Patent Description:
As living standard improves, requirements for indoor air quality are increasing, so an air-conditioning apparatus that works with fresh air has greater interest and appeal. In the related art, an air-conditioning apparatus has a ventilation assembly configured to provide the fresh air function of exchanging air between indoor and outdoor locations. When the air-conditioning apparatus with this type of ventilation assembly operates in an environment with a large temperature difference between indoor and outdoor, due to the poor sealing performance of the ventilation assembly, condensation often appears on the ventilation assembly, and drips to the floor and wall, thus damaging the indoor home environment and affecting the user experience.

<CIT> relates to a window air conditioner. The window air conditioner includes an air conditioner body; and a sealing plate assembly disposed at at least one side of the air conditioner body and including a fixed sealing plate group and a sliding sealing plate group connected with the fixed sealing plate group in a sealing manner, in which the fixed sealing plate group is disposed on a side wall of the air conditioner body, and the sliding sealing plate group is disposed at a side of the fixed sealing plate group away from the air conditioner body slidably in a direction approaching to or moving away from the air conditioner body.

<CIT> relates to an air interchanger and an air conditioner including same. The air interchanger includes: a shell, provided with a shell indoor interface and a shell outdoor interface; a reversing valve, arranged in the shell and provided with a first reversing valve opening, a second reversing valve opening and a third reversing valve opening, the first reversing valve opening and the second reversing valve opening being selectively in communication with the third reversing valve opening; an intake sealing chamber, arranged in the shell, and provided with an air outlet channel and a filter port with a filter screen; an intake motor, arranged in the intake sealing chamber, and provided with an intake port in communication with the intake sealing chamber and an air outlet in communication with the air outlet channel; the intake sealing chamber further having an air inlet; and an air inlet switching mechanism, arranged in the shell, and incluing a switching part and a drive part, the switching part being a sliding baffle, and the drive part being a driving motor, a crank link mechanism, and a pinion and rack transmission mechanism. The air interchanger simultaneously implements two-way air interchange and one-way filter function, thereby reducing the unnecessary operating state of the filter screen and prolonging the service life of the filter screen.

In order to overcome the problems existing in the related art, embodiments of the present invention provide a sealing mechanism, a ventilation assembly and an air-conditioning apparatus, so as to overcome the defects in the related prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a sealing mechanism, for use in a ventilation assembly of an air-conditioning apparatus, is provided and includes: a fixed portion having an opening and a limiting rail; and a moving portion connected with the limiting rail and movable along the limiting rail to close or open the opening. At least one of the fixed portion and the moving portion is provided with a first sealing protrusion, and the first sealing protrusion is arranged between the fixed portion and the moving portion, wherein both the fixed portion and the moving portion have a rectangle or square shape, and wherein two long edges of the fixed portion both form a crimping structure, the limiting rail is formed in the crimping structure, and two edges of the moving portion are arranged in the two limiting rails, respectively.

In an embodiment, the fixed portion is provided with the first sealing protrusion on at least one side of the opening.

In an embodiment, the fixed portion is provided with the first sealing protrusion on either side of the opening in a first direction, and the first sealing protrusion extends along a second direction. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and the limiting rail extends along the second direction.

In an embodiment, the fixed portion is provided with at least one annular first sealing protrusion around the opening.

In an embodiment, the moving portion is provided with at least one annular first sealing protrusion, and the at least one annular first sealing protrusion is configured to surround the opening when the moving portion is in a state of closing the opening.

In an embodiment, the moving portion is provided with at least one first sealing protrusion, the fixed portion is provided with at least one first sealing protrusion, and the at least one first sealing protrusion of the moving portion and the at least one first sealing protrusion of the fixed portion are configured to form at least one annular protrusion when the moving portion is in a state of closing the opening.

In an embodiment, a top end of the first sealing protrusion is provided with a first elastic sealing piece, and the top end of the first sealing protrusion includes an end away from the fixed portion or the moving portion to which the first sealing protrusion belongs.

