AIR INDUCING DEVICE FOR AIR CONDITIONER AND AIR SUPPLY CONTROL METHOD FOR AIR CONDITIONER

Abstract

An air inducing device for an air conditioner and an air supply control method to resolve user discomfort. The device includes an inducing member and an air storage member communicating with an air supply port, and the inducing member has an air inlet and an air outlet; an air inducing panel is provided at the air inlet, and the air inducing panel has a plurality of air inducing holes; an air outlet panel is provided at the air outlet, and the air outlet panel has a plurality of air outlet holes; an air speed increasing structure is provided between the air storage member and the inducing member, and the air speed increasing structure forms a negative pressure in the inducing member to allow indoor air to enter f and mix with air discharged before entering the room, so that the temperature of blown air is closer to room temperature.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. An air inducing device for an air conditioner, the air conditioner comprising an indoor unit, and the indoor unit comprising an air supply port, and the air inducing device comprises an inducing member and an air storage member communicating with the air supply port; the inducing member is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; an air inducing panel is provided at the air inlet, and the air inducing panel is provided with a plurality of air inducing holes; an air outlet panel is provided at the air outlet, and the air outlet panel is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes; and an air speed increasing structure is provided between the air storage member and the inducing member, and the air speed increasing structure is configured to form a negative pressure in the inducing member to allow indoor air to enter from the air inducing holes and mix with air discharged from the air speed increasing structure before entering the room through the air outlet holes.

12. The air inducing device according to claim 11, wherein the air inducing holes have a through hole structure in which a middle part is narrowed and both ends are expanded.

13. The air inducing device according to claim 11, wherein the air inlet comprises a first air inlet, a second air inlet, and a third air inlet, and the air inducing panel comprises a first air inducing panel, a second air inducing panel and a third air inducing panel; and the first air inducing panel, the second air inducing panel and the third air inducing panel are disposed at the first air inlet, the second air inlet and the third air inlet respectively.

14. The air inducing device according to claim 13, wherein a first air blocking member is provided at the first air inlet, and the first air blocking member is capable of closing the first air inlet; and/or a third air blocking member is provided at the third air inlet, and the third air blocking member is capable of closing the third air inlet.

15. The air inducing device according to claim 14, wherein there are two of each of the first air inlet, the second air inlet and the third air inlet; and the two first air inlets, the two second air inlets and the two third air inlets are connected in sequence in the same direction to form two sets of air inlets, and the air outlet is disposed between the two sets of air inlets.

16. The air inducing device according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of air inducing holes and/or the plurality of air outlet holes are distributed in a rectangular array.

17. An air supply control method for an air conditioner having an air inducing device, the air conditioner comprising an indoor unit, and the indoor unit comprising an air supply port; and the air inducing device comprising an inducing member and an air storage member communicating with the air supply port, and the inducing member is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; an air inducing panel is provided at the air inlet, and the air inducing panel is provided with a plurality of air inducing holes; an air outlet panel is provided at the air outlet, and the air outlet panel is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes; an air speed increasing structure is provided between the air storage member and the inducing member, and the air speed increasing structure is configured to form a negative pressure in the inducing member to allow indoor air to enter from the air inducing holes and mix with air discharged from the air speed increasing structure before entering the room through the air outlet holes; wherein the air inlet comprises a first air inlet, a second air inlet, and a third air inlet; when the air inducing device is installed in place, the first air inlet, the second air inlet and the third air inlet are sequentially disposed from top to bottom; the air supply control method comprises: obtaining indoor temperature; and controlling opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the indoor temperature.

18. The air supply control method according to claim 17, wherein the controlling of opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the indoor temperature comprises: controlling the first air inlet to be closed and the third air inlet to be opened, if the indoor temperature is lower than or equal to a first preset temperature.

