Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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OUTDOOR UNIT FOR AIR CONDITIONER AND OPERATION METHOD
THEREOF
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, an
operation method thereof, and more particularly, to an outdoor unit of an air
conditioner, and an operation method thereof capable of guiding exhausted air
to a
io desired direction when an outlet is opened, and preventing inflow of
foreign
substances when the outlet is closed.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, an air conditioner is an apparatus that is disposed within a
space such as a room, a living room, an office, or a store in order to control
a
temperature, a humidity, cleanness, and a current of the air to maintain a
fresh
indoor environment.
The air conditioner includes an outdoor unit including a compressor
compressing a refrigerant, a condenser condensing the compressed refrigerant,
and a blower disposed at one side of the condenser and blowing out the air
toward
the condenser to accelerate heat release of the refrigerant; and an indoor
unit
including an indoor heat exchanger disposed in a room and performing cooling
or
heating.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in
accordance with related art, and FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the
outdoor unit
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of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outdoor unit of the air
conditioner
includes a case 10 forming therein a receiving space, a compressor 21
installed in
the case 10 and compressing a refrigerant, a heat exchanger 23 installed in
the
case 10, and a blower 25 provided at one side of the heat exchanger 23 to
s accelerate a heat exchange operation of the heat exchanger 23.
The case 10 has a rough rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a division
plate 13 dividing an internal space is installed in the case 10. The
compressor 21
compressing a refrigerant is received in one space divided by the division
plate 13.
An inlet 15 is formed at rear and side surfaces of the other space divided by
the
io division plate 13 in order to take in the air, and an outlet 17 is formed
at a front
surface of the other space so that the air introduced through the inlet 15 can
be
discharged through the outlet 17. The outlet 17 includes a discharge grill 18
allowing passage of the air while preventing foreign substances of a
predetermined size from being introduced thereinto.
15 The heat exchanger 23 having an "L" shape is disposed near to the inlet
15. The blower 25 of an axial fan type is installed in a front region of the
heat
exchanger, in order to introduce the air outside the case 10 through the inlet
15,
and discharge the air to the outside through the outlet 17 after the
introduced air is
heat-exchanged while passing through the heat exchanger.
20 However, the outdoor unit of the conventional air conditioner is
problematic in that unpleasantness of a pedestrian may be caused when the air
introduced through the inlet 15 and heat exchanged with the heat exchanger 23
(hot air at the time of cooling operation) is discharged through the outlet 17
and
contacts the pedestrian.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit
of an air conditioner capable of guiding discharged air to a desired
direction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit of an
air conditioner capable of guiding the discharged to a desired direction when
operated, and preventing introduction of foreign substances thereinto by
closing
an outlet when not operated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit of an
air conditioner, and an operation method thereof capable of preventing
operation
io when an outlet is closed to achieve stable operation of system, and guiding
the
discharged air to a desired in direction when the outlet is opened.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,
there is provided an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including: a case
including
an outlet; and an outlet door installed at the case to open/close the outlet,
and
guiding the air being discharged when opened.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,
there is also provided an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including: a case
forming a receiving space therein, and including an inlet introducing the air,
and an
outlet formed at a front side of the case and discharging the air; a heat
exchanger
disposed toward the inlet in the case; a blower disposed at one side of the
heat
exchanger; an outlet door coupled to the case to be rotatable between a
closing
location where the outlet door closes the outlet, and an opening location
where the
outlet door is inclined downwardly so as to guide the air being discharged in
an
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upward direction; and an outlet door driving unit driving the outlet door to
open/close the outlet
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,
there is also provided a method of operating an outdoor unit of an air
conditioner
comprising a case having an outlet, a blower disposed in the case, an outlet
door
opening/closing the outlet, and an outlet door driving unit driving the outlet
door,
the method including: controlling the outlet door driving unit to open the
outlet; and
driving the blower.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part
of this
specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the
description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in
accordance with related art;
FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the outdoor unit of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
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FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an opened state of an outlet door
of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner
of FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of an outdoor unit of an air
conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an opened state of a outlet door
io of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a control block diagram of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner
of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a flow chart for describing an operation method of the outdoor
unit of the air conditioner of FIG. 8;
is FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner
according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view showing an opened state of an outlet
door of FIG. 12; and
20 FIG. 15 is a control block diagram of the outdoor unit of the air
conditioner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the
present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 3 through 6, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner
25 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a case
110
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forming a receiving space therein and having an outlet 177 at one side, and an
outdoor door 131 installed to open/close the outlet 117 of the case 110.
