KR20220093732A - Air Conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner. The air conditioner of the present invention includes: a case in which an inlet port and an outlet port under the inlet port are formed; a heat exchanger heat-exchanging outdoor air flowing into the inside of a housing through the inlet port; a blower fan disposed at a lower side of the heat exchanger and rotating with a rotation axis formed in left and right directions to send air inside the case from the inlet port to the outlet port; a first guider guiding air flowing to the lower side of the blower fan by the blower fan to the outlet port; a second guider disposed to be spaced apart upwards from the first guider and forming an outlet flow path with the first guider; a first side wall curved and extended from the upper part of an upper guider to guide a part of air emitted from the blower fan toward the blower fan, and disposed to face the blower fan; and a sterilization device disposed on the first side wall and irradiating ultraviolet rays toward the blower fan. According to the present invention, the inside of a case can be kept clean.

Description

Air Conditioner {Air Conditioner}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner for sterilizing the inside of a case.

The air conditioner includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant, an expander for expanding the condensed refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the expanded refrigerant. Alternatively, it is a device that can adjust the indoor air to an appropriate temperature by cooling.

The air conditioner may include an indoor unit provided with a heat exchanger to exchange heat with indoor air, and an outdoor unit provided with a heat exchanger to exchange heat with outdoor air.

In the case of an indoor unit, heated or cooled air may be supplied to the indoor space through a blower fan disposed therein. When the blower fan is continuously operated, bacteria may grow inside the case due to dust flowing into the indoor unit or condensed water generated from a heat exchanger disposed on one side.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2020-0102864 discloses a sterilization module arranged to sterilize the inside of the case to prevent bacterial propagation inside the case. However, since the arrangement of the lamp for sterilization is adjacent to the blowing fan, and the light irradiated from the lamp is transmitted to the blowing fan through a separate reflector, there is a problem that the scope and performance of the sterilization may be limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner in which a sterilizer does not obstruct the flow of air flowing by a blower fan.

Another object of the present invention is to sterilize a blower fan operating inside the air conditioner, and to provide an air conditioner in which the reach area of the ultraviolet light is limited so that the ultraviolet light for sterilization does not reach the outside of the air conditioner.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a suction port, a case having a discharge port formed below the suction port, and a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with external air introduced into the housing through the suction port, and the A blower fan disposed below the heat exchanger and rotating with a rotation shaft formed in the left and right directions to send the air inside the case from the suction port to the discharge port, and the blowing fan guides the air flowing to the lower side of the blowing fan to the discharge port a first guider that is spaced upward from the first guider, a second guider forming a discharge passage with the first guider, and the upper portion to guide a portion of the air discharged from the blowing fan to the blowing fan A first sidewall that is bent and extended from the upper end of the guider and disposed to face the blowing fan, and a sterilizer disposed on the first sidewall and irradiating left ultraviolet light toward the blowing fan, including ultraviolet rays as a blowing fan By irradiating light, the blowing fan can be sterilized.

The sterilizer may sterilize the entire range of the blower fans formed long in the left and right directions, including a plurality of being spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the blower fan.

A groove disposed in the sterilizer is formed in the first sidewall, and the distance the sterilizer is spaced apart from the blowing fan is equal to or smaller than the distance the first sidewall wins from the blowing fan, so that the sterilization device does not obstruct the air flowing through the countercurrent flow path formed between the first sidewall and the blower fan.

The sterilization device includes a sterilization lamp irradiating left ultraviolet light, a printed circuit board for controlling the operation of the sterilization lamp, and a lamp cover for mounting the printed circuit board and the sterilization lamp on the first sidewall, The lamp cover, on the surface formed by the first sidewall, is disposed in the inner direction of the first sidewall, does not have a structure to protrude toward the first sidewall, and flows through a countercurrent flow path formed between the first sidewall and the blower fan Do not disturb the air.

It is spaced apart from the sterilization lamp and further includes a transparent panel covering the open side of the lamp cover, so that the sterilization lamp can be covered.

Between the transparent panel and the printed circuit board, an insulator may be disposed around the sterilizing lamp to prevent heat generated from the printed circuit board or the sterilizing lamp from being transmitted to the transparent panel.

A fastening boss protruding upward is formed in the second guider, and the lamp cover extends to the rear of the first side wall and is fixedly disposed to the fastening boss, so that the lamp cover can be stably fixed.

