Patent Description:
An air conditioner is a temperature regulating and maintaining piece of equipment typically installed in indoor locations such as rooms and other spaces inside a building to provide cool air and to maintain the temperature inside the indoor locations at a preset level. The current indoor air conditioners on the market include single body-type devices in which all the components are arranged within a housing, and separate or split type devices in which some of the components are provided within an indoor unit and the remaining components are provided within an outdoor unit of the air conditioner. The split type indoor air conditioners further include a wall hanging type device, a ceiling suspended device or a stand type device, of which the wall-hanging type indoor air conditioners, which are typically attached to the wall of rooms or other indoor spaces, are the most common type of split type indoor conditioner.

The indoor unit of the split type air conditioner includes a heat exchanger and other components for discharging cool air inside the building or any installed space. The cool air is discharged through one or more air outlets provided on the indoor unit of the split type air conditioner. The indoor units of the split type air conditioners available on the market include one or more adjustable vanes disposed across the air outlets. The adjustable vanes are connected to a motor at one end for swinging movement between a closed position and a maximum open position. The swinging movement of the adjustable vane changes the direction of cool air discharged from the air outlet. In addition the adjustable vane functions as a closing means for the air outlet to improve aesthetics by forming an extension of the exterior body of the indoor unit.

In order to prevent a person putting their fingers into the outlet, and beyond the vane to where the fan is situated, the adjustable vane on a typical split type air conditioner is.

In order to prevent a person putting their fingers into the outlet, and beyond the vane to where the fan is situated, the adjustable vane on a typical split type air conditioner is firmly mounted to the housing and is quite rigid. Indeed, the vane has to be able to withstand a <NUM> force according to the IC standard. However, this also makes it awkward for the outlet to be cleaned or accessed for other maintenance, as it is difficult to remove the vane.

The Japanese patent application <CIT> discloses an air conditioner having a vertical wind direction adjusting plate/detachable vane operably engaged to the air conditioner at a pair of ends and at a center portion. The air conditioner adjusts the blowing direction of air by adjusting the plate which is attached to a movable shaft piece formed with a support shaft at one end and a handle part at the other end. A user can remove the plate by removing the ends and the center of the plate from a body of the air conditioner in any order.

An aim of the invention therefore is to provide an air-conditioning unit with detachable adjustable vane which overcomes the above said problems.

In an aspect of the invention, there is provided an air-conditioning unit comprising:.

The adjustable vane of the air-conditioning unit can only be removed from the housing by stepwise rotation of the vane to the relevant opening angle for each key lug/slot pair. Advantageously this prevents the accidental removal or detachment of the adjustable vane from the housing, as the lugs cannot all be removed from their respective slots simultaneously, while allowing a skilled maintenance engineer with the requisite knowledge to safely remove the vane for access, cleaning or other reasons.

According to the invention there is provided a third key lug for operable engagement within a third key slot, one of the third key lug and third key slot being provided on the adjustable vane, the other being provided on the housing.

According to the invention the adjustable vane is pivotally mounted to the housing by interengagement of the key lugs and the corresponding key slots provided at or adjacent a first end, a second end, and a third point between the first end and the second end of the adjustable vane.

According to the invention disengagement of the key lug from the key slot at the third point allows the adjustable vane to be flexed sufficiently to allow engagement/disengagement of the other key lugs and corresponding key slots. Thus it will be appreciated that the third key lug has to be disconnected from the corresponding key slot before the other two can be disconnected.

In one embodiment the disengagement positions of the key slots and the corresponding key lugs are in the range between <NUM>° from the maximum open position and <NUM>° from the closed position of the adjustable vane. Advantageously this prevents the accidental removal or detachment of the adjustable vane by an external force.

In one embodiment the angle of the adjustable vane for each disengagement position differs from the others by at least <NUM>°. Advantageously this prevents the simultaneous drop out of more than one point of the adjustable vane during removal.

In one embodiment the disengagement positions of the key slots and the corresponding key lugs at the first end and the third point are when the adjustable vane is at opening angles of <NUM>° and <NUM>° respectively from the closed position.

In one embodiment a key lug is attached to the shaft of the motor and comprises:.

Advantageously this prevents the accidental detachment of the adjustable vane and helps in the swinging movement of the adjustable vane.

In one embodiment a length of the distal part of the key lug attached to the shaft, excluding the header, is more than a thickness of the key slot.