The case 110 is formed to have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and
includes therein a division plate 113 dividing the inside of the case 110. A
s compressor is installed in one space divided by the division plate 113. An
inlet
115 through which the air is introduced is formed at rear and side surfaces of
the
other space divided by the division plate 113, and an outlet 117 through which
the
air is discharged is formed at a front surface thereof. A heat exchanger 123
is
disposed inside the inlet 115, and a blower 125 is installed inside the heat
io exchanger 123 to introduce the air through the inlet 115 and discharge the
introduced air to the outside through the outlet 117.
The outlet 117 has a quadrangular shape, and the outlet door 131 of a
quadrangular shape is installed at the outlet 117. A rotary shaft 132 is
formed at
lower portions of both sides of the outlet door 13 so that the outlet door 131
can be
15 rotated downwardly and upwardly. A protrusion 133 protrudes rearward from
one
lower portion of a rear surface of the outlet door 131, and an outlet door
driving
unit 140 is installed at one side of the protrusion 133 to open/close the
outlet door
131.
The outlet door driving unit 140 includes the protrusion 133 formed on the
20 outlet door 131, and a solenoid 143 having a rod 145 that is protruded or
retracted
in a vertical direction. When power is applied to the solenoid 143, the rod
145 is
extendingly protruded in a longitudinal direction, and when power is cut off,
the rod
145 is retracted into the solenoid 143 by an elastic force of a spring
provided
therein. A pint portion 14 is formed at an end of the rod 145, and is bent
25 perpendicularly to be connected to the protrusion 133. A slot 134 of a long
hole
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type is formed at the protrusion 133 so that the pin portion 146 is inserted
therein
and makes a relative motion.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the current
embodiment includes a controller 161 controlling the solenoid 143. The
controller
161 opens the outlet 117 when an operation signal is input from an indoor unit
(not
shown), and closes the outlet 117 when an operation stop signal is input. As
illustrated in FIG. 7, the controller 161 is connected to a signal receiver
163
receiving a signal from the indoor unit, and the solenoid 143 so as to allow
electric
signal transfer.
By the aforementioned structure, when an operation signal is input
through the signal receiver 163, the controller 161 controls the solenoid 143
to
protrude the rod 145. When the rod 145 is protruded, the pin portion 145
presses
the protrusion 133, and thus the outlet door 131 is rotated downward to open
the
outlet 117 as illustrated in FIG. 6. When the blower 125 is driven, the air is
introduced through the inlet 115, and the introduced air is heat-exchanged
while
passing through the heat exchanger 123. The heat-exchanged air is discharged
through the outlet 117, and the discharged air is guided to an upper portion
of a
front side of the case 110 by the outlet door 131. When an operation stop
signal
is input through the signal receiver 163, the controller 161 controls the
solenoid 13
to retract the rod 145. When the rod 145 is retracted, the protrusion 133 and
the
outlet door 131 is rotated about the rotary shaft 132, thereby closing the
outlet 117
as illustrated in FIG. 5.
An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of
the present invention will now be described with reference to accompanying
drawings. Like reference numerals are used to like elements with the above-
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mentioned and illustrated elements for the convenience of description.
Referring
to FIGS. 8 and 9, the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the
current
embodiment includes a case 110 forming a receiving space therein and having an
outlet 117 at one side, a blower 125 installed inside the case 110, an outlet
door
s 131 installed to open/close the outlet 117 of the case 110, an outlet door
driving
unit 170 driving the outlet door 131, an opening detector 165 detecting
opening of
the outlet 117, and a controller 161 controlling the blower 125 and the outlet
door
driving unit 170 on the basis of a detection result of the opening detector
165.
A heat exchanger 123 is installed in the case 110 along an inlet 115, and a
io blower 125 is provided inside the heat exchanger 123.