The germicidal lamp is disposed to face the center of the blowing fan or the center of the blowing fan downward.

The distance the sterilizing lamp is spaced apart from the blowing fan is formed to be longer than the distance that the first sidewall is spaced apart from the blowing fan, so that the area of ultraviolet light irradiated from the germicidal lamp to the blowing fan may be widened.

The lamp cover includes an inner cover on which the printed circuit board and the sterilization lamp are mounted, and an outer cover mounted on the inner cover and on which the transparent panel is mounted, and the outer surface of the outer cover includes the first It is arranged in parallel with the virtual surface formed by the outer surface of the side wall, so that the lamp cover does not obstruct the flow of air flowing through the first side wall.

The inner cover includes a circumferential wall forming a space in which the printed circuit board is disposed, and an upper wall forming a surface to which the printed circuit board is in close contact with one end of the circumferential wall, the circumferential wall and the upper wall Silver forms a first area in which the printed circuit board is disposed, and a molding liquid is injected into the first area to fix the arrangement of the printed circuit board, and moisture is introduced into the printed circuit board disposed on the inner cover. it can be prevented

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the air conditioner of the present invention, there are one or more of the following effects.

First, it is disposed inside the case to sterilize the blower fan, which is difficult for the user to manage, to prevent the propagation of bacteria, etc. that may occur in the blower fan. That is, there is an advantage in that the inside of the case can be kept clean.

Second, the ultraviolet light irradiated from the sterilization lamp irradiates light in the opposite direction of the outlet, so that the ultraviolet light sterilizes only the blowing fan and has the advantage of not being exposed to the outside of the case.

Third, since the sterilizer does not protrude from the first sidewall of the stabilizer forming the countercurrent flow path in the direction in which the blower fan is disposed, it does not interfere with the flow of air flowing through the countercurrent flow path. There is also the advantage of securing the air volume.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged view of a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner for explaining in detail the arrangement of the sterilizer of the present invention.
3 is a side perspective view of a stabilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention and a sterilizer mounted thereon.
4 is a perspective view from the other side of the stabilizer and the sterilizer mounted thereon according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to fully inform those who have the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioner has an external shape, and a case 10 having an inlet 10a and an outlet 10b formed therein, a heat exchanger 44 for heating or cooling the air flowing in the case 10, A blowing fan 46 for flowing the air inside the case 10 to the discharge port 10b, a discharge guider 20 for guiding the air flowing by the blowing fan 46 to the discharge port 10b, and a discharge guider 20 ) is disposed on one side, and includes a sterilizer 50 for irradiating the left ultraviolet light toward the blowing fan (46).

The case 10 forms an inlet 10a through which air is sucked in from the upper part of the upper case 12 or the front case 14, and an outlet 10b through which air is discharged from the lower part of the front case 14. can The case 10 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated from side to side.

The air conditioner relates to a wall-mounted air conditioner, and the discharge port 10b may be formed below the suction port 10a so that the air flow inside the case 10 flows from the top side to the bottom side. Referring to FIG. 1 , the suction port 10a may be disposed above the center 46a of the blowing fan 46 , and the discharge port 10b may be disposed below the center 46a of the blowing fan 46 .

The outer circumferential surface of the case 10 extends downward from the front end of the upper case 12 and the upper case 12 on which the suction port 10a is formed, and the front case 14 is disposed to cover the front, the upper case It may include a lower case 16 and a front case 14, an upper case 12, and a side case (not shown) forming a surface perpendicular to the lower case 16, which are formed in the opposite direction to (12). .

Referring to FIG. 1 , the front case 14 and the lower case 16 are naturally connected in the form of a curved surface, and the discharge port 10b is formed in the portion where the front case 14 and the lower case 16 are connected in the curved form. can be The discharge port 10b may be formed at the front lower side of the case 10 .

A space in which the heat exchanger 44 and the blowing fan 46 are disposed is formed inside the case 10 . A guide may be formed inside the case 10 to guide the air sucked in through the inlet 10a to the blowing fan 46 or to guide the air flowing in the blowing fan 46 to the outlet 10b. A discharge guider 20 for guiding the air flowing from the blowing fan 46 to the discharge port 10b may be formed inside the case 10 .

