Air Conditioner

The present application is a continuation of International Application No PCT/CN2025/090166, filed on Apr. 21, 2025, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410504257.4, filed on Apr. 24, 2024, Chinese Patent Application No. 202510391832.9, filed on Mar. 29, 2025, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202520583499.7, filed on Mar. 29, 2025. The entire disclosures of the above-identified applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of air conditioning, and in particular to an air conditioner.

An air conditioner is usually composed of major components such as a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger, and a fan. The compressor is responsible for driving a refrigerant to circulate, the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger serve as a condenser and an evaporator, respectively, for heat release and heat absorption, and the fan is configured to accelerate the air flow to increase the heat exchange efficiency.

There is provided an air conditioner for starting a target function according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The technical solution is as below:

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an air conditioner. The air conditioner includes: a housing forming a shell outside the air conditioner, an accommodating space being formed inside the housing; a refrigerant circulation loop disposed in the accommodating space and including a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected end to end; an outdoor fan assembly disposed in the accommodating space, an air outlet end of the outdoor fan assembly being arranged toward the outdoor heat exchanger; an air inlet pipe configured to introduce outdoor air; an air outlet pipe configured to discharge air to the outside; a mounting base disposed on an outer wall of the housing, the mounting base being provided with a first mounting opening and a second mounting opening formed adjacent to each other; and the first mounting opening being communicated with an air inlet end of the outdoor fan assembly, and the second mounting opening being communicated with the accommodating space; and a fixing base disposed outside the housing and configured to be mounted on a wall or a window, where a first end of the air inlet pipe is fixedly provided with a first connector, and the first connector is rotatably connected to the first mounting opening; a first end of the air outlet pipe is fixedly provided with a second connector, and the second connector is rotatably connected to the second mounting opening; and a second end of the air inlet pipe is fixedly connected to the fixing base, and a second end of the air outlet pipe is fixedly connected to the fixing base.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of them. On the basis of the embodiments provided by the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art should fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise specified in the context, throughout the description and the claims, the term “comprise” and other forms thereof, such as the third-person singular form “comprises” and the present participle form “comprising” are construed in an open and inclusive meaning, that is, “comprising, but not limited to”. In the description, the term such as “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “exemplary embodiments”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some examples” are intended to indicate that specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics related to the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be included in any appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Hereinafter, the terms “first” and “second” are only for the purpose of describing, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, the features defined as “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such features. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, “a plurality of” means two or more.

When describing some embodiments, the terms such as “coupled” and “connected” and their derivatives may be used. The term “connected” should be understood in a broad sense, for example, the term “connected” may refer to fixed connection, and may also refer to detachable connection or integrated connection; and the term may refer to direct connection, and may also refer to indirect connection by means of an intermediate medium. The term “coupled” indicates that two or more components are in direct physical contact or electric contact. The term “coupled” or “communicatively coupled” may also refer to that two or more components are not in direct contact, but still cooperate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the content of this disclosure.

The expression “at least one of A, B, and C” has the same meaning as the expression “at least one of A, B, or C”, and both include the following combinations of A, B, and C: only A, only B, only C, a combination of A and B, a combination of A and C, a combination of B and C, and a combination of A, B, and C.

“A and B” includes the following three combinations: only A, only B, and a combination of A and B.

The use of the expression “suitable to” or “configured to” herein means open and inclusive language, which does not exclude apparatuses suitable to or configured to perform additional tasks or steps.

As used herein, the term “about”, “roughly”, or “approximately” includes a stated value as well as an average value within an acceptable deviation range of a specified value, where the acceptable deviation range is, for example, determined by those of ordinary skill in the art in view of a measurement under discussion and errors related to the measurement of the specific value (that is, the limitation of a measurement system).

As used herein, the term “parallel”, “perpendicular”, or “equal” includes a stated situation and a situation similar to the stated situation. The range of the approximate situation is within an acceptable deviation range, which is, for example, determined by those of ordinary skill in the art in view of a measurement under discussion and errors related to the measurement of the specific value (that is, the limitation of a measurement system). For example, “parallelism” includes absolute parallelism and approximate parallelism, where an acceptable deviation range of approximate parallelism can be, for example, a deviation within 5°; and “perpendicularity” includes absolute perpendicularity and approximate perpendicularity, an acceptable deviation range of approximate perpendicularity can also be, for example, a deviation within 5°. “Equality” includes absolute equality and approximate equality, where an acceptable deviation range of approximate equality can be, for example, that a difference value between the equal two is less than or equal to 5% of any one of the two.

