Patent Abstract:
An outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, comprising: a case forming shape and having a suction port suctioning outside air and a discharge port discharging the suctioned air; a heat exchanger accommodated inside the case; a fan that is accommodated inside the case and forcibly circulate air; and a louver assembly revolvably mounted in the case so as to selectively open and close the discharge port.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 365 to Korean Patent Application No. 2010-0086825 (filed on Sep. 6, 2010), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates to an outdoor unit for an air conditioner. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Generally, the air conditioner is an apparatus for cooling or heating air based on a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator and an expansion member. 
         [0006]    One of the condenser and the evaporator that is placed outdoors is heat-exchanged with outside air and the heat exchanger placed outdoors is called an outdoor unit. 
         [0007]    The heat exchanger situated inside the outdoor unit and an outdoor fan suctioning outdoor air to the inside of the outdoor unit and discharging to the outside of the outdoor unit are mounted. 
         [0008]    For a general outdoor unit, the outdoor fan is mounted in the rear of the discharge port and the heat exchanger performing a function of the condenser or the evaporator is placed in the rear of the outdoor fan. 
         [0009]    A grille is formed in the discharge port of the outdoor unit, such that the introduction of foreign substance from the outside or the entrance of person&#39;s hands is prevented. Since the discharge port of an existing outdoor unit is maintained in opened condition regardless of whether or not the operation of the outdoor, when the outdoor unit is not operating, there is a disadvantage that the foreign substance is introduced into the inside of the outdoor unit via the discharge port. Particularly, in the desert regions, small particles of sand is introduced into the inside of the outdoor unit to degrade the operating performance of the outdoor unit. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The disclosure proposed to improve above disadvantage is to provide opening and closing structure of the discharge port of the outdoor unit in which the discharge port of the outdoor unit is closed when not operating the outdoor unit and is opened only when operating the outdoor unit. 
         [0011]    An outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure to achieve above objects, comprising: a case forming shape and having a suction port suctioning outside air and a discharge port discharging the suctioned air; a heat exchanger accommodated inside the case; a fan that is accommodated inside the case and forcibly circulate air; and a louver assembly rotatably mounted in the case so as to selectively open and close the discharge port. 
         [0012]    An outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure including above configuration may obtain the same effects as below. 
         [0013]    First, since the discharge port of the outdoor unit is opened only when operating the outdoor unit, the introduction of the foreign substance may be prevented via the discharge port when not operating the outdoor unit. 
         [0014]    Further, when the discharge port of the outdoor unit is selectively closed by the louvers and the louvers close the discharge port of the outdoor unit, an advertisement or a picture may be attached to the surface of the louver, such that there is an advantage that may beautifully design a shape of the outdoor unit. In other words, there is a advantage that may use the front of the outdoor unit as an advertising board. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an outdoor unit showing a condition in which a discharge port is opened, as an outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of an outdoor unit showing a condition in which a discharge port is closed. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  show a louver structure according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, as a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows schematically a louver driving mechanism according to a second embodiment of the disclosure. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows a portion of the rear of the outdoor unit case equipped with the louver driving mechanism. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows schematically a form in which the louver is connected to the louver driving mechanism. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a front view of the outdoor unit showing schematically the louver driving mechanism according to a third embodiment of the disclosure. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing a process in which the louvers close the discharge port of the outdoor unit, as a cross section view taken along line II-II of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view showing a condition when the louvers close perfectly the discharge port of the outdoor unit. 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  shows the louver structure according to a fourth embodiment of the disclosure 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    Hereinafter, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an outdoor unit showing a condition in which a discharge port is opened, as an outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure and  FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of an outdoor unit showing a condition in which a discharge port is closed. 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , an outdoor unit  10  for an air conditioner of an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure includes a case  11  forming a shape, a heat exchanger (not shown) accommodated inside the case, and a fan  14  (refer to  FIG. 3 ) arranged in front of the heat exchanger. 
         [0028]    In detail, an discharge port  111  is formed in a front of the outdoor unit  10  and a suction port (not shown) is formed in a side of the outdoor unit  10 . Further, a discharge grille  12  is formed in the discharge port  111  and blocks putting your hands or entering bulky foreign substance from the outside. The discharge grille  12  may be composed by a combination of a plurality of ribs extending in all directions from a center of the discharge port  111  and a plurality of circular ribs having a diameter different from each other. However, it is revealed that the discharge grille  12  is not limited to the same structure as above. In addition, the discharge grille  12  is fixed to the front of the case  11  i.e. an edge of the discharge port  111 . Alternatively, the discharge grille  12  may be made in one body with the case  11 . 
