Window Air Conditioner

This application claims a priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202321387873.3, titled “WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER,” and filed on May 31, 2023 by Wuhu Maty Air-conditioning Equipment Co. Ltd. and Guangdong Midea Air-Conditioning Equipment Co. LTD.

The present disclosure relates to the field of air conditioner technologies, and more particularly, to a window air conditioner.

In the related art, a window air conditioner includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit through a connector. The outdoor unit can be reversed relative to the connector, thus a rotating shaft needs to be arranged between the outdoor unit and the connector. The rotating shaft has a complex structure, resulting in difficulties when assembling the outdoor unit with the connector, and low assembly efficiency.

The present disclosure aims at solving at least one of the technical problems existing in the related art. To this end, the present disclosure provides a window air conditioner, which has lower assembly difficulty and higher assembly efficiency.

The window air conditioner includes: an indoor unit component adapted to be arranged at an indoor side; an outdoor unit component adapted to be arranged at an outdoor side; and a connector adapted to pass through a window opening, and connect the indoor unit component with the outdoor unit component. The connector includes a first connection plate. The outdoor unit component includes a second connection plate. The first connection plate and the second connection plate are connected to each other through a pivot component to allow the outdoor unit component to rotate relative to the indoor unit component. When the window air conditioner is in a use state, the connector is located at an upper end of a space between the indoor unit component and the outdoor unit component, the first connection plate and the second connection plate are positioned horizontally, and the pivot component is located at a top of each of the first connection plate and the second connection plate. The first connection plate includes an extension member extending to a position above the second connection plate. The extension member is sandwiched between the second connection plate and the pivot component.

According to the window air conditioner of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plate and the second connection plate are connected to each other through the pivot component. The extension member of the first connection plate extending to a position above the second connection plate is sandwiched between the second connection plate and the pivot component. On the one hand, the pivot component is formed as a separate module, and in an assembly process, the pivot component with a complex structure does not need to be disassembled, such that the assembly efficiency can be improved. On the other hand, the pivot component and the second connection plate can cooperate to realize pre-positioning of the first connection plate, such that further assembly after the pre-positioning can be performed with lowered alignment difficulty, the assembly is simpler and more convenient, further improving the assembly efficiency of the window air conditioner.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plate further includes a stop member connected to a side of the extension member close to the indoor unit component. The stop member extends downward relative to the extension member to provide a stop at a back side of a back plate of the outdoor unit component.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pivot component includes a first hinge base and a second hinge base that are hingedly connected to each other and arranged in a direction from the indoor unit component to the outdoor unit component. The first hinge base is mounted at the first connection plate, and the second hinge base is mounted at the second connection plate. The first hinge base includes a press stop member, and when the window air conditioner is in the use state, the press stop member is located above the second connection plate and is spaced apart from the second connection plate to form an accommodation gap with the second connection plate. The extension member extends into the accommodation gap to be sandwiched between the press stop member and the second connection plate.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first hinge base includes a plane section. The first connection plate includes a connection member coplanar with the extension member. The connection member and the extension member are attached to a bottom of the plane section. The connection member is fixedly connected to the plane section.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plate includes a connection member. The pivot component is supported at a top of the connection member. The connection member is provided with an engagement structure. An end of the pivot component close to the indoor unit component is engaged with the engagement structure to prevent the pivot component from being vertically separated from the first connection plate.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the engagement structure is constructed as an elastic snap and forms an engagement opening opened towards the outdoor unit component. An end of the pivot component close to the indoor unit component is engaged into the engagement opening.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plate includes a plate body. The connection member is constructed as a protrusion structure located at a top of the plate body.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pivot component is fixedly connected to the connection member through a threaded fastener

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit component has a bent member at a top of the back plate of the outdoor unit component. The bent member extends to a position above the second connection plate. When the window air conditioner is in the use state, the bent member is sandwiched between the extension member and the second connection plate. A top cover of the outdoor unit component covers over the second connection plate and the pivot component.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the connector includes a bottom plate and a top plate connected to an upper part of the bottom plate. An accommodation cavity is formed between the bottom plate and the top plate. A line and/or a pipeline for connecting the indoor unit component with the outdoor unit component passes through the accommodation cavity. The bottom plate serves as the first connection plate

Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be given at least in part in the following description, or become apparent at least in part from the following description, or can be learned from practicing of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to examples thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which same or similar elements, or elements having same or similar functions, are denoted by same or similar reference numerals. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative only, and are intended to explain, rather than limiting, the present disclosure.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the orientation or position relationship indicated by the terms such as “center,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer” should be construed to refer to the orientation or the position as shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the pointed apparatus or element must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that terms “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features associated with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, “plurality” means at least two, unless otherwise specifically defined.

