AIR CONDITIONER INDOOR UNIT AND AIR CONDITIONER HAVING THE SAME

Abstract

An air conditioner indoor unit includes a housing including an air inlet, a first air outlet, and a second air outlet, a fan assembly arranged in the housing and configured to guide air to circulate from the air inlet to at least one of the first air outlet or the second air outlet, a first door arranged corresponding to the first air outlet, a first drive mechanism arranged in the housing and connected to the first door, a second door arranged corresponding to the second air outlet, and a second drive mechanism connected to the second door. The first drive mechanism is configured to drive the first door to move outwards or inwards relative to the housing to expose or cover the first air outlet. The second drive mechanism is configured to drive the second door to slide relative to the housing to expose or cover the second air outlet.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201822112078.9, filed Dec. 14, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

This application relates to the field of air processing equipment, in particular to an air conditioner indoor unit and an air conditioner having the same.

BACKGROUND

In the relevant technology, the door is set on the housing of the air conditioner indoor unit, and the door slides relative to the housing to expose or cover the air outlet. However, the sliding door is relatively monotonous, lacking the sense of science and technology. Moreover, the air supply mode of the above air conditioner indoor unit is relatively single, and the indoor temperature distribution is uneven, which seriously affects the user's experience.

SUMMARY

The purpose of this application is to address at least one of the technical problems in the existing technology. Therefore, one of the purposes of this application is to propose an air conditioner indoor unit, which has the advantages of good air supply effect and strong sense of science and technology.

The application also proposes an air conditioner having such air conditioner indoor unit.

The air conditioner indoor unit in accordance with the embodiment of this application includes: the housing, on which the air inlet, the first air outlet and the second air outlet are mounted, and in which the air duct flow paths connected between the air inlet and the first air outlet and between the air inlet and the second air outlet respectively are equipped; the fan assembly, which is arranged in the housing to guide the air flow in the air duct flow path; the first drive mechanism and the first door, where the first drive mechanism is mounted in the housing, the first drive mechanism is connected to and drives the first door to move so that the first door has open state and closed state, the first door will be switched over to the open state when the first drive mechanism drives the first door to move outwards relative to the housing to the set position, the first door will expose the first air outlet in the open state, and the first door cooperates with the housing to cover the first outlet in the closed state; the second drive mechanism and the second door, where the second drive mechanism is connected to and drives the second door to slide relative to the housing to expose or cover the second air outlet.

The air conditioner indoor unit according to the embodiment of this application is fitted with the first door and the second door, where the first drive mechanism can realize the exposing and covering of the first air outlet by controlling the forward/backward movement of the first door, the second drive mechanism can drive the second door to slide relative to the housing to realize the exposing and covering of the second air outlet, which improves the sense of science and technology of the air conditioner indoor unit. Moreover, the air flowing from the first air outlet and the second air outlet can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air could flow to every corner of the indoor space uniformly, and the indoor temperature could be distributed more evenly, which enhances the comfort level of the air conditioner indoor unit.

According to some embodiments of this application, the first door includes: the flow guiding member which is connected to and is driven by the first drive mechanism, and where the outer wall of the flow guiding member guides the air flow to move when the first door is in open state; and the sealing member which is connected to the flow guiding member, so that the sealing member fits with the housing to cover the first air outlet when the first door is in closed state.

In some embodiments of this application, the vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member increases gradually along the direction from the air inlet to the first air outlet.

According to some embodiments of this application, the first drive mechanism includes: the first drive motor which is installed in the housing; the first drive gear which is connected to the first drive motor so that the motor can drive the drive gear; and the first rack which extends along the moving direction of the first door, and fits with and is driven by the first drive gear, and where one end of the first rack is connected to and drives the first door.

In some embodiments of this application, the first rack is fitted with limiting groove extending along the moving direction of the first door, the first drive mechanism also includes the stop lever extending into the limiting groove, and the stop lever slide-fits with the limiting groove, so that the stop lever will reach one end of the limiting groove to limit the first door when the first door is in the open state.

In some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly includes an air outlet duct which is mounted directly opposite to the first air outlet, and has mounting space where the first drive mechanism is installed.

In some embodiments of this application, the first drive mechanism also includes a rack box that is connected to the air outlet duct, on which the guide hole is mounted, and where the first rack passes through the guide hole to reciprocate relative to the rack box.

In some embodiments of this application, the second drive mechanism drives the second door sliding in the up-down direction.

In some embodiments of this application, the second drive mechanism includes: the second drive motor; the second drive gear which is connected to and is driven by the second drive motor; and the second rack which extends along the moving direction of the second door, it meshes with and is driven by the second drive gear to move, and where one end of the second rack is connected to and drives the second door.

In some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly includes the first fan and the second fan, where the first fan and the first outlet are set facing each other, while the second fan and the second outlet are set facing each other.

In some embodiments of this application, the first fan is a diagonal fan, and the second fan is a counter-rotating fan.

According to some embodiments of this application, the first outlet is above the second outlet.

