Patent Publication Number: US-2022214053-A1

Title: Auxiliary mounting device and mounting method for saddle-type window air conditioner

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the technical field of window air conditioners, and in particular to an auxiliary mounting device and mounting method for a saddle-type window air conditioner. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A saddle-type window air conditioner generally includes an indoor part, an outdoor part and a connecting part. The connecting part is used to connect the indoor part and the outdoor part. The outdoor part and the indoor part are located on the same side of the connecting part. The overall appearance of the window air conditioner is in an inverted U-shaped structure. After the saddle-type window air conditioner is mounted to the window, the connecting part is located on the window, and the indoor part and the outdoor part are both located below the window, which can prevent the window air conditioner from blocking the sun. The saddle-type window air conditioner is now favored by more and more consumers. 
     Due to the unique structure of the saddle-type window air conditioner, when the window air conditioner is moved to a window and descends on the window, the window air conditioner can easily fall suddenly, so that a large impact is generated between the connecting part and the window, thereby causing damage to the connecting part, and pipelines and components therein. 
     The above information disclosed in the background art is only used to enhance the understanding of the background art of the present application, and therefore, it may include the prior art that is not known to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the risk of sudden falling of a saddle-type window air conditioner in the mounting process in the prior art, the present invention provides an auxiliary mounting device for a saddle-type window air conditioner. The saddle-type window air conditioner can slowly fall in the mounting process through an airbag, and the auxiliary mounting device is simple in structure and convenient for operation. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: 
     The present invention provides an auxiliary mounting device for a saddle-type window air conditioner. The saddle-type window air conditioner includes: an indoor part, located on an indoor side; an outdoor part, located on an outdoor side; a connecting part, located on a window, where one end is connected to the indoor part, and the other end is connected to the outdoor part. The auxiliary mounting device includes: a base, located on the window; and an airbag, located below the connecting part, wherein an upper end of the airbag is connected to the connecting part, a lower end of the airbag is connected to the base, the airbag is provided with an air hole, and the air hole is provided with a plug. The connecting part gradually moves in a direction towards the base along with deflation of the airbag. 
     In order to prevent the airbag from being exposed to the outside for a long time to accelerate the aging and affect the beautiful appearance, the base includes a bottom plate and side plates disposed around the bottom plate and extending toward the airbag side. When the airbag is in a compressed state, the side plates abut against the connecting part, and the airbag is located between the bottom plate and the connecting part. 
     In order to facilitate mounting and demounting, the upper end of the airbag is provided with an upper connecting portion. The upper connecting portion is bonded or detachably connected to the connecting part. The lower end of the airbag is provided with a lower connecting portion. The lower connecting portion is bonded or detachably connected to the base. 
     In order to make the descending process of the saddle-type window air conditioner more stable and reliable, a plurality of airbags are provided and are symmetrically arranged between the base and the connecting part. 
     In order to make the airbag match saddle-type window air conditioners of different weights such that the saddle-type window air conditioners cannot fall too fast or too slowly, the airbag is provided with two air holes with different diameters. 
     In order to ensure that a curtain component can be well sealed with a side wall of the connecting part and a side wall of the base at the same time, a width of the base is set equal to a width of the connecting part. 
     In order to avoid movement interference of the base during the falling process of the indoor part and the outdoor part of the saddle-type window air conditioner, a length of the base is set not greater than a smallest length of the connecting part. 
     In order to avoid movement interference between the indoor part or outdoor part and the window in the falling process of the saddle-type window air conditioner, when the airbag is in an inflated state, a lower surface of the base is retracted into a lower surface of the indoor part and a lower surface of the outdoor part. 
     The present invention further provides a mounting method for a saddle-type window air conditioner by using the auxiliary mounting device for the saddle-type window air conditioner as described above. The mounting method includes the following steps: connecting the upper end of the airbag to the connecting part, and connecting the lower end of the airbag to the base; inflating the airbag through the air hole, and inserting the plug into the air hole after the airbag is fully inflated; moving the saddle-type window air conditioner together with the base and the fully inflated airbag onto a window, and placing the base on the window such that the indoor part is located on the indoor side and the outdoor part is located on the outdoor side; and removing the plug such that the connecting part gradually moves in a direction towards the base along with deflation of the airbag. 
     Further, the mounting method further includes the following step: separating the upper end of the airbag from the connecting part, and withdrawing the base and the airbag from below the connecting part. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and positive effects: 
     The present invention provides the auxiliary mounting device and mounting method for the saddle-type window air conditioner. The auxiliary mounting device includes the base and the airbag, the base is located on the window, the upper end of the airbag is connected to the connecting part of the saddle-type window air conditioner, the lower end of the airbag is connected to the base, the airbag is provided with the air hole, and the air hole is provided with the plug. During mounting of the saddle-type window air conditioner, first, the airbag is inflated, the saddle-type window air conditioner together with the base and the airbag is placed on the window, and the base is located on the window. Then, the airbag is deflated, and the connecting part gradually descends in the direction towards the base along with the deflation of the airbag, so that the saddle-type window air conditioner slowly falls. The auxiliary mounting device is simple in structure and convenient for operation. 
