Air Conditioner

The present application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2025/090151, filed on Apr. 21, 2025, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410504257.4, filed on Apr. 24, 2024, Chinese Patent Application No. 202520583835.8, filed on Mar. 29, 2025, Chinese Patent Application No. 202520583457.3, filed on Mar. 29, 2025, Chinese Patent Application No. 202520583737.4, filed on Mar. 29, 2025, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202520583756.7, 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 a device that can be used for adjusting the temperature, humidity, air flow velocity, and air cleanliness of indoor air, which is widely applied to families, offices, commercial spaces, and industrial environments. The fundamental principle of the air conditioner is as follows: through circulation of a refrigerant, heat transfer is achieved by means of a physical process of heat absorption during evaporation and heat release during condensation, so that a cooling or heating effect is achieved. With the technical progress, in addition to refrigerating and heating functions, the air conditioner is further integrated with various functions such as dehumidification and air purification, which have become one of the indispensable electric appliances in modern life.

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 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, including a housing configured as a shell of the air conditioner, the housing being internally provided with an accommodating space; an indoor heat exchanger disposed in the accommodating space and configured to exchange heat with indoor air; and an indoor fan assembly disposed in the accommodating space and arranged opposite to the indoor heat exchanger,

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, but not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments provided by the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

In the related air conditioner, the driving electric machine is mainly arranged above the cross-flow indoor wind wheel, which, however, will occupy the internal space of the air conditioner, resulting in a large volume of the air conditioner body. Therefore, the manufacturing cost increases, and the container loading quantity during transportation is also decreased. On the contrary, the driving electric machine is mounted at the bottom of the cross-flow air duct, which may reduce the occupation of the internal space. However, the driving electric machine is easily rusted due to the erosion of the condensate.

The air conditioner in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a floor air conditioner. Improved technical solutions of the air conditioner in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below, taking the floor air conditioner as an example.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a housing. The housingmay be configured as a shell outside the air conditioner. The housingmay be internally provided with an accommodating space. The housingmay be of a hollow structure such as a cuboid. It is to be noted that the housingmay form a shell outside the air conditioner. The housingmay be of a hollow structure in another shape.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a refrigerant circulation loop. 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, during the refrigerating cycle, the outdoor heat exchangermay serve as the condenser, and the indoor heat exchangermay serve as the evaporator. During heating circulation, 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 the 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, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an outdoor fan assembly. The outdoor fan assemblymay be arranged opposite to the outdoor heat exchanger. The outdoor fan assemblymay be configured to introduce outdoor air into the housing and 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, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include an indoor fan assembly. The indoor fan assemblymay be arranged opposite to the indoor heat exchanger. The indoor fan assemblymay be configured to introduce indoor air into the housing and 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 housing and 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 housing and 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 in, 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 space inside the housing. Thus, the housing may play roles of covering and protecting them and prevent 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 in, 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 inand, in some embodiments, the air conditioner may include a housing. The housingincludes a main shelland a chassis. The chassisis disposed at a bottom of the main shell. The main shelland the chassisform the internal accommodating space. The air conditioner may include a refrigerant circulation loop, and the refrigerant circulation loop is disposed in the accommodating spaceand includes a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator connected end to end. One of the condenser and evaporator is the outdoor heat exchanger, and the other one is the indoor heat exchanger. The air conditioner may include an outdoor fan assembly, and the outdoor fan assemblyis disposed on one side of the outdoor heat exchangerto drive the outdoor air to flow through the outdoor heat exchangerto exchange heat. The air conditioner may include an indoor fan assembly, and the indoor fan assemblyis disposed on one side of the indoor heat exchangerto drive the indoor air to flow through the indoor heat exchangerto exchange heat. The air conditioner may include a second water collection tray, and the outdoor heat exchangeris disposed above the second water collection tray. The air conditioner may include a first water collection tray, and the indoor heat exchangeris disposed above the first water collection tray. The first water collection traymay be disposed above the outdoor heat exchanger. The air conditioner may include an air inlet pipe, and the air inlet pipeis configured to supply the outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchangerto exchange heat. The air conditioner may include an air outlet pipe, and the air outlet pipeis configured to supply the heat exchange air to the outside under the action of the outdoor fan assembly. The air inlet pipeand the air outlet pipeare disposed above the outdoor heat exchangerand are spaced apart from the indoor fan assemblyin the horizontal direction. The compressoris disposed at the bottom of the housing, and the first water collection trayis disposed above the compressor.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor fan assemblymay include an air duct shell member. The air duct shell membermay be disposed in the housing. The air duct shell membermay be provided with an air outletto deliver air entering the air conditioner and exchanging heat with the indoor air to the inside through the air outletof the indoor air duct assembly.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor fan assemblymay include an indoor wind wheel. The indoor wind wheelis rotatably disposed in the air duct shell member. When the indoor wind wheelrotates, the air conditioner may extract air from the inside, and the air flows through the indoor heat exchangerto exchange heat therewith, and then is delivered to the outside through the air outletof the air duct shell member. As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor wind wheelmay be configured as a cross-flow wind wheel.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor wind wheelmay be arranged along a height direction of the air conditioner. An upper end of the indoor wind wheelmay be rotationally connected to an upper end of the air duct shell member. A lower end of the indoor wind wheelmay be rotationally connected to a lower end of the air duct shell member.