The air conditioner according to embodiments of this application includes the air conditioner indoor unit in the aforesaid embodiment of this application.

In the air conditioner according to embodiments of this application, by setting the air conditioner indoor unit mentioned above, not only the air conditioner's sense of science and technology can be improved, but also the cooling and heating effect of air conditioner can be enhanced, which promotes the user's comfort greatly, and thus enhances the market competitiveness of air conditioner.

Additional aspects and benefits of this application will be presented in the following sections, which will become apparent from the following descriptions or through the practice of this application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and easy to understand from the description of embodiments in combination with the attached drawings below, where:

FIG. 1 is an overall structure diagram of air conditioner indoor unit according to the first embodiment of this application, in which the first door and the second door are both in closed state;

FIG. 2 is a local structure diagram of air conditioner indoor unit according to embodiments of this application, in which the first door and the second door are both in open state;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of air conditioner indoor unit according to embodiments of this application;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial drawing of the part encircled by A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded drawing of the air conditioner indoor unit according to embodiments of this application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the matching structure of the outlet duct member with the first drive mechanism according to embodiments of this application;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial drawing of the part encircled by B in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the flow guiding member according to embodiments of this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of air conditioner indoor unit according to embodiments of this application, in which the first door and the second door are both in closed state.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

• • Air conditioner indoor unit 100,
  • housing 1,
  • front panel 11, first air outlet 11a, second air outlet 11b, third micro air outlet 11c,
  • back plate assembly 12, air inlet 12a, air-inlet grille 121,
  • fan assembly 2,
  • air outlet frame component 21, first fan 22, second fan 23, first air duct member 24, second air duct member 25, air outlet duct member 26, mounting space 26a, air outlet louver 261,
  • first door 3,
  • flow guiding member 31, mounting part 311, air guide part 312, stud 312a, sealing member 32, first micro air outlet 32a, first connection bracket 33, first mounting hole 331, second connection bracket 34, second mounting hole 341,
  • first drive mechanism 4,
  • first drive gear 41, first rack 42, limiting groove 421, fitting column 422, stop lever 43, rack box 44, guide hole 441, first drive motor 45,
  • second door 5, second micro air outlet 5a,
  • second drive mechanism 6, second drive gear 61, second rack 62,
  • heat exchanger 7,
  • door mount plate 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of this application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the attached drawings, throughout which the identical or similar labels are used to denote the identical or similar elements or elements having identical or similar functions. The embodiments described below by reference to the attached drawings are illustrative and are used only to interpret this application but should not be construed as limiting this application.

The following part refers to FIGS. 1-9 to describe the air conditioner indoor unit 100 according to embodiments of this application, which can refrigerate and heat indoor air.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 according to embodiments of this application includes housing 1, fan assembly 2, first drive mechanism 4 and first door 3.

Where, first air inlet 12a, first air outlet 11a, and second air outlet 11b can be arranged at housing 1, and housing 1 may contain the air duct flow paths that connect the air inlet 12a to the first air outlet 11a, and connect the air inlet 12a to the second air outlet 11b respectively, and the fan assembly 2 may be placed in the housing 1 to guide the air flow circulating in the air duct flow path. Specifically, when the air conditioner indoor unit 100 works, the fan assembly 2 can be rotated to create negative pressure in the air duct flow path so that the air flow can enter the air path through the air inlet 12a under the effect of such negative pressure, and can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b after circulating in the air path. The air flow can be discharged only through the first air outlet 11a or the second air outlet 11b, or be discharged through both of them.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a specific example of this application, the housing 1 can include the front panel 11 and the back plate assembly 12 which can snap-fit with each other. The air inlet 12a having the air-inlet grille 121 can be placed on the back plate assembly 12. The first air outlet 11a can be installed on the front panel 11, the air duct flow path connecting the first air outlet 11a to the air inlet 12a can be installed in the housing 1, and also can include the heat exchanger 7 which may exchange heat with the air flow in the air duct flow path. After heat exchange, the air flow can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a; in this way, the indoor temperature can be regulated.

As shown in FIGS. 2-5, the first drive mechanism 4 can be placed in the housing 1, and can be connected to and drive the first door 3 to move, so that the first door 3 can be in expose or covered state; when the first drive mechanism 4 drives the first door 3 to move outwards relative to the housing 1 (forward as shown in FIG. 3) to the set position, the first door 3 can be switched to the open state, at which point the first door 2 can expose the first air outlet 11a; when the first door 3 is in the closed state, the first door 3 can cooperate with the housing 1 to cover the first air outlet 11a.

