Patent Description:
The functions of air conditioning system (also referred to air conditioner) is to adjust at least part of parameters of indoor ambient air to their expected ranges in accordance with user's requirements, such as temperature, humidity, flow speed, cleanliness, freshness and the like. An air conditioner mainly includes: a compressor, a cold source or a heat source, an air supply system and an adjustment device. According to different working principles, the air conditioners could be divided into fixed speed air conditioners and inverter air conditioners, wherein the inverter air conditioner is an air conditioning system in which the amount of refrigerant circulated into an indoor unit could be regulated by controlling the amount of refrigerant circulated in the compressor so as to satisfy cooling load or heating load of the air conditioning system in time.

The amount of refrigerant circulated in the compressor is usually adjusted by controlling the frequency of the compressor; that is to say the compressor may work at different frequencies in a range between <NUM> to <NUM>. Gaseous refrigerant or gas-liquid refrigerant are flowing in a suction pipeline or in a discharge pipeline of the compressor in which the gaseous portion could be compressed or expanded and become a vibration source with a fixed frequency. However either of the pipelines itself has an inherent vibration frequency, the compressor working at certain frequencies may serve as a vibration source acting on the pipelines and a vibration response may generate when it is superposed on the inherent vibration frequency and further result in low-frequency vibration noise or intense vibration in the air conditioner and affect user's experience.

In order to solve the problem, rubber blocks are bounded on the pipelines of the compressor by wires to change their inherent vibration frequencies in the prior art. But as the counterweight, the rubber blocks are very likely to fall during the operation of air conditioner and the descent may wrongly change the inherent vibration frequency of the pipelines again resulting in the structure could not able to weaken the vibration.

<CIT> discloses a vibration damper and air conditioner for a pipeline. The vibration damper includes fixed part and a counterweight portion. The fixed part overcoat is fixed on the pipeline, and the counterweight portion passes through flexible connectors and links to each other with the fixed part. <CIT> discloses that a vibration damper of a pipeline can be with vibration transmission to the flexible connectors and the counterweight portion. The vibration energy of pipeline effectively dissipates in the quality spring damping system that constitutes flexible connectors and the counterweight portion, thus reducing the vibration of pipeline, reducing the pipeline noise, and making the pipeline more stable, and work reliably.

Aiming at solve the problem that as the counterweight, the rubber blocks are very likely to fall during the operation of air conditioner and the descent may wrongly change the inherent vibration frequency of the pipelines again resulting in the structure could not able to weaken the vibration, one aspect of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner outdoor unit.

To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention adopts technical solutions as set out in claims <NUM> and <NUM>.

An air conditioner outdoor unit including: a compressor; a pipeline through which refrigerant is sucked into or discharge from the compressor; characterized in that the air conditioner outdoor unit further includes: a counterweight assembly including: a counterweight body, which is provided with an elastic receiving portion through which one of the pipeline passes and embedded therein; and a first fixing portion connected to the elastic receiving portion, which is arranged around a part of an outer wall of the pipeline to form a first contact point and a second contact point thereon; wherein the first contact point and the second contact point has a height difference forming a self-locking between the counterweight assembly and the pipeline.

The first fixing portion is spiral and made of rigid material, which has: a first end connected to the elastic receiving portion; and a second end provided higher than the first end; when the pipeline is embedded in the elastic receiving portion, the elastic receiving portion deforms to squeeze the first end towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the first contact point and the first fixing portion deforms to squeeze towards the second end towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the second contact point.

In order to protect the outer wall of pipeline, an elastic limited portion is provided in the elastic receiving portion, into which the first end is penetrated; wherein the elastic limited portion elastically deforms to squeeze the first end towards the outer wall of the pipeline to enable the elastic limited portion to abut against the outer wall of the pipeline to form the first contact point.

Further the first fixing portion further includes: an elastic protection component in which the second end is arranged; wherein the first fixing portion deforms to enable the second end to squeeze the outer wall of the pipeline and the elastic protection component abuts against the outer wall of the pipeline to form the second contact point.

The counterweight assembly is particularly suitable for a vertical pipeline portion and the self-lock could prevent it from sliding down, so preferably the pipeline is vertically arranged and has a continuous outer wall extended vertically.

In order to ensure the self-locking effect in installation, the height difference h between the first contact point and the second contact point satisfying: <MAT> wherein µ is the coefficient of friction of the first contact point or the second contact point, x is the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body and the center of the pipeline.

