FULL FRONT BLOWING TYPE AIR CONDITIONER

Abstract

A full front blowing type air conditioner is disclosed. The disclosed full front blowing type air conditioner includes a case of which a heat exchanger is disposed in an inner side; and a blower module disposed in rear of the heat exchanger in the case, and configured to discharge a pulse jet for blowing through a front face of the case. The blowing module changes air pressure of a cavity formed between at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms and discharges the pulse jet to a side of the heat exchanger according to periodic deformation of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms to opposite phases to each other.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wall-mounted air conditioner, and more particularly, to an indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of blowing a pulse jet from a portion corresponding to an entire area of a front face of the air conditioner.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, air conditioners are an apparatus for heating or cooling an indoor using a cooling cycle of a refrigerant formed of a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and a heat exchanger. The air conditioners are divided into a system type, a stand type, a window-mounted type, and a wall-mounted type according to an installation type thereof.

An indoor unit 1 of a wall-mounted air conditioner in the related art uses a conventional cross flow fan 3 as a blowing unit as illustrated in FIG. 1. When a heat exchanger 7 is arranged in an entire face of a case 2 according to air flow property and an arrangement structure of the cross flow fan 3, and in response to front blowing being performed, efficiency is lowered due to heat exchange deviation, and thus cooling performance is degraded.

Therefore, a wall-mounted air conditioner in the related art has a structure in which an air outlet 8 is limited to a lower portion of a front face since inlet grills 4 and 5 of the case 2, which suck the external air, are arranged in front and top faces so as to increase efficiency of the heat exchanger. The air exhausted from the air outlet 8 in the lower portion of the front face is discharged in a fast flow rate due to a small discharge area. In this case, there are problems that in response to the cooling air being in direct contact with a user's skin, the cooling air may cause an unpleasant feeling in the user.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a full front blowing type air conditioner capable of maintaining cooling performance and simultaneously providing a comfortable feeling to a user through increase in a blowing area and blowing in a low flow rate.

Technical Solution

To obtain the above-described object, the present invention is to provide an air conditioner including: a case of which a heat exchanger is disposed in an inner side; and a blower module disposed in rear of the heat exchanger in the case, and configured to discharge a pulse jet for blowing through a front face of the case. The blowing module changes air pressure of a cavity formed between at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms and discharges the pulse jet to a side of the heat exchanger according to periodic deformation of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms to opposite phases to each other.

The blower module may include a housing in which a first air flow unit is formed in one side corresponding to the heat exchanger, and a second air flow unit is formed in the other side. The at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms may be disposed to be spaced in parallel in the inner side of the housing, and the blower module may discharge the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger through the first and second air flow units.

The first air flow unit may include a plurality of slits or a plurality of holes which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity.

The second air flow unit may include an upper slit and a lower slit which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity, and are formed in an upper rear and a lower rear of the housing, respectively. The upper slit and the lower slit may face a front of the housing.

The heat exchanger may have an area corresponding to an entire area of the front face of the case.

A face of the housing, which faces the heat exchanger, has a shape corresponding to a shape of the heat exchanger.

A face of the housing, which faces the heat exchanger, is formed in a plane or a curved surface convexly protruding toward the outer side of the housing.

The air conditioner of the present invention may further include a partition plate which forms a plurality of slits and is disposed between the heat exchanger and the housing.

The plurality of slits of the partition plate may be arranged in locations corresponding to the plurality of slits formed in the first air flow unit.

The blower module may include a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality of blower modules may be arranged at least in a row. The blower module may include a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality browser modules may be arranged to be spaced at a preset distance from each other.

The second air flow unit may include a left slit and a right slit which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity, and are formed in a left rear and a right rear of the housing, respectively. The left and the right slit may face a front of the housing.

An air exhaust passage configured to discharge the pulse jet from the left slit and the right slit may be provided between the blower modules.

At least one manifold configured to communicate with adjacent blower modules may be disposed between the adjacent blower modules.

A plurality of manifolds configured to communicate with adjacent blower modules may be disposed to be spaced from each other to a longitudinal direction between the adjacent blower modules.

Piezoelectric diaphragms mat be arranged to be spaced to a longitudinal direction in pairs in each of the plurality of blower modules.

The blower module may include a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality of blower modules may be arranged in a matrix form.

The one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms may have outer shapes corresponding to an inner surface shape of the housing.

The one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms may have any one shape among a circular shape, an elliptic shape, and a tetragonal shape.

The housing may have an aspect ratio that a height size is larger than a width size.

The at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms may be disposed to be perpendicular to a face corresponding to the heat exchanger.

Further, to obtain the above-described object, the present invention is to provide an air conditioner including: a case of which a heat exchanger is disposed in an inner side; and a blower module disposed in the case, and configured to discharge a pulse jet for blowing through a front face of the case. The blowing module may include a housing in which a plurality of air flow units are formed, and a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms disposed to be spaced in parallel to each other in a row so as to form a plurality of cavities in an inner side of the housing. The plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms change air pressure in the plurality of cavities and discharge the pulse jet to a side of the heat exchanger through the plurality of air flow units according to periodic deformation of the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms to opposite phases to piezoelectric diaphragms adjacent thereto.

Further, to obtain the above-described object, the present invention is to provide an air conditioner including: a case of which a heat exchanger is disposed in an inner side; and a blower module including a cavity partitioned with the heat exchanger in rear of the heat exchanger, and at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms configured to change a volume of the cavity. The one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms discharge the pulse jet to a side of the heat exchanger from an inside of the cavity according to periodic deformation of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms to opposite phases.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an indoor unit of a wall-mounted air conditioner in the related art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an inner structure of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view explaining an operation of a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms disposed in an inside of a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional illustrating a state in which the surrounding air flows into a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which blower modules are arranged in two rows as a modification example of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an example that a plurality of holes of a blower module are formed in front of a housing other than a plurality of slits.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the surrounding air flows into a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the full front blowing type air conditioner taken along line X-X of FIG. 13.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views when viewed in a front and a rear of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 a perspective view illustrating a plurality of blower modules disposed in an inside of a full front blowing type air conditioner and a plurality of manifolds arranged to a longitudinal direction between the blower modules according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of the plurality of blower modules and the plurality of manifolds illustrated in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the blower module illustrated in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a manifold of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

The present invention will be more apparent through detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, for understanding of the present invention, the accompanying drawings may be illustrated not in an actual scale but sizes in portions of configuration components are exaggeratedly illustrated.