Specifically, the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 moving forward and backward to expose or cover the first air outlet 11a. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 works, the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 forward to the set position, at which point the first door 3 can expose the first air outlet 11a so that the air flow can be discharged through the first air outlet 11a. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 stops working, the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 backward, and the first door 3 can cooperate with the housing 1 to cover the first air outlet 11a.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second drive mechanism 6 can be connected to and drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to expose or cover the second air outlet 11b. Therefore, through the above setting, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can discharge the air through the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b simultaneously, so as to improve the air outlet efficiency of the air conditioner indoor unit 100 and expand the air supply area of the same. In addition, the air flow blown out from the first air outlet 11a can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the first access 3, the air flow from the first air outlet 11a can collide with the air flow from the second air outlet 11b in the indoor space, which can play the role of mixing the flows, make the indoor temperature distribution more uniform, and realize the air outlet effect without feeling the air.

Optionally, the working statuses of the first door 3 and the second door 5 can be controlled separately. When the air needs to be discharged through the first air outlet 11a, the first door 3 can be driven by the first drive mechanism 4 so as to switch the first door 3 to the open state, at which point the first air outlet 11a will be exposed. When the air needs to be discharged through the second air outlet 11b, the second door 5 can be driven by the second drive mechanism 6 to slide relative to the housing 1 to expose the second air outlet 11b. Of course, it can be understood that the first door 3 and the second door 5 can also move jointly, that is, the first door 3 and the second door 5 can move simultaneously, so that the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be exposed or covered simultaneously.

Therefore, through the above settings, the first drive mechanism 4 can realize the exposing and covering of the first air outlet 11a by controlling the forward and backward movement of first door 3, while the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to realize the exposing and covering of second air outlet 11b, which improves the sense of science and technology of the air conditioner indoor unit 100. In addition, the air flow blown out from the first air outlet 11a can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the first door 3, the air flows blown out from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air flows can be circulated uniformly to each corner of the indoor space, and the indoor temperature will be more even. Furthermore, the first door 3 can prevent the air flow from blowing directly to the users in the room to avoid discomfort, which enhances the use comfort of the air conditioner indoor unit 100 significantly.

According to embodiments of this application, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 includes the first door 3 and the second door 5, so that the first drive mechanism 4 can realize the exposing and covering of the first air outlet 11a by controlling the forward and backward movement of first door 3, while the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to realize the exposing and covering of second air outlet 11b, which improves the sense of science and technology of the air conditioner indoor unit 100. In addition, the air flows blown out from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be mixed in the indoor space, so that the air flows can be circulated uniformly to each corner of the indoor space, and the indoor temperature will be more even, which enhances the use comfort of the air conditioner indoor unit 100 significantly.

As shown in FIG. 5, according to some embodiments of this application, the first door 3 can include the flow guiding member 31 and the sealing member 32. Flow guiding member 31 can be connected to and driven by the first drive mechanism 4. When first door 3 is in the open state, the outer wall of the flow guiding member 31 can guide the air flow to move, and the sealing member 32 can be connected to the flow guiding member 31; when the first door 3 is in the closed state, the sealing member 32 can cooperate with the housing 1 to cover the first air outlet 11a; it thus can make the design of first door 3 simpler and improve the air guide effect of first door 3.

Specifically, when the first door 3 is in the open state, the air outlet area of first air outlet 11a can be formed between the flow guiding member 31 and the housing 1. The air flow can be blown out along the outer wall of flow guiding member 31. The flow guiding member 31 can serve to guide air flow, which not only can reduce the circulation resistance of the air flow, improve the air outlet efficient of the first air outlet 11a, but also can distribute the air properly. The air flow can be distributed around the circumferential direction of flow guiding member 31, so that the indoor temperature distribution will be more uniform.

When the first door 3 is in the closed state, the sealing member 32 can cooperate with the housing 1 to seal the first air outlet 11a, so as to protect the air conditioner indoor unit 100 and prevent the dust and dirt from entering air conditioner indoor unit 100 through the first air outlet 11a. Optionally, the first air outlet 11a can be formed to have a circular shape, and the sealing member 32 can be formed to have a disk shape. The outer diameter of the sealing member 32 can be larger than the diameter of the first air outlet 11a, so as to improve the sealing effect of first air outlet 11a. Optionally, the sealing member 32 may be either integrated with the flow guiding member 31, or connected to the guiding member 31 by screw fastening or riveting.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8, in some embodiments of this application, the vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member 31 increases gradually along the direction from the air inlet 12a to the first air outlet 11a (from rear to front as shown in FIG. 8), which improves the air guide effect of flow guiding member 31 and prevents the air flow from being blown forward to the user who may thus feel uncomfortable.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the flow guiding member 31 may include the mounting part 311 and the air guide part 312 which can be connected in sequential order from the rear to the front, and the mounting part 311 can slide-fit with the housing 1. The mounting part 311 is formed to be cylindrical while the air guide part 312 is formed to be truncated cone shaped. The vertical sectional area of air guide part 312 increases gradually from the rear to the front, such that the air guide part 312 is approximately horn-shaped. Therefore, when the air flows out through the first air outlet 11a, the air flow can be dispersed along the outer wall of the air guide part 312 around the first air outlet 11a, which can result in a good air dispersion effect. Optionally, the air guide part 312 can include several studs 312a spaced in its circumferential direction on the front end, and the sealing member 32 can be bolted to the air guide part 312.

