Connection Assembly for Window Air Conditioner Assembly, and Window Air Conditioner Assembly

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Nos. 202211057390.7 and 20222328203.6, both filed on Aug. 31, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

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

The window air conditioner has the advantages of simple structure, low production cost, low price, convenient mounting, reliable operation, and the like. However, in the related art, the window air conditioner usually needs a mounting support arranged at a window at a wall. The window air conditioner is large and heavy, and an indoor unit of the window air conditioner is inconvenient to disassemble. Therefore, a certain potential safety hazard exists in mounting the window air conditioner.

The present disclosure aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the related art. To this end, the present disclosure provides a connection assembly for a window air conditioner assembly. The connection assembly can improve overturning resistance of an indoor unit body and facilitate disassembly and assembly of the indoor unit body.

According to the connection assembly for the window air conditioner assembly of embodiments of the present disclosure in a first aspect, the window air conditioner assembly includes a window air conditioner including an indoor unit body located indoors and a mounting support adapted to be mounted at a window at a wall and including at least one mounting unit. The indoor unit body is adapted to be arranged at the at least one mounting unit. The connection assembly includes: a lock member movable between a first position and a second position, and an elastic member. The lock member is adapted to lock the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit when the lock member moves to the first position, and to release locking of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit when the lock member moves to the second position. The elastic member is configured to apply an elastic force to the lock member in a direction in which the lock member moves toward the first position.

According to the connection assembly for the window air conditioner assembly of the embodiments of the present disclosure, by arranging the lock member and the elastic member, the elastic member is configured to apply the elastic force to the lock member in the direction in which the lock member moves toward the first position, allowing the lock member to lock the indoor unit body and the mounting unit, or to quickly release the locking of the indoor unit body and the mounting unit. Therefore, the disassembly and assembly of the indoor unit body and the mounting unit are facilitated, reducing user operations and improving the disassembly and assembly convenience of the indoor unit body. In addition, after the lock member is locked, the elastic member is configured to continuously provide an elastic force for locking the lock member to ensure the reliable locking of the lock member, thereby ensuring a reliable connection between the indoor unit body and the mounting unit, and ensuring a reliable mounting of the window air conditioner.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the lock member and the elastic member are adapted to be arranged at one of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit. The connection assembly includes a first connector adapted to be connected to another one of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit. The lock member is separably engaged with the first connector.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connector has a first lock hole. When the lock member moves to the first position, the lock member passes through the first lock hole to restrict a relative movement between the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit in a radial direction of the first lock hole.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connector has an insertion engagement space having an insertion engagement opening to allow the insertion engagement space to be adapted to accommodate the one of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit. When the first connector is located at a predetermined position, the lock member engages into the first lock hole. When the first connector moves away from the predetermined position, the lock member is configured to disengage from the first lock hole.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connector is adapted to be connected to the indoor unit body and inserted into and engaged with the at least one mounting unit. The first connector includes a connection section and two limit sections. The two limit sections are arranged at two transverse ends of the connection section, respectively. The two limit sections and the connection section form the insertion engagement space. The insertion engagement opening is formed between the two limit sections. The first lock hole is formed on at least one of the two limit sections.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the two limit sections are arranged at two transverse ends of the connection section, respectively. The first lock hole is formed on at least one of the two limit sections. Each of the two limit sections has a guide segment at an end of the limit section away from the connection section. The guide segment of one of the two limit sections extends away from each other.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connector and the lock member are slidably engaged with each other in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction. When the lock member moves to the first position, the lock member engages with the first connector to restrict a relative movement between the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit in the longitudinal direction.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one mounting unit has an elongated hole. The lock member includes a slide rail member slidably engaged with the first connector and at least one second connector fixedly connected to the slide rail member and slidably engaged with the elongated hole. The elastic member is connected to the at least one second connector.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the first connector or the lock member has a stop member configured to restrict the lock member from disengaging from the first connector under an action of the elastic member.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the connection assembly further includes a third connector adapted to be connected to one of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit. The lock member and the elastic member are arranged at the third connector. Another one of the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit has a second lock hole. When the lock member moves to the first position, the lock member passes through the second lock hole to restrict a relative movement between the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit in a radial direction of the second lock hole. When the lock member moves to the second position, the lock member disengages from the first connector by the elastic member

