., a middle direction between the forward direction and the upward direction, and a first discharge unit30provided on the lower portion of the cabinet10discharges air in a forward direction. A second discharge hole41provided in the second discharge unit40faces obliquely and thus air guided by an upper guide part24is discharged in the oblique direction, and first discharge holes31provided in the first discharge unit30face forwardly and thus air guided by a lower guide part25is discharged in the forward direction.

An upper mounting part35, on which the second discharge unit40is mounted, is provided on the upper portion of the cabinet10.FIGS. 2 and 3illustrate the upper mounting part35having the first discharge unit30mounted thereon, andFIGS. 4 and 5illustrate the upper mounting part35having the second discharge unit40mounted thereon. That is, the upper mounting part35is designed such that the first discharge unit30or the second discharge unit40can be selectively mounted on the upper mounting part35.

Now, the mounting structure of the second discharge unit40on the upper mounting part35will be described. An upper end42of the second discharge unit40, which is the lower end42inFIGS. 2 and 3, is supported by an upper end36of the rear frame12, a lower surface43of the second discharge unit40, which is the upper surface43inFIGS. 2 and 3, is supported by an upper surface37of the control panel13, and both side surfaces of the second discharge unit40are supported by upper connecting parts38of the rear frame12. Here, second connecting parts44each having a screw hole (H) formed therethrough and respectively protruded from both side surfaces of the second discharge unit40are connected to the upper connecting parts38each having a screw hole (H) by screws (S).

Further, the mounting structure of the first discharge unit30on the lower mounting part45will be described. A lower end32of the first discharge unit30, which is the upper end32inFIGS. 2 and 3, is supported by a lower end46of the rear frame12, an upper surface33of the first discharge unit30, which is the lower surface33inFIGS. 2 and 3, is supported by a lower surface47of the drain12, and both side surfaces of the first discharge unit30are supported by lower connecting parts48of the rear frame12. Here, first connecting parts34each having a screw hole (H) formed therethrough and protruded from both side surfaces of the first discharge unit30are connected to the lower connecting parts48each having a screw hole (H) by screws (S). While the first discharge unit30and the second discharge unit40are attached to the upper mounting part35or the lower mounting part45by screws (S) through the first connecting parts34and the second connecting parts44, the first discharge unit30and the second discharge unit40may be attached to the upper35or lower45mounting parts by any type of connecting material or structure such that the first30and second40discharge units are able to be attached and detached to the upper35and lower45mounting parts. For example, the connecting material or structure may be hooks and latches, hook and loop fasteners, magnets, etc.

Consequently, as shown inFIGS. 2 to 5, the first discharge unit30or the second discharge unit40can be installed on the upper mounting part35provided on the upper portion of the cabinet10, and the first discharge unit30or the second discharge unit40can be installed on the lower mounting part45provided on the lower portion of the cabinet10. That is, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, in the case that the indoor unit of the air conditioner is installed at a relatively high position by a user's need, the first discharge unit30is installed on the upper mounting part35and the second discharge unit40is installed on the lower mounting part45. Thus, air guided upwardly by the upper guide part24is discharged in the forward direction through the first discharge holes31of the first discharge unit30, and air guided downwardly by the lower guide part25is discharged in the oblique direction through the second discharge hole41of the second discharge unit40.

Further, in the case that the indoor unit of the air conditioner is installed at a relatively low position by a user's need, the first discharge unit30is separated from the upper mounting part35and the second discharge unit40is separated from the lower mounting part45, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3. Thereafter, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the first discharge unit30is installed on the lower mounting part45and the second discharge unit40is installed on the upper mounting part35. Thus, air guided upwardly by the upper guide part24is discharged in the oblique direction through the second discharge hole41of the second discharge unit40, and air guided downwardly by the lower guide part25is discharged in the forward direction through the first discharge holes31of the first discharge unit30.

Here, a blade (B) may be installed in the first discharge holes31of the first discharge unit30and the second discharge hole41of the second discharge unit40, thus optimally adjusting the direction of the discharged air.

While the first discharge unit has been identified as discharge unit30and the second discharge unit has been identified as discharge unit40, alternatively the first discharge unit may represent the discharge unit installed at the upper portion of the cabinet10and the second discharge unit may represent the discharge unit installed at the lower portion of the cabinet10.

As apparent from the above description, the present embodiment provides an indoor unit of an air conditioner, which is applied to a wall-mounted type air conditioner and a standing-type air conditioner to set an optimum direction of discharged air, thus increasing the cooling efficiency of an indoor space.

Further, the indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present embodiment prevents the discharged air from unnecessarily colliding with the ceiling or the floor, thus reducing noise.

Further, the indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present embodiment includes upper and lower discharge units, which are respectively provided on the upper and lower portions of the indoor unit such that the upper and lower discharge units are interchangeable, and thus eliminates a necessity for manufacturing a plurality of indoor units having various air discharge directions, thereby drastically reducing manufacturing expenses and increasing customer's satisfaction.