As shown in FIG. 9, in some embodiments of this application, the sealing member 32 can include multiple first micro air outlets 32a distributed at intervals. Each first micro air outlet 32a can run through the sealing member 32 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 9); the flow guiding member 31 can include an air guide channel connected to multiple first micro air outlets 32a, which thereby can realize the breezeless air outlet effect and greatly improve users' comfort level.

Specifically, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can have the first normal air supply mode and the first breezeless mode. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the first normal air supply mode, the first door 3 will be in the open state, and can be driven by the first drive mechanism 4 to move forward to the set position to expose the first air outlet 11a so that a part of the air can be dispersed around the flow guiding member 31 to the first air outlet 11a, while another part of the air can flow into the air guide channel and be discharged through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the first breezeless mode, the first door 3 will be in the closed state, and the air can flow into the air guide channel and be discharged through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. It could be understood that multiple first micro air outlets 32a can divide the air flow into several small branch air flows, and the first micro air outlets 32a with a small diameter can slow down the air flow, so that the air can flow out slowly through multiple micro air outlets. It thus can realize the breezeless air supply effect, prevent the air from being blown directly to the users, thus causing discomfort, and make the indoor temperature distribution more uniform, which improves the user experience significantly.

Optionally, when the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the cooling mode, it can be adjusted to the first breezeless mode to prevent the cool air from being blown directly to indoor users, and the cool air can be circulated to the indoor space slowly through multiple first micro air outlets 32a. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the heating mode, it can be adjusted to the first normal air supply mode since the air density of the warm air is relatively small and the circulation speed is relatively slow, so that the warm air can be circulated quickly into the indoor space through the first air outlet 11a, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the air conditioner indoor unit 100.

As shown in FIG. 6, according to some embodiments of this application, the first drive mechanism 4 can include the first drive motor 45, the first drive gear 41 and the first rack 42, where the first drive motor 45 can be mounted in the housing 1, the first drive gear 41 can be connected to and driven by the first drive motor 45 to rotate, the first rack 42 can extend along the moving direction of first door 3 (front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 6) and mesh with and be driven by the first drive gear 41, and one end of the first rack 42 can be connected to and drive the first door 3 to move. Therefore, the above settings can make the design of first drive mechanism 4 simpler; the first drive mechanism 4 drives the first door 3 by meshing the gear with the rack, which can make the operation of first door 3 more stable and reduce the working noise of air conditioner indoor unit 100.

Optionally, the first drive mechanism 4 can include two one-to-one matching pairs of first drive gear 41 and first rack 42, which can be spaced and connected to the first door 3 respectively, and which thus makes the matching structure between the first drive mechanism 4 and the first door 3 firmer, and the operation of the first door 3 more stable. Further, the first drive mechanism 4 can include a first drive motor 45, the first drive motor 45 is a two-axle motor, two shafts of which rotate in the same direction and are connected to the first drive gears 41, respectively. Thus, the above settings can make the overall structure of the first drive mechanism 4 more compact and also improve the operational uniformity of the two first racks 42. Of course, the first drive mechanism 4 can also include two first drive motors 45 that can operate synchronously, and each of the drive motors 45 is a single-axle motor and is connected to the corresponding first drive gear 41.

In the examples shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, the first door 3 can also include the first connection bracket 33 and the second connection bracket 34 which are mounted respectively on flow guiding member 31 and distributed at intervals in the circumferential direction of flow guiding member 31. The first connection bracket 33 includes the first mounting hole 331 while the second connection bracket 34 includes the second mounting hole 341. The first drive mechanism 4 includes two one-to-one matching pairs of first drive gear 41 and first rack 42, as well as a first drive motor 45, which is a two-axle motor and whose two motor shafts rotate in the same direction and are connected to one of the first drive gear 41 keys respectively. Each first rack 42 includes a fitting column 422. When the first drive mechanism 4 and the first door 3 are assembled together, the fitting column 422 of one first rack 42 can be inserted into the first mounting hole 331 of the first connection bracket 33, while the fitting column 422 on the other first rack 42 can be inserted into the second mounting hole 341 on the second connection bracket 34. Therefore, the above settings can make the connection structure between the first drive mechanism 4 and the first door 3 simpler and improve the assembly efficiency of air conditioner indoor unit 100 greatly.

It should be noted that the first drive mechanism 4 is not limited to this design, as long as it can drive the first door 3 forward and backward. For example, the first drive mechanism 4 can also be a linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder. One end of the linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder can be connected to the housing 1, and the other end can be connected to the first door 3, which can also drive the first door 3 to switch flexibly between the open state and the closed state.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in some embodiments of this application, the first rack 42 can include the limiting groove 421 extending in the moving direction of the first door 3 (front-rear direction as shown in FIGS. 6-7), the first drive mechanism 4 also may include the stop lever 43 stretched into the limiting groove 421, the stop lever 43 may slide-fit with the limiting groove 421; when the first door 3 is in the open state, the stop lever 43 can push against one end of the limiting groove 421 to limit the first door 3; so, through the above settings, the stop lever 43 can limit the position of the first rack 42, make the first door 3 move accurately to the set position and improve the operational stability of the air conditioner indoor unit 100.