The discharge guide 20 forms a discharge passage 20a through which the air flowing by the blowing fan 46 flows. The discharge guide 20 guides the air flowing by the blowing fan 46 to the discharge port 10b. Referring to FIG. 1 , the discharge passage 20a extends from the blower fan 46 to the front and lower side.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the discharge guider 20 may include an upper guider 28 disposed above the discharge flow path 20a and a lower guider 22 disposed below the discharge flow path 20a. The upper guider 28 is connected from the front part to the upper end of the discharge port 10b based on the center 46a of the blowing fan 46 . The lower guider 22 is connected to the lower end of the outlet 10b from the rear part based on the center 46a of the blowing fan 46 .

The lower guider 22 is a curved surface 22a formed as a curved surface to guide the air discharged to the rear side of the blowing fan 46 or the lower side of the blowing fan 46 by the blowing fan 46 to the discharge port 10b; It includes a straight surface 22b extending from the curved surface 22a to the discharge port 10b to form a straight surface.

The radius of curvature of the curved surface 22a is formed larger than the radius of curvature of the blowing fan 46 . The curved surface 22a according to the present embodiment may extend to the lower rear of the blowing fan 46 . Air flowing by the blowing fan 46 may be reflected from the curved surface 22a and flow toward the upper guider 28 .

The straight surface 22b may naturally extend from the curved surface 22a. Accordingly, may extend at an inclination angle formed by the end of the curved surface 22a. The straight surface 22b may form a straight surface 22b with an inclination angle such that the end faces downward in front.

The upper guider 28 forms the lower guider 22 and the discharge passage 20a, and is disposed to face the lower guider 22 . The upper guider 28 may form a straight surface upstream of the discharge passage 20a.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the air conditioner 1 is disposed below the heat exchanger 44 , drains the condensed water falling from the heat exchanger 44 , and includes a stabilizer 26 forming an upper guider 28 . do.

The stabilizer 26 includes the upper guider 28 and the upper guider 28 bent at the upper end of the upper guider 28 to extend in a direction adjacent to the blowing fan 46, and a part of the air discharged from the blowing fan 46 is again blown by the blowing fan ( 46), and a first side wall 30 guiding to, and a connecting portion 32 connecting the first side wall 30 and the upper guider 28. The stabilizer 26 includes a second side wall 35 that is bent at the lower end of the upper guider 28 and extends upward. The stabilizer 26 includes a fastening boss 29 protruding upward of the upper guider 28 to fix the sterilizer 50 .

2 to 5 , the described stabilizer 26 describes the space between the first side wall 30 and the second side wall 35 as the inward direction and the opposite direction as the outward direction. In addition, based on the upper guider 28, the extending direction of the first side wall 30 and the second side wall 35 may be described as the upper side of the stabilizer, and the opposite direction may be described as the lower side of the stabilizer.

The first side wall 30 extends along the outer peripheral surface of the blowing fan 46 so as to be close to the center of the blowing fan 46 . The first side wall 30 is disposed as close to the blowing fan 46 as possible to minimize the amount of air discharged from the blowing fan 46 and flowing back to the blowing fan.

The first side wall 30 may form a counterflow passage 30a through which counterflow air flows between the blowing fan 46 . The connection part 32 may be gently bent so that the air discharged from the blower fan 46 minimizes a vortex generated between the discharge flow path 20a and the counterflow flow path 30a.

A groove 30b is formed in the first sidewall 30 in which the sterilizer 50 for irradiating the left ultraviolet light with the blower fan 46 is disposed.

The sterilizer 50 is disposed on the first side wall 30 , and irradiates the left ultraviolet light toward the blowing fan 46 . The sterilizer 50 is disposed toward the blowing fan 46 . The sterilizer 50 may be disposed on a surface formed by the first sidewall 30 to minimize obstruction of the flow of air flowing along the first sidewall 30 .

The sterilization device 50 includes a sterilization lamp 52 irradiating left ultraviolet light, a printed circuit board 54 for applying power to or controlling the operation of the sterilization lamp 52, a sterilization lamp 52 and a printed circuit board ( 54) is fixedly arranged, the lamp cover 56 mounted on the lower guider 22, and the sterilization lamp 52 are spaced apart, and a transparent panel 62 covering the open side of the lamp cover 56. includes

The germicidal lamp 52 may be arranged to irradiate light toward the blowing fan 46 disposed on the rear side. Referring to FIG. 2 , the germicidal lamp 52 may be disposed in an inner direction of the stabilizer 26 rather than the surface formed by the first sidewall 30 . That is, even in the groove 30b, the sterilization lamp 52 may be disposed at a position in the inner direction of the stabilizer rather than the imaginary surface to which the outer surface of the first side wall 30 continues.