An air conditioner of the present invention relates to an indoor unit of a full front blowing type air conditioner, and may be an air conditioner for cooling only, an air conditioner for heating only, or an air conditioner for both heating and cooling.

Further, the present invention may dispose a heat exchanger to correspond to approximately an entire area of a front face of a case and dispose a blower module configured to discharge a pulse jet with respect to an entire surface of the heat exchanger in rear of the heat exchanger, so that blowing from the entire area of the front face of the case is obtained. Therefore, the present invention may discharge a cooling air or a heating air from a wide blowing area as compared with a wall-mounted type air conditioner in the related art, and provide a comfortable feeling to a user due to blowing in a low flow rate as compared with the related art.

Hereinafter, full front blowing type air conditioners according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustrating an outside and an inside of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively, FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view explaining an operation of a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms disposed in an inside of a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module and a state in which the surrounding air flows into the blower module in a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which blower modules are arranged in two rows as a modification example of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an example that a plurality of holes of a blower module are formed in front of a housing other than a plurality of slits.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a case 110, a heat exchanger 120, a blower module 130, and a partition plate 150.

The case 110 forms an outer appearance of an indoor unit of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100, and the heat exchanger 120, the blower module 130, and the partition plate 150 are disposed in an inner side of the case. Further, the case 110 includes a plurality of air outlets 111 and pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b.

The plurality of air outlets 111 guide the air, which passes through the heat exchanger 120 and temperature thereof is changed, to be discharged to the outside of the front face of the case 110.

The plurality of air outlets 111 are arranged to be spaced in the whole front face so as to occupy most of the front face of the case 110 so that the main air current may be blown through the entire area of the front face. In this case, the plurality of air outlets 111 have shapes of slits arranged to be spaced as illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, the plurality of air outlets 111 may have circular holes other than the slit shapes.

The plurality of first air inlets 113a are formed over portions of top and rear faces of the case 110, and the plurality of second air inlets 113b are formed over portions of bottom and rear faces of the case.

The pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b serve as passages which allow the external air to flow in the inside of the case 100. Thus, in order for a significant amount of air to flow in the inside of the case 110, the pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b are formed at intervals to a longitudinal direction of the case 110 from one side to the other side of the case 110.

On the other hand, the shape of the case 110 may be determined according to a shape or arrangement of the blower module 130 disposed in the inside of the case. For example, the case 110 is formed to have a height, in response to the blow modules 130 disposed in the inside of the case 110 being arranged in multi rows, larger than a height in response to the blower modules 130 being arranged in a row to a lateral direction. The case 110 may be formed to correspond to the shape of the blower module 130, and the longitudinal cross-section of the blower module 130 is formed approximately in a tetragonal shape, a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or a partially rounded shape. The case 110 may be formed to correspond to the shape or arrangement of the heat exchanger 120.

The heat exchanger 120 may form a refrigerant cycle, in which a refrigerant is circulated, together with a compressor (not shown) and a condenser (not shown).

The heat exchanger 120 is disposed adjacent to the plurality of air outlets 111 in the case 110. In this case, the heat exchanger 120 may have an area corresponding to approximately the entire area of the front face of the case 110.

Under the arrangement, the pulse jet discharged to a side of the heat exchanger 120 from the blower module 130 disposed in rear of the heat exchanger 120 passes through the heat exchanger 120 so that the temperature of the pulse jet is changed, and is discharged to the outside of the case 110 through the air inlets 111 of the case 110.

Further, since the heat exchanger 120 is formed to have the area corresponding to the entire area of the front face of the case 110, a blowing area toward the front face of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 through the pulse jet discharged by the blower module 130 can be maximized.

The blower module 130 generates the pulse jet and continuously discharges the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120. Such a blower module 130 includes a housing 131, a first air flow unit 133, a second air flow unit 135, and a piezoelectric diaphragm 137.

The housing 131 is located in rear of the heat exchanger 120, and a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are disposed to be spaced at intervals in an inner side of the housing 131. In this case, a plurality of cavities 139 formed by the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are provided in the inner side of the housing 131. In this case, the plurality of cavities 139 are provided in the inner side of the housing 131, and thus the plurality of cavities 139 are partitioned with the heat exchanger 120.

Further, the plurality of cavities 139 are configured of n−1 in response to the number of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 being n.

On the other hand, the housing 131, of which three piezoelectric diaphragms 137 or more are disposed in the inner side and two cavities 139 or more are formed in the inner side, has been exemplarily described, but this is not limited thereto. The housing 131, of which a pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are disposed in the inner side and one cavity 139 is formed in the inner side, may be employed.

A front face of the housing 131, in which the first air flow unit 133 is formed, has an area corresponding to an area of the heat exchanger 120.

Further, the shape of the front face of the housing 131 may be changed according to the arrangement of the heat exchanger 120. That is, in response to the plate-shaped single heat exchanger 120 being approximately vertically disposed as illustrated in FIG. 2, the front face of the housing 131 has a plane. Alternatively, in response to a plurality of heat exchangers 220 being continuously disposed to maintain a predetermined angle to each other as illustrated in FIG. 9, the front face of the housing 131 may be formed to convexly protrude and to be adjacent to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

The first air flow unit 133 is formed in the front face of the housing 131, and is a passage for discharging the pulse jet to the front of the housing 131 from the cavity 139. The first air flow unit 133 includes a plurality of slits having a predetermined length. At this time, the plurality of slits are formed to a lateral direction, and are distributed to correspond to the plurality of cavities 139, respectively.

The second air flow unit 135 includes an upper slit 135a formed in the upper rear of the housing 131 to a longitudinal direction of the housing 131, and a lower slit 135b formed in the lower rear of the housing 131 to the longitudinal direction of the housing 131. The upper slit 135a and the lower slit 135b are disposed to face the front of the housing 131 so as to discharge the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

In response to a phase of the piezoelectric diaphragm 137 being periodically changed, the pulse jet are discharged from the cavity 139 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 according to reduction in a volume of the cavity 139, and on the contrary, the surrounding air of the housing 131 flows into the cavity 139 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 according to expansion of the volume of the cavity 139.

Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d are disposed at intervals, and cavities 139a, 139b, and 139c are formed between adjacent piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d.