As shown in, in some embodiments, an indoor heat exchange system may include an indoor electric machine. The indoor electric machinemay be configured to drive the indoor wind wheelto rotate.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the lower end of the indoor wind wheelis provided with a lower end cover. The lower end covermay be provided with a rotary connecting hole. The indoor electric machinemay be connected to the lower end coverof the indoor wind wheelthrough the rotary connecting hole to drive the indoor wind wheelto rotate.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor electric machinemay be disposed at the bottom of the air duct shell member. A top of the indoor electric machinemay be provided with an output shaftand a shaft hole. The output shaftmay extend upward through the shaft hole. The output shaftmay stretch into the air duct shell memberto be in transmission connection with the lower end cover.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the indoor fan assemblymay include a shielding member. The shielding membermay be sleeved on the output shaft. The shielding membermay be arranged circumferentially around the periphery of the output shaft. The shielding membermay shield the shaft hole.

Since the indoor electric machineis disposed at the bottom of the indoor wind wheel, the condensate may flow downward to the electric machine disposed below along the indoor wind wheelor the output shaft, and enters the indoor electric machinethrough the shaft hole, which makes the indoor electric machinebe affected with damp or rusted to affect work of the indoor electric machine. By sleeving the shielding memberon the output shaftof the indoor electric machine, the shielding memberextends in the circumferential direction of the output shaftto shield the condensate above, so as to prevent the condensate from directly flowing into the shaft holebelow along the output shaft.

As shown in, in some embodiments, a bottom surface of the lower end covermay be provided with an upward sunken mounting space. The shielding membermay be disposed in the mounting space. By forming an upward groove in the lower end cover, the shielding memberis mounted in the mounting space, so that the space of the indoor wind wheelin a vertical direction may be effectively utilized.

In the related air conditioner, the driving electric machine is mainly arranged above the cross-flow indoor wind wheel, which, however, will increase the mounting spaceof the indoor wind wheelin the vertical direction, resulting in a large volume of the air conditioner body. Therefore, the manufacturing cost increases, and the container loading quantity during transportation is also decreased. However, the driving electric machine is mounted at the bottom of the cross-flow air duct, which may reduce the occupation of the internal space. However, during indoor refrigeration of the air conditioner, moisture in air is easily condensed in the air duct shell memberto form the condensate water. The condensate may drop along the flowing direction of the air. Particularly when the electric machine is mounted at the bottom of the air duct, the condensate is easily accumulated and seeps into the electric machine, resulting in a problem that the driving electric machine is rusted.

In the air conditioner of the present disclosure, through the mounting spaceconcave upward at the lower end coverof the indoor wind wheel, the shielding membermay be disposed in the mounting space. Thus, it is not needed to additionally reserve a space for mounting a waterproof component at the indoor wind wheel. In the vertical direction of the air conditioner, the mounting position of the shielding memberoverlaps with the mounting spaceat the lower end of the indoor wind wheel, so that the occupation of an internal space of the air conditioner is reduced, and the mounting structure of the air conditioner is more compact. In addition, the shielding memberis sleeved on the output shaftand extends toward the circumferential direction of the output shaft. A physical barrier may be formed above the shaft holeto shield the shaft holebelow to prevent a condensate from directly entering a driving electric machine through the shaft hole, so as to prevent a risk that the driving electric machine is affected by damp, rusted, or short-circuited, thereby playing a good waterproof role.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the lower end covermay include a bottom plate. The bottom platemay be disposed at the lower end of the indoor wind wheel. The bottom platemay be provided with an avoidance opening. The avoidance openingmay communicate with the mounting space. The output shaftof the electric machine may stretch into the mounting spacethrough the avoidance opening, and the output shaftof the electric machine may be in transmission connection with the bottom plate.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the lower end covermay include a boss. The bossmay be disposed at the avoidance openingof the bottom plate. The bossmay extend upward from the avoidance openingof the bottom plate. The mounting spacemay be formed in the boss. A top wallof the bossmay be disposed above the avoidance opening. The indoor electric machinemay stretch into the mounting spaceand may be in transmission connection with the top wallof the boss. Specifically, the bossextends upward from the avoidance openingof the bottom plateto form the mounting space, so that part of the indoor electric machineand the shielding membercan be partially embedded into the bossrather than completely occupying the bottom space of the air duct, which, thus, may reduce occupation of the internal space of the air conditioner, so that the structure is more compact. Moreover, since the mounting spaceis enclosed by the boss, even if the condensate flows along the bottom of the indoor fan, it is more easily blocked by the side wall of the bossor guided to other drainage paths, thereby reducing the risk that the condensate directly enters the indoor electric machinedownward.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, a circumferential side wallof the bossmay be bent upward and extend upward from the avoidance openingof the bottom plate. The circumferential side wallof the bossmay be connected between the bottom plateand the top wallof the boss. In a direction from top to bottom, the circumferential side wallof the bossmay be disposed obliquely away from an axis of the output shaft. The circumferential side wallof the bossis continuous. The circumferential side wallof the bossis free from through-holes. The circumferential side wallof the bossis without any perforations.