         [0029]    In addition, a plurality of louvers  13  can be installed rotatably in the front of the discharge grille  12 . When not driving the outdoor unit  10 , the upright louvers  13  close perfectly the discharge ports  111 , and the outdoor unit  10  rotates frontward during its driving process to allow the discharge port  111  to be opened. 
         [0030]    Hereinafter, the structure and operations of the louvers  13  will be described in detail with reference to drawings. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  shows a louver structure according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, as a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 3 , the plurality of louvers  13  can be placed horizontally or vertically. In addition, the louvers  13  close perfectly the discharge port  111  under condition parallel to the front of the case  11 . 
         [0033]    In detail, both ends of each of the plurality of louvers  13  are rotatably connected to the edge of the discharge port  111 . First, it is described that the plurality of louvers  13  are placed in the horizontal direction and arranged adjacently to each other in the vertical direction. 
         [0034]    When the plurality of louvers  13  are placed in the horizontal direction, a rotation axis may be protruded from both side ends of each louver  13 . In addition, the rotation axis may be formed in the top end of the side end of the louvers  13 . According to such a structure, when the fan  14  is driven and the suctioned outdoor air is discharged to the discharge port  111 , the louvers  13  rotate frontward by air pressure to be discharged above. Further, if the fan  14  is stopped, each of the louvers  13  returns to its original position by gravity to maintain an upright condition. When the louvers  13  is in the upright condition, the discharge port  111  is completely closed. Therefore, there is a advantage that a separate driving mechanism rotating the louvers  13  is not needed. 
         [0035]    In addition, since the discharge grille  12  is arranged in the rear of the louvers  13 , when the fan  14  is stopped, a phenomenon that the louvers  13  rotate inside the outdoor unit  10  can be prevented by wind blowing into the inside of the outdoor unit  10  from the outside of the outdoor unit  10 . 
         [0036]    On the other hand, when the louvers  13  are vertically combined to the discharge port  111 , since it is impossible to rotate due to gravity of the louvers  13 , the rotation axis of the louvers  13  is equipped with elastic members such as a torsion spring at this time. In other word, when wind pressure generated by driving of the fan  14  acts to the louvers  13 , the louvers  13  rotate frontward. Then, when the fan  14  is stopped, the louvers  13  may return to its original position by force of restoration of the elastic member (refer to  FIG. 10 ). 
         [0037]    Alternatively, the driving mechanism to allow the louvers  13  to rotate selectively will be applied. The description about this will be described with reference to the drawings below. 
         [0038]      FIG. 4  shows schematically a louver driving mechanism according to a second embodiment of the disclosure,  FIG. 5  shows a portion of the rear of the outdoor unit case equipped with the louver driving mechanism and  FIG. 6  shows schematically a form in which the louvers are connected to the louver driving mechanism. 
         [0039]    In  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6 , A connection bar  22  is extended to one or both ends of the louvers  13  and a pinions  21  is mounted in the end of the connection bar  22 . In addition, a racks  20  may be arranged in the front or rear of the pinions  21 . Further, the pinions  21  may be gear-coupled with the racks  20 . The racks  20  is formed with lengths that may be gear-coupled with both of the pinions  21  connected to uppermost louvers  13  and the pinions  21  connected to lowermost louvers  13 . Further, the racks  20  may be mounted inside the case  11  to enable reciprocal movement along the length of the racks  20 . 
         [0040]    Further, a driving motor M may be connected to any one of the pinions  21  connected to the louvers  13 , for example, the lowermost or uppermost pinions  21 . 
         [0041]    According to such a configuration, when the driving motor M is operated, the pinions  21  connected to the driving motor M rotates. Further, the racks  20  engaged with the pinions  21  is moved upward or downward on the drawings. Therefore, another pinions gear-coupled with the rack  20  rotate together, too, such that the entire louvers  13  rotate at the same rotational speed and the discharge port  111  is opened or closed selectively. 