Each of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d includes a ferroelectric thin film (for example, piezoelectric translator (PZT)). In this time, the phase of each of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d is periodically changed to an opposite phase (180 degrees) according to an externally applied voltage, and thus the shapes of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d are deformed so that one portion of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d convexly protrudes toward one side and the other portion of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d convexly protrude the other side opposite to the one side.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, phases of adjacent first and second piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b and phases of adjacent third and fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137c and 137d disposed in the left thereof are simultaneously changed to opposite phases to each other so as to reduce the volumes of first and third cavities 139a and 139c. Thus, pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are increased, and the air existing in the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 120 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 of the housing 131 at a fast flow rate. At this time, the stream discharged through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 is called the above-mentioned ‘pulse jet’. Such a pulse jet may provide a comfortable feeling to the user due to a slow flow rate.

On the other hand, in response to the phases of the first and second piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b and the third and fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137c and 137d being changed to the opposite phases to each other again, the volumes of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c disposed between the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b, and 137c and 137d are increased. Thus, the pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are lowered, and the surrounding air of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c, which are under atmosphere pressure relatively higher than pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c, flow into the first and third cavities 139a and 139c through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135. At this time, a volume of a second cavity 139b formed between the second and third piezoelectric diaphragms 137b and 137c is reduced according to change in the phases of the second and third piezoelectric diaphragms 137b and 137c, and the air of the second cavity 139b is discharged towards the heat exchanger 120 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 (see FIG. 5).

Thus, the first to fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d change the volumes and pressures of the first to third cavities 139a to 139c through the periodic phase change, and continuously discharge the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

Referring to FIG. 5, the partition plate 150 is disposed between the heat exchanger 120 and the blower module 130, and a plurality of slits 151 are formed in the partition plate 150 so as to allow the pulse jet discharged from the front face of the housing 131 to be passed through. The plurality of slits 151 are formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of slits in the first air flow unit 133, respectively, and thus interference by the partition plate 150 is minimized in response to the pulse jet discharged from the first air flow unit 133 being moved to the heat exchanger 120.

Referring to FIG. 6, in response to the surrounding air of the housing 131 being introduced to the first air flow unit 133 while the volume of the cavity 139 is increased, the partition plate 150 prevents a portion of the pulse jet of which temperature is changed through the heat exchanger 120 from flowing into the first air flow unit 133 again through the plurality of slits 151 of the partition plate 150. Thus, reflow-in of the air (cooling air or heating air), of which the temperature is already changed through the heat exchanger 120, to the first air flow unit 133 may be prevented, and degradation in cooling or heating efficiency of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 may be minimized.

The above-described full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention that the single blower module 130 is disposed in the case 110 is exemplified, but this is not limited thereto, and it is possible to dispose blower modules 130 in two rows as illustrated in FIG. 7. Further, it is possible to dispose blower modules 130 in three rows or more, and in this case, the size of the case 110 may be determined by considering the number of disposed blower modules 130.

The above-described housing 131 that the first air flow unit 133 includes a plurality of slits is exemplified, but this is not limited thereto, and the first air flow unit 133 may include a plurality of circular holes as illustrated in FIG. 8. In this case, although not shown in drawings, the partition plate 150 may include a plurality of circular holes like the above-described first air flow unit 133 other than the plurality of slits. In this case, the circular holes of the partition plate 150 may be formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of circular holes of the first air flow unit 133.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module and a state in which a surrounding air flows into a blower module in a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

A full front blowing type air conditioner 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

Most of configuration in the full front blowing type air conditioner 200 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, and merely, an arrangement of a heat exchanger 220 and shapes of a portion of a housing 231 of a blower module 230 and a partition plate 250 according to the arrangement of the heat exchanger 220 are changed. Therefore, hereinafter, description for the same configuration of the air conditioner in the second embodiment as that of the air conditioner in the first embodiment will be omitted, and focused description on the different configuration will be made.

The heat exchanger 220 includes first to third portions 221, 222, and 220 which are disposed an upper side, a middle side, and a lower side, respectively. In this case, referring to FIG. 9, the second portion 222 is substantially vertically disposed, and the first and third portions 221 and 223 are disposed in the upper side and the lower side of the second portion 222 and disposed to have a predetermined angle with respect to the second portion 222 so that the heat exchanger 220 maintains the shape approximately protruding forward.

Referring to FIG. 10, a front face of the housing 231 of the blower module 230 is formed to protrude toward a rear of the heat exchanger 220 according to an arrangement of the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223 constituting the heat exchanger 220. In this case, the front face of the housing 231 is curvedly formed to have a predetermined curvature. However, the shape of the front face of the housing 231 is not limited to the curved shape, and the front face of the housing 231 may have three planes corresponding to the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223.

A plurality of slits constituting a first air flow unit 233 formed in the front face of the housing 231 are uniformly distributed with respect to the front face of the housing 231, and thus the pulse jet from cavities formed between a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 237 may be discharged over all the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223.

A partition plate 250 may be disposed between the blower module 230 and the heat exchanger 220, and may be curvedly formed to have a predetermined shape corresponding to shapes of the heat exchanger and the front face of the housing 231, for example, to have a predetermined curvature as illustrated in FIG. 10.

A plurality of slits formed in the partition plate 250 are formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of slit constituting the first air flow unit 233, and thus the pulse jet sprayed from the cavity is discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 220 with the state in which the interference by the partition plate is minimized.

In the blower module 230, according to the periodic change of the phases of the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 237, the pulse jet is discharged from cavity through the first air flow unit 233 and second air flow units 235a and 235b formed in the housing 230, and on the contrary, the surrounding air of the housing 230 flows into the inside of the cavity through the first air flow unit 233 and the second air flow units 235a and 235b.

Referring to FIG. 11, the air being introduced into the cavity, the partition plate 250 prevents the air of which temperature is changed through the side of the heat exchanger 220 from flowing into the cavity of the housing 231 again, and thus the cooling or heating efficiency may be improved.

On the other hand, in FIGS. 9 to 11, the reference numeral 211 denotes an air outlet of the case 210, and the reference numerals 213a and 213b denote air inlets of the case 210.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

A full front blowing type air conditioner 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

Most of configuration in the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 according to the third embodiment is the same as that of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, and merely, a shape of a blower module 330, that is, shapes of a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 and a longitudinal cross-sectional shape of a housing 331 in which the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 are built in are different from those in the first embodiment.

The plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 have a rectangular shape in which a longitudinal length L2 is approximately larger than a lateral length L1, and the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the housing 331 also has a rectangular shape to correspond to shapes of the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337. In this case, the heat exchanger 320 may also have an area approximately corresponding to an area of a front face of the housing 331.

Like this, in response to the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 and the housing 331 being formed so that the lateral lengths are smaller than the longitudinal lengths, a front blowing area of the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 may be increased in a vertical direction as compared with the housing fabricated in a circular shape or a square shape. Further, a size of the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 may be entirely slimly maintained.

In FIG. 12, the reference numeral 310 denotes a case, the reference numeral 333 denotes a first air flow unit formed in the housing 331, and reference numerals 335a and 335b denote second air flow units formed in the housing 331.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the full front blowing type air conditioner taken along line X-X of FIG. 13.

Referring to FIG. 13, a full front blowing type air conditioner 400 according to a fourth embodiment includes a case 410, a heat exchanger 420 disposed in an inner side of the case 410, and a plurality of blower modules 430a to 430e in rear of the heat exchanger 420.

Like the case 110 of the above-described full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, an air outlet and an air inlet are provided in the case 410. However, for clarity of an arrangement of the plurality blower modules 430a to 430e in the case 410, the air outlet and the air inlet formed in the case 410 will be omitted in FIG. 13.

The plurality of blower modules 430a to 430e are integrally formed by a frame 436, and are disposed at intervals to a lateral direction. In this case, air exhaust passages P1 to P4 are formed between the blower modules 430a to 430e adjacent to each other. In this case, the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 may be formed to have a width smaller than that of a cavity 439 disposed in the inner side of the housing 431 in each of the blower modules 430a to 430e.

Referring to FIG. 14, each of the blower modules 430a to 430e includes the housing 431 independently maintained, a pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b disposed at intervals in the housing 431, and the cavity 439 formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b.

A first air flow unit 433 facing the heat exchanger 420 is formed in a front face of the housing 431 of each of the blower modules 430a to 430e, and the first air flow unit 433 includes a plurality of slits approximately formed to a lateral direction and arranged to a longitudinal direction.

A second air flow unit 435 includes a left slit 435a longitudinally formed in a left rear of each blower module 430a to 430e, and a right slit 435b longitudinally formed in a right rear of each blower module 430a to 430e.

The air exhaust passages P1 to P4 formed between the blower modules 430a to 430e are surrounded with piezoelectric diaphragms facing to each other with the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 being interposed therebetween among pairs of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b provided adjacent blower modules 430a to 430e. Thus, the pulse jets discharged from the left and right slits 435a and 435b are discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 420 through the air exhaust passages P1 to P4.

In the fourth embodiment, while phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b provided in each of blower modules 430a to 430e are periodically changed to opposite phases to each other, the pulse jet is discharged from the cavity 439 through the first and second air flow units 433 and 435 according to volume change of the cavity 439. At this time, the pressures of the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 are lowered, and thus the air in the case 410 in rear of the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 flow into the air exhaust passages P1 to P4. Thus, a sufficient amount of air may be supplied to the side of the heat exchanger 420.

On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the plurality of blower modules which are arranged to be spaced in a row to the lateral direction are exemplarily described, but the arrangement of the blower modules is not limited thereto. The plurality of blower modules may be arranged in two rows, or in a matrix form in which N×M blower modules are disposed in the lateral and longitudinal directions.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views when viewed in a front and a rear of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 17 a perspective view illustrating a plurality of blower modules and a plurality of manifolds arranged between the blower modules to a longitudinal direction, FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of the plurality of blower modules and the plurality of manifolds, FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the blower module, and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from the manifold.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a full front blowing type air conditioner 500 according to a fifth embodiment includes a case 510, a heat exchanger 520 disposed in the case 510, and a blower module 530 disposed in rear of the heat exchanger 520 in the case 510.

The case 510 forms a plurality of air outlets 511 so as to allow the pulse jet to be discharged to the outside of the case 510 through the heat exchanger 520 as illustrated in FIG. 15. The plurality of air outlets 511 include slits formed to the lateral direction and arranged to the longitudinal direction. The plurality of air outlets are arranged by considering an arrangement of a plurality of manifolds 570 located between the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c, which is to be described later. The arrangement of the plurality of manifolds 570 will be described later.

Further, the case 510 forms a plurality of air inlet 513 in a rear face of the case 510 as illustrated in FIG. 16. The plurality of air inlets 513 include slits formed to a lateral direction and arranged to a longitudinal direction like the plurality of air outlets 511. In this case, in response to the case 510 being installed to a wall, so as to allow the air to smoothly flow into the plurality of air inlets 513, the case 510 may be installed so that the rear of the case 510 is spaced from the wall at intervals.

Referring to FIG. 17, each of the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c includes the housing 531 having a thin thickness and formed to be elongated along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b disposed to be spaced in the inner side of the housing 531 in pair and arranged to be spaced in multiple rows to a longitudinal direction.

An air flow unit 533 including a single slit is formed along a front face of the housing 531 to the longitudinal direction. In this case, in each of the above-described housings 131, 231, 331, and 431 of the full front blowing type air conditioners 100, 200, 300, and 400 according to the first to fourth embodiments, the first air flow unit is formed in the front face and the second air flow units are provided in the upper rear and lower rear of the housing or the left rear and right rear of the housing. However, in the housing 531 of the fifth embodiment, the air flow unit 533 is formed only in the front of the housing 531.

Referring to FIG. 18, a plurality of communication holes 531c which communicate with both ends of the plurality of manifolds 570 are formed in the left and right of the housing 531.

The plurality of manifolds 570 are approximately arranged to the lateral direction with respect to the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c disposed to the longitudinal direction. In this case, the plurality of manifolds 570 are disposed to be spaced from each other at intervals.

Further, a slit 571 configured to discharge the pulse jet is formed along a front face of each of the plurality of manifolds 570 to the lateral direction. Both sides of the plurality of manifolds 570 formed in the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c guide the pulse jet discharged from the blower modules 530a to 530c, and discharge the pulse jet to the slits 571.

Referring to FIG. 19, according to periodic change in the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b to opposite directions, that is, to the direction facing each other or the direction away from each other, the pulse jet is alternately discharged to the air flow unit 533 formed on the front face and the plurality of manifold 570.

