Patent Description:
An air conditioner of the type commonly referred to as a "window and wall air conditioner" (hereinafter a 'wall air conditioner unit'), is a self-contained air-conditioning unit, so called because it is adapted for mounting in window frames, and through openings provided in exterior walls of a building.

Replacement wall air conditioners units are becoming increasingly difficult to source as split systems and evaporative air coolers are increasingly favoured for their superior efficiency. Moreover, many of the available wall air conditioners units do not meet impending energy efficiency standards.

Another reason that split system air conditioners are favoured over wall air conditioning units is because the separation of the compressor into an externally located unit makes for a substantially quieter air conditioning system. Evaporative air coolers are also substantially quieter as they do not feature a compressor in their design.

Where a wall air conditioner unit was mounted by way of a through hole in an exterior wall of a building, this poses a further problem, as replacement systems don't require the large through hole left by the wall air conditioner.

It is against this background and the problems and difficulties associated therewith that the present invention has been developed.

Certain objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

In this specification, a statement that an element may be "at least one of" a list of options is to be understood that the element may be any one of the listed options, or may be any combination of two or more of the listed options. Patent document <CIT> teaches an air conditioner or "all-in-one" type unit which includes at least a compressor, an indoor unit heat exchanger, an expansion apparatus, an outdoor heat exchanger and a circular pipe. The air conditioner is embedded into a wall body integrally. The outlet of the indoor heat exchanger opens inward the room; the outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger opens outward the room. Patent document <CIT> discloses an air conditioner mounting apparatus having an installation frame installed by being buried in a wall. There is disposed inside the installation frame a plate frame that includes a body unit anchoring fitment on which a body unit being an air conditioner body is mounted, and an elongated hole extending in the direction where the body unit is taken in and out and is anchored to an internal peripheral surface of the installation frame with a screw inserted into the elongated hole. The plate frame is guided through the elongated hole and is anchored in the state where a front end thereof and a surface of the wall are flushed with each other.

According to a first aspect, there is provided an arrangement according to claim <NUM> comprising a wall unit for an air conditioning system, said wall unit being adapted for installation in a through opening provided in an exterior wall of a building which has been vacated by a wall air conditioner unit, wherein internals for the wall unit are substantially housed within the wall's through opening and between interior and exterior surfaces of the wall.

According to a further aspect, there is provided a method of installing a split system air conditioner according to claim <NUM>.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention. While the invention is described in connection with such embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to any embodiment. On the contrary, the scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. For the purpose of example, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.

The present invention is practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the present invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Referring to <FIG>, where there is shown a wall air conditioner unit <NUM> of the prior art, installed in a through opening <NUM> provided in an exterior wall <NUM> of a building, and having significant exterior overhang.

Referring now to <FIG>, where there is shown a split system air conditioner <NUM> according to the present invention, the split system air conditioner <NUM> comprising a wall unit <NUM> installed via a mounting <NUM> in the through opening <NUM> vacated by the wall air conditioner unit <NUM> of <FIG>. The split system air conditioner <NUM> further comprises an outdoor unit <NUM>.

The mounting <NUM> comprises a bottom <NUM>, a top <NUM>, and a pair of opposing sides <NUM> cooperatively defining a passageway <NUM> through the mounting <NUM> which is of a rectilinear cross-sectional shape.

The mounting <NUM> is sized to nest in and substantially fill the through opening <NUM> provided in the exterior wall <NUM> of the building which was vacated by the wall air conditioner <NUM>. The mounting <NUM> is secured to the wall using fasteners, which is driven through at least the bottom <NUM> of the mounting <NUM> and into a frame for the through opening <NUM>.

The wall unit <NUM> comprises a generally cuboid housing <NUM>, an aesthetically pleasing front <NUM>, a pair of sides <NUM>, a top <NUM>, a bottom <NUM>, and a removable back <NUM>. With reference to <FIG>, it is seen that the housing <NUM> houses at least an indoor heat exchanger <NUM> and a fan <NUM> for circulating air over surfaces of the indoor heat exchanger <NUM>. The front <NUM> comprises a front panel comprising an air intake <NUM>, and an air outlet <NUM> for the conditioned air, both of which are covered by a pivoting louver therefor. The front panel <NUM> further comprises an outwardly extending perimeter flange <NUM>.