In one embodiment a length of the header of the key lug attached to the shaft is less than a length of the key slot.

In one embodiment a width of the key slot to which the key lug is removably attached is more than a width of the distal part of the key lug.

In one embodiment a length of the header of the key lug attached to the shaft is more than the width of the key slot.

In one embodiment the air-conditioning unit is a wall-hanging type indoor split air conditioner.

It will be convenient to further describe the present invention with respect to the accompanying drawings that illustrate possible arrangements of the invention. Other arrangements of the invention are possible, and consequently the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

With regard to <FIG>, there is provided an adjustable vane <NUM> for removable attachment to a housing <NUM> of an indoor air-conditioning unit. The indoor air-conditioning unit comprises the housing <NUM> including one or more indoor air conditioner components such as a heat exchanger to heat exchange air and a cross flow fan, at least one air inlet for receiving air and at least one air outlet for discharging cool air, the adjustable vane <NUM> detachably mounted across the at least one air outlet to direct the discharged cool air and a motor <NUM> detachably coupled to the adjustable vane <NUM> to control direction of the discharged cool air.

The adjustable vane <NUM> can be detachably mounted across the air outlet of the housing <NUM> at a first end <NUM> as in <FIG>, a second end <NUM> as in <FIG> and at third point <NUM> between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> as in <FIG>. One or more key lugs <NUM> and one or more key slots <NUM> are provided on the adjustable vane <NUM> at the first end <NUM>, the second end <NUM> and at the third point <NUM> which are configured for pivotal engagement within one or more key slots <NUM> and key lugs <NUM> provided on the housing <NUM>. The motor <NUM> can be detachably coupled to the first end <NUM> or second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> for swinging movement to control the direction of the discharged cool air.

In the preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the first end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is provided with a key lug 18a to engage with a corresponding key slot 22a provided on the housing <NUM>.

In the preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is provided with a key slot 20b to engage with a corresponding key lug 24b attached to the shaft of the motor <NUM>. The rotations of the shaft of the motor <NUM> enable swinging movement of the adjustable vane <NUM> to control the direction of the discharged cool air through the air outlet.

In the preferred embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is provided with a key slot 20c to engage with a corresponding key lug 24c provided on the housing <NUM>. Typically, the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is at the centre or adjacent the midpoint between the first end <NUM> and second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM>.

With regard to <FIG>, there is provided a sequence of views showing the steps for removing the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> from the housing <NUM> of the indoor air-conditioning unit according to the embodiment of the invention. The key slot 20c at the third point <NUM>, which is engaged with the corresponding key lug 24c on the housing <NUM>, is removed by turning the adjustable vane <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Once the key positions of the key slot 20c and the corresponding key lug 24c are in alignment, then the user can pull the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> as in <FIG> for detaching the key slot 20c from the corresponding key lug 24c.

With regard to <FIG>, there is provided a sequence of views showing the steps for removing the second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> from the housing <NUM> of the indoor air-conditioning unit according to the embodiment of the invention. The key slot 20b at the second end <NUM>, which is engaged with the corresponding key lug 24b attached to the shaft on the motor <NUM>, is removed by further turning the adjustable vane <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Once the key positions of the key slot 22a and the corresponding key lug 18a are in alignment, then the user can pull the first end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> as in <FIG> for detaching the key slot 22a from the corresponding key lug 18a.

With regard to <FIG>, there is provided a sequence of views showing the steps for removing the first end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> from the housing <NUM> of the indoor air-conditioning unit according to the embodiment of the invention. The key slot 22a at the first end <NUM>, which is engaged with the corresponding key lug 18a on the housing <NUM>, is removed in three steps. In a first step, the user can pull the second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> as in <FIG> for detaching a proximal part of the key lug 24b engaged to the key slot 22a. In a second step, the user can further turn the adjustable vane <NUM> as shown in <FIG> until the shapes of the key slot 20b and a header of the key lug 24b are in alignment. In a third step, the user can pull the second end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> as in <FIG> for detaching the header of the key lug 24b from the key slot 20b.

Advantageously, the disengagement positions of the first end <NUM>, the second end <NUM> and the third point <NUM> between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM> are at different opening angles of the adjustable vane <NUM>. This prevents the accidental detachment or removal of the adjustable vane <NUM> by an external force, as the vane can only be removed by rotating stepwise to the appropriate angle for each of the lug/slot pairs, so that the respective lug is aligned to the slot for removal therefrom.