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third connector has a side surface adapted to be arranged towards a transverse side of the at least one mounting unit. The side surface has an avoidance member at an outer end of the side surface in a longitudinal direction.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third connector internally has a second mounting space. The lock member has an end adapted to extend out of the second mounting space to be engaged with the second lock hole, and another end provided with a pull tab.

According to the connection assembly for the window air conditioner assembly of embodiments of the present disclosure in a second aspect, the window air conditioner assembly includes a window air conditioner including an indoor unit body located indoors and a mounting unit adapted to be mounted at a window at a wall. The indoor unit body is adapted to be arranged at the mounting unit. The connection assembly includes an elastic snap fastener adapted to be arranged at one of the indoor unit body and the mounting unit. The elastic snap fastener is further adapted to snap with another one of the indoor unit body and the mounting unit to lock the indoor unit body and the mounting unit.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the elastic snap fastener includes a hook member and an elastic member. The hook member is located at a free end of the elastic snap fastener.

The window air conditioner assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure in a third aspect includes: a window air conditioner including an indoor unit body arranged indoors; a mounting support mounted at a window at a wall and including at least one mounting unit, the indoor unit body being arranged at the at least one mounting unit; and a connection assembly. The connection assembly is the connection assembly for the window air conditioner assembly according to the embodiments of the present disclosure in the first aspect. The connection assembly is configured to lock the indoor unit body and the at least one mounting unit.

According to the window air conditioner assembly of the embodiments of the present disclosure, by adopting the above connection assembly, mounting efficiency of a user can be improved, and stable and reliable mounting can be ensured.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the connection assembly is the connection assembly according to the embodiments of the present disclosure in the second aspect. The at least one mounting unit has a snap hole formed at a transverse side of the at least one mounting unit. The elastic snap fastener is arranged at the indoor unit body and snapped at an edge of the snap hole.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one mounting unit has an insertion engagement hole formed at a side of the at least one mounting unit facing the indoor unit body. The elastic snap fastener passes through the insertion engagement hole.

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 should not 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, a connection assemblyfor a window air conditioner assemblyaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The window air conditioner assemblyfurther includes a window air conditionerand a mounting support. The window air conditionerincludes an indoor unit bodylocated indoors. The indoor unit bodyis configured to adjust an indoor ambient temperature, etc. The mounting supportis adapted to be mounted at a window at a wall, and the mounting supportincludes at least one mounting unit. The indoor unit bodyis adapted to be arranged at the mounting unit.

As shown into, the connection assemblyincludes a lock member. The lock memberis movable between a first position and a second position. When the lock membermoves to the first position, the lock memberis adapted to lock the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. The lock memberis configured to apply a locking force to the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitto allow the indoor unit bodyto be firmly fixed to the mounting unit. In this way, the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitare fixed reliably, which is beneficial to improving overturning resistance of the indoor unit bodyand avoiding the indoor unit bodyfrom inclining towards the indoor or outdoor during mounting or use, and the connection assemblyis in a locked state in this case. When the lock membermoves to the second position, the lock memberis adapted to release the locking of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit, i.e., the lock memberunlocks the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. In this case, the indoor unit bodycan be detached from the mounting unit, which is convenient to repair or replace the indoor unit body, and the connection assemblyis in an unlocked state.