The germicidal lamp 52 is spaced apart from the blowing fan 46 by a predetermined interval. The distance L1 at which the germicidal lamp 52 is spaced apart from the blowing fan 46 is greater than the distance L2 at which the first sidewall 30 is spaced apart from the blowing fan 46 . Referring to FIG. 2 , the germicidal lamp 52 may be disposed to face downwards from the center 46a or the center 46a of the blowing fan 46 .

The sterilization lamp 52 is disposed to face one side of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board 54 is disposed in close contact with the upper wall 58b of the lamp cover 56 to be described below.

The lamp cover 56 includes an inner cover 58 on which the printed circuit board 54 and the sterilization lamp 52 are mounted, and an outer cover 60 mounted on the inner cover 58 and on which the transparent panel 62 is mounted. ) is included.

The inner cover 58, the printed circuit board 54 is disposed inside. In the inner cover 58, an open hole is formed in the direction in which the outer cover 60 is disposed, and a sterilizing lamp 52 is disposed in the opened hole.

The inner cover 58 includes a peripheral wall 58a forming a space in which the printed circuit board 54 is disposed, and an upper wall forming a surface to which the printed circuit board 54 is adhered at one end of the peripheral wall 58a. (58b). A first area 59 in which the printed circuit board 54 is disposed may be formed in the inner cover 58 . The peripheral wall 58a and the upper wall 58b may form a first region 59 in which the printed circuit board 54 is disposed. The molding part 59a may be injected into the first region 59 to fix the arrangement of the printed circuit board 54 and to block external moisture from flowing into the printed circuit board 54 .

In the center of the upper wall 58b, an opening hole 58d in which the germicidal lamp 52 is disposed is formed. The outer peripheral end of the upper wall 58b is formed with a tip 58c protruding in the direction in which the outer cover 60 is disposed so that the outer cover 60 is mounted.

The inner cover 58 includes a cover fixing part 59b that protrudes outward from the peripheral wall 58a and is connected to the fastening boss 29 . The cover fixing part 59b may protrude outward from the circumferential wall 58a and fix the inner cover 58 to the stabilizer 26 through the fastening boss 29 and a separate fastening screw 67 .

The outer cover 60 is fixedly arranged on one side of the inner cover 58 and fixes the transparent panel 62 inside. The outer cover 60 is mounted in the groove 30b formed in the first side wall 30 , and the transparent panel 62 is spaced apart from the sterilization lamp 52 by a predetermined distance.

The outer cover 60 is fixedly disposed on one side of the inner cover 58 . The outer cover 60 is disposed between the tips 58c formed on the upper wall 58b of the inner cover 58 . The outer surface 60b of the outer cover 60 may have a shape naturally connected to the outer surface formed by the first side wall 30 . That is, referring to FIG. 2 , the outer surface 60b of the outer cover 60 may be disposed parallel to the virtual surface formed by the outer surface 60b of the first sidewall 30 .

The outer cover 60 may fix the transparent panel 62 disposed inside. The transparent panel 62 may use a quartz window made of a transparent material. The transparent panel 62 may prevent external air from flowing into the sterilization lamp 52 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the generation of condensed water around the sterilization lamp (52). The outer cover 60 may be formed of a silicon material.

A germicidal lamp 52 is disposed between the transparent panel 62 and the printed circuit board 54 . Between the transparent panel 62 and the printed circuit board 54, a second space 65 in which the sterilization lamp 52 is disposed is formed. Between the transparent panel 62 and the printed circuit board 54 , an insulator 64 that does not transfer heat generated from the printed circuit board 54 or the sterilizing lamp 52 to the transparent panel 62 may be disposed. .

A plurality of sterilizers 50 may be spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions on the stabilizer 26 . Referring to FIG. 4 , three stabilizers 26 are spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions.

In the lower guider 22, an inner vane 43 for guiding the air flowing along the discharge passage 20a in the left and right directions is disposed. The inner vane 43, the upstream end is fixed to the lower guider 22, the downstream end is moved in the left and right direction by a separate motor (not shown), it is possible to adjust the wind direction of the air.