In response to the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b being changed to the direction facing each other, a volume of a first cavity 539a formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b is reduced, and thus the air existing in the inside of the first cavity 539a is discharged through the air flow unit 533. At this time, volumes of second and third cavities 539b and 539c formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b and both sidewalls of the housing 531 are increased, and the air flows into the insides of the plurality of manifolds 570 and the second and third cavities 539b and 539c through the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570.

On the contrary, in response to the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b being changed to the direction away from each other, volumes of the second and third cavities 539b and 539c are reduced, and thus the air existing in the insides of the second and third cavities 539b and 539c and the plurality of manifolds 570 are discharged through the slits 571. In this case, the volume of the first cavity 539a is increased, and the surrounding air flows into the first cavity 539a through the air flow unit 533.

FIG. 20 illustrates a state in which the pulse jet is discharged through the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570. In this case, the pulse jet is discharged from the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570 at a fast flow rate, and thus air pressure in the periphery of the slits 571 is lowered. Thus, after the air flows into the air inlet 513 of the case 510, the air is sucked into the air exhaust passage 573 formed between the plurality of manifolds 570, and then the air is discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 520 together with the pulse jet. Therefore, the full front blowing type air conditioner 500 in the fifth embodiment may also supply a sufficient flow of air to the heat exchanger 520.

While the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b are periodically changed to the opposite phases to each other, the pulse jet is discharged to the air flow unit 533 of the housing 531 and the slit 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570.

As described above, the full front blowing type air conditioners 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 according to the first to fifth embodiments may maximize a blowing area to considerably improve the cooling or heating efficiency, and may continuously discharge the air at a low flow rate to implement comfortable blowing without an unpleasant feeling of the use.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present inventive concept. The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of blowing a pulse jet from a portion corresponding to an entire area of a front face of the air conditioner.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention will be more apparent through detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, for understanding of the present invention, the accompanying drawings may be illustrated not in an actual scale but sizes in portions of configuration components are exaggeratedly illustrated.

An air conditioner of the present invention relates to an indoor unit of a full front blowing type air conditioner, and may be an air conditioner for cooling only, an air conditioner for heating only, or an air conditioner for both heating and cooling.

Further, the present invention may dispose a heat exchanger to correspond to approximately an entire area of a front face of a case and dispose a blower module configured to discharge a pulse jet with respect to an entire surface of the heat exchanger in rear of the heat exchanger, so that blowing from the entire area of the front face of the case is obtained. Therefore, the present invention may discharge a cooling air or a heating air from a wide blowing area as compared with a wall-mounted type air conditioner in the related art, and provide a comfortable feeling to a user due to blowing in a low flow rate as compared with the related art.

Hereinafter, full front blowing type air conditioners according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustrating an outside and an inside of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively, FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view explaining an operation of a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms disposed in an inside of a blower module of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module and a state in which the surrounding air flows into the blower module in a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which blower modules are arranged in two rows as a modification example of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an example that a plurality of holes of a blower module are formed in front of a housing other than a plurality of slits.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a case 110, a heat exchanger 120, a blower module 130, and a partition plate 150.

The case 110 forms an outer appearance of an indoor unit of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100, and the heat exchanger 120, the blower module 130, and the partition plate 150 are disposed in an inner side of the case. Further, the case 110 includes a plurality of air outlets 111 and pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b.

The plurality of air outlets 111 guide the air, which passes through the heat exchanger 120 and temperature thereof is changed, to be discharged to the outside of the front face of the case 110.

The plurality of air outlets 111 are arranged to be spaced in the whole front face so as to occupy most of the front face of the case 110 so that the main air current may be blown through the entire area of the front face. In this case, the plurality of air outlets 111 have shapes of slits arranged to be spaced as illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, the plurality of air outlets 111 may have circular holes other than the slit shapes.

The plurality of first air inlets 113a are formed over portions of top and rear faces of the case 110, and the plurality of second air inlets 113b are formed over portions of bottom and rear faces of the case.

The pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b serve as passages which allow the external air to flow in the inside of the case 100. Thus, in order for a significant amount of air to flow in the inside of the case 110, the pluralities of first and second air inlets 113a and 113b are formed at intervals to a longitudinal direction of the case 110 from one side to the other side of the case 110.

On the other hand, the shape of the case 110 may be determined according to a shape or arrangement of the blower module 130 disposed in the inside of the case. For example, the case 110 is formed to have a height, in response to the blow modules 130 disposed in the inside of the case 110 being arranged in multi rows, larger than a height in response to the blower modules 130 being arranged in a row to a lateral direction. The case 110 may be formed to correspond to the shape of the blower module 130, and the longitudinal cross-section of the blower module 130 is formed approximately in a tetragonal shape, a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or a partially rounded shape. The case 110 may be formed to correspond to the shape or arrangement of the heat exchanger 120.

The heat exchanger 120 may form a refrigerant cycle, in which a refrigerant is circulated, together with a compressor (not shown) and a condenser (not shown).

The heat exchanger 120 is disposed adjacent to the plurality of air outlets 111 in the case 110. In this case, the heat exchanger 120 may have an area corresponding to approximately the entire area of the front face of the case 110.

Under the arrangement, the pulse jet discharged to a side of the heat exchanger 120 from the blower module 130 disposed in rear of the heat exchanger 120 passes through the heat exchanger 120 so that the temperature of the pulse jet is changed, and is discharged to the outside of the case 110 through the air inlets 111 of the case 110.

Further, since the heat exchanger 120 is formed to have the area corresponding to the entire area of the front face of the case 110, a blowing area toward the front face of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 through the pulse jet discharged by the blower module 130 can be maximized.

The blower module 130 generates the pulse jet and continuously discharges the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120. Such a blower module 130 includes a housing 131, a first air flow unit 133, a second air flow unit 135, and a piezoelectric diaphragm 137.

The housing 131 is located in rear of the heat exchanger 120, and a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are disposed to be spaced at intervals in an inner side of the housing 131. In this case, a plurality of cavities 139 formed by the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are provided in the inner side of the housing 131. In this case, the plurality of cavities 139 are provided in the inner side of the housing 131, and thus the plurality of cavities 139 are partitioned with the heat exchanger 120.

Further, the plurality of cavities 139 are configured of n−1 in response to the number of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 being n.

On the other hand, the housing 131, of which three piezoelectric diaphragms 137 or more are disposed in the inner side and two cavities 139 or more are formed in the inner side, has been exemplarily described, but this is not limited thereto. The housing 131, of which a pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 137 are disposed in the inner side and one cavity 139 is formed in the inner side, may be employed.