The connection assemblyfurther includes an elastic member. The elastic memberis configured to apply an elastic force to the lock memberin a direction in which the lock membermoves toward the first position, allowing the lock memberto always have a tendency to move towards the first position. Therefore, the lock memberis always kept at the first position without other external forces, so as to realize constant locking of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitto allow the connection assemblyto always be in the locked state, thereby ensuring the reliable mounting of the indoor unit body. In addition, during an assembly process of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit, when the lock membermoves to the second position under an external force (for example, the force exerted by the indoor unit body, the mounting unit, and the like) until the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitare engaged in place, the lock membercan automatically return to the first position under an action of the elastic member. Therefore, automatic locking of the indoor unit bodyand mounting unitcan be achieved, reducing user operations and improving the mounting convenience of the indoor unit body

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, when the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitneed to be detached, the lock membercan be driven to move to the second position to realize unlocking of the connection assembly. In this way, a separation of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitcan be quickly realized, which facilitates the disassembly and assembly of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit.

According to the connection assemblyfor the window air conditioner assemblyof the embodiments of the present disclosure, by arranging the lock memberand the elastic member, the elastic memberis configured to apply the elastic force to the lock memberin a direction in which the lock membermoves toward the first position, allowing the lock memberto lock the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit, or to quickly release the locking of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. Therefore, the disassembly and assembly of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitare facilitated, reducing user operations and improving the disassembly and assembly convenience of the indoor unit body. In addition, after the lock memberis locked, the elastic memberis configured to continuously provide an elastic force for locking the lock memberto ensure the reliable locking of the lock member, thereby ensuring a reliable connection between the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit, and ensuring a reliable mounting of the window air conditioner.

It can be understood that a movement mode of the lock membercan be specifically set based on actual requirements. For example, the lock memberis movable between the first position and the second position, or the lock memberis rotatable between the first position and the second position, or a position switching of the lock memberbetween the first position and the second position needs to be realized by moving and rotating.

It should be noted that, in the present disclosure, an inner-outer direction of the window (i.e., a direction through the window) is “longitudinal,” and a width direction of the window is “transverse.” A height direction of the window is “vertical.”

In some optional examples, the indoor unit bodymay include an indoor heat exchanger, an indoor fan, etc. An outdoor unit bodydescribed later may include a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an outdoor fan, etc. A refrigerant pipeline is connected between the indoor unit bodyand the outdoor unit body, allowing the indoor heat exchanger, the outdoor heat exchanger, the compressor, and the like to constitute a refrigerant circulation system, which can realize a refrigeration cycle or a heating cycle. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the indoor fan, the outdoor fan, and the like may also be omitted, and examples are not given here.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown into,, and, the lock memberand the elastic memberare adapted to be arranged at one of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. The connection assemblyincludes a first connectoradapted to be connected to another one of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. The lock memberis separably engaged with the first connector. The lock memberis switched between the first position and the second position through a separable engagement of the lock memberand the first connector, that is, the connection assemblyis switched between the locked state and the unlocked state. Therefore, the locking or unlocking of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitis realized, and the stable fixing between the indoor unit bodyon the mounting unitis ensured, which facilitates the mounting of the indoor unit body.

It can be seen that when the lock memberand the elastic memberare arranged at the indoor unit body, the first connectoris arranged at the mounting unitto be separably engaged with the lock member, or when the lock memberand the elastic memberare arranged at the mounting unit, the first connectoris arranged at the indoor unit bodyto be separably engaged with the lock member. For example, both the lock memberand the elastic memberare adapted to be arranged at the indoor unit body, and the first connectoris adapted to be connected to the mounting unit. Or both the lock memberand the elastic memberare adapted to be arranged at the mounting unit, and the first connectoris adapted to be connected to the indoor unit body(as shown into).