Hereinafter, referring toto, a window air conditioneraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail.

As shown in, the window air conditioneraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit componentadapted to be arranged at an indoor side, an outdoor unit componentadapted to be arranged at an outdoor side, and a connectoradapted to pass through a window opening. The indoor unit componentand the outdoor unit componentare connected to each other through the connector.

The window air conditionerhas an installing state and a use state. The outdoor unit componentis rotatably engaged with the connector. In the installing state, an angle formed between a back plateof a housing of the outdoor unit componentand the connectoris substantially 180° (close to 180° or equal to 180°, the back plateextending in a horizontal direction or substantially horizontal direction). In the use state, an angle formed between the back plateof the outdoor unit componentand the connectoris substantially 90° (close to 90° or equal to 90°, the back plateextending in a vertical direction or substantially vertical direction). The outdoor unit componentis rotatably connected to the connectorand can be switched between the installing state and the use state, such that the window air conditionercan be conveniently installed on the window opening. During installation, an installer does not need to poke most of his or her body out of the window opening, which can reduce potential safety hazards during installing and improve the installing convenience.

As shown in,, and, the connectorincludes a first connection plate, the outdoor unit componentincludes a second connection plate, and the first connection plateand the second connection plateare connected to each other through a pivot componentto allow the outdoor unit componentto rotate relative to the indoor unit component. When the window air conditioneris in use, the connectoris located at an upper end of a space between the indoor unit componentand the outdoor unit component. The first connection plateand the second connection plateare positioned horizontally, and the pivot componentis located at a top of each of the first connection plateand the second connection plate. The first connection plateincludes an extension memberextending to a position above the second connection plate. The extension memberis sandwiched between the second connection plateand the pivot component.

Being positioned horizontally means that a plate thickness direction of the first connection plateand a plate thickness direction of the second connection plateare substantially vertical, and being sandwiched means being located between two objects, i.e., the extension memberis spatially located between the second connection plateand the pivot component.

In the related art, two hinge bases of the pivot componentare fixed on the first connection plateand the second connection plate, respectively, and the two hinge bases are connected to each other through a rotating shaft or a pin shaft. A matching lock structure is arranged between the two hinge bases to ensure fixing stability and reliability of the outdoor unit componentin the installing state and the use state, resulting in higher difficulty when assembling the pivot componentwith the outdoor unit componentand assembling the pivot componentwith the indoor unit component. In particular, alignment between the first connection plateand the pivot componentand alignment between the second connection plateand the pivot componentare difficult to achieve, which causes assembly difficulties and less convenience in use.

According to the present disclosure, when the window air conditioneris in the use state, the extension memberof the first connection platethat extends to a position above the second connection plateis sandwiched between the second connection plateand the pivot component, and the first connection plateis connected to the second connection platethrough the pivot componentto allow the pivot componentto form an assembled module. During installation, the pivot componentmay be fixed to the second connection plate. After the pivot componentis fixed to the second connection plate, the extension memberarranged at the first connection plateand extending towards the second connection platemay be further sandwiched between the second connection plateand the pivot component, to pre-position the first connection plate, so as to reduce the assembly difficulty between the first connection plateand the pivot componentand improve the assembly efficiency. Further, there is no need to disassemble the pivot component.

An assembly structure between the outdoor unit component, the indoor unit component, the connector, and the pivot componentaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the extension memberextending towards the first connection platemay be arranged at the second connection plate, and a sandwiching space is formed between the first connection plateand the pivot component. The extension memberextends into the sandwiching space between the first connection plateand the pivot component, to achieve spatial sandwiching and pre-positioning, such that a same technical effect as the above structure can be realized, which is not described here.