A front face of the housing 131, in which the first air flow unit 133 is formed, has an area corresponding to an area of the heat exchanger 120.

Further, the shape of the front face of the housing 131 may be changed according to the arrangement of the heat exchanger 120. That is, in response to the plate-shaped single heat exchanger 120 being approximately vertically disposed as illustrated in FIG. 2, the front face of the housing 131 has a plane. Alternatively, in response to a plurality of heat exchangers 220 being continuously disposed to maintain a predetermined angle to each other as illustrated in FIG. 9, the front face of the housing 131 may be formed to convexly protrude and to be adjacent to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

The first air flow unit 133 is formed in the front face of the housing 131, and is a passage for discharging the pulse jet to the front of the housing 131 from the cavity 139. The first air flow unit 133 includes a plurality of slits having a predetermined length. At this time, the plurality of slits are formed to a lateral direction, and are distributed to correspond to the plurality of cavities 139, respectively.

The second air flow unit 135 includes an upper slit 135a formed in the upper rear of the housing 131 to a longitudinal direction of the housing 131, and a lower slit 135b formed in the lower rear of the housing 131 to the longitudinal direction of the housing 131. The upper slit 135a and the lower slit 135b are disposed to face the front of the housing 131 so as to discharge the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

In response to a phase of the piezoelectric diaphragm 137 being periodically changed, the pulse jet are discharged from the cavity 139 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 according to reduction in a volume of the cavity 139, and on the contrary, the surrounding air of the housing 131 flows into the cavity 139 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 according to expansion of the volume of the cavity 139.

Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d are disposed at intervals, and cavities 139a, 139b, and 139c are formed between adjacent piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d.

Each of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d includes a ferroelectric thin film (for example, piezoelectric translator (PZT)). In this time, the phase of each of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d is periodically changed to an opposite phase (180 degrees) according to an externally applied voltage, and thus the shapes of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d are deformed so that one portion of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d convexly protrudes toward one side and the other portion of the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d convexly protrude the other side opposite to the one side.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, phases of adjacent first and second piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b and phases of adjacent third and fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137c and 137d disposed in the left thereof are simultaneously changed to opposite phases to each other so as to reduce the volumes of first and third cavities 139a and 139c. Thus, pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are increased, and the air existing in the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 120 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 of the housing 131 at a fast flow rate. At this time, the stream discharged through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 is called the above-mentioned ‘pulse jet’. Such a pulse jet may provide a comfortable feeling to the user due to a slow flow rate.

On the other hand, in response to the phases of the first and second piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b and the third and fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137c and 137d being changed to the opposite phases to each other again, the volumes of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c disposed between the piezoelectric diaphragms 137a and 137b, and 137c and 137d are increased. Thus, the pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c are lowered, and the surrounding air of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c, which are under atmosphere pressure relatively higher than pressures of the first and third cavities 139a and 139c, flow into the first and third cavities 139a and 139c through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135. At this time, a volume of a second cavity 139b formed between the second and third piezoelectric diaphragms 137b and 137c is reduced according to change in the phases of the second and third piezoelectric diaphragms 137b and 137c, and the air of the second cavity 139b is discharged towards the heat exchanger 120 through the first and second air flow units 133 and 135 (see FIG. 5).

Thus, the first to fourth piezoelectric diaphragms 137a to 137d change the volumes and pressures of the first to third cavities 139a to 139c through the periodic phase change, and continuously discharge the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger 120.

Referring to FIG. 5, the partition plate 150 is disposed between the heat exchanger 120 and the blower module 130, and a plurality of slits 151 are formed in the partition plate 150 so as to allow the pulse jet discharged from the front face of the housing 131 to be passed through. The plurality of slits 151 are formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of slits in the first air flow unit 133, respectively, and thus interference by the partition plate 150 is minimized in response to the pulse jet discharged from the first air flow unit 133 being moved to the heat exchanger 120.

Referring to FIG. 6, in response to the surrounding air of the housing 131 being introduced to the first air flow unit 133 while the volume of the cavity 139 is increased, the partition plate 150 prevents a portion of the pulse jet of which temperature is changed through the heat exchanger 120 from flowing into the first air flow unit 133 again through the plurality of slits 151 of the partition plate 150. Thus, reflow-in of the air (cooling air or heating air), of which the temperature is already changed through the heat exchanger 120, to the first air flow unit 133 may be prevented, and degradation in cooling or heating efficiency of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 may be minimized.

The above-described full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention that the single blower module 130 is disposed in the case 110 is exemplified, but this is not limited thereto, and it is possible to dispose blower modules 130 in two rows as illustrated in FIG. 7. Further, it is possible to dispose blower modules 130 in three rows or more, and in this case, the size of the case 110 may be determined by considering the number of disposed blower modules 130.

The above-described housing 131 that the first air flow unit 133 includes a plurality of slits is exemplified, but this is not limited thereto, and the first air flow unit 133 may include a plurality of circular holes as illustrated in FIG. 8. In this case, although not shown in drawings, the partition plate 150 may include a plurality of circular holes like the above-described first air flow unit 133 other than the plurality of slits. In this case, the circular holes of the partition plate 150 may be formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of circular holes of the first air flow unit 133.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from a blower module and a state in which a surrounding air flows into a blower module in a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

A full front blowing type air conditioner 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

Most of configuration in the full front blowing type air conditioner 200 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, and merely, an arrangement of a heat exchanger 220 and shapes of a portion of a housing 231 of a blower module 230 and a partition plate 250 according to the arrangement of the heat exchanger 220 are changed. Therefore, hereinafter, description for the same configuration of the air conditioner in the second embodiment as that of the air conditioner in the first embodiment will be omitted, and focused description on the different configuration will be made.

The heat exchanger 220 includes first to third portions 221, 222, and 220 which are disposed an upper side, a middle side, and a lower side, respectively. In this case, referring to FIG. 9, the second portion 222 is substantially vertically disposed, and the first and third portions 221 and 223 are disposed in the upper side and the lower side of the second portion 222 and disposed to have a predetermined angle with respect to the second portion 222 so that the heat exchanger 220 maintains the shape approximately protruding forward.

