Ventilation – Having inlet airway – Including specific air distributor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-31
2002-09-10
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3634)
Ventilation
Having inlet airway
Including specific air distributor
C454S313000, C454S370000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06447391
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner; and, more particularly, device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner, wherein a pair of vertical guiding plates formed on both sides of the shutter for opening and closing an outlet window formed through a front panel of the air conditioner to extend a predetermined length and a pair of united guiding grooves each provided with a triangular guiding groove for guiding vertical movements of the vertical guiding plate, into which the vertical guiding plate is inserted, and provided, a sliding bar having a plurality of oil grooves are formed on an inner frame, thereby facilitating and assembling the shutter into a guiding member and simplifying the configuration of the guiding member as well as allowing a proper opening/closing functions of the shutter.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In general, an air conditioner such as a heater or an air-cooling device is used to effectively increase or lower the temperature of the air inside buildings or home.
The air conditioner, especially the air-cooling device, two kinds of devices, e.g., a wall-type device hung on a wall and a stand type device standing on the bottom are mainly used. Since the wall-type device has less capacity and is normally mounted on a window, it is used for a room and a small sitting room. The stand-type device is normally used for a sitting room of a large apartment and a commodious single house because of its high capacity.
Such stand-type air conditioner has an air-blowing window normally assembled on the upper frontal portion, and an air-directing unit for adjusting the direction of the air formed in the air-blowing window.
Further, the air-directing unit includes a vertical adjustment plate for adjusting the direction of the air flow in a vertical and horizontal adjustment plate for adjusting the direction of the air flow in a horizontal direction, to allow effectively send the air flow toward the direction desired.
In recent days, a shutter has been installed on the rear side in order to prevent alien material from passing through the air-blowing window of the main body of the air conditioner.
Hereunder, a prior art operating device for actuating the shutter of the air conditioner is explained.
FIG. 1
shows an exploded perspective view of a prior art device for actuating a shutter used in air conditioner; and
FIG. 2
illustrates a cross sectional view of the prior art actuating device shown in FIG.
1
.
The prior art operating device for actuating the shutter includes an air blowing window
16
where the cooled air is discharged, the air blowing window
16
formed through a front panel
12
of a main body
10
of an air conditioner equipped with various mechanisms, a shutter
20
installed on the rear side of the air-blowing window
16
to open/close simultaneously, a guiding member
30
having a guiding groove
32
into which a guiding lug
22
formed on both sides of the shutter
20
to protrude therefrom is inserted, an actuating rod
70
which one end is connected to a shutter protuberance
124
for actuating the shutter
20
, a rack connecting member
60
having a hinge
64
hinged to the other end of the actuating rod
70
and resiliently operated by a spring
80
, a rack gear
50
vertically operated and having a hole
52
into which the rack connecting member
60
is inserted, the hole
52
for guiding the rack connecting member
60
, and a guiding slot
54
for leading a guiding protuberance
62
of the rack connecting member
60
, and a driving motor
40
whose rotating shaft
42
is inserted into a pinion gear
44
engaged with the rack gear under supply of electric power.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, when the rack gear
50
engaged with the pinion gear
44
is moved down by the operation of the driving motor
40
, the guiding protuberance
62
is inserted into the guiding slot
54
of the rack gear
50
, allowing the rack connecting member
60
to be moved downwardly at the same time.
The downward movement of the rack connecting member
60
allows the actuating rod
70
connected to the hinge
64
to pull down the rear side of the shutter
20
.
When the actuating rod
70
pulls down the shutter
20
from the rear side of the shutter
20
, the guiding lug
22
is moved down along the guiding groove
32
of the guiding member
30
, resulting that the shutter
20
opens the air-blowing window
16
of the front panel
12
.
When the driving motor
40
is rotated in an opposite direction, the shutter
20
is closed by reversed a contrary process, shutting off the air-blowing window
16
of the front panel
12
.
For a proper vertical movement of the rack gear
50
driven by the driving motor
40
, lubricating oil is applied between a bar groove
56
formed on a rear surface of the rack gear
50
and a sliding bar
12
a
protruding from a rear surface of the front panel
12
and engaged to the bar groove
56
.
An air direction adjustment member
90
is installed on the rear portion of the shutter
20
and a fixing protuberance
96
of a vertical adjustment plate
94
of the air direction adjustment member
90
is inserted into a fixing hole
34
of the guiding member
30
to change the direction of the air vertically.
Further, a horizontal adjustment plate
92
serves to horizontal direction.
The prior art actuating device for actuating the shutter, however, has several shortcomings.
Firs of all, since the rack gear
50
engaged with the pinion gear
44
driven by the driving motor
40
is moved up and down to close/open the air-blowing window
16
without a particular cushioning means except a spring cushioning the rack connecting member
60
, the configuration of the device becomes complex and the engagement between the pinion gear
44
and the rack gear
50
tends to generate a significant noise problem.
Further, in case that alien material is interposed in the shutter
20
, it is easy for the rack gear and the pinion gear to be damaged.
Furthermore, since the guiding groove
32
of the guiding member
30
includes two separated guiding grooves and the guiding lugs
22
formed at both lateral positions of the shutter
20
are inserted into those different guiding grooves, it is difficult to make or prepare a molding die fitted into the separated guiding grooves and the guiding member
30
cames a problem where the it becomes weak and wider.
Moreover, if the guiding lugs
22
formed at the shutter
20
is abruptly broken by, e.g., a shock, the shutter cannot be properly moved in the guiding member
30
.
In addition, since the lubricating oil applied between the sliding bar
12
a
and the bar groove
56
of the rack gear
50
is dried out due to repeated opening/closing operations, the lubricating function between the sliding bar
12
a
and the bar groove
56
of the rack gear
50
is degraded after a use of a long period of time, increasing a possibility for the components to be damaged or worn out and finally disabling the operation of the shutter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the primary objective of the invention is to provide an actuating device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner, wherein a pair of vertical guiding plates formed on both sides of the shutter for opening and closing an outlet window formed through a front panel of the air conditioner to extend a predetermined length and a pair of united guiding grooves each provided with a triangular guiding groove for guiding vertical movements of the vertical guiding plate, into which the vertical guiding plate is inserted, and provided a sliding bar having a plurality of oil grooves are formed on an inner frame, thereby facilitating the assemble of the shutter into a guiding member and simplifying the configuration of the guiding member as well as allowing a proper opening/closing functions by the shutter.
The above and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing an operating device for actuating a shutter provided with an outlet window through which a cooled air generated within an air conditioner is di
Kim Jung-suk
Yang Seung-dae
Boles Derek S.
Cooper & Dunham LLP
Joyce Harold
Mando Climate Control Corporation
White John P.
LandOfFree
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