19. The air supply control method according to claim 18, wherein the controlling of opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the indoor temperature further comprises: controlling the first air inlet to be opened and the third air inlet to be closed, if the indoor temperature is higher than or equal to a second preset temperature; wherein the second preset temperature is higher than the first preset temperature.

20. The air supply control method according to claim 19, wherein the controlling of opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the indoor temperature further comprises: controlling both the first air inlet and the third air inlet to be opened, if the indoor temperature is higher than the first preset temperature and lower than the second present temperature.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an air inducing device of the present disclosure when an air inducing panel and an air outlet panel are not installed;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air inducing device of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an overall structure of the air inducing panel and the air outlet panel of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an air inducing hole of the present disclosure; and

[0026] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the steps of a preferred embodiment of the air supply control method of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only used to explain the technical principles of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. For example, although various steps of the method of the present disclosure are described in specific orders in the present application, these orders are not limiting, and those skilled in the art can execute these steps according to different orders without departing from the basic principles of the present disclosure.

[0028] It should be noted that in the description of the present disclosure, directional or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “inner” and “outer” are based on the directional or positional relationships shown in the drawings, unless explicitly specified and defined otherwise. They are merely used for the convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element involved must have a specific orientation, or be configured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore they should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Meanwhile, terms “connect”, “connection” and “communication” should also be understood in a broad sense; for example, it may be a mechanical communication, or an electrical communication; it may be a direct connection, or an indirect connection implemented through an intermediate medium, or it may be an internal communication between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific situations. In addition, terms “first”, “second” and “third” are used for descriptive purpose only, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0029] First, reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an air inducing device of the present disclosure when an air inducing panel and an air outlet panel are not installed, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air inducing device of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit (not shown in the drawings) and an air inducing device. The indoor unit includes an air supply port, through which the air after heat exchange with the indoor unit can be supplied, and the air inducing device includes an air storage member 1 and an inducing member 2, wherein the air storage member 1 is in communication with the air supply port so that the air after heat exchange with the indoor unit can enter the air storage member 1 through the air supply port. An air speed increasing structure 3 is provided between the air storage member 1 and the inducing member 2; the inducing member 2 is provided with two air inlets 21 and one air outlet 22. Referring to the orientation in FIG. 2, the two air inlets 21 are distributed on left and right sides of the inducing member 2, the air outlet 22 is disposed between the two air inlets 21, and the air speed increasing structure 3 is configured to enable a negative pressure to be formed in the inducing member 2 so that the indoor air can enter through the air inlets 21 and mix with the air discharged from the air speed increasing structure 3, and the air outlet 22 can discharge the mixed air back into the room. It should be noted that the present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the specific numbers, structures, and positional relationship of the air inlets 21 and the air outlet 22, which may be set by those skilled in the art according to actual requirements on use.

[0030] Specifically, by connecting the air storage member 1 with the air supply port, the present disclosure enables the cold or hot air blown from the indoor unit to first enter the air storage member 1, and then pass through the air speed increasing structure 3 between the air storage member 1 and the inducing members 2 before entering the inducing member 2. When the cold or hot air passes through the air speed increasing structure 3, a negative pressure is formed in the inducing member 2 and therefore the indoor air can enter the inducing member 2 through the air inlets 21 on the left and right sides of the inducing member 2; the air entering the inducing member 2 exchanges heat with the cold or hot air, and then is discharged together back into the room through the air outlet 22 of the inducing member 2. With such an arrangement, the present disclosure effectively avoids the problem that the cold or hot air blown from the indoor unit is directly discharged into the room to cause discomfort to the user. The air conditioner enables the cold or hot air to first exchange heat with the indoor air in the inducing member 2, which are then discharged into the room together, so as to achieve the comfortable effect of feeling cool but not cold or warm but not hot, thereby effectively improving the user experience during use. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that they may set the specific structure of the air storage member 1 according to actual requirements on use; preferably, the air storage member 1 may be configured as a box-type air storage structure. Of course, the air storage member 1 may also be configured as an air storage cylinder, an air storage cartridge, etc., as long as the air storage member 1 has an air storage function, and such adjustments and changes to the specific structure of the air storage member 1 do not deviate from the principle and scope of the present disclosure. All these adjustments and changes should be covered within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0031] In addition, it should also be noted that those skilled in the art may set the specific structure of the air speed increasing structure 3 according to actual requirements on use; for example, the air speed increasing structure 3 may be configured as a through hole structure having a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the air supply port. Of course, the air speed increasing structure 3 may also be an electrical device having an air suctioning function, such as a fan. When the air speed increasing structure 3 is a through hole structure having a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the air supply port, since the volume of the cold or hot air passing through the air speed increasing structure 3 is the same the volume of the cold or hot air passing through the air supply port within the same time period, and the cross-sectional area of the air speed increasing structure 3 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the air supply port, the speed of the cold or hot air passing through the air speed increasing structure 3 is larger than the speed at which it passes through the air supply port, thereby achieving speed increase of the air and therefore enabling a negative pressure to be formed in the inducing member 2 to introduce indoor air into the inducing member 2.