The stabilizer 26 includes a first connector 38 mounted with a net steel 96 that prevents the user's body from approaching the area where the blowing fan 46 is disposed, and an outer vane 42 to be described below. and a supporter 36 including a second connector 40 rotatably connected thereto.

The supporter 36 may be disposed between a pair of inner sidewalls 34 disposed at both ends of the upper guider 28 . At least one supporter 36 may be disposed between a pair of inner sidewalls 34 disposed at both ends of the upper guider 28 .

The first connector 38 has a grill groove 38a in which the horizontal grill 96b of the Net Steel 96 is mounted. A plurality of grill grooves 38a may be formed to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction of the first connector 38 . An end groove (not shown) in which an end of the horizontal grill 96b of the net steel 96 is mounted may be formed in each of the inner side walls 34 .

The second connector 40 protrudes toward the discharge port 10b, and an outer vane 42 is rotatably disposed at an end thereof. The outer vane 42 is rotatably disposed at the discharge port 10b to adjust the wind direction of the air discharged to the discharge port 10b in the vertical direction.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims Various modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

1: air conditioner 10: case
10a: inlet 10b: outlet
20: discharge guide 20a: discharge flow path
22: lower guider 26: stabilizer
28: upper guider 29: fastening boss
30: first side wall 30a: countercurrent flow path
30b: groove 32: connection part
34: inner side wall 35: second side wall
36: supporter 42: outer vane
43: inner vane 44: heat exchanger
46: blow fan 50: sterilizer
52: germicidal lamp 54: printed circuit board
56: lamp cover 58: inner cover
59: first area 59a: molding liquid
59b: cover fixing part 60: outer cover
62: transparent panel 64: insulator
65: second space 96: net steel

Claims (10)

a case in which a suction port and a discharge port are formed below the suction port;
a heat exchanger for exchanging the external air introduced into the housing through the suction port;
a blower fan disposed below the heat exchanger and rotating to send air inside the case from the inlet to the outlet;
a first guider for guiding the air flowing downward by the blowing fan to the outlet;
a second guider spaced upward from the first guider to form a discharge passage with the first guider;
a first sidewall bent and extended from an upper end of the second guider to guide a portion of the air discharged from the blowing fan to the blowing fan, and disposed to face the blowing fan; and
and a sterilizing device disposed on the first side wall and irradiating left ultraviolet light toward the blowing fan,
The sterilizer includes a plurality of spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the blower fan. The method of claim 1,
A groove disposed in the sterilizer is formed in the first sidewall,
The distance at which the sterilizer is spaced apart from the blowing fan is equal to or smaller than a distance at which the first sidewall is beaten from the blowing fan. The method of claim 1,
The sterilizer is
Germicidal lamp irradiating left ultraviolet light;
a printed circuit board for controlling the operation of the germicidal lamp;
and a lamp cover for mounting the printed circuit board and the sterilization lamp to the first side wall,
The lamp cover is an air conditioner disposed in an inner direction of the first sidewall from a surface formed by the first sidewall. 4. The method of claim 3,
The air conditioner further comprising a transparent panel spaced apart from the sterilization lamp and covering an open side of the lamp cover. 5. The method of claim 4,
An insulator is disposed around the sterilization lamp between the transparent panel and the printed circuit board. 4. The method of claim 3,
A fastening boss protruding upward is formed in the second guider,
The lamp cover extends to the rear of the first sidewall and is fixedly disposed to the fastening boss. 4. The method of claim 3,
The sterilization lamp is an air conditioner that is disposed to face a center of the blowing fan or a lower side than a center of the blowing fan. 4. The method of claim 3,
The distance between the germicidal lamp and the blowing fan is longer than the distance at which the first sidewall is spaced apart from the blowing fan. 4. The method of claim 3,
The lamp cover includes an inner cover on which the printed circuit board and the sterilization lamp are mounted, and an outer cover mounted on the inner cover and on which the transparent panel is mounted,
The outer surface of the outer cover is arranged in parallel with an imaginary surface formed by the outer surface of the first side wall of the air conditioner. 4. The method of claim 3,
The inner cover includes a peripheral wall forming a space in which the printed circuit board is disposed, and an upper wall forming a surface to which the printed circuit board is in close contact at one end of the peripheral wall,
The peripheral wall and the upper wall form a first area in which the printed circuit board is disposed,
An air conditioner in which a molding liquid is injected into the first region to fix the arrangement of the printed circuit board.

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