In a related air conditioner, the air conditioner usually includes an air inlet pipe and an air outlet pipe, the air inlet pipe introduces outdoor air to exchange heat with an outdoor heat exchanger, and after heat exchange, air is discharged to the outside through the air outlet pipe. The air inlet pipe and the air outlet pipe are usually arranged in parallel and need to be independently and separately mounted on a window during mounting, so that the operation is complicated.

In order to solve the above problem, as shown inand, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an air conditioner, which may include a housing. The housingmay be configured as a shell outside the air conditioner. The interior of the housingmay be configured to provide a mounting space.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the housingmay be of a cuboid hollow structure. A longitudinal direction of the housingmay be arranged along a height direction, so that the air conditioner is vertically arranged in a use site, the height of the air conditioner is increased, and the space occupied by the air conditioner is reduced.

It should be noted that in other embodiments, the outer shape of the housingmay be designed as needed, which is not limited herein.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the housingmay include a main shell. The main shellmay be arranged in an extending manner along the height direction. A height dimension of the main shellmay be greater than a left-right width dimension and a front-back width dimension of the main shellso as to increase the height of the housingand reduce the space occupied by the housing.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the housingmay include a chassis. The chassismay be disposed at a bottom of the main shell. An accommodating spacemay be formed between an upper side of a top of the chassisand an interior of the main shell. The accommodating spaceis used as a mounting space for other devices of the air conditioners.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, a base footmay be disposed on a circumferential side of the chassis. The base footmay be arranged in an extending manner toward an outer circumferential direction of the chassis, and the base footmay be configured to increase the contact area between the bottom of the housingand the ground to further improve the supporting stability of the chassisto the air conditioner, so that the stability of the air conditioner is improved.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, a plurality of base feetmay be disposed, and the plurality of base feetmay be connected end to end in sequence, so that the plurality of base feetare arranged circumferentially around the circumferential side of the chassis. Thus, the plurality of base feetmay be arranged in an annular structure on the outer circumferential side of the chassisto improve the structural strength among the plurality of base feet, so that an intact annular structure is formed; moreover, a user is prevented from colliding with the base feet, so that the use safety of the air conditioner is improved.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a refrigerant circulation loop. The refrigerant circulation loop may be disposed in the housing. The refrigerant circulation loop may be disposed in the accommodating space. The refrigerant circulation loop may include a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchangerconnected end to end. A refrigerant flows circularly in the refrigerant circulation loop composed of the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, and the indoor heat exchanger. During circulation of the refrigerant, the outdoor heat exchangerand the indoor heat exchangermay serve as a condenser and an evaporator respectively, so that the refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator to absorb heat and is condensed in the condenser to release heat, so that a refrigerating cycle or a heating cycle of the air conditioner may be executed.

Specifically, in a refrigerating cycle, the outdoor heat exchangermay serve as the condenser, and the indoor heat exchangermay serve as the evaporator. In a heating cycle, the outdoor heat exchangermay serve as the evaporator, and the indoor heat exchangermay serve as the condenser.

It should be noted that the refrigerating cycle and the heating cycle each include a series of processes with compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation involved, and supply the refrigerant to adjusted and heat-exchanged air.

The compressoris configured to compress a refrigerant gas and discharge the compressed refrigerant gas. The discharged refrigerant gas flows into the condenser.

The condenser condenses the compressed refrigerant into a liquid phase, and heat is released to the ambient environment through the condensing process.

The evaporator evaporates the expanded refrigerant and makes the refrigerant gas in a low-temperature and low-pressure state return to the compressor. The evaporator may perform heat exchange with the ambient environment by means of latent heat generated by evaporation of the refrigerant to achieve a refrigerating effect.

During the whole circulation, the air conditioner may adjust the temperature of the indoor space to improve the comfort level of the indoor space and enhance the usage experience of the user.

As shown in,, and, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an outdoor fan assembly. The outdoor fan assemblymay be disposed in the housing. The outdoor fan assemblymay be arranged opposite to the outdoor heat exchanger. The outdoor fan assemblymay be configured to introduce outdoor air into the housingand exchange heat with the outdoor heat exchangerto form a heat exchange air flow.

For example, during the refrigerating cycle, the outdoor heat exchangerserves as the condenser, and the outdoor fan assemblymay extract external air and blow the external air to the outdoor heat exchangerto dissipate the outdoor heat exchanger, so as to decrease the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger. During the heating cycle, the outdoor heat exchangerserves as the evaporator, and the outdoor fan assemblymay extract external air and blow the external air to the outdoor heat exchangerto heat the outdoor heat exchanger, so as to increase the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger.