[0032] Further preferably, the air inducing device further includes a heat storage member 4 provided on the inducing member 2, and the heat storage member 4 is disposed near the air outlet 22 so that the heat storage member 4 can exchange heat with the air at the air outlet 22. The heat storage member 4 is preferably a fin type heat accumulator, and the air can exchange heat with the fin type heat accumulator when passing through the fin type heat accumulator. Of course, the heat storage member 4 may also be set as other types of heat accumulators. Such adjustments and changes to the specific type of the heat storage member 4 do not deviate from the principle and scope of the present disclosure, and should be covered within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. At the same time, the heat storage member 4 may partially cover the air outlet 22 or completely cover the air outlet 22, and those skilled in the art may set the coverage area by themselves according to actual requirements on use. Further, the air storage member 1 is provided with a thermal insulation layer 5, and the present disclosure effectively avoids energy loss through such an arrangement, thereby effectively improving the heat exchange efficiency of the air conditioner. It should be noted that those skilled in the art may set the arrangement the thermal insulation layer 5 by themselves according to requirements on use; for example, the thermal insulation layer 5 may be disposed only on an inner wall of the air storage member 1, or the thermal insulation layer 5 may be disposed only on outer wall of the air storage member 1 (as shown in FIG. 2), or alternatively, the thermal insulation layer 5 may be disposed only on both the inner and outer walls of the air storage member 1; moreover, the thermal insulation layer 5 may be set as a thermal insulation film adhered on the air storage member 1 (the thermal insulation film is shown FIG. 2), or it may be set as a thermal insulation coating painted on the air storage member 1, or alternatively, it may be a composite thermal insulation layer consisting of both the thermal insulation coating and the thermal insulation film, etc. Adjustments and changes to the specific position and specific structural type of the thermal insulation layer 5 do not deviate from the basic principles and scope of protection of the present disclosure, and should fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In addition, in order to facilitate the connection between the air storage member 1 and the air supply port, the air storage member 1 is also provided with an air duct 6, and the air storage member 1 communicates with the air supply port through the air duct 6; of course, those skilled in the art may also set the connection mode of the air storage member 1 and the air supply port by themselves according to actual requirements on use. Also, the air duct 6 and the air storage member 1 may be fixedly connected, and the air duct 6 and the air storage member 1 may also be integrated; that is, those skilled in the art may flexibly set the specific connection mode of the air duct 6 and the air storage member 1 in practical applications, as long as the air storage member 1 can communicate with the air supply port through the air duct 6.