In an embodiment, the first elastic sealing piece is made of sponge, rubber or flannel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a ventilation assembly is provided and includes: a volute having a first vent formed in a surface thereof; and the sealing mechanism according to any one of of claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The sealing mechanism is arranged to the first vent and configured to seal the first vent.

In an embodiment, the first vent of the volute is integrated with the fixed portion of the sealing mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an air-conditioning apparatus is provided and includes: the above ventilation assembly; and a shell having a second vent, the ventilation assembly being arranged in the shell, and the first vent and the second vent being arranged corresponding to each other. At least one of the ventilation assembly and the shell is provided with a second sealing protrusion, and the second sealing protrusion is arranged between the ventilation assembly and the shell.

In an embodiment, the second sealing protrusion is arranged to surround the first vent and the second vent.

In an embodiment, a top end of the second sealing protrusion is provided with a second elastic sealing piece, and the top end of the second sealing protrusion includes an end away from the shell or the ventilation assembly to which the second sealing protrusion belongs.

In an embodiment, the second elastic sealing piece is made of sponge, rubber or flannel.

In an embodiment, the first vent and the second vent are completely identical and aligned with each other; or the first vent is smaller than the second vent, and the first vent is arranged in the second vent.

The technical solutions provided by the present invention may include following beneficial effects.

In the sealing mechanism provided by the present invention, the fixed portion and the moving portion are connected with each other by the limiting rail, the moving portion can move along the limiting rail relative to the fixed portion, and the opening of the fixed portion can be opened and closed during the movement of the moving portion. Moreover, the first sealing protrusion is arranged between the fixed portion and the moving portion, so as to further improve the tightness between the fixed portion and the moving portion, and also improve the closure property of the opening when the opening is closed. Therefore, after the sealing mechanism is applied to the ventilation assembly, the closure property of the fresh air channel can be improved after the opening is closed, so as to prevent the problems of air leakage and condensation of the ventilation assembly caused by the poor closure property of the fresh air channel.

Reference will now be made in detail to illustrative embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements, unless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in the following description of illustrative embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present invention. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the present invention as recited in the appended claims.

The terms used in the present invention are merely for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, which are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in the descriptions and the appended claims of the present disclosure, "a," "said" and "the" in singular forms mean including plural forms, unless clearly indicated in the context otherwise. It should also be understood that, as used herein, the term "and/or" represents and contains any and all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

For an air-conditioning apparatus in the related prior art, take an air conditioner as an example, a ventilation assembly is arranged in an indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the ventilation assembly is connected to an outdoor air through a ventilation pipe. A fresh air channel in communication with outdoor and indoor is provided in the ventilation assembly, and the fresh air channel is in a closed state when the ventilation assembly is closed. When the temperature difference between the indoor and the outdoor is large (for example, the outdoor temperature is lower than -<NUM>), since the ventilation assembly in the related prior art has poor sealing, the closure property is poor after the fresh air channel of the ventilation assembly is closed, especially at an air outlet, This results in an air leakage, that is, the outdoor air continuously enters the indoor. When a pressure difference between the indoor and the outdoor is not balanced, it is very easy to form condensation water. When the condensation situation gets worse, the condensation water forms droplets, which will drip to the user's indoor floor, and even flow to the wall to form water stains, thereby affecting the user experience.

A sealing mechanism, a ventilation assembly and an air-conditioning apparatus provided as disclosed herein will be described in detail in combination with <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic view of a sealing mechanism mounted to a ventilation assembly according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is an exploded view of a sealing mechanism mounted to a ventilation assembly in an direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is an exploded view of a sealing mechanism mounted to a ventilation assembly in another direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of part A in <FIG>; <FIG> is a schematic view of an air-conditioning apparatus in a direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is a schematic view of an air-conditioning apparatus in another direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is an exploded view of an air-conditioning apparatus in a direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is an exploded view of an air-conditioning apparatus in another direction according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of part B in <FIG>.