As shown in,, and, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an indoor fan assembly. The indoor fan assemblymay be disposed in the housing. The indoor fan assemblymay be arranged opposite to the indoor heat exchanger. The indoor fan assemblymay be configured to introduce indoor air into the housingand exchange heat with the indoor heat exchangerto form a heat exchange air flow.

For example, during the refrigerating cycle, the indoor heat exchangerserves as the evaporator, and the indoor fan assemblymay extract indoor air outside the housingand blow the indoor air to the indoor heat exchangerto exchange heat with the indoor heat exchanger, so as to decrease the temperature of air flowing through the indoor heat exchanger, thereby decreasing the temperature of the indoor air.

For another example, during the heating cycle, the indoor heat exchangerserves as the condenser, and the outdoor fan assemblymay extract indoor air outside the housingand blow the indoor air to the indoor heat exchangerto exchange heat with the indoor heat exchanger, so as to increase the temperature of air flowing through the indoor heat exchanger, and blow the heated air back indoors to increase the temperature of the indoor air.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the outdoor fan assembly, the indoor heat exchanger, and the indoor fan assemblymay be respectively disposed in the accommodating spaceinside the housing. Thus, the housingmay play the roles of covering and protecting them and preventing structural damage due to erosion of external foreign objects or impact of an external force, so as to improve the structural reliability of the air conditioner, thereby guaranteeing normal work of the air conditioner.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the accommodating spaceinside the housingmay include three layers of sub-spaces. The three layers of sub-spaces are respectively a first sub-space, a second sub-space, and a third sub-spacearranged in sequence from bottom to top. The compressormay be disposed in the first sub-space. The outdoor heat exchangerand the outdoor fan assemblymay be disposed in the second sub-space. The indoor heat exchangerand the indoor fan assemblymay be disposed in the third sub-space. Thus, through the three layers of sub-spaces in sequence from bottom to top, the devices such as the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the outdoor fan assembly, the indoor heat exchanger, and the indoor fan assemblymay be arranged in a scattered manner at different height positions inside the housing, which is beneficial to improving the overall height of the air conditioner, reducing the width and thickness dimensions of the air conditioner, and reducing the space of the use site occupied by the air conditioner.

As shown in,, and, in some embodiments, an indoor air inletmay be formed in an outer wall of the housing. The indoor air inletmay communicate with the outside of the housing. The indoor air inletmay communicate with the indoor space. The indoor air inletmay be formed in an outer wall corresponding to the third sub-space, and the indoor air inletmay be formed opposite to air inlet ends of the indoor heat exchangerand the indoor fan assembly. Thus, when the indoor fan assemblyoperates, the indoor fan assemblymay extract indoor air through the indoor air inletto enter the housingand exchange heat with the indoor heat exchanger. The air after heat exchange is discharged to the indoor space outside the housingagain through the air outlet end of the indoor fan assembly.

As shown in,, and, in some embodiments, an indoor air outletmay be formed in the outer wall of the housing. The indoor air outletmay communicate with the outside of the housing. The indoor air outletmay communicate with the indoor space. The indoor air outletmay be formed in an outer wall corresponding to the third sub-space, and the indoor air outletmay be formed opposite to an air outlet end of the indoor fan assembly. Thus, when the indoor fan assemblyoperates, the indoor fan assemblyextracts indoor air through the indoor air inlet. The air exchanging heat with the indoor heat exchangermay be discharged to the indoor space outside the housingagain through the air outlet end of the indoor fan assemblyand the indoor air outlet.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, an air deflectormay be disposed outside the outer wall of the housing. The air deflectoris rotatably disposed at the indoor air outlet. A plurality of air deflectorsmay be disposed, and the plurality of air deflectorsmay be disposed at the indoor air outletin parallel. When the air deflectorsrotate, the air deflectorsmay open or close the indoor air outlet. When the air deflectorsrotate to open the indoor air outlet, the air deflectorsmay further change the air outlet direction of the indoor air outlet.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an air inlet pipe. The indoor air inlet pipemay be disposed in a space outside the housing. The air inlet pipemay be configured to introduce indoor air. One end of the air inlet pipemay communicate with the air inlet end of the outdoor fan assembly. The other end of the air inlet pipemay be configured to communicate with the outdoor space. The air outlet end of the outdoor fan assemblymay be arranged toward the outdoor heat exchanger. Thus, the outdoor fan assemblymay extract air in the outdoor space through the air inlet pipe, introduce the outdoor air into the housing, and blow the air to the outdoor heat exchangerto heat or cool the outdoor heat exchanger.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an air outlet pipe. The air outlet pipemay be disposed in a space outside the housing. The air outlet pipemay be configured to discharge air to the outside to discharge the air in the housingto the outside. One end of the air outlet pipemay communicate with the inner space end of the housing. The other end of the air outlet pipemay be configured to communicate with the outdoor space. Thus, when the outdoor fan assemblyoperates, the outdoor fan assemblymay extract air in the outdoor space through the air inlet pipe, introduce the outdoor air into the housing, blow the air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and make the air flowing through the outdoor heat exchangerin the housingbe discharged to the outdoor space through the air outlet pipeto achieve outdoor air circulation.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be disposed on the outer side of the third sub-space. A receiving regionmay be disposed in a concave manner on the outer wall of the upper portion of the housingcorresponding to the third sub-space. The air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be arranged in the receiving region, so that the air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be arranged above the second sub-space, and the air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be arranged above the outdoor heat exchangerand the outdoor fan assembly.