In order to avoid movement caused by collision with people, the air conditioner outdoor unit further includes: a second fixing portion arranged around the outer wall of the pipeline which is arranged below the first fixing portion.

Further an annular groove is formed on one side of the counterweight body away from the elastic receiving portion and through which the second fixing portion penetrates.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an air conditioner including: a housing installed indoor in which a compressor and one or more heat exchangers are provided; and a pipeline through which refrigerant is sucked into or discharge from the compressor; the air conditioner further includes: a counterweight assembly including: a counterweight body, which is provided with an elastic receiving portion through which one of the pipeline passes and embedded therein; and a first fixing portion connected to the elastic receiving portion, which is arranged around a part of an outer wall of the pipeline to form a first contact point and a second contact point thereon; wherein the first contact point and the second contact point has a height difference forming a self-locking between the counterweight assembly and the pipeline.

The first fixing portion is spiral and made of rigid material, which has: a first end connected to the elastic receiving portion; and a second end provided higher than the first end;
when the pipeline is embedded in the elastic receiving portion, the elastic receiving portion deforms to squeeze the first end towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the first contact point and the first fixing portion deforms to squeeze towards the second end towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the second contact point.

The height difference h between the first contact point and the second contact point satisfying: <MAT> wherein µ is the coefficient of friction of the first contact point or the second contact point, x is the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body and the center of the pipeline.

Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present invention are:
Due to the height difference between the first contact point and the second contact point, a self-locking between the counterweight assembly and the pipeline is formed under the weight of the counterweight body and the counterweight body cannot move downwards during operation for a long period of time even being installed on the pipeline section vertically extended, thereby avoiding a resonation between the inherent frequency of the pipeline and that of the operation of the compressor, and the stability performance of the air conditioner is improved.

After reading the specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer.

In order to clearly explain embodiments of the present invention or technical solutions in the prior art, at first drawings related to description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced as follows. It is obvious that the drawings are described here are part of embodiments of the present invention; for those ordinary skill in the art other drawings could be obtained based on these without any creative work.

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following will further describe the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. indicating directions or positions are merely based on the direction or position relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore could not be understood as restrictions of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for description and could not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to one aspect of the present invention. The air conditioner outdoor unit <NUM> includes a compressor <NUM> and pipelines connected to, wherein the pipelines specifically refer to a suction pipeline <NUM> and a discharge pipeline <NUM> which communicate with the compressor <NUM>, refrigerant in the suction pipeline <NUM> is sucked into the compressor <NUM> and discharged from the compressor <NUM> to the discharge pipeline <NUM>. The outdoor unit <NUM> is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet. The outdoor unit may also be provided with components such as a heat exchanger, an axial flow fan and its motor, a throttling device and a four-way valve. Compressor <NUM> could be a fixed frequency compressor directly powered by 220V/<NUM> mains supply with a theoretical speed 3000r/min and an actual speed 2800r/min due to factors as resistance during operation. More commonly the compressor <NUM> is an inverter compressor powered by analog three-phase AC output from an inverter module with an allowable frequency range from <NUM> to <NUM> and an allowable voltage range from 30V to 200V, and the compressor speed is in a range from 1500r/min to 9000r/min. Taking a cooling mode as an example, when the compressor speed increases, the cooling capacity increases accordingly and the cooling effect is intensified so that the room temperature drops rapidly; the compressor speeds decreases when the room temperature drops to a point near a target temperature to maintain the room temperature. As peripheral pipelines of the compressor <NUM>, it is necessary to consider a plurality of factors in designing the suction pipeline <NUM> and the discharge pipeline <NUM> such as refrigerant resistance, noise, installation of auxiliary filters, arrangement of gas-liquid separator, position of nozzles shape of casing and the like, so the design space for the suction pipeline <NUM> and the discharge pipeline <NUM> is strictly restricted and it is better to bend as little as possible. The compressor <NUM> is provided at the bottom of the air conditioner outdoor unit <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. It should be noted that the arrangement of the compressor is not limited as shown in <FIG> and it could be arranged at other positions of the air conditioner outdoor unit <NUM> by adjusting the suction pipeline <NUM>, the discharge pipeline <NUM> and the internal layout of the casing.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, a counterweight assembly <NUM> is provided on a pipeline and the inherent frequency of the pipeline is changed by arranging the counterweight assembly <NUM> to avoid operating noise or intense vibration caused by specific operating frequencies of the compressor superposed on the inherent frequency of the pipeline. As shown in <FIG>, the counterweight assembly <NUM> could be disposed at any position of the pipeline and is preferably installed on a section of a pipeline vertically arranged, as a pipeline section <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The pipeline section, such as the pipeline section <NUM>, has a continuous outer wall extending vertically so that there will be more design space allowing for an elbow pipeline section, and additionally the installation of the counterweight assembly <NUM> is more flexible, easy to operate, replace and maintain. As shown in <FIG>, the counterweight assembly <NUM> mainly comprises a counterweight body <NUM>. The counterweight body <NUM> is made of a soft material with elasticity, or a hard material. If the counterweight body <NUM> is made of a hard material, a thick soft material should be used to cover its outside to avoid scratching the pipeline. The soft material could be rubber or other composite materials. The weight of the counterweight body <NUM> is preferably obtained through software simulation according to the type of the compressor <NUM>.