Optionally, the contact sensor (not shown in the figure) can be mounted on the outer wall of the stop lever 43, and can be connected to communicate with the first drive motor 45. When the first drive mechanism 4 drives the first door 3 to move, the first drive motor 45 can drive the first drive gear 41 to rotate, and the first drive gear 41 meshes with and drives the first rack 42 to move; when the first rack 42 is moving, the stop lever 43 may slide-fit with the limiting groove 421 on the first rack 42. When the first rack 42 moves to the set position, the contact sensor on the stop lever 43 will contact with one end of the limiting groove 421, and transfer the contact signal to the first drive motor 45 that will stop working after receiving such signal. Therefore, the intelligent control of the first drive mechanism 4 can be achieved through the above settings, making the operation of the first drive mechanism 4 more convenient.

As shown in FIG. 6, in some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly 2 may include an air outlet duct member 26 which can be mounted facing directly with the first air outlet 11a and have the mounting space 26a in which the first drive mechanism 4 can be mounted. In this way, the fitting structure between the first drive mechanism 4 and the fan assembly 2 would become more compact and the assembly space in the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can be reduced.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the air outlet duct member 26 can be formed in a circular loop and includes a mounting space 26a internally, in which the first drive mechanism 4 can be mounted. The air outlet duct member 26 can also include multiple air outlet louvers 261 which are mounted around the mounting space 26a and spaced on the circumferential direction of the air outlet duct member 26, and can serve to guide the air flow and change the air outlet direction. The mounting space 26a can be either connected to the air duct flow path or isolated from the same. When the sealing member 32 is provided with the first micro air outlet 32a, the mounting space 26a can be connected to the air duct flow path in which the air can flow into the mounting space 26a and be discharged through the first micro air outlet 32a. When the mounting space 26a is isolated from the air duct flow path, the air can enter the indoor space through the air outlet area formed between the flow guiding member 31 and the housing 1.

As shown in FIG. 7, in some embodiments of this application, the first drive mechanism 4 can also include the rack box 44 that can be connected to the air outlet duct member 26, and can include the guide hole 441 through which the first rack 42 can pass and reciprocate relative to the rack box 44. The guide hole 441 can guide the first rack 42 and make the operation of the same more regular and stable, thus improving the operation stability of first door 3.

According to some embodiments of this application as shown in FIGS. 1-2, the housing 1 can be provided with the second air outlet 11b, while the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can be fitted with the second door 5 and the second drive mechanism 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments of this application, the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b can be distributed at intervals in the vertical direction, and the first air outlet 11a is above the second air outlet 11b. The first door 3 is mounted at the first air outlet 11a, and can be connected to the first drive mechanism 4 which drives the first door 3 to reciprocate to expose or cover the first air outlet 11a. The second door 5 is set at second air outlet 11b, and can be connected to the second drive mechanism 6 which drives the second door 5 to reciprocate to expose or cover the second air outlet 11b.

In this case, the open and closed states of the first door 3 and the second door 5 can be controlled respectively. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in cooling mode, the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide to cover the second air outlet 11b, while the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to move forward to expose the first air outlet 11a. It could be understood that the cool air can enter the upper half of the indoor space through the first air outlet 11a since the first air outlet 11a is above the second air outlet 11b; the cool air can circulate slowly from top to bottom in the indoor space as the cool air density is relatively big, which not only improves the cooling effect, but also prevents the cool air from being blown to the indoor users directly through the second air outlet 11b, resulting in discomfort.

When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the heating mode, the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide to expose the second air outlet 11b, while the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to move forward to expose the first air outlet 11a. Now the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b output air simultaneously. It could be understood that the heating efficiency of the air conditioner indoor unit 100 may be enhanced, and the warm air can circulate smoothly to the floor and warm the feet, which improves the use experience of the user when the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b output the air at the same time as the warm air density is relatively small and its circulation speed is relatively low.

It is noted that the first air outlet 11a and second air outlet 11b of the air conditioner indoor unit 100 are not limited to this setting. For example, multiple first air outlets 11a and multiple second air outlets 11b can be set on the air conditioner indoor unit 100, which can be set according to the actual use demand. There is no specific restriction in this application.

In a specific example of this application, the second air outlet 11b is located above the first air outlet 11a, where at the first air outlet 11a there is a first door 3 which can be connected to the first drive mechanism 4; the first drive mechanism 4 can drive the first door 3 to reciprocate to expose or cover the first air outlet 11a. The second door 5 is set at the second air outlet 11b, and can be connected to the second drive mechanism 6 which drives the second door 5 to reciprocate to expose or cover the second air outlet 11b. In this case, the second door 5 can expose the second air outlet 11b by sliding from top to bottom, and cover the second air outlet 11b by sliding from bottom to top, or cover the second air outlet 11b by sliding from top to bottom and expose the second air outlet 11b by sliding from bottom to top.