     After reading the detailed description of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become clearer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or in the prior art clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments or the prior art. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show some embodiments of the present invention, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a saddle-type window air conditioner according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment after an auxiliary mounting device is inflated according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment in a deflation process of the auxiliary mounting device according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment after the auxiliary mounting device is deflated and compressed according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment after the auxiliary mounting device is deflated and compressed according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     In the figures,  10 —auxiliary mounting device,  11 —airbag,  111 —air hole,  12 —base,  121 —bottom plate,  122 —side plate,  13 —plug,  20 —saddle—type window air conditioner,  21 —indoor part,  22 —connecting part,  23 —outdoor part; 
     W—width of connecting part, L—length of connecting part. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In order to make objects, technical solutions and advantages of embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are parts of embodiments rather than all embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. 
     It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “inner”, “outer” and other terms indicating the direction or positional relationship are based on the direction or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. This is only for the convenience of description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. 
     The present invention discloses an auxiliary mounting device for a saddle-type window air conditioner, applied to a mounting process of a saddle-type window air conditioner. With reference to  FIG. 1 , the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  includes an indoor part  21 , an outdoor part  23  and a connecting part  22 . The indoor part  21  is located on an indoor side, and located below a window. The outdoor part  23  is located on an outdoor side, and located below the window. The connecting part  22  is configured to connect the indoor part  21  and the outdoor part  23 , and the overall appearance of the window air conditioner is in an inverted U-shaped structure. The connecting part  22  is available in two forms: retractable and non-retractable. When the retractable mode is used, the connecting part  22  has an adjustable length to adapt to windows of different sizes. After the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is mounted to the window, the connecting part  22  is located on the window, and the indoor part  21  and the outdoor part  23  are both located below the window, which can prevent the window air conditioner from blocking the sun. 
     The auxiliary mounting device  10  includes a base  12  and an airbag  11 . The base  12  is located on the window, the airbag  11  is located below the connecting part  22 , an upper end of the airbag  11  is connected to the connecting part  22 , and a lower end of the airbag  11  is connected to the base  12 . The airbag  11  is provided with an air hole  111 , and a plug  13  is inserted into the air hole  111 . 
     During mounting, 
     first, the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is placed on the ground. The upper end of the airbag  11  is connected to a lower surface of the connecting part  22 . The lower end of the airbag  11  is connected to an upper surface of the base  12 . At this time, the airbag  11  is suspended below the connecting part  22  under the action of the gravity of the base  12 . 
     The airbag  11  is inflated through the air hole  111  by using an inflating tool such as an air pump or the like. After the airbag is fully inflated, the plug  13  is inserted into the air hole  111 . For the schematic structural diagram of the auxiliary mounting device  10  after full inflation, reference may be made to  FIG. 2 , and at this time, the airbag  11  fills the suspended part below the connecting part  22 . 
     The saddle-type window air conditioner  10  together with the base  12  and the fully inflated airbag  11  is moved onto a window, and the base  12  is placed on the window such that the indoor part  21  is located on the indoor side and the outdoor part  23  is located on the outdoor side. 
     The plug  13  is removed, the airbag  11  starts to be deflated gradually, and the connecting part  22  gradually moves in a direction towards the base  12  along with the deflation of the airbag  11 , that is, the complete saddle-type window air conditioner  20  gradually and slowly falls along with the deflation of the airbag  11 . For the schematic structural diagram in the deflation process of the airbag  11 , reference may be made to  FIG. 3 . 
     After the airbag  11  finishes deflation and is compressed, the connecting part  22  is located above the base  12 , and at this time, the indoor part  21  and the outdoor part  23  are respectively located below the window. For the schematic structural diagram of the airbag  11  after being deflated and compressed, reference may be made to  FIG. 4 . 
     If the connecting part  22  uses a retractable mode, the indoor part  21  or the outdoor part  23  is pushed to adjust the length of the connecting part, so that the complete air conditioner adapts to the corresponding window size. Thus, the mounting of the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is completed. 
     In this embodiment, there is one airbag  11  used. In other embodiments, there may be a plurality of airbags  11  disposed, but they need to be symmetrically arranged between the base  12  and the connecting part  22 . When a plurality of airbags  11  are deflated at the same time, the complete air conditioner can fall more stably, and cannot easily tilt in the falling process. For example, two airbags  11  are disposed between the base  12  and the connecting part  22 . One airbag  11  is close to the indoor part  21  side, and the other airbag  11  is close to the outdoor part  23  side. At the time of deflation, the plugs  13  on the two airbags  11  need to be removed at the same time to enable the two airbags  11  to be deflated synchronously, so that the complete air conditioner can fall stably. 
     When the form of a plurality of airbags  11  is used, if a certain airbag  11  thereof is damaged, the other airbags  11  may also continue to drive the complete air conditioner to slowly fall, so that the mounting process proceeds smoothly, thereby ensuring the mounting progress. 
     The airbag  11  is provided with two air holes  111  with different diameters. At the time of deflation, the air hole  111  with a suitable diameter may be selected for deflation according to the weight of the complete air conditioner, such that the complete air conditioner falls more stably, thereby preventing the complete air conditioner from falling too fast or too slowly. 