According to the window air conditionerof the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plateand the second connection plateare connected to each other through the pivot component, and the extension memberof the first connection plateextending to a position above the second connection plateis sandwiched between the second connection plateand the pivot component. On the one hand, the pivot componentis formed as a separate module, and in the assembly process, the pivot componentwith a complicated structure does not need to be disassembled, such that the assembly efficiency can be improved. On the other hand, the pivot componentand the second connection platecan cooperate to realize the pre-positioning of the first connection plate, such that further assembling after the pre-positioning can be performed with lowered alignment difficulty, the assembly is simpler and more convenient, further improving the assembly efficiency of the window air conditioner.

The up-down direction and the inside-outside direction involved in the present disclosure all take the window opening as a reference. An inside and an outside of the window opening are relative concepts. The inside-outside direction corresponds to a width direction of the window opening. A left-right direction is a length direction of the window opening. The up-down direction corresponds to a height direction of the window opening.

As shown in,, and, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection platefurther includes a stop memberconnected to a side of the extension memberclose to the indoor unit component. The stop memberextends downward relative to the extension memberto form a stop at a back side of the back plateof the outdoor unit component.

The extension memberof the first connection plateis arranged opposite to the second connection platein the up-down direction (i.e., the vertical direction). The back plateof the outdoor unit componentis arranged close to the window opening in the use state. The back side of the back plateis arranged close to the first connection plate. The stop memberis arranged at a side of the first extension memberclose to the indoor unit component(i.e., an inner side of the extension member). The extension memberand the stop memberare both configured to have a plate structure having an “L” shaped cross-section. The back surface of the back platefacing inward may be pushed against the stop member, such that a displacement of the outdoor unit componentcan be limited by the stop member, to improve the structural stability and reliability of the outdoor unit componentin the use state, and the outdoor unit componentcan be invisible from indoors by arranging the stop member, to improve the aesthetics of the window air conditioner, providing a higher level of use feeling and improving the use experience of the window air conditioner.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the pivot componentincludes a first hinge baseand a second hinge basehingedly connected to each other and arranged in a direction from the indoor unit componentto the outdoor unit component. The first hinge baseis mounted at the first connection plate. The second hinge baseis mounted at the second connection plate. The first hinge baseincludes a press stop member. When the window air conditioneris in the use state, the press stop memberis arranged above the second connection plateand is spaced apart from the second connection plateto form an accommodation gap with the second connection plate. The extension memberextends into the accommodation gap to be sandwiched between the press stop memberand the second connection plate. Therefore, the press stop memberand the second connection platepress against the first connection plate, which can achieve the pre-positioning and also improve connection stability and reliability between the first connection plateand the pivot component.

The pivot componentincludes the first hinge baseand the second hinge base. A lock hole may be formed on the first hinge base, and a lock shaft may be correspondingly arranged at the second hinge base. The outdoor unit componentis rotatable around a pivot axis of the pivot componentrelative to the connector, so as to switch between the use state and the installing state. In the installing state, the outdoor unit componentand the connectorare located above a horizontal plane at which the window still is located. In this state, the outdoor unit componentcan be transported to the outdoor side more simply and more conveniently. In use state, most part of the outdoor unit componentis located below the horizontal plane at which the window still is located and can abut against a wall surface of an outer wall to fix the window air conditioner.

The outdoor unit componentis movable (e.g. rotatable or slidable) relative to the connector, such the outdoor unit componentcan move relative to the connectorin an installing position and a fixed position. Therefore, it is difficulty to ensure fixing stability, which can cause potential safety hazards and reduce the installing convenience.

The present disclosure further provides the lock assembly on the window air conditioner. The lock assembly includes the lock hole and the lock shaft. The lock hole is formed at one of the first hinge baseand the second hinge base. A plurality of lock holes may be provided and are arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction of the pivot axis. The lock shaft is arranged at another of the second hinge baseand the first hinge base, and is adapted to be inserted into the lock hole. A position correspondence between the lock shaft and the plurality of lock holes changes with a change of a rotation angle of the outdoor unit componentrelative to the connector. The lock shaft locks the outdoor unit componentand the connectorat different relative rotation angles when inserted into different lock holes.

Assuming that an angular interval between the installing state and the use state is 90°, and two lock holes are provided. The angular interval of the two lock holes in the circumferential direction of the pivot axis is 90°. One of the lock holes is a first lock hole, and another of the lock holes is a second lock hole. When the lock shaft is inserted into the first lock hole, the outdoor unit componentcan be fixed at the installing position. When the lock shaft is inserted into the second lock hole, the outdoor unit componentcan be fixed at the fixed position. In other embodiments, a plurality of first lock holes and a plurality of second lock holes may be provided. The plurality of first lock hole form one group, and the plurality of second lock hole form another group. The number of lock shafts is consistent with the number of the first lock holes and the number of the second lock holes.