In some embodiments of this application, the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide in the up-down direction, so that the air outlet area of the second air outlet 11b can be adjusted conveniently. It could be understood that the second air outlet 11b can be extended in the up-down direction, and the air outlet area of second air outlet 11b can be adjusted by controlling the sliding displacement of second door 5 in the up-down direction, which makes the operation more convenient when the height of air conditioner indoor unit 100 is relatively large. Of course, the second drive mechanism 6 can also drive the second door 5 to slide along the left-right direction and along a direction that has a tilt angle with respect to the left-right direction and the up-down direction. The settings can be selected according to the actual use needs, for which there is no specific restriction in this application.

As shown in FIG. 5, in some embodiments of this application, the second drive mechanism 6 can include a second drive motor (not shown in the figure), a second drive gear 61 and a second rack 62, where the second drive gear 61 can be connected to and driven by the second drive motor to rotate; the second rack 62 can be extended along the moving direction of second door 5 (up-down direction shown in FIG. 5); the second rack 62 can mesh with and be driven by the second drive gear 61; one end of the second rack 62 can be connected to and drive the second door 5 to move; in this case, the above settings can make the design of the second drive mechanism 6 simpler. Moreover, the second door 5 is driven by the second drive mechanism 6 through the gear-rack structure, making the operation of the second door 5 more stable.

Optionally, the second drive mechanism 6 can include two one-to-one matching pairs of second drive motor, second drive gear 61 and second rack 62. Both second racks 62 are extended in the up-down direction and are spaced in the left-right direction. Both second racks 62 are connected to the inner walls of second door 5. When the second drive mechanism 6 works, two second drive motors rotate synchronously and two second racks 62 drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1, thereby making the operation of the second door 5 more stable.

In a specific example of this application, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can also include the door mount plate 8 on which the second drive mechanism 6 can be mounted. In this case, the second rack 62 can be mounted on the front wall of the door mount plate 8 and attached to the inner wall of the second door 5. The door mount plate 8 includes the slide track (not shown in the figure) while the second door 5 slide-fits with the slide track. Therefore, the above settings can facilitate the installation and fixation of the second drive mechanism 6, and besides, the second door 5 can cooperate with the slide track to reduce the sliding resistance of the second door 5, thus making its operation smoother and reducing the working load of the second drive motor.

It should be noted that this is not the only structural design of the second drive mechanism 6, as long as it can drive second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1. For example, the second drive mechanism 6 can also be a linear motor or hydraulic drive cylinder, one end of which can be connected to the housing 1 and the other end can be connected to the second door 5, which can also drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, in some embodiments of this application, the fan assembly 2 can include the first fan 22 and the second fan 23, where the first fan 22 can be set in alignment with the first air outlet 11a, and second fan 23 can be set in alignment with second air outlet 11b, so that the working states of the first fan 22 and second fan 23 can be controlled separately according to the use requirements, thereby enhancing the use flexibility of the user.

Optionally, the first fan 22 can be an axial fan, a diagonal fan or a counter-rotating fan. Optionally, the second fan 23 can be an axial fan, a diagonal fan or a counter-rotating fan.

In some embodiments of this application, the first fan 22 can be a diagonal fan, and the second fan 23 can be a counter-rotating fan, which improves the air supply effect of the air conditioner indoor unit 100. Understandably, the diagonal fan adopts the mode of axial air inlet and air outlet inclined at a certain angle along the axial direction for air supply. Moreover, the air outlet volume of the diagonal fan is relatively large, which not only improves the air outlet volume of first fan 22, but also increases the air outlet angle of first fan 22, thereby expanding the air supply range of the first fan 22.

This counter-rotating fan can include two wind wheels mounted on the opposite sides, whose blades are distributed in the opposite directions. When the counter-rotating fan is working, if two wind wheels rotate in opposite directions, the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can be cancelled out in the tangential directions of their rotation directions, while the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can overlap in the axial directions, which can increase the axial air supply speed of the second fan 23, extend the air supply distance of the second fan 23 and enable the second fan 23 to supply air for long distance. If two wind wheels of the counter-rotating fan rotate in the same direction, the air supply speeds of two wind wheels may overlap in the tangential direction of their rotation directions, and the air supply speeds of two wind wheels can be cancelled out in the axial direction, so that the air can be dispersed all around the second fan 23 and be prevented from being blown directly to the indoor user through the second air outlet 11b, thereby realizing breezeless air outlet effect and improving the use comfort of the user.

In this case, when only one wind wheel is working, the counter-rotating fan can be used to realize breezeless air outlet effect. Specifically, when one wind wheel of the counter-rotating fans is rotating, another inactive wind wheel also can rotate under the effect of the air flow. At this time, the two wind wheels will rotate in the same direction; according to the above description, the counter-rotating fan also can realize breezeless effect at this moment.