The present invention provides a sealing mechanism (also referred to as a sealing system), including: a fixed portion <NUM> having an opening and a limiting rail <NUM>; and a moving portion <NUM> connected with the limiting rail <NUM>, and movable along the limiting rail <NUM> to close or open the opening. At least one of the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> is provided with a first sealing protrusion <NUM>, and the first sealing protrusion <NUM> is arranged between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM>.

The air-conditioning apparatus may be either a fresh air ventilator or an air conditioner with a fresh air function. The air-conditioning apparatus has a fresh air channel in communication with the outdoor and the indoor. An indoor end of the fresh air channel may be a ventilation assembly <NUM> (such as a volute, etc.) in the air-conditioning apparatus. The sealing mechanism may be applied to an air inlet and an air outlet of the fresh air channel, or a middle portion of the fresh air channel. The opening of the fixed portion <NUM> is adapted to a portion of the fresh air channel where the sealing mechanism is arranged, that is, the opening of the fixed portion <NUM> may be configured as an extension or a part of the fresh air channel.

The fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> may have a plate shape, and an area of the fixed portion <NUM> is larger than that of the moving portion <NUM>. Both the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> have a rectangle or square shape, two long edges of the fixed portion <NUM> both form a crimping structure, the limiting rail <NUM> is formed in the crimping structure, and two edges of the moving portion <NUM> are arranged in the two limiting rails <NUM>, respectively. Thus, the moving portion <NUM> is limited such that the moving portion <NUM> is unable to move in a direction of a short edge of the fixed portion <NUM>, and is able to slide in a direction of the long edge of the moving portion <NUM>. In addition, one short edge of the fixed portion <NUM> may also form a crimping structure, such that when the moving portion <NUM> is in a state of closing the opening, one edge of the moving portion <NUM> is in this crimping structure, so as to increase the sealing performance between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM>. Moreover, positioning of the moving portion <NUM> may be completed by limiting the sliding of the moving portion <NUM>, that is, when the moving portion <NUM> slides to a point where it cannot slide anymore, the moving portion <NUM> has closed the opening, and the other short edge of the fixed portion <NUM> is reserved to be not crimped, so as to facilitate the assembling of the moving portion <NUM>. Moreover, the moving portion <NUM> may be connected with a driving mechanism in the air-conditioning apparatus, such that the driving mechanism may drive the moving portion <NUM> to slide. The driving mechanism may run through the fixed portion <NUM> to be connected with the moving portion <NUM>, and the portion which is run through position does not involve the fresh air channel, so the sealing performance of the fresh air channel will not be affected.

The first sealing protrusion <NUM> may have a rib shape, which may not only increase the sealing performance, but also avoid the processing difficulty or cost increase caused by too many protrusions. The first sealing protrusion <NUM> may be formed by deformation of the fixed portion <NUM> or the moving portion <NUM>, or by increasing a thickness of a surface of the fixed portion <NUM> or the moving portion <NUM>.

In an example, the first sealing protrusion <NUM> is provided on the fixed portion <NUM> and not provided on the moving portion <NUM>, that is, the fixed portion <NUM> is provided with the first sealing protrusion <NUM> on at least one side of the opening.

In some embodiment, the fixed portion <NUM> is provided with the first sealing protrusion <NUM> on either side of the opening in a first direction, and the first sealing protrusion <NUM> extends along a second direction. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and the limiting rail <NUM> extends along the second direction. That is, two first sealing protrusions <NUM> parallel to the limiting rail <NUM> are provided on the fixed portion <NUM>, such that the first sealing protrusions <NUM> are closer to the opening than the limiting rail <NUM>, thereby preventing the sliding of the moving portion <NUM> in a limiting rail from affecting the closure property of the opening. For example, for the fixed portion <NUM> of the plate shape and the moving portion <NUM> of the plate shape, the two long edges of the fixed portion <NUM> are provided with the limiting rails, and one first sealing protrusion <NUM> parallel to the limiting rail is arranged between each limiting rail and the opening. The first sealing protrusion <NUM> parallel to the limiting rail <NUM> is arranged to prevent the moving of the moving portion <NUM> from affecting the closure property of the sealing mechanism.