Referring to FIG. 10, a front face of the housing 231 of the blower module 230 is formed to protrude toward a rear of the heat exchanger 220 according to an arrangement of the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223 constituting the heat exchanger 220. In this case, the front face of the housing 231 is curvedly formed to have a predetermined curvature. However, the shape of the front face of the housing 231 is not limited to the curved shape, and the front face of the housing 231 may have three planes corresponding to the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223.

A plurality of slits constituting a first air flow unit 233 formed in the front face of the housing 231 are uniformly distributed with respect to the front face of the housing 231, and thus the pulse jet from cavities formed between a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 237 may be discharged over all the first to third portions 221, 222, and 223.

A partition plate 250 may be disposed between the blower module 230 and the heat exchanger 220, and may be curvedly formed to have a predetermined shape corresponding to shapes of the heat exchanger and the front face of the housing 231, for example, to have a predetermined curvature as illustrated in FIG. 10.

A plurality of slits formed in the partition plate 250 are formed in locations corresponding to the plurality of slit constituting the first air flow unit 233, and thus the pulse jet sprayed from the cavity is discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 220 with the state in which the interference by the partition plate is minimized.

In the blower module 230, according to the periodic change of the phases of the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 237, the pulse jet is discharged from cavity through the first air flow unit 233 and second air flow units 235a and 235b formed in the housing 230, and on the contrary, the surrounding air of the housing 230 flows into the inside of the cavity through the first air flow unit 233 and the second air flow units 235a and 235b.

Referring to FIG. 11, the air being introduced into the cavity, the partition plate 250 prevents the air of which temperature is changed through the side of the heat exchanger 220 from flowing into the cavity of the housing 231 again, and thus the cooling or heating efficiency may be improved.

On the other hand, in FIGS. 9 to 11, the reference numeral 211 denotes an air outlet of the case 210, and the reference numerals 213a and 213b denote air inlets of the case 210.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

A full front blowing type air conditioner 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

Most of configuration in the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 according to the third embodiment is the same as that of the full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, and merely, a shape of a blower module 330, that is, shapes of a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 and a longitudinal cross-sectional shape of a housing 331 in which the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 are built in are different from those in the first embodiment.

The plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 have a rectangular shape in which a longitudinal length L2 is approximately larger than a lateral length L1, and the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the housing 331 also has a rectangular shape to correspond to shapes of the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337. In this case, the heat exchanger 320 may also have an area approximately corresponding to an area of a front face of the housing 331.

Like this, in response to the plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 337 and the housing 331 being formed so that the lateral lengths are smaller than the longitudinal lengths, a front blowing area of the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 may be increased in a vertical direction as compared with the housing fabricated in a circular shape or a square shape. Further, a size of the full front blowing type air conditioner 300 may be entirely slimly maintained.

In FIG. 12, the reference numeral 310 denotes a case, the reference numeral 333 denotes a first air flow unit formed in the housing 331, and reference numerals 335a and 335b denote second air flow units formed in the housing 331.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the full front blowing type air conditioner taken along line X-X of FIG. 13.

Referring to FIG. 13, a full front blowing type air conditioner 400 according to a fourth embodiment includes a case 410, a heat exchanger 420 disposed in an inner side of the case 410, and a plurality of blower modules 430a to 430e in rear of the heat exchanger 420.

Like the case 110 of the above-described full front blowing type air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, an air outlet and an air inlet are provided in the case 410. However, for clarity of an arrangement of the plurality blower modules 430a to 430e in the case 410, the air outlet and the air inlet formed in the case 410 will be omitted in FIG. 13.

The plurality of blower modules 430a to 430e are integrally formed by a frame 436, and are disposed at intervals to a lateral direction. In this case, air exhaust passages P1 to P4 are formed between the blower modules 430a to 430e adjacent to each other. In this case, the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 may be formed to have a width smaller than that of a cavity 439 disposed in the inner side of the housing 431 in each of the blower modules 430a to 430e.

Referring to FIG. 14, each of the blower modules 430a to 430e includes the housing 431 independently maintained, a pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b disposed at intervals in the housing 431, and the cavity 439 formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b.

A first air flow unit 433 facing the heat exchanger 420 is formed in a front face of the housing 431 of each of the blower modules 430a to 430e, and the first air flow unit 433 includes a plurality of slits approximately formed to a lateral direction and arranged to a longitudinal direction.

A second air flow unit 435 includes a left slit 435a longitudinally formed in a left rear of each blower module 430a to 430e, and a right slit 435b longitudinally formed in a right rear of each blower module 430a to 430e.

The air exhaust passages P1 to P4 formed between the blower modules 430a to 430e are surrounded with piezoelectric diaphragms facing to each other with the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 being interposed therebetween among pairs of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b provided adjacent blower modules 430a to 430e. Thus, the pulse jets discharged from the left and right slits 435a and 435b are discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 420 through the air exhaust passages P1 to P4.

In the fourth embodiment, while phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 437a and 437b provided in each of blower modules 430a to 430e are periodically changed to opposite phases to each other, the pulse jet is discharged from the cavity 439 through the first and second air flow units 433 and 435 according to volume change of the cavity 439. At this time, the pressures of the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 are lowered, and thus the air in the case 410 in rear of the air exhaust passages P1 to P4 flow into the air exhaust passages P1 to P4. Thus, a sufficient amount of air may be supplied to the side of the heat exchanger 420.

On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the plurality of blower modules which are arranged to be spaced in a row to the lateral direction are exemplarily described, but the arrangement of the blower modules is not limited thereto. The plurality of blower modules may be arranged in two rows, or in a matrix form in which N×M blower modules are disposed in the lateral and longitudinal directions.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views when viewed in a front and a rear of a full front blowing type air conditioner according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 17 a perspective view illustrating a plurality of blower modules and a plurality of manifolds arranged between the blower modules to a longitudinal direction, FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of the plurality of blower modules and the plurality of manifolds, FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the blower module, and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a pulse jet is discharged from the manifold.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a full front blowing type air conditioner 500 according to a fifth embodiment includes a case 510, a heat exchanger 520 disposed in the case 510, and a blower module 530 disposed in rear of the heat exchanger 520 in the case 510.

The case 510 forms a plurality of air outlets 511 so as to allow the pulse jet to be discharged to the outside of the case 510 through the heat exchanger 520 as illustrated in FIG. 15. The plurality of air outlets 511 include slits formed to the lateral direction and arranged to the longitudinal direction. The plurality of air outlets are arranged by considering an arrangement of a plurality of manifolds 570 located between the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c, which is to be described later. The arrangement of the plurality of manifolds 570 will be described later.