In one embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the disengagement positions of the key lugs and the corresponding key slots at the first end <NUM>, the second end <NUM>, and the third point <NUM> between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM>, are between <NUM>° from the maximum open position and <NUM>° from the closed position of the adjustable vane <NUM>. This is advantageous as this prevents the accidental detachment or removal of the adjustable vane <NUM> by an external force.

In one embodiment as shown in <FIG>, the disengagement positions of the key lugs and the corresponding key slots at the first end <NUM> and the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> differs by an angle of <NUM>°. Advantageously this prevents the accidental release of the first end <NUM> and the third point <NUM> from the housing <NUM> during the removal of the adjustable vane <NUM> unlike the prior art adjustable vane attachments.

In one embodiment of the indoor air conditioning unit, the disengagement position of the first end <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is when an opening angle of the adjustable vane <NUM> is <NUM>°.

In one embodiment of the indoor air conditioning unit, the disengagement position of the third point <NUM> of the adjustable vane <NUM> is when an opening angle of the adjustable vane <NUM> is <NUM>°.

With regard to <FIG>, the key lug 24b attached to the shaft <NUM> of the motor <NUM> comprises a distal part <NUM> including a header <NUM> which is configured to pass through the corresponding key slot 20b in a first orientation and a proximal part <NUM> configured to engage with the key slot 20b in a second orientation which is orthogonal to the first orientation for swinging movement of the adjustable vane <NUM>. In order to engage and disengage the key lug 24b, key slot 20b, and for the swing movement of the adjustable vane <NUM> by engaging the motor <NUM> at the second end <NUM>, the following dimensions of the key lug 24b key slot 20b are to be maintained:.

Further, the air-conditioning unit according to the embodiments disclosed above is a wall-hanging type indoor split air conditioner.

Thus in order to remove the adjustable vane (<NUM>), a maintenance engineer first rotates the vane to an opening angle of <NUM>° so that the third key lug and slot at the vane's midpoint are aligned to allow removal of the lug from the slot. Next the engineer rotates the vane to an opening angle of <NUM>° so that the first key lug and slot at the left end are aligned to allow removal of the lug from the slot, which is possible following disengagement of the third key lug and slot as this allows the vane to flex sufficiently for removal of the first key lug from the first key slot. Finally the engineer rotates the vane to an opening angle of <NUM>° so that the second key lug and slot at the right end are aligned to allow removal of the remaining lug from the slot, and the disengagement of the vane from the housing. It will be appreciated that fitting the vane to the housing follows the same steps in reverse.

Claim 1:
An air-conditioning unit comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) including at least one air inlet for receiving air and at least one air outlet for discharging cool air;
an adjustable vane (<NUM>) for directing the discharged cool air, the adjustable vane (<NUM>) being detachably and pivotally mounted to the housing (<NUM>) by interengagement of a plurality of key lugs (24c) and corresponding key slots (20c) provided at or adjacent a first end (<NUM>), a second end (<NUM>), and a third point (<NUM>) between the first end (<NUM>) and the second end (<NUM>);
a motor (<NUM>) detachably coupled to the adjustable vane (<NUM>) for controlling the opening angle of the adjustable vane (<NUM>) relative to the housing (<NUM>);
a first key lug (18a) for operable engagement within a corresponding first key slot (22a), one of the first key lug and first key slot being provided on the adjustable vane (<NUM>), the other being provided on the housing (<NUM>);
at least a second key lug (24b) for operable engagement within at least a second key slot (20b), one of the second key lug and second key slot being provided on the adjustable vane (<NUM>), the other being provided on the housing (<NUM>); and
a third key lug (24c) for operable engagement within a third key slot (20c), one of the third key lug and third key slot being provided on the adjustable vane (<NUM>), the other being provided on the housing (<NUM>);
wherein the disengagement of the third key lug (24c) from the third key slot (20c) at the third point allows the adjustable vane (<NUM>) to be flexed sufficiently to allow engagement/disengagement of the other key lugs (24a, 24b) and corresponding key slots (20a, 20b),
wherein the disengagement position of the first key lug (18a) from the corresponding first key slot (22a) is at an opening angle of the adjustable vane (<NUM>) which is different to the opening angle of the adjustable vane (<NUM>) for the disengagement position of the at least second key lug (24b) from the corresponding at least second key slot (20b).