In some embodiment, the fixed portion <NUM> is provided with at least one annular first sealing protrusion <NUM> around the opening. The annular first sealing protrusion <NUM> may achieve the sealing between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> when the opening is in a closed state, thereby further improving the sealing performance of the sealing mechanism. Moreover, a plurality of annular first sealing protrusions <NUM> may realize a multi-layer sealing and hence further improve the sealing performance of the sealing mechanism.

In another example, the moving portion <NUM> is provided with at least one annular first sealing protrusion <NUM>, and when the moving portion <NUM> is in the state of closing the opening, the at least one annular first sealing protrusion <NUM> surrounds the opening. The annular first sealing protrusion <NUM> may achieve the sealing between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> when the opening is in the closed state, thereby further improving the sealing performance of the sealing mechanism. Moreover, a plurality of annular first sealing protrusions <NUM> may realize a multi-layer sealing and hence further improve the sealing performance of the sealing mechanism.

In yet another example, the moving portion <NUM> is provided with at least one first sealing protrusion <NUM>, and the fixed portion <NUM> is provided with at least one first sealing protrusion <NUM>. When the moving portion <NUM> is in the state of closing the opening, the first sealing protrusion <NUM> of the moving portion <NUM> and the first sealing protrusion <NUM> of the fixed portion <NUM> form at least one annular protrusion. An annular sealing is realized by the cooperation of the moving portion <NUM> and the fixed portion <NUM>, which may further improve the sealing effect. Moreover, the first annular protrusions are arranged to the moving portion <NUM> and the fixed portion <NUM>, respectively, which may reduce the processing difficulty of the moving portion <NUM> and the fixed portion <NUM>.

In the sealing mechanism provided by the present invention, the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM> are connected with each other by the limiting rail <NUM>, the moving portion <NUM> can move along the limiting rail <NUM> relative to the fixed portion <NUM>, and the opening of the fixed portion <NUM> can be opened and closed during the movement of the moving portion <NUM>. Moreover, the first sealing protrusion <NUM> is arranged between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM>, so as to further improve the tightness between the fixed portion <NUM> and the moving portion <NUM>, and also improve the closure property of the opening when the opening is closed. Therefore, after the sealing mechanism is applied to the air-conditioning apparatus, the closure property of the fresh air channel can be improved after the opening is closed, so as to prevent the problems of air leakage and condensation of the air-conditioning apparatus caused by the poor closure property of the fresh air channel.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a top end of the first sealing protrusion <NUM> is provided with a first elastic sealing piece. The top end of the first sealing protrusion <NUM> includes an end away from the fixed portion <NUM> or the moving portion <NUM> to which the first sealing protrusion <NUM> belongs.

The first elastic sealing piece may be made of sponge, rubber or flannel. Through the first elastic sealing piece arranged to the top end of the first seal protrusion <NUM>, the sealing performance between the moving portion <NUM> and the fixed portion <NUM> may be further improved, thus further avoiding the problems of air leakage or condensation of the air-conditioning apparatus using the sealing mechanism.

At least one embodiment of the present invention also provides an air-conditioning apparatus, including a ventilation assembly <NUM> and the sealing mechanism <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The sealing mechanism <NUM> is arranged to a first vent <NUM> of the ventilation assembly <NUM>.

The air-conditioning apparatus includes a main body, such as an inner unit of the air conditioner or the fresh air ventilator, etc. The ventilation assembly <NUM> (such as a volute, etc.) is arranged in the air-conditioning apparatus. An air inlet of the ventilation assembly <NUM> is connected with one end of an air input pipe <NUM> through a connecting pipe <NUM>, the other end of the air input pipe <NUM> extends from the indoor to the outdoor, and the other end of the air input pipe <NUM> may also be provided with a windshield cap <NUM>. Thus, the windshield cap <NUM>, the air input pipe <NUM>, the connecting pipe <NUM> and the ventilation assembly <NUM> may form the fresh air channel. The fresh air channel may be further provided with an airflow driving device therein, such as a circulating pump, to drive the air to flow.