The housing <NUM> for the wall unit <NUM> is sized to nest in the mounting <NUM> with an easy sliding fit. With the back <NUM> (which comprises a back plate in this embodiment) removed, the wall unit <NUM> is inserted into the mounting <NUM> and slid until the permitter flange <NUM> abuts, and is substantially flush with, an interior surface of the wall <NUM>.

In use, the front's <NUM> outwardly extending perimeter flange <NUM> extends adjacent to an interior surface of the wall <NUM> (as illustrated in <FIG>) and conceals any edges of the through opening <NUM> in the interior surface of the wall <NUM>.

The back <NUM> comprises a back plate and a collar for insertion into housing <NUM> of the wall unit <NUM>. The back plate <NUM> comprises an outwardly extending perimeter flange <NUM>.

Once the wall unit <NUM> has been installed in the mounting <NUM>, the back <NUM> is refitted so that the back plate <NUM> abuts, and is substantially flush with, an exterior surface of the exterior wall <NUM> (as illustrated in <FIG>) so that this conceals any edges of the through opening <NUM> in the exterior surface of the wall <NUM>, and then secured with respect to the housing <NUM> via screws, thereby securing the wall unit <NUM> in the through opening <NUM>.

The back plate <NUM> comprises apertures through which the refrigerant lines <NUM> (and power lines) is passed and connected to the outdoor unit <NUM>.

The outdoor unit <NUM> is operatively associated with the wall mounted unit <NUM> by way of cabling and refrigerant lines <NUM> extending from the outdoor unit <NUM> to the back <NUM> (i.e. external side) of the wall unit <NUM>, where these cables and refrigerant lines <NUM> are covered with a vanity cover. The outdoor unit <NUM> comprises a housing for an outdoor heat exchanger, a fan for circulating air over surfaces of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a system refrigerant compressor.

Referring now to <FIG>, which illustrate an additional embodiment of the invention. Since most of the parts of the split system air conditioner <NUM> shown in <FIG> are identical to corresponding parts shown in the split system air conditioner <NUM> of <FIG>, they are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again in detail.

Split system air conditioner <NUM> differs from split system air conditioner <NUM> of <FIG> in that it comprises a mounting 4A which will project from the exterior surface of the exterior wall. Split system air conditioner <NUM> further comprises a back plate 40A which is removably securable to the mounting 4A. The mounting 4A surrounds connections <NUM> and <NUM> for the cabling and refrigerant lines <NUM> respectively. These connections <NUM> and <NUM> are accessible by removal of the back plate 40A, and once connection is completed, the back plate 40A is secured to the mounting 4A to conceal the connections <NUM> and <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, where there is shown an evaporative air cooler <NUM>, the evaporative air cooler <NUM> comprising a wall unit <NUM> installed via a mounting <NUM> in the through opening <NUM> vacated by the wall air conditioner unit <NUM> of <FIG>. The evaporative air cooler <NUM> further comprises an exterior section <NUM> which is removably mounted on the back of the wall unit <NUM>.

The mounting <NUM> comprises a bottom <NUM>, a top <NUM> and opposing sides <NUM> cooperatively defining a passageway <NUM> through the mounting <NUM> which is of a rectilinear cross-sectional shape.

The mounting <NUM> is sized to nest in and substantially fill through opening <NUM> provided in the exterior wall <NUM> of the building which was vacated by the wall air conditioner <NUM>. The mounting <NUM> is secured to the wall using fasteners, which is driven through at least the bottom <NUM> of the mounting <NUM> and into a frame for the through opening <NUM>.