The outlet 117 of a quadrangular shape is formed at a front surface of the
case 110, and the outlet door 131 of a quadrangular shape is installed at the
outlet
117. A rotary shaft 132 is formed at a lower portion of both sides of the
outlet
door 131 so as to allow the outlet door 13 to be rotated upwardly and
downwardly.
is The outlet door driving unit 170 is installed in the case 110 so as to
rotate the
outlet door 131.
The outlet door driving unit 170 includes a drive motor 171 disposed at
one side of the outlet door 131, a driving gear 175 coupled to a rotation
shaft 173
of the drive motor 171, a driven gear 175 coupled to the rotary shaft 132 of
the
20 outlet door 131, and a gear 177 rotated in mesh with the driving gear 175
and the
driven gear 176.
The opening detector 165 is installed at the outlet 117 in order to detect
opening of the outlet door 131.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner includes the controller 161
25 implemented as a microcomputer having a control program. Such a controller
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171 serves to introduce the air into the outdoor unit to accelerate heat
exchange
when an operation signal is input from an indoor unit. As illustrated in FIG.
10,
the controller 161 is connected to a signal receiver 163, the opening detector
165,
the drive motor 171, the blower 125, and an indicator 171 indicating
predetermined information including an error to the outside for electric
signal
transfer.
An operation method of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to
the current embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 11.
When an operation signal is input from an indoor unit through the signal
io receiver 163 (S10), the controller 161 controls the drive motor 171 to
allow the
outlet door 131 to open the outlet 117 (S20). When the drive motor 171
rotates,
the outlet door 131 is rotated downward about the rotary shaft 132 by the
driving
gear 175, the gear 177, and the driven gear 176, thereby opening the outlet
117.
Thereafter, the opening detector 165 detects opening of the outlet 117 (S30),
and
when it is detected that the outlet 117 is opened, the blower 125 is driven
(S40).
When the blower 125 is driven, the air is introduced through the inlet 115,
and the
introduced air is heat-exchanged while passing through the heat exchanger 123,
and then is discharged to the outside through the outlet 117. The discharged
air
is guided in an upwardly direction of a front side of the case 110 by the
outlet door
131 inclined frontward and downward.
When it is detected that the outlet 117 is not opened, the controller 161
counts the number (Ni) of attempts to open the outlet 117 (S60). When the
counted number (Ni) is the same as or smaller than a set value (Nset), the
drive
motor 171 is controlled again to open the outlet 117 (S20). When the counted
number (Ni) is greater than the set value (Nset) (S70), the controller 161
controls
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the indicator167 to indicate an error to the outside (S80). Also, the blower
125 is
maintained at a stopped state (S90), and the outlet door 131 is also
maintained at
a closed state (S100). When an operation stop signal is input from the indoor
unit through the signal receiver 163 (S50), the controller 161 stops driving
of the
blower 125 (S90), and controls the drive motor 171 to close the outlet 117
(S110).
An air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present
invention will now be described with reference to accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 12 through 14, the outdoor unit of the air conditioner
according to the current embodiment includes a case 110 including an inlet 115
io forming therein a receiving space and introducing the air, and an outlet
117 formed
at a front side to discharge the air; a heat exchanger 123 disposed toward the
inlet
115 in the case 110; a blower 125 disposed at one side of the heat exchanger
123;
and an outlet door 131 coupled to the case 110 to be rotatable between a
closing
location where the outlet door 131 closes the outlet 117, and an opening
location
where the outlet door 131 opens the outlet 117 and is inclined downwardly so
as
to guide the discharged air in an upward direction.
The case 110 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having therein a
receiving space, and a division plate 113 dividing a space is installed in the
case
110. A compressor 121 is received in one space divided by the division plate
113
to compress a refrigerant, and an inlet 115 introducing the air is formed at
side and
rear surfaces of the other space divided by the division plate 113. An outlet
of a
quadrangular shape is formed at a front surface of the case 110 to discharged
the
introduced air.
A heat exchanger 123 having a reverse "L" shape is installed inside the
inlet 115, and a blower 125 is installed in a front region of the heat
exchanger 123.