An elastic receiving portion <NUM> is formed on the counterweight body <NUM>. The elastic receiving portion <NUM> is recessed and formed integrally with the counterweight body <NUM>. In an original state, the cross-sectional area of the elastic receiving portion <NUM> is smaller than an arc area of a corresponding position on the outer wall of the pipe. The pipeline passes through the elastic receiving portion <NUM> and a part of the outer wall is embedded in the elastic receiving portion <NUM> in usage. When the counterweight assembly <NUM> is assembled, on one side of the outer wall of the pipeline, the elastic receiving portion <NUM> correspondingly expands to restrict a relative movement on the outer wall of the pipeline.

The counterweight assembly <NUM> further includes a first fixing portion <NUM>. The first fixing portion <NUM> is connected to the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. The first fixing portion <NUM> is arranged around a part of the outer wall of the pipeline to form a first contact point <NUM> and a second contact point <NUM> on the outer wall of the pipeline. There is a height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> to form a self-locking between the counterweight assembly <NUM> and the pipeline.

Due to the height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>, a self-locking between the counterweight assembly <NUM> and the pipeline is formed under the weight of the counterweight body <NUM> and the counterweight body <NUM> cannot move downwards during operation for a long period of time even being installed on the pipeline section <NUM> vertically extended, thereby avoiding a resonation between the inherent frequency of the pipeline and that of the operation of the compressor, and the stability performance of the air conditioner is improved.

A preferred structure of the counterweight assembly <NUM> is further described with reference to <FIG> as follows. As shown in <FIG>, the first fixing portion <NUM> has a spiral shape. The first fixing portion <NUM> is preferably made of rigid material, such as a metal wire with a smooth surface and an appropriate diameter. The first fixing portion <NUM> could undergo a certain degree of deformation under an external force exerted by an operator so as to facilitate the installation of the counterweight assembly <NUM> on the outside of the pipeline. The length of the first fixing portion <NUM> is approximately <NUM>% of the circumstance of the outer wall of the pipeline and as a body covers <NUM>% of the circumstance of the outer wall of the pipeline as being bent into a spiral shape. The first fixing portion <NUM> specifically includes a first end <NUM> and a second end <NUM> formed higher than the first end <NUM>. The first end <NUM> is provided in the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. An opening is formed between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM> through which the pipeline penetrates into the elastic receiving portion <NUM> and is fitted with the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. When the pipeline is embedded in the elastic receiving portion <NUM>, the elastic receiving portion <NUM> undergoes elastic deformation and the restoring force of the elastic material making of the elastic receiving portion <NUM> acts on the first end <NUM> of the first fixing portion <NUM> to squeeze the first end <NUM> towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the first contact point <NUM>. On the other side, the first fixing portion <NUM> deforms due to the penetration of the pipeline so that the second end <NUM> is squeezed towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the second contact point <NUM>. With this arrangements the two contact points are respectively formed on both sides of the pipeline, so further the self-locking is formed under the weight to ensure the counterweight assembly <NUM> could not slide down in usage.