It is to be noted that in some other embodiments, the air inlet pipemay also be configured to discharge air, and the air outlet pipemay also be configured to feed air. The air outlet pipemay introduce the outdoor air into the housingand exchange heat with the outdoor heat exchanger. Air after heat exchange may be conveyed to the outside through the air inlet pipeunder the action of the outdoor fan assembly.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be arranged in parallel in the receiving regionon the outer wall of the housing. A lower end of the air inlet pipemay communicate with the air inlet end of the outdoor fan assembly. A lower end of the air outlet pipemay communicate with the second sub-spacein the housing. An upper end of the air inlet pipeand an upper end of the air outlet pipemay be connected to the outdoor space. During mounting of the air conditioner, the air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipemay be lengthened and mounted and fixed on the wall or window to communicate with the outdoor space.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a first water collection tray. The first water collection traymay be disposed in the accommodating spacein the housing. The first water collection traymay be arranged in a region between the first sub-spaceand the second sub-space. The outdoor heat exchangermay be disposed above the first water collection tray. The first water collection traymay be configured to carry condensate water flowing down from the outer wall of the outdoor heat exchanger. When the air conditioner heats, the refrigerant may be evaporated to absorb heat at the outdoor heat exchanger, so that the surface temperature of the outdoor heat exchangeris decreased. Water vapor in the air is condensed to water when cooled to further fall into the first water collection trayat the bottom of the outdoor heat exchangerand is collected in the first water collection trayor is discharged after being collected in the first water collection tray, which, thus, may prevent the risk of slippage of the air conditioner or people since the condensate water drops onto the ground.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, a bottom end opening of the air outlet pipemay be arranged in an upper space of the first water collection tray. When outdoor rainwater enters the housingthrough the air outlet pipe, the rainwater may be carried by the first water collection tray, so that the rainwater is prevented from directly flowing to other regions in the housingor seeping out of the housingand flowing to the ground.

As shown in, in some embodiments, a drainage outletmay be formed in the side wall of the first water collection tray. A drain valvemay be disposed at the drainage outlet. The drain valvemay block the drainage outlet. When the drain valveopens the drainage outlet, the drainage outletmay communicate with the outside of the first water collection tray, and water in the first water collection traymay flow out of the first water collection traythrough the drainage outlet.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the drain valvemay be disposed outside the housing, and the drainage outletmay communicate with the outside of the housing. When the drain valveopens the drainage outlet, water in the first water collection traymay flow out of the housingthrough the drainage outlet.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a second water collection tray. The second water collection traymay be disposed in the housing. The second water collection traymay be arranged in a region between the second sub-spaceand the third sub-space. The indoor heat exchangermay be disposed above the second water collection tray. The second water collection traymay be configured to carry condensate water flowing down from the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger. When the air conditioner heats, the refrigerant may be evaporated to absorb heat at the indoor heat exchanger, so that the surface temperature of the indoor heat exchangeris decreased. Water vapor in the air is condensed to water when cooled to further fall into the second water collection trayat the bottom of the indoor heat exchangerand is collected in the second water collection trayor is discharged after being collected in the second water collection tray, which, thus, may prevent the risk of slippage of the air conditioner or people since the condensate water drops onto the ground.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the indoor fan assemblymay be disposed above the second water collection tray. The indoor fan assemblymay be disposed on a transverse side of the indoor heat exchanger. The second water collection traymay be configured to provide a mounting space for the indoor fan assembly, so that the indoor fan assemblyand the indoor heat exchangerare transversely disposed adjacent to each other, and therefore, the indoor air introduced by the indoor fan assemblycan exchange heat with the indoor heat exchangernearby, which is beneficial to improving the heat exchange efficiency of the indoor heat exchanger.