The fixed portion <NUM> of the sealing mechanism may be fixedly connected with the first vent <NUM> of the ventilation assembly <NUM>, or the fixed portion <NUM> of the sealing mechanism may also be integrally formed with the first vent <NUM> of the ventilation assembly <NUM>, so as to further enhance the sealing performance between the first vent <NUM> and the sealing mechanism.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the air-conditioning apparatus further includes a shell <NUM> having a second vent <NUM>, the ventilation assembly <NUM> is arranged in the shell <NUM>, and the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM> are arranged corresponding to each other. At least one of the ventilation assembly <NUM> and the shell <NUM> is provided with a second sealing protrusion <NUM>, and the second sealing protrusion <NUM> is arranged between the ventilation assembly <NUM> and the shell <NUM>.

The shell <NUM> is provided with a face frame <NUM>, and the second vent <NUM> may be formed in the face frame <NUM>. The first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM> may be completely identical and aligned with each other. The first vent <NUM> may also be smaller than the second vent <NUM>, and the first vent <NUM> is arranged in the second vent <NUM>. The second vent <NUM> extends the fresh air channel of the ventilation assembly <NUM>. Through the second sealing protrusion <NUM> arranged between the ventilation assembly <NUM> and the shell <NUM>, the tightness of the fresh air channel may be ensured while the fresh air channel is extended, so as to improve the closure property when the fresh air channel of the ventilation assembly <NUM> is closed, thus preventing the problems of air leakage and condensation.

In an example, the second sealing protrusion <NUM> is arranged to surround the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM>. The second sealing protrusion <NUM> arranged to surround the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM> may improve the sealing performance between the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM>, so as to prevent the outdoor air from entering an interior of the air-conditioning apparatus through the first vent <NUM>, which otherwise will pollute and damage the apparatus, or affect the operation of the apparatus.

In some embodiment, the ventilation assembly <NUM> is provided with at least one annular second sealing protrusion <NUM> around the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM>. In some embodiment, an inner surface of the face frame <NUM> of the shell <NUM> is provided with at least one annular second sealing protrusion <NUM> around the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM>. In some embodiment, the ventilation assembly <NUM> is provided with at least one second sealing protrusion <NUM>, and the inner surface of the face frame <NUM> of the shell <NUM> is provided with at least one second sealing protrusion <NUM>, such that the second sealing protrusion <NUM> of the ventilation assembly <NUM> and the second sealing protrusion <NUM> of the shell <NUM> form at least one annular protrusion surrounding the first vent <NUM> and the second vent <NUM>.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a top end of the second sealing protrusion <NUM> is provided with a second elastic sealing piece. The top end of the second sealing protrusion <NUM> includes an end away from the shell <NUM> or the ventilation assembly <NUM> to which the second sealing protrusion <NUM> belongs.

Claim 1:
A sealing mechanism, for use in a ventilation assembly (<NUM>) of an air-conditioning apparatus, comprising:
a fixed portion (<NUM>) having an opening and a limiting rail (<NUM>); and
a moving portion (<NUM>) connected with the limiting rail (<NUM>) and movable along the limiting rail (<NUM>) to close or open the opening,
wherein at least one of the fixed portion (<NUM>) and the moving portion (<NUM>) is provided with a first sealing protrusion (<NUM>), and the first sealing protrusion (<NUM>) is arranged between the fixed portion (<NUM>) and the moving portion (<NUM>),
wherein both the fixed portion (<NUM>) and the moving portion (<NUM>) have a rectangle or square shape,
characterized in that two long edges of the fixed portion (<NUM>) both form a crimping structure, the limiting rail (<NUM>) is formed in the crimping structure, and two edges of the moving portion (<NUM>) are arranged in the two limiting rails (<NUM>), respectively.