The top wallof the bossis disposed above the circumferential side wallof the boss, and the lower side of the circumferential side wallof the bossis connected to the avoidance openingof the bottom plate. Since the circumferential side wallof the bossis disposed obliquely away from the axis of the output shaftin the direction from top to bottom, i.e., the lower end of the circumferential side wallis disposed away from the output shaft, even if the condensate water or water vapor is condensed on the surface of the boss, the condensate may also flow to a position away from the output shaftin an inclination direction of the circumferential side wallof the boss, so as to reduce the risk that the condensate enters the shaft holeof the indoor electric machine. Meanwhile, the inclined arrangement of the circumferential side wallof the bossfacilitates discharge of the condensate water to prevent accumulated water from being gathered around the electric machine, so that the waterproof effect is further improved.

In some other embodiments, the circumferential wallof the bossmay be disposed vertically downward. Specifically, the circumferential side wallof the bossmay be cylindrical.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the bossand the bottom platemay be integrally formed. Thus, compared with the way of independently splicing the bossand the bottom plateor adding a support member, the integrally formed structure improves the structural rigidity of the lower end plate and reduces the deformation caused by high-speed rotation or external vibration of the indoor fan, which is beneficial for long-term stable operation of the electric machine and the fan.

As shown in, in some embodiments, a shaft surface of the output shaftmay be provided with a groove in a concave manner (not shown in the figure). The shielding membermay be embedded into the groove. Thus, the groove makes the shielding membermore compactly mounted to the output shaftto prevent displacement or looseness due to high-speed operation or vibration of the indoor wind wheel. Moreover, by forming the groove, the shielding membercan be more compactly combined with the output shaft, so that a mounting gap therebetween is reduced, and the condensate is prevented from seeping into the indoor electric machinealong the output shaft.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the shielding membermay be made of materials such as a silica gel and rubber. Thus, the connecting tightness between the shielding memberand the output shaftmay be improved, so that the probability that the condensate flows downward into the indoor electric machinefrom the gap between the output shaftand the shielding memberis further reduced.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the shielding membermay include a shielding cover. The shielding covermay be sleeved on the output shaft. The shielding covermay be annular. The shielding covermay be arranged circumferentially around the periphery of the output shaft. The shielding covermay be positioned above the shaft hole.

The shielding coveris sleeved on the output shaftand is annular, i.e., the shielding covercompletely surrounds the output shaftto further circumferentially enclose the outer side of the output shaftto form a direct barrier above the shaft hole, so as to prevent the condensate or water vapor from directly entering the shaft hole. On the other hand, the shielding coverdisposed circumferentially around the output shaftmay avoid the problem of extra vibration or eccentricity of the indoor electric machinedue to unbalanced stress during high-speed rotation of the fan.

As shown inand, in some embodiments, the shielding membermay include a flow guide portion. The flow guide portionmay be annular. The flow guide portionmay be arranged circumferentially around the periphery of the shielding cover. The flow guide portionmay extend downward along a circumferential edge of the shielding cover.

Specifically, the flow guide portionsurrounds the periphery of the shielding coverand extends downward along the circumferential edge of the shielding coverto form a downward extending annular structure. Thus, even if the condensate flows along the shielding cover, it will not drop into the shaft holedirectly but is guided to the periphery by the flow guide portion, thereby further reducing the risk that the condensate water enters the electric machine. Moreover, the downward extending flow guide portionmay also prevent water drops from being accumulated at the edge of the shielding coverto reduce water stagnation, thereby improving the waterproof performance.

As shown in, in some embodiments, the connection between the flow guide portionand the shielding covermay be an arc transition connection. This is beneficial for the condensate to flow to the position away from the shaft holealong the shielding coverand the flow guide portionin sequence, thereby preventing the condensate from being accumulated on the shielding coveror the flow guide portion.

As shown in, in some embodiments, a top surface of the flow guide portionmay be provided with a flow guide surface. In the direction from top to bottom, the flow guide surfacemay be disposed obliquely away from the axis of the output shaft. The obliquely disposed flow guide surfacemay guide the condensate water to flow toward one side away from the output shaftto prevent the condensate from flowing to the middle shaft hole, so as to reduce the risk that the condensate directly seeps into the indoor electric machinealong the output shaft, thereby further effectively reducing stagnation of the condensate around the shielding memberor the indoor electric machineand reducing the risk of water accumulation. Moreover, the obliquely disposed flow guide surfacemay further accelerate discharge of the condensate water by means of the action of gravity. Compared with a horizontal or vertical design, the obliquely disposed flow guide surfaceis further beneficial to discharging the condensate quickly, thereby reducing the accumulation of water drops.