         [0042]    On the other hand, another mechanism in addition to the rack and pinion structure may be applied as a method for rotating simultaneously a plurality of the pinion  21  connected to the louvers  13 , respectively. For example, time belt type belts may be applied instead of the rack  20 . In other words, gear teeth are formed in inner principal plan of the belt and the plurality of pinions  21  may be engaged with the gear teeth formed in inner principal plan of the belt. Further, when the driving motor is connected to the uppermost or the lowermost pinion  21 , another pinions  21  also rotate at the same speed according to the rotation of the belt. 
         [0043]    Further, in addition to the time belt type belt, a chain type sprocket assembly may be applied. 
         [0044]    The pinion described above is called “a first power delivery member” and the rack, the time belt or the sprocket assembly is called “a second power delivery member”. 
         [0045]      FIG. 7  is a front view of the outdoor unit showing schematically the louver driving mechanism according to a third embodiment of the disclosure,  FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing a process in which the louvers close the discharge port of the outdoor unit, as a cross section view taken along line II-II of  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view showing a condition when the louvers close perfectly the discharge port of the outdoor unit. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 7  to  FIG. 9 , the discharge port  111  of the outdoor unit  10  according to the disclosure may be selectively closed by the plurality of louvers  13  extending in all directions. The plurality of louvers  13  may be arranged to be overlapped with each other. In other word, a portion of one louver may be arranged to be vertically overlapped with a portion of another louver (refer to  FIG. 8 ). 
         [0047]    Specifically, the driving motor may be mounted in the center of the discharge grille  12  and the louver assembly having a fan type may be mounted in the front of the discharge grille  12 . In other words, the louver assembly, in which the plurality of louvers  13  having the fan type are connected to each other, is mounted and the inner end of the louver  13  connected to its edge is connected to the rotation axis of the motor M. According to this configuration, as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , when the driving motor M is rotated to rotate the louvers  13  connected to the edge, the discharge port  111  is closed while unfolding the plurality of louvers  13  in a fan type. 
         [0048]    Further, the discharge port  111  may be perfectly closed by unfolding one louver assembly circularly and as shown in  FIG. 7 , short louver assemblies are provided in combined type to enable the discharge port  111  to be closed. For example, the discharge port  111  is to be quartered and four louver assemblies may be circularly surrounded in the inside of the discharge port  111 . Further, each louver  13  situated at the edge are connected to the rotation axis of the driving motor M. In this condition, when the driving motor M rotates, four louver assemblies cover by ¼ of the discharge port  111  area to perfectly close the discharge port  111  in total. 
         [0049]    On the other hand, one side of each louver  13  is convexly rounded as shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  and the other side is concavely rounded. Then, when the louver assembly is in fully unfolded condition as shown in  FIG. 9 , there is no gap between adjacent louvers. In other words, the plurality of louvers may be arranged in one column side by side without overlapping with each other. 
         [0050]    In addition, when the louver assembly is in the folding process, one of the louvers  13  is smoothly sled along the side of the adjacent louvers  13  so as to be positioned on the rear of the adjacent louvers  13 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 10  shows the louver structure according to a fourth embodiment of the disclosure. 
         [0052]    In the  FIG. 10 , the louvers  13  according to the fourth embodiment of the disclosure may be rotatably coupled with the discharge port  111  vertically. 
         [0053]    The louvers  13  are provided with the rotation axis  17  forming the rotation center of the louvers  13 . An elastic member  18  providing force of restitution to the louvers  13  is coupled with the rotation axis  17 . The elastic member  18  includes a torsion spring. 
         [0054]    When the fan  14  rotates, the louvers  13  overcome the elastic force of the elastic member  18  so as to rotate with one direction. Further, the discharge port  111  is opened and air of the inside of the outdoor unit  10  is discharged outside. 
         [0055]    On the other hand, when the driving of the fan  14  is stopped, the louvers  13  rotate at its original position by force of restoration of the elastic member  18  so as to close the discharge port  111 . 
         [0056]    In summary, when wind pressure generated by driving of the fan  14  acts to the louvers  13 , the louvers  13  rotates frontward. Then, when the fan  14  is stopped, the louvers  13  may return to its original position by force of restoration of the elastic member. 
         [0057]    In such a configuration, opening and closing of the louvers  13  may be easily achieved by a simple configuration.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5