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The blower 125 introduces the externat air through the inlet 115, and
discharges
the air heat-exchanged while passing through the heat exchanger 123 to the
outside through the outlet 117.
A plurality of outlet door 131 are rotatably installed at the outlet 117 to
open/close the outlet 116. A rotary shaft 132 protruding from both sides of
the
case 110 is formed at a lower portion of both sides of each of the outlet door
131.
A outlet door driving unit 180 is provided at one side of the rotary shaft 132
so as
to open/close each of the outlet door 131 in a rotating manner.
The outlet door driving unit 180 includes a transmitting member 183
io disposed at one side of a rear surface of each of the outlet door 131 to be
slidable
in a vertical direction, a protrusion 133 protruding from one side of the
rotary shaft
132 of the outlet door 131 toward the transmitting member 183 perpendicularly
to
a plate surface of each of the outlet doors 131, and a transmitting member
driving
unit 191 driving the transmitting member 183 to allow each of the outlet door
131
to be driven between the closing location where each of the outlet doors 131
closes the outlet 117 and the opening location where each of the outlet doors
131
opens the outlet 117 to guide the air being discharged in an upward direction
of
the front side of the case 110.
The transmitting member driving unit 191 includes a rack part 185 formed
2o at the transmitting member 183, a pinion 193 rotated in mesh with the rack
part
183, and a drive motor 195 rotating the pinion 183 in forward and backward
rotations.
Each protrusion 133 has a pin 135 protruding outwardly parallel to the
rotary shaft 132, and the transmitting member 183 includes a slot 184 formed
corresponding to a rotation path of the pin 135 so that each pin 135 can be
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received therein to make a relative motion.
Transmitting member guides 187 are provided at both sides of the
transmitting member 183 to guide sliding of the transmitting member 183 in a
vertical direction.
The controller 161 implemented as a microprocessor having a control
program is connected to a signal receiver 163 receiving a signal from an
indoor
unit (not shown), the blower 125, and the drive motor 195 for electric signal
transfer, so that when an operation is started, the controller 161 can perform
control allowing the outlet 117 to be opened/closed, while driving the blower
125.
By the structure, when the signal receiver 163 receives a cooling or
heating operation signal, the controller 161 rotates the blower 125, and also
drives
the drive motor 195 to rotate the outlet door 131 in a direction in which the
outlet
117 is opened. When power is applied to the drive motor 195 and thus rotation
is
started, the pinion 193 is rotated. Thus, the transmitting member 183 having
the
rack part 185 engaged with the pinion 193 is slide upwardly. Then, each of the
outlet door 131 is rotated downwardly about the center of the rotary shaft
132, and
thus is inclined at the opening location.
When the blower 125 is rotated, the air is introduced into the case 110
through the inlet 115. The introduced air is heat-exchanged while passing
through the heat exchanger 123, and then is discharged through the outlet 117.
Here, the air is discharged in an upward direction of a front side of the case
110 by
each of the outlet door 131 inclined at the opening location.
When an operation stop signal of the indoor unit is received through the
signal receiver 163, the controller 161 serves to stop the blower 125, and
control
the drive motor 195 to close the outlet 117.
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Operational effects of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner and the
operation method according to the present invention will now be described.
An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention
includes an outlet door opening/closing an outlet, such that the outlet is
opened at
the time of operation to thus guide the air being discharged in a desired
direction,
and the outlet is closed when the operation is stopped to thus prevent foreign
substances from flowing into a case.
Accordingly, when the outlet is installed toward a sidewalk, the air heat-
exchanged with the heat exchanger is guided away from a pedestrian, thereby
preventing unpleasantness of the pedestrian.
Also, when the outlet is closed, the closing of the outlet is immediately
detected, so that the operation of drive elements including a blower is not
started.
Accordingly, the device can be prevented from being operated under abnormal
conditions, and this abnormal conditions can be indicated to the outside, so
that
the quick action for such abnormality can be made.
As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without
departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also
be
understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the
details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather
should
be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended
claims,
and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and
bounds
of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended
to
be embraced by the appended claims.