Besides, when two wind wheels in the counter-rotating fan rotate simultaneously at low speed, they can realize the breezeless air outlet effect regardless of their rotation directions. It could be understood that the air can flow out slowly through the first air outlet 11a, thus realizing breezeless effect since two wind wheels in counter-rotating fan rotate at low speed, and the circulation speed of air is relatively low.

Therefore, through the above settings, the first fan 22 can be turned on when the air supply angle needs to be increased. The first fan 22 can achieve the effect of air supply in a wide range. When it is required to supply air for long distance, the second fan 23 can be turned on and the two wind wheels of second fan 23 can be controlled to rotate in the opposite directions, thus improving the air supply distance of second fan 23 greatly. When the breezeless mode is required, two wind wheels of the second fan 23 can be controlled to rotate in the same direction, so that the second fan 23 can disperse the air all around, preventing the air from being blown directly to the indoor users through the second air outlet 11b. When the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 work at the same time, two air flows from the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b may be mixed in the indoor room so that the indoor temperature distribution will be more uniform since the air outlet angles of the first air outlet 11a and the second air outlet 11b are different.

It should be noted that the designs of the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 are not limited herein. The first fan 22 may be an axial fan, diagonal fan or counter-rotating fan, and the second fan 23 also may be an axial fan, diagonal fan or counter-rotating fan. It can be used in combination according to the actual use requirements, and there is no specific restriction in this application.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 5, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can also include the air outlet frame component 21, which can be connected to the housing 1. The air outlet frame component 21 has the first air duct member 24 and the second air outlet part 25 which are distributed at intervals in the up-down direction. The first air duct member 24 is set in alignment with the first air outlet 11a, while the second air duct member 25 is set in alignment with the second air outlet 11b. The first fan 22 is installed in the first air duct member 24, while the second fan 23 is installed in the second air duct member 25. In this case, through the above settings, not only the first fan 22 and the second fan 23 can be installed and fixed conveniently, but also the first air duct member 24 and the second air duct member 25 can be used to guide the air flow, improving the air supply efficiency of the air conditioner indoor unit 100.

As shown in FIG. 9, in some embodiments of this application, the second door 5 can include multiple second micro air outlets 5a distributed at intervals. Each second micro air outlet 5a can run through the second door 5 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 9), which thereby can realize the breezeless air outlet effect and greatly improve users' comfort level.

Specifically, the air conditioner indoor unit 100 can have the second normal air supply mode and the second breezeless mode. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the second normal air supply mode, the second drive mechanism 6 can drive the second door 5 to slide relative to the housing 1 to expose the second air outlet 11b, through which the air can be discharged. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the second breezeless mode, the second door 5 can cooperate with the housing 1 to cover the second air outlet 11b, so that the air can be discharged through multiple second micro air outlets 5a. It could be understood that multiple second micro air outlet 5a can divide the air flow into several small branch air flows, and the second micro air outlet 5a with small diameter can slow down the air flow, so that the air can flow out slowly through the second micro air outlet 5a. It thus can realize the breezeless air supply effect, and prevent the air from being blown directly to the users, causing discomfort, which improves the user experience significantly.

Optionally, when the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the cooling mode, it can be adjusted to the second breezeless mode to prevent the cool air from being blown directly to indoor users, and the cool air can be circulated to the indoor space slowly through multiple second micro air outlets 5a. When the air conditioner indoor unit 100 is in the heating mode, it can be adjusted to the second normal air supply mode since the air density of the warm air is relatively small and the circulation speed is relatively slow, so that the warm air can be circulated quickly into the indoor space through the second air outlet 11b, improving the heating efficiency of the air conditioner indoor unit 100.

As shown in FIG. 9, in some embodiments of this application, multiple third micro air outlets 11c, which are distributed at intervals along the periphery of second air outlet 11b, can be installed on the housing 1, and each third micro air outlet 11c can run through the housing 1 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 9). Each third micro air outlet 11c can be connected to the air duct flow path, increasing air conditioner indoor unit 100's air supply efficiency and enhancing the air conditioner indoor unit 100's cooling and heating in the second breezeless mode.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the second air outlet 11b can be formed into a circle and multiple second micro air outlets 5a can be distributed on the second door 5 at intervals, placed on the opposite direction of the second air outlet 11b. Multiple third micro air outlets 11c, which are located at the periphery of second air outlet 11b, are placed at intervals on the housing 1, and are roughly formed into a circle. Therefore, through the above settings, the third micro air outlets 11c on the second door 5 and the third micro air outlets 11c on the housing 1 can discharge air simultaneously, which greatly improves the air outlet efficiency of air conditioner indoor unit 100, and makes the appearance of air conditioner indoor unit 100 more artistic.

The air conditioner according to embodiments of this application includes the air conditioner indoor unit 100 in the aforesaid embodiment of this application.

In the air conditioner according to embodiments of this application, by setting the air conditioner indoor unit 100 mentioned above, not only the air conditioner's sense of science and technology can be improved, but also the cooling and heating effect of air conditioner can be enhanced, which promotes the user's comfort greatly, and thus enhances the market competitiveness of air conditioner.