In order to keep the coefficient of friction of the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> in a proper range so as to ensure the self-locking reliably functions, and further to protect the outer wall of the pipeline in the meanwhile, an elastic limited portion <NUM> is provided in the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. The first end <NUM> penetrates into the elastic limited portion <NUM> to form a connection therebetween. The elastic receiving portion <NUM> elastically deforms so as to squeeze the first end <NUM> towards the outer wall of the pipeline so that the elastic limited portion <NUM> abuts against the outer wall of the pipeline to form the first contact point <NUM>. At the other end, for the same purpose, the first fixing portion <NUM> further includes an elastic protection component <NUM>. The second end <NUM> is arranged in the elastic protection component <NUM>, the first fixing portion <NUM> is deformed so that the second end <NUM> squeezes the outer wall of the pipeline and the elastic protection component <NUM> abuts against the outer wall of the pipeline to form the second contact point <NUM>. The elastic limited portion <NUM> is preferably formed integrally with the elastic receiving portion <NUM>, and is fixed in a ring shape on a side wall of the elastic receiving portion <NUM> in contact with the outer wall of the pipeline. The first end <NUM> protrudes from the elastic receiving portion <NUM> and is fixed. The elastic protection component <NUM> is preferably an elastic sheath made of a soft material, and its length is approximately one third of the total length of the first fixing portion <NUM>. Preferably, the elastic protection component <NUM>, the counterweight body <NUM>, and the elastic sheath are made of the same material.

The relation between three factors including the coefficient of friction of the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>, the height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> along the extended direction of the pipeline, and a distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline could ensure the self-locking effect. To be specific, the coefficient of friction of the soft material which is selected to make the elastic protection component <NUM>, the counterweight body <NUM> and the elastic sheath could be retrieved, namely the coefficient of friction µ of the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>, and it is further to determine the distance x between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline, and it is further to determine the height difference h between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>. The three factors satisfy a condition of µ > h/<NUM>x. Hence the self-locking effect could be regulated by only adjusting the height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> along the extended direction of the pipeline on the basis of the known coefficient of friction and the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline as the counterweight assembly <NUM> is being arranged. The installation operation is simplified due to there is only one constraint condition which is in a range that the height difference should be satisfied. The center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> could be obtained by computer simulation once the shape and weight of the counterweight body <NUM> is determined.

Considering that the packaging of the air conditioner outdoor unit <NUM> may collide during in transportation or during installation, preferably a second fixing portion <NUM> is also provided. The second fixing portion <NUM> is arranged around the outer wall of the pipeline. One side of the counterweight body <NUM> away from the elastic receiving portion <NUM> is formed an annular groove <NUM>, and the second fixing portion <NUM> penetrates through the annular groove <NUM> to restrict the relative movement of the pipeline and the counterweight assembly <NUM> as a whole. The second fixing portion <NUM> is preferably arranged below the first fixing portion <NUM>, and the first fixing portion <NUM> and the second fixing portion <NUM> are independent of each other but not interacting. The second fixing portion <NUM> is preferably a wire.

Another aspect of the present invention also discloses an air conditioner. The air conditioner includes a housing <NUM> installed inside a room. The compressor <NUM> and an indoor heat exchanger <NUM> are provided in the housing <NUM>. The indoor heat exchanger is configured to exchange heat with air, and alternatively two or more indoor heat exchangers could be disposed and exchange heat with air or other media, such as water and the like. The housing <NUM> shown in <FIG> is only provided with the indoor side heat exchanger <NUM> exchanging heat with air. The indoor heat exchanger <NUM> is arranged at the uppermost of the housing <NUM>, and an indoor fan and the compressor <NUM> are arranged in sequence from top to bottom. In this type of air conditioner, the space where the compressor <NUM> is disposed is more compact and the design space for the pipelines is smaller. In order to achieve the effect of shock absorption, the counterweight assembly <NUM> is installed the suction pipeline <NUM> or the discharge pipeline <NUM> of the compressor <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in this type of the air conditioner the counterweight assembly <NUM> is used to change the inherent frequency of the pipeline so as to avoid the occurrence of running noise or severe vibration caused by the superposition of the inherent frequency of the pipeline and the operating frequency of the compressor <NUM>. The counterweight assembly <NUM> as shown could be arranged on a pipeline, and is in particular suitable for installing on a pipeline portion extended along the vertical direction. The pipeline section <NUM> has a continuous outer wall extending vertically so that there will be more design space allowing for an elbow pipeline section, and additionally the installation of the counterweight assembly <NUM> is more flexible, easy to operate, replace and maintain. As shown in <FIG>, the counterweight assembly <NUM> mainly comprises a counterweight body <NUM>. The counterweight body <NUM> is made of a soft material with elasticity, or a hard material. If the counterweight body <NUM> is made of a hard material, a thick soft material should be used to cover its outside to avoid scratching the pipeline. The soft material could be rubber or other composite materials. The weight of the counterweight body <NUM> is preferably obtained through software simulation according to the type of the compressor <NUM>.