When the lock hole is formed on the outdoor unit componentor a structure connected to the outdoor unit component, the corresponding lock shaft is arranged at the connectoror a structure connected to the connector. When the lock shaft is arranged at the outdoor unit componentor a structure connected to the outdoor unit component, the corresponding lock hole is formed on the connectoror a structure connected to the connector.

As shown inand, the first hinge baseincludes a plane section. The first connection plateincludes a connection membercoplanar with the extension member. The connection memberand the extension memberare attached to a bottom of the plane section. The connection memberis fixedly connected to the plane section.

The first hinge basehas a flat plate section configured to be connected to the first connection plate. The flat plate section is at least partially formed as a press stop memberto press against the first connection plate. The flat plate section is at least partially formed as the plane section. The extension memberis coplanar with the connection member. The connection memberis attached to the plane section. A connection between the plane sectionand the connection membercan achieve a reliable and stable connection between the first connection plateand the pivot component.

The connection memberis coplanar with the extension member. The plane sectionis coplanar with the press stop member, or the press stop memberis further formed as the plane section. Therefore, there is no segment difference between the plane sectionand the connection member, which facilitates assembly, while improving assembly accuracy and reliability after assembly. In addition, a problem of fracture at a connection position between the stop member and the connection membercan be avoided to further improve the connection stability and reliability.

As shown in, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connection plateincludes the connection member. The pivot componentis supported at a top of the connector. The connection memberis provided with an engagement structure. An end of the pivot componentclose to the indoor unit componentis engaged with the engagement structureto prevent the pivot componentfrom being vertically separated from the first connection plate.

The engagement structureis constructed as an elastic snap and forms an engagement opening opened towards the outdoor unit component. An end of the pivot componentclose to the indoor unit componentis engaged into the engagement opening to improve the connection stability and reliability between the first connection plateand the first hinge base.

The first connection plateincludes a plate body. The connection memberis constructed as a protrusion structure at a top of the plate body.

In the vertical direction, the connection memberis arranged higher than the plate bodyto form a gap between the connection memberand the plate body. The second connection platemay be inserted into the gap to avoid interference between the first connection plateand the first hinge baseand between the first connection plateand the second connection plate, which improves assembly convenience.

The pivot componentis fixedly connected to the connection memberthrough a threaded fastener to improve the connection stability and reliability between the pivot componentand the connector.

As shown in, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit componenthas a bent memberat a top of the back plateof the outdoor unit component. The bent memberextends to a position above the second connection plate. When the window air conditioneris in the use state, the bent memberis sandwiched between the extension memberand the second connection plate. A top cover of the outdoor unit componentcovers over the second connection plateand the pivot component.

The bent memberand the extension memberof the first connection plateare opposite to each other in the inside-outside direction and are staggered in the vertical direction. The extension member, the bent member, and the press stop memberof the first hinge baseare sequentially arranged in the vertical direction to improve the connection stability of the pivot componentwith the outdoor unit componentand the connector. The top cover of the outdoor unit componentcovers over the second connection plateand the pivot component. Therefore, foreign matters can be prevented from entering to improve the operating stability and reliability of the pivot componentand further improve the aesthetics of the window air conditioner.

In some embodiments, the connectorincludes a bottom plate and a top plate connected to an upper part of the bottom plate. An accommodation cavity is formed between the bottom plate and the top plate. A line and/or a pipeline for connecting the indoor unit componentwith the outdoor unit componentpasses through the accommodation cavity. The bottom plate serves as the first connection plate.

The first connection plateis formed as the bottom plate. The top plate opposite to the bottom plate is arranged above the bottom plate. A side plate extending is arranged at the top plate, or a side plate extending upwards is arranged at the bottom plate, to form the accommodation cavity. The line and/or the pipeline passes through the accommodation cavity. Therefore, the operating stability and the use safety of the window air conditionerare improved, with the line and the pipeline being invisible, such that the aesthetics of the window air conditionercan be improved.

In the description of this specification, description with reference to the terms “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “exemplary embodiments,” “examples” “specific examples,” or “some examples” etc., mean that specific features, structure, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the described specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.