Further, the case 510 forms a plurality of air inlet 513 in a rear face of the case 510 as illustrated in FIG. 16. The plurality of air inlets 513 include slits formed to a lateral direction and arranged to a longitudinal direction like the plurality of air outlets 511. In this case, in response to the case 510 being installed to a wall, so as to allow the air to smoothly flow into the plurality of air inlets 513, the case 510 may be installed so that the rear of the case 510 is spaced from the wall at intervals.

Referring to FIG. 17, each of the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c includes the housing 531 having a thin thickness and formed to be elongated along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b disposed to be spaced in the inner side of the housing 531 in pair and arranged to be spaced in multiple rows to a longitudinal direction.

An air flow unit 533 including a single slit is formed along a front face of the housing 531 to the longitudinal direction. In this case, in each of the above-described housings 131, 231, 331, and 431 of the full front blowing type air conditioners 100, 200, 300, and 400 according to the first to fourth embodiments, the first air flow unit is formed in the front face and the second air flow units are provided in the upper rear and lower rear of the housing or the left rear and right rear of the housing. However, in the housing 531 of the fifth embodiment, the air flow unit 533 is formed only in the front of the housing 531.

Referring to FIG. 18, a plurality of communication holes 531c which communicate with both ends of the plurality of manifolds 570 are formed in the left and right of the housing 531.

The plurality of manifolds 570 are approximately arranged to the lateral direction with respect to the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c disposed to the longitudinal direction. In this case, the plurality of manifolds 570 are disposed to be spaced from each other at intervals.

Further, a slit 571 configured to discharge the pulse jet is formed along a front face of each of the plurality of manifolds 570 to the lateral direction. Both sides of the plurality of manifolds 570 formed in the plurality of blower modules 530a to 530c guide the pulse jet discharged from the blower modules 530a to 530c, and discharge the pulse jet to the slits 571.

Referring to FIG. 19, according to periodic change in the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b to opposite directions, that is, to the direction facing each other or the direction away from each other, the pulse jet is alternately discharged to the air flow unit 533 formed on the front face and the plurality of manifold 570.

In response to the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b being changed to the direction facing each other, a volume of a first cavity 539a formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b is reduced, and thus the air existing in the inside of the first cavity 539a is discharged through the air flow unit 533. At this time, volumes of second and third cavities 539b and 539c formed between the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b and both sidewalls of the housing 531 are increased, and the air flows into the insides of the plurality of manifolds 570 and the second and third cavities 539b and 539c through the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570.

On the contrary, in response to the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b being changed to the direction away from each other, volumes of the second and third cavities 539b and 539c are reduced, and thus the air existing in the insides of the second and third cavities 539b and 539c and the plurality of manifolds 570 are discharged through the slits 571. In this case, the volume of the first cavity 539a is increased, and the surrounding air flows into the first cavity 539a through the air flow unit 533.

FIG. 20 illustrates a state in which the pulse jet is discharged through the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570. In this case, the pulse jet is discharged from the slits 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570 at a fast flow rate, and thus air pressure in the periphery of the slits 571 is lowered. Thus, after the air flows into the air inlet 513 of the case 510, the air is sucked into the air exhaust passage 573 formed between the plurality of manifolds 570, and then the air is discharged to the side of the heat exchanger 520 together with the pulse jet. Therefore, the full front blowing type air conditioner 500 in the fifth embodiment may also supply a sufficient flow of air to the heat exchanger 520.

While the phases of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms 537a and 537b are periodically changed to the opposite phases to each other, the pulse jet is discharged to the air flow unit 533 of the housing 531 and the slit 571 of the plurality of manifolds 570.

As described above, the full front blowing type air conditioners 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 according to the first to fifth embodiments may maximize a blowing area to considerably improve the cooling or heating efficiency, and may continuously discharge the air at a low flow rate to implement comfortable blowing without an unpleasant feeling of the use.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present inventive concept. The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of blowing a pulse jet from a portion corresponding to an entire area of a front face of the air conditioner.

Claims

1. An air conditioner comprising:

a case of which a heat exchanger is disposed in an inner side; and

a blower module disposed in rear of the heat exchanger in the case, and configured to discharge a pulse jet for blowing through a front face of the case,

wherein the blowing module changes air pressure of a cavity formed between at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms and discharges the pulse jet to a side of the heat exchanger according to periodic deformation of the pair of piezoelectric diaphragms to opposite phases to each other.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the blower module includes a housing in which a first air flow unit is formed in one side corresponding to the heat exchanger, and a second air flow unit is formed in the other side, and

the at least one pair of piezoelectric diaphragms are disposed to be spaced in parallel in the inner side of the housing, and the blower module discharges the pulse jet to the side of the heat exchanger through the first and second air flow units.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the first air flow unit includes a plurality of slits or a plurality of holes which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the second air flow unit includes an upper slit and a lower slit which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity, and are formed in an upper rear and a lower rear of the housing, respectively, and

the upper slit and the lower slit face a front of the housing.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger has an area corresponding to an entire area of the front face of the case.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein a face of the housing, which faces the heat exchanger, has a shape corresponding to a shape of the heat exchanger.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 6, further comprising a partition plate which forms a plurality of slits and is disposed between the heat exchanger and the housing.

8. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of slits of the partition plate are arranged in locations corresponding to the plurality of slits formed in the first air flow unit.

9. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the blower module includes a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality of blower modules are arranged at least in a row.

10. The air conditioner according to claim 9, wherein the blower module includes a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality browser modules are arranged to be spaced at a preset distance from each other.

11. The air conditioner according to claim 10, wherein the second air flow unit includes a left slit and a right slit which allow the air to flow into the cavity and flow out from the cavity, and are formed in a left rear and a right rear of the housing, respectively, and

the left and the right slit face a front of the housing.

12. The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein an air exhaust passage configured to discharge the pulse jet from the left slit and the right slit is provided between the blower modules.

13. The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein at least one manifold configured to communicate with adjacent blower modules are disposed between the adjacent blower modules.

14. The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of manifolds configured to communicate with adjacent blower modules are disposed to be spaced from each other to a longitudinal direction between the adjacent blower modules.

15. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the blower module includes a plurality of blower modules, and the plurality of blower modules are arranged in a matrix form.