Indoor unit for air conditioner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11940179-B2
Application number	US-202318092832-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 3, 2023
Priority date	Apr 23, 2018
Publication date	Mar 26, 2024
Grant date	Mar 26, 2024

Abstract

An indoor unit for an air conditioner including: a cabinet assembly forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and having a suction port formed in a rear surface of the cabinet; a filter module movably disposed in rear of the cabinet assembly; a filter module mounted to the filter mounting member and filtering foreign substances in air flowing into the suction port; a mobile member connected to the filter mounting member and moving a position of the filter mounting member; a driving device pressing the mobile member to change the position of the filter mounting member; and a controller configured to, in response to receiving a control command to change the position of the filter mounting member, operate the driving device that presses the mobile member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An indoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising:
a cabinet assembly forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and having a suction port formed in a rear surface of the cabinet;
a filter mounting member movably disposed in rear of the cabinet assembly;
a filter module mounted to the filter mounting member and filtering foreign substances in air flowing into the suction port;
a mobile member connected to the filter mounting member and moving a position of the filter mounting member; and
a driving device pressing the mobile member to change the position of the filter mounting member,
wherein the mobile member comprises:
a first link connected between the cabinet assembly and the filter mounting member;
a second link connected between the cabinet assembly and the filter mounting member and having a different length from the first link; and
a drive transmission link transferring forces generated by the driving device to the first link.

2. The indoor unit of claim 1 , further comprising:
an input unit configured to receive a control command from a user,
wherein the controller is further configured to, when the input unit receives a control command from a user to change the position of the filter mounting member, operate the driving device that presses the mobile member.

3. The indoor unit of claim 1 , wherein the mobile member positions the filter mounting member such that the filter module covers the suction port, or such that a direction of drawing the filter module faces forward.

4. The indoor unit of claim 1 , wherein the filter module is inserted into or drawn from the filter mounting member in a lateral direction of the filter module, and
wherein the filter mounting member moves between a first position and a second position, the first position at which the filter module is positioned at the suction port, and the second position at which the filter module is positioned with the lateral direction thereof facing forward.

5. The indoor unit of claim 1 , wherein the first link is rotatably connected to the cabinet assembly and the filter mounting member, respectively, and the second link is rotatably connected to the cabinet assembly and the filter mounting member, respectively.

6. The indoor unit of claim 5 , wherein the second link is spaced apart from the first link, and
wherein a length of the first link is longer than a length of the second link.

7. The indoor unit of claim 6 , wherein a gap between one end of the first link connected to the filter mounting member and one end of the second link connected to the filter mounting member is longer than a gap between the other end of the first link connected to the cabinet assembly and the other end of the second link connected to the cabinet assembly.

8. The indoor unit of claim 6 , wherein the second link is disposed closer to a lateral side of the cabinet assembly than the first link is.

9. The indoor unit of claim 6 , wherein the first link is disposed closer to the driving device than the second link is.

10. The indoor unit of claim 6 , wherein the drive transmission links comprise:
a motor link fixedly connected to the driving device; and
a bending link having one end rotatably connected to the motor link and the other end rotatably connected to the first link.

11. The indoor unit of claim 10 , wherein the bending link comprises a bending portion vertically bent between one end and the other end, and
wherein the bending portion is disposed closer to one end of the bending link being connected to the motor link than the other end of the bending link being connected to the first link.

12. The indoor unit of claim 1 , wherein the filter mounting member comprises:
a filter module mounting part forming a space where to install the filter module, and being open rearward; and
a mobile member fastening part disposed above or below the filter module mounting part, forming a space where the mobile member is disposed, and being open forward.

13. The indoor unit of claim 1 , wherein the cabinet assembly further comprises a rearward protruding member that protrudes rearward,
wherein the filter mounting member is in close contact with the rear protruding member when the filter module is positioned at the suction port.

14. The indoor unit of claim 13 , wherein the rearward protruding member comprises a filter module recognition sensor that protrudes in a direction in which the filter mounting member is mounted so that the filter module recognition sensor is pressed by the filter module,
wherein the filter mounting member comprises a filter module recognition hole that is penetrated by the filter module recognition sensor when the filter mounting member is in close contact with the rearward protruding member.

15. The indoor unit of claim 13 , wherein the rearward protruding member comprises an ionization part having an electrode that ionizes molecules in air flowing into the suction port, and
wherein the electrode is disposed to protrude rearward vertically to a rear surface on which the suction port is formed.

16. The indoor unit of claim 15 , wherein the filter module comprises:
a pre-filter configured to filter large-sized dust in the air flowing into the suction port;
a dust collecting filter unit configured to collect air particles, ionized by the ionization part, to filter the air;
a deodorization filter unit configured to remove odor from the air flowing into the suction port; and
a filter case with the pre-filter being fixed thereto and the dust collecting filter unit and the deodorization filter unit being mounted thereto.

17. The indoor unit of claim 16 , wherein a power terminal configured to supply a voltage to the dust collecting filter unit, and a ground terminal configured to provide a ground to the dust collecting filter unit are formed in the rearward protruding member in a direction in which the filter mounting member is mounted,
wherein a power terminal hole penetrated by the power terminal in response to the filter mounting member being in close contact with the rearward protruding member, and a ground terminal hole penetrated by the ground terminal in response to the filter mounting member being in close contact with the rearward protruding member are formed in the filter mounting member, and
wherein a ground receiving terminal configured to provide a ground to the dust collecting filter unit in response to contact with the ground terminal, and a power receiving terminal configured to supply power to the dust collecting filter unit in response to contact with the power terminal are formed in the dust collecting filter unit.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Yongnam
• Choi Sunggyu
• Bae Sehwan
• Bae Junseok
• Lee Kyunam
• So Ilseop
• Lee Sangyoon
• Lee Hyesun
• Jang Hosik

Classifications

• F24F2221/36

  Modules, e.g. for an easy mounting or transport · CPC title

• B01D46/4227

  Manipulating filters or filter elements, e.g. handles or extracting tools · CPC title

• B01D46/0005

  Mounting of filtering elements within casings, housings or frames (B01D46/2422 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24F1/0073 Primary

  characterised by the mounting or arrangement of filters · CPC title

• F24F8/30 Primary

  by ionisation · CPC title