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the arrangement of the lock memberand the elastic memberis not limited to this. For example, the lock memberand the elastic membermay also be arranged at the wall.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown into, the first connectorhas a first lock hole. When the lock membermoves to the first position, the lock memberpasses through the first lock holeto restrict a relative movement between the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitin a radial direction of the first lock hole. When the lock membermoves to the second position, the lock memberdisengages from the first lock hole, and the lock membercannot limit a relative movement between the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. Therefore, the lock memberpasses through or disengages from the first lock holeto realize limit or separation of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. In this way, the first connectorand the lock memberhave simple structures, and a locking mode and an unlocking mode of the lock memberare simple, which facilitates production and processing of the connection assemblyand operations of a user.

It should be appreciated that when the lock memberengages into the first lock hole, the lock membercan move relative to the first lock hole, e.g., in the axial direction of the first lock hole, or the lock membermay rotate relative to the first lock hole.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown into, the axial direction of the first lock holeis arranged in a transverse direction. Therefore, the user drives the lock memberto switch between the first position and the second position in the transverse direction to realize the locking and unlocking of the connection assembly, which is more in line with the operation habits of the human body and convenient for simplifying the operation. It is beneficial to ensure that the user can realize the switching of the lock memberbetween the first position and the second position under the condition of blind area of vision.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the axial direction of the first lock holemay also be arranged in a longitudinal direction.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown into, the connection assemblyfurther includes a mounting memberadapted to be arranged at one of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit(i.e., one of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitis adapted to be arranged at the lock memberand the elastic member). The mounting memberhas a first mounting space, and the elastic memberis arranged in the first mounting space. The lock memberis adapted to extending out of the first mounting space, which is beneficial to protecting the elastic memberby the mounting member, avoiding damage to the elastic memberby other members during mounting the indoor unit body, and ensuring an normal operation of the elastic member.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in, the mounting memberhas a first through holein communication with the first mounting space. The lock memberis slidably engaged with the first through holein an axial direction of the first through hole. The first through holecan limit a movement of the lock memberto allow a part of the lock memberto protrude out of the first mounting spacefrom the first through hole. The elastic memberis configured to apply an elastic force to the lock memberin the axial direction of the first through hole. The lock membercan be maintained at the first position, and the external force can overcome the elastic force applied by the lock memberto allow the lock memberto retract from the first through holeto the first mounting space. In this way, the locking between the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unitis released.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown inand, the first connectorhas an insertion engagement spacehaving an insertion engagement openingto allow the insertion engagement spaceto be adapted to accommodate one of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. When the first connectoris located at a predetermined position, the lock memberengages with the first lock hole. When the first connectormoves away from the predetermined position, the lock memberdisengages from the first lock hole.

For example, as shown into, the first connectoris arranged at the indoor unit body. The insertion engagement openingof the first connectoris arranged towards the mounting unit. The lock memberis arranged at the mounting unit. When the first connectoris located at the predetermined position, the lock memberengages with the first lock holeto lock the first connectorand the mounting unit. When the first connectormoves away from the predetermined position, the lock memberdisengages from the first lock holeto release the locking of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the first connectormay also be arranged at the mounting unit.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown into, the first connectoris adapted to be connected to the indoor unit bodyand adapted to be inserted into and engaged with the mounting unit, so as to ensure that the mounting unitis inserted into and engaged with the insertion engagement space, thereby facilitating quick disassembly and assembly of the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit.

The first connectorincludes a connection sectionand two limit sections. The two limit sectionsare arranged at two transverse ends of the connection section, respectively. The two limit sectionsand the connection sectionjointly form the insertion engagement space. The insertion engagement openingis formed between the two limit sections, and the first connectoris approximately formed into a U-shaped structure. At least one of the two limit sectionshas the first lock hole. After the mounting unitis inserted into and engaged with the insertion engagement space, the lock memberengages with the first lock holeto restrict the relative movement between the indoor unit bodyand the mounting unit, which facilitates the indoor unit bodyto engage with the mounting unit.

In the examples shown into, a transverse width of the mounting unitis smaller than a transverse width of the indoor unit body, so that the first connectoris inserted into and engaged with mounting unit, thereby simplifying the structure of the first connectorand reducing material consumption of the first connector.