The wall unit <NUM> comprises a generally cuboid housing <NUM>, an aesthetically pleasing front <NUM>, a pair of sides <NUM>, a top <NUM>, a bottom <NUM>, and back <NUM>. With reference to <FIG>, it is seen that the housing <NUM> houses at last an axial motor <NUM> for driving a fan <NUM> for circulating air. The front <NUM> comprises a front panel comprising an air outlet <NUM> for the cooled air and a fan speed control <NUM>. The front panel <NUM> further comprises an outwardly extending perimeter flange <NUM>.

The housing <NUM> for the wall unit <NUM> is sized to next in the mounting <NUM> with an easy sliding fit. The wall unit <NUM> is inserted into the mounting <NUM> and slid until the perimeter flange <NUM> abuts, and is substantially flush with, an interior surface of the wall <NUM>.

In use, the front's <NUM> outwardly extending perimeter flange <NUM> extends adjacent to an interior surface of the wall <NUM> (as illustrated in <FIG>) so that this conceals any edges of the through opening <NUM> in the exterior surface of the wall <NUM>, and then secured with respect to the housing <NUM> via screws, thereby securing the wall unit <NUM> in the through opening <NUM>.

The back <NUM> of the wall unit <NUM> is configured to engage with the exterior section <NUM> of the evaporative air cooler <NUM>. The exterior section <NUM> form factor is larger than that of the wall unit <NUM>.

Once the wall unit <NUM> has been installed in the mounting <NUM>, the exterior section <NUM> is fitted so that it abuts and projects to a minimal extent from, an exterior surface of the wall <NUM> (as illustrated in <FIG>) so that this conceals any edges of the through opening <NUM> in the exterior surface of the wall <NUM>.

The exterior section <NUM> is operatively associated with the wall unit <NUM> by way of ducting. The exterior section <NUM> comprises a housing for at least a water distribution system, cooling pad and associated plumbing and ducting.

It will be apparent from all of the above that the present invention provides an air conditioning system and a wall unit therefore, which solve the problem of how to fill the opening vacated by a wall air conditioner unit, by replacing it with a system which is aesthetically pleasing and easy to retro fit, which provides at least cooling to current and proposed MEPS (Aust) and EER (USA) legislated energy efficiency standards, which operates with reduced noise and power (running) costs.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.

Claim 1:
An arrangement including a split system air conditioner (<NUM>) and an exterior wall (<NUM>) of a building, wherein the exterior wall (<NUM>) includes a through opening (<NUM>) vacated by a wall air conditioner unit, the split system air conditioner (<NUM>) including a wall unit (<NUM>) and a mounting (<NUM>) for the wall unit (<NUM>), wherein the wall unit is installed via the mounting (<NUM>) in the trough opening (<NUM>), wherein the mounting (<NUM>) comprises a bottom, a top, and a pair of opposing sides cooperatively defining a passageway through the mounting (<NUM>) which is of a rectilinear cross-sectional shape and an outdoor unit (<NUM>), the wall unit (<NUM>) includes a cuboid housing (<NUM>) with an aesthetic pleasing front (<NUM>), a pair of sides, a top (<NUM>), a bottom (<NUM>), and a removable back (<NUM>), wherein the front (<NUM>) comprises a front panel comprising an air intake (<NUM>) and an air outlet (<NUM>), both of which are covered by a pivoting louver therefor, and between which are located an indoor heat exchanger (<NUM>) and a fan (<NUM>) for circulating air over the surfaces of the indoor heat exchanger (<NUM>) and between the air intake (<NUM>) and the air outlet (<NUM>) that are both located at the front (<NUM>) of the housing (<NUM>), and an outwardly extending perimeter flange (<NUM>), the mounting (<NUM>) being adapted both for insertion in the through opening (<NUM>), and for supporting the wall unit (<NUM>), the arrangement being characterized in that the housing (<NUM>) of the wall unit (<NUM>) is sized to nest in the mounting (<NUM>) with an easy sliding fit with the front (<NUM>) and back (<NUM>) of the wall unit (<NUM>) fitted substantially flush with respective interior surfaces of the exterior wall (<NUM>), and that the outdoor unit (<NUM>) is located externally of the exterior wall (<NUM>) and is operatively associated with the wall unit (<NUM>) via at least cabling and refrigerant lines (<NUM>).