The first fixing portion <NUM> has a spiral shape. The first fixing portion <NUM> is preferably made of rigid material, such as a metal wire with a smooth surface and an appropriate diameter. The first fixing portion <NUM> could undergo a certain degree of deformation under an external force exerted by an operator so as to facilitate the installation of the counterweight assembly <NUM> on the outside of the pipeline. The length of the first fixing portion <NUM> is approximately <NUM>% of the circumstance of the outer wall of the pipeline and as a body covers <NUM>% of the circumstance of the outer wall of the pipeline as being bent into a spiral shape. The first fixing portion <NUM> specifically includes a first end <NUM> and a second end <NUM> formed higher than the first end <NUM>. The first end <NUM> is provided in the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. An opening is formed between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM> through which the pipeline penetrates into the elastic receiving portion <NUM> and is fitted with the elastic receiving portion <NUM>. When the pipeline is embedded in the elastic receiving portion <NUM>, the elastic receiving portion <NUM> undergoes elastic deformation and the restoring force of the elastic material making of the elastic receiving portion <NUM> acts on the first end <NUM> of the first fixing portion <NUM> to squeeze the first end <NUM> toward the outer wall of the pipeline forming the first contact point <NUM>. On the other side, the first fixing portion <NUM> deforms due to the penetration of the pipeline so that the second end <NUM> is squeezed towards the outer wall of the pipeline forming the second contact point <NUM>. With this arrangements the two contact points are respectively formed on both sides of the pipeline, so further the self-locking is formed under the weight to ensure the counterweight assembly <NUM> could not slide down in usage. The outer of the first fixing portion <NUM> is covered by soft material and the first fixing portion <NUM> and the counterweight assembly <NUM> are preferably integrally-formed.

The relation between three factors including the coefficient of friction of the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>, the height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> along the extended direction of the pipeline, and a distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline could ensure the self-locking effect. To be specific, the coefficient of friction of the soft material which is selected to make the elastic protection component <NUM>, the counterweight body <NUM> and the elastic sheath could be retrieved, namely the coefficient of friction µ of the first contact point <NUM> or the second contact point <NUM>, and it is further to determine the distance x between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline, and it is further to determine the height difference h between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM>. The three factors satisfy a condition of µ > h/<NUM>x. Hence the self-locking effect could be regulated by only adjusting the height difference between the first contact point <NUM> and the second contact point <NUM> along the extended direction of the pipeline on the basis of the known coefficient of friction and the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> and the center of the pipeline as the counterweight assembly <NUM> is being arranged. The installation operation is simplified due to there is only one constraint condition which is in a range that the height difference should be satisfied. The center of gravity of the counterweight body <NUM> could be obtained by computer simulation once the shape and weight of the counterweight body <NUM> is determined.

Claim 1:
An air conditioner outdoor unit (<NUM>) including:
a compressor (<NUM>);
a pipeline (<NUM>,<NUM>) through which refrigerant is sucked into or discharge from the compressor (<NUM>);
a counterweight assembly (<NUM>) including:
a counterweight body (<NUM>), which is provided with an elastic receiving portion (<NUM>) through which one of the pipeline passes and embedded therein; and
a first fixing portion (<NUM>) connected to the elastic receiving portion (<NUM>), which is arranged around a part of an outer wall of the pipeline to form a first contact point (<NUM>) and a second contact point (<NUM>) thereon;
wherein the first contact point (<NUM>) and the second contact point (<NUM>) has a height difference forming a self-locking between the counterweight assembly (<NUM>) and the pipeline (<NUM>,<NUM>);
characterized in that:
the first fixing portion (<NUM>) is spiral and made of rigid material, which has:
a first end (<NUM>) connected to the elastic receiving portion (<NUM>); and
a second end (<NUM>) provided higher than the first end (<NUM>);
when the pipeline (<NUM>,<NUM>) is embedded in the elastic receiving portion (<NUM>), the elastic receiving portion (<NUM>) deforms to squeeze the first end (<NUM>) towards the outer wall of the pipeline (<NUM>,<NUM>) forming the first contact point (<NUM>) and the first fixing portion (<NUM>) deforms to squeeze towards the second end (<NUM>) towards the outer wall of the pipeline (<NUM>,<NUM>) forming the second contact point (<NUM>).