In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation or position relations indicated with the terms “length”, “width”, “thickness” and “up”, “down”, “front” and “rear”, “left”, “right” and “vertical”, “inner” and “outer”, “circumferential” are based on the orientation or position relationships shown in the attached drawings, are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, so they shall not be construed as a restriction on this application. In addition, a feature associated with “first” or “second” may, explicitly or implicitly, include one or more such features. Unless otherwise stated, “multiple” means two or more in the description of this application.

In the description of this application, it should be noted that unless otherwise expressly specified and defined, the terms “installation”, “linking” and “connection” shall be understood generally, for example, it may be fixed connection, detachable connection, or integral connection; or mechanical or electrical connections; or direct linking, indirect linking through an intermediate medium, or internal connection of two components. The specific meaning of the above terms in this application may be understood on a case by case basis by ordinary technical personnel in the field.

In the description of this application, the terms “an embodiment”, “some embodiments” and “schematic embodiment”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some examples” etc. means that the specific feature, structure, material or characteristic of that embodiment or example described are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this description, the schematic presentation of such terms may not refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structure, material or characteristics described may be combined in an appropriate manner in any one or multiple embodiments or examples.

Although the embodiments of this application have been presented and described, the ordinary technical personnel in the field can understand that multiple changes, modifications, substitutions and variations of such embodiments can be made without deviating from the principles and purposes of this application, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1.-13. (canceled)

14. An air conditioner indoor unit, comprising:

a housing including an air inlet, a first air outlet, and a second air outlet;

a fan assembly arranged in the housing and configured to guide air to circulate from the air inlet to at least one of the first air outlet or the second air outlet;

a first door arranged corresponding to the first air outlet;

a first drive mechanism arranged in the housing and connected to the first door, the first drive mechanism being configured to drive the first door to move outwards relative to the housing to expose the first air outlet, and to drive the first door to move inwards relative to the housing to cover the first air outlet;

a second door arranged corresponding to the second air outlet; and

a second drive mechanism connected to the second door and configured to drive the second door to slide relative to the housing to expose or cover the second air outlet.

15. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the first door comprises:

a flow guiding member connected to the first drive mechanism to be driven to move by the first drive mechanism, an outer peripheral wall of the flow guiding member being configured to guide air flow when the first door is opened; and

a sealing member connected to the flow guiding member and configured to cooperate with the housing to cover the first air outlet when the first door is closed.

16. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 15, wherein a vertical sectional area of the flow guiding member increases gradually along a direction from the air inlet to the first air outlet.

17. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the first drive mechanism comprises:

a drive motor arranged in the housing;

a drive gear connected to the drive motor and configured to be driven to rotate by the drive motor; and

a rack extending along a moving direction of the first door and having an end connected to the first door to drive the first door to move, the rack being meshed with the drive gear and configured to be driven to move by the drive gear.

18. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 17, wherein the rack includes:

a limiting groove extending in the moving direction of the first door;

a stop lever stretching into the limiting groove and slidably fitted with the limiting groove, the stop lever being configured to abut an end of the limiting groove to limit a position of the first door when the first door is opened.

19. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 17, wherein the fan assembly comprises an air outlet duct member arranged corresponding to the first air outlet, and the air outlet duct member has a mounting space where the first drive mechanism is mounted.

20. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 19, wherein the first drive mechanism further comprises a rack box connected to the air outlet duct member, and the rack box includes a guide hole through which the rack passes to reciprocate relative to the rack box.

21. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the second drive mechanism is configured to drive the second door to slide in a direction parallel to a surface of the second door.

22. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the second drive mechanism comprises:

a drive motor;

a drive gear connected to the drive motor and configured to be driven to rotate by the drive motor;

a rack extending along a moving direction of the second door and having an end connected to the second door to drive the second door to move, the rack being meshed with the drive gear and configured to be driven to move by the drive gear.

23. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the fan assembly comprises:

a first fan arranged corresponding to the first air outlet; and

a second fan arranged corresponding to the second air outlet.

24. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 23, wherein the first fan includes a diagonal fan and the second fan includes a counter-rotating fan.

25. The air conditioner indoor unit according to claim 14, wherein the first air outlet is located above the second air outlet.

26. An air conditioner, comprising:

an air conditioner indoor unit comprising: a housing including an air inlet, a first air outlet, and a second air outlet; a fan assembly arranged in the housing to guide air to circulate from the air inlet to at least one of the first air outlet or the second air outlet; a first door arranged corresponding to the first air outlet; a first drive mechanism arranged in the housing and connected to the first door, the first drive mechanism being configured to drive the first door to move outwards relative to the housing to expose the first air outlet, and to drive the first door to move inwards relative to the housing to cover the first air outlet; a second door arranged corresponding to the second air outlet; and a second drive mechanism connected to the second door and configured to drive the second door to slide relative to the housing to expose or cover the second air outlet.