Refrigeration – Structural installation – Window connected or mounted
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-04
2001-10-09
Doerrler, William (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Structural installation
Window connected or mounted
C062S285000, C062S279000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298678
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window-type air conditioner cabinet, and more particularly to an improved apparatus for installing the window-type air conditioner cabinet. The invention also concerns a method for installing the cabinet by means of the forgoing apparatus.
2. Prior Art
FIG. 1
shows one example of a conventional window-type air conditioner including a main unit
15
, a cabinet
12
, and a front panel
14
. The main unit
15
includes a base plate
16
, on which a compressor
17
, an outdoor heat-exchanger
18
b
, a capillary tube (not shown), and an indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
connected by a pipe in a closed circuit of refrigerant cycle are installed.
As the air conditioner is operated, and compressor
17
is driven, high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat-exchanger
18
b
, at which the refrigerant is condensed through heat exchange with outside air which is blown by an outdoor fan
19
b.
The condensed refrigerant flows into the indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
after being depressurized at the capillary tube, and is evaporated at the indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
while taking the heat from the indoor ambient air. The chilled air flows back into the room by an indoor fan
19
a
. Here, the vapor of the ambient air is condensed into water droplets on the surface of the indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
, and the water droplets gravitate along the bottom of the base plate
16
to the outside through a drain hole
20
(see FIG.
2
).
The installation procedure of a conventional window-type air conditioner constructed as above is described with reference to
FIGS. 2 and 3
. The air conditioner includes a guide rail
13
formed on a bottom of cabinet
12
to guide main unit
15
for the smooth insertion of the main unit
15
into the cabinet
12
. A rail groove
16
a
is formed on the lower side of base plate
16
, to correspond to guide rail
13
.
Drain hole
20
is formed on the external side of base plate
16
. The condensate droplets generated during the heat exchange at indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
are dropped onto base plate
16
, and drain to the outside through drain hole
20
. For efficient drainage of the condensate droplets, the air conditioner is installed in a wall
1
or a window (not shown) of the room. The air conditioner is downwardly inclined by an installation bracket
3
, so as to incline base plate
16
toward the outside at the downward inclination of 2°-5°.
The air conditioner's main unit
15
is loaded with heavy, metal components such as compressor
17
, indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
, and outdoor heat-exchanger
18
b
. Accordingly, it is difficult to install the air conditioner at an exact angle of inclination in the wall
1
while lifting the body of the air conditioner. Accordingly, the air conditioner is installed in such a way that cabinet
12
, which forms the outer appearance of the air conditioner, is first mounted in the wall
1
, and then the main unit
15
loaded with the components is mounted into cabinet
12
.
More particularly, front panel
14
and the main unit
15
are separated from cabinet
12
. Then, cabinet
12
is mounted in an installation opening
2
of the wall
1
(or in the window). Here, the cabinet
12
is mounted at a downward inclination angle (&agr;) with respect to the outside, and the downward inclination angle preferably ranges approximately from 2° to 5°. Then, rail groove
16
a
of base plate
16
is aligned with the guide rail on the bottom of cabinet
12
, and the main unit
15
is inserted into the cabinet
12
. Next, using fastening means such as a bolt
11
(see FIG.
1
), base plate
16
is fastened through holes
12
a
(see
FIG. 1
) formed on both sides of cabinet
12
, and the main unit
15
is fixed into the cabinet
12
. The air conditioner is completely installed when front panel
14
is mounted on the front side of the cabinet
12
.
The above-described conventional air conditioner installation, however, involves several problems. First, to efficiently drain the condensate droplets formed at the indoor heat-exchanger
18
a
, the base plate
16
must be installed at a downward inclination angle (&agr;) with respect to the outside. Since the installation opening
2
or the window has horizontal upper and lower sides, it is difficult to install the cabinet
12
at the downward inclination angle with respect to the horizontal side of the cabinet
12
, and the air conditioner is not stable when installed. Further, while installing the cabinet
12
at the downward inclination angle, the cabinet
12
and the upper and lower sides of the installation opening
2
interfere with each other, resulting in possible deformation or fracture thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a window-type air conditioner in which the cabinet is maintained at a horizontal level while the base plate is at a downward inclination, in order to make the installation easier and to prevent deformation or fracture of the cabinet or the wall.
To this end, the present invention provides an air conditioner having: a main unit having a base plate on which components of the air conditioner, such as the compressor, and indoor and outdoor heat-exchangers, are mounted; a cabinet for receiving the main unit through an opening in the front side thereof; a front panel for covering the open front side of the cabinet; and an inclination section (“skid”) for maintaining a predetermined downward inclination of the main unit in the cabinet. The inclination section includes at least two guide rails formed on the bottom of the cabinet at a predetermined downward inclination toward the outside for supporting the lower side of the base plate. The inclination angle preferably ranges from 2° to 5°.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4651959 (1987-03-01), Bolton et al.
patent: 4773232 (1988-09-01), Lang et al.
patent: 5253485 (1993-10-01), Kennedy et al.
patent: 5437164 (1995-08-01), Consiglio
patent: 6067812 (2000-05-01), Bushnell et al.
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
Doerrler William
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Shulman Mark S.
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