     The upper end of the airbag  11  is provided with an upper connecting portion (not shown), and the upper connecting portion is bonded or detachably connected to the lower surface of the connecting part  22 . The lower end of the airbag  11  is provided with a lower connecting portion (not shown), and the lower connecting portion is bonded or detachably connected to the upper surface of the base  12 . Specifically, when the detachable connection mode is used, common fastening manners such as hooks, buckles and the like may be selected. For example, the upper connecting portion and the lower connecting portion are respectively provided with hooks, the lower surface of the connecting part and the upper surface of the base are respectively correspondingly provided with suspension loops, and the hook is hooked to the suspension loop, which is convenient for mounting and demounting. 
     After the window air conditioner is mounted, a curtain component (not shown) is disposed between the window air conditioner and a window frame. The curtain component serves to close the window air conditioner and the window frame, thereby avoiding heat exchange between indoor and outdoor environments. After using the auxiliary mounting device of this embodiment, a width of the base  12  is set equal to a width of the connecting part  22 , and the width of the connecting part  22  is marked as W, with reference to  FIG. 2 . In this way, after the airbag  11  is deflated and compressed, the curtain component can well realize sealing with a side wall of the connecting part  22  and a side wall of the base  12  at the same time without making special structural changes to the curtain component. 
     When the connecting part  22  uses the non-retractable form, a length of the base  12  is not greater than a length of the connecting part  22 . When the connecting part  22  adopts the retractable form, a length of the base  12  is not greater than a smallest length of the connecting part  22 , and the length of the connecting part  22  is marked as L, with reference to  FIG. 2 . In this way, movement interference of the base  12  during the falling process of the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  can be avoided. 
     When the airbag  11  is in the inflated state, the lower surface of the base  12  is retracted into the lower surface of the indoor part  21  and the lower surface of the outdoor part  23 . Thus, the base  12 , the indoor part  21  and the outdoor part  23  form an inverted U-shaped structure with a smaller height. When the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  together with the base  12  and the inflated airbag  11  is placed onto the window, the inverted U-shaped structure with a smaller height performs functions of locating and clamping to some extent, that is, the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is preliminarily located and clamped onto the window. Therefore, after the airbag  11  is deflated, the indoor part  21  after falling can be located on the indoor side without generating movement interference with the window, and the outdoor part  23  can be located on the outdoor side without generating movement interference with the window. 
     In this embodiment, the auxiliary mounting device  10  and the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  may be in two forms: a fixed form or a detachable form. 
     When the fixed form is used, after the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is mounted onto the window and the airbag  11  is deflated, the airbag  11  and the base  12  are located between the connecting part  22  and the window frame all the time. In order to prevent the airbag  11  from being exposed to the outside for a long time to accelerate the aging and affect the beautiful appearance, the base  12  is structurally improved in this embodiment. Specifically, with reference to  FIG. 4 , the base  12  includes a bottom plate  121  and side plates  122  disposed around the bottom plate  121  and extending toward the airbag  11  side. When the airbag  11  is in a deflated and compressed state, the side plates  122  abut against the connecting part  22 , the bottom plate  121 , the side plates  122  and the connecting part  22  form a hollow cavity, and the airbag  11  is located in the hollow cavity, thereby preventing the airbag from being exposed to the outside. At the same time, the side plates  122  abut against the connecting part  22 , which can also prevent the connecting part  22  from directly exerting gravity on the airbag  11  and prevent the airbag  11  from damage due to pressing. 
     The side plates  122  and the side wall of the connecting part  22  are on the same vertical surface. After the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is mounted in place, the curtain component can well realize sealing with the side plates  122  and the side wall of the connecting part  22  at the same time, thereby enhancing the sealing effect. 
     When the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  needs to be removed from the window, in order to facilitate demounting, one of the side plates  122  may be set in an openable form, so that the air hole  111  in the airbag  11  can be exposed. The airbag  11  is inflated through the air hole  111  by using an inflating tool such as an air pump or the like. As the airbag  11  continues to be inflated, the connecting part  22  is gradually lifted up by the airbag  11 , and the complete saddle-type window air conditioner  20  also gradually rises. After the inflation of the airbag  11  is completed, the air hole  111  is blocked with the plug  13 . At this time, the lower surfaces of the indoor part  21  and the outdoor part  23  are already very close to the window, and it will save a lot of effort to move the complete saddle-type window air conditioner  20  off from the window. 
     When the detachable form is used, the upper end of the airbag  11  and the lower surface of the connecting part  22  need to be connected in a detachable manner After the airbag  11  is deflated and compressed and the saddle-type window air conditioner  20  is mounted in place, the connection relation between the upper end of the airbag  11  and the lower surface of the connecting part  22  is dissolved. For example, the hook is removed from the suspension loop, the upper end of the airbag  11  is separated from the lower surface of the connecting part  22 , and then, the base  12  and the airbag  11  are together withdrawn from below the connecting part  22 , with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     It should be illustrated finally that, the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention; although the present invention is illustrated in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that, modifications may still be made on the technical solutions written by the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent replacements are made on part of technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the various embodiments of the present invention.