[0033] Next, reference is made to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view showing an overall structure of the air inducing panel and the air outlet panel of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an air inducing panel 23 is provided at each of the two air inlets 21 on the left and right sides of the inducing member 2, and an air outlet panel 24 is provided at the air outlet 22; the air inducing panel 23 is provided with a plurality of air inducing holes, and the air outlet panel 24 is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes. As a preferred embodiment, the air inducing hole has a through hole structure shown in FIG. 4 in which the middle part is narrowed and both ends are expanded, so as to effectively enhance the air inducing effect; of course, this description is not restrictive. The air inducing hole may also have a general straight hole structure, and those skilled in the art may set it by themselves according to actual requirements on use. The present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the specific shapes of the air inducing holes and the air outlet holes. In addition, it should be noted that the those skilled in the art may set the distributions of the plurality of air inducing holes and the plurality of air outlet holes according to actual requirements on use; preferably, the plurality of air inducing holes and the plurality of air outlet holes are each distributed in a rectangular array.

[0034] Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the preferred embodiment, the air inducing panel 23 includes a first air inducing panel 231, a second air inducing panel 232, and a third air inducing panel 233, and each of the numbers of the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inducing panel 233 is two. Referring to the orientation in FIG. 3, the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inducing panel 233 disposed on the left side of the air outlet panel 24 are connected in sequence from top to bottom, and the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inducing panel 233 disposed on the right side of the air outlet panel 24 are also connected in sequence from top to bottom; the air outlet panel 24 is disposed between the two sets of air inducing panels. It should be noted that although the air outlet panel and the plurality of air inducing panels in this preferred embodiment are provided integrally, it is obvious that some or all of the air outlet panel and the plurality of air inducing panels may also be provided independently, as long as the air inducing panels and the air outlet panel can cover the corresponding air inlets and air outlet respectively when they are installed in place. In this preferred embodiment, although only one air outlet and two air inlets are provided on the inducing member 2, when the air inducing panels 23 and the air outlet panel 24 are installed in place, the corresponding spaces below the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inducing panel 233 are each an air inlet respectively, that is, the three air inlets are completely communicated. At this time, the air inducing panels 23 is divided into six parts, which correspond to the six air inlets below respectively; of course, the six air inlets are all communicated with each other, and each of them can introduce indoor air into the inducing member 2 for mixing with the air after the heat exchange. The air outlet panel 24 covers the heat storage member 4. An air inducing cavity is formed between the air inducing panels 23 and the inducing member 2, and an air outlet cavity is formed between the air outlet panel 24 and the inducing member 2. The air inducing cavity communicates with the air storage member 1 through the air speed increasing structure 3, and communicates with the air outlet cavity through the air outlet 22. In addition, it should be noted that although in this preferred embodiment, the first air inlet corresponding to the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inlet corresponding to the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inlet corresponding to the third air inducing panel 233 are connected into one piece, it is obvious that the first air inlet, the second air inlet and the third air inlet may also be provided as three independent cavities, as long as the air inlet can communicate with the air outlet 22.

[0035] Further, as a preferred embodiment, a first air blocking member (not shown in the figure) is provided at the first air inducing panel 231, and the first air blocking member can close the first air inlet. That is, the air inducing holes provided on the first air inducing panel 231 no longer introduce air. It should be noted that those skilled in the art may set the structure of the first air blocking member by themselves according to actual requirements on use; preferably, the first air blocking member may be set as a structure similar to a shutter. Of course, the first air blocking member may also be configured as a movable baffle, as long as the first air blocking member can close the first air inlet. At the same time, a third air blocking member (not shown in the figure) is provided at the third air inducing panel 233, and the third air blocking member can close the third air inlet. That is, the air inducing holes provided on the third air inducing panel 233 no longer introduce air. It should also be noted that those skilled in the art may set the specific structure of the third air blocking member by themselves according to actual requirements on use; preferably, the third air blocking member may be set as a structure similar to a shutter. Of course, the third air blocking member may also be configured as a movable baffle, as long as the third air blocking member can close the third air inlet. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that although the air inducing device in the preferred embodiment includes the first air blocking member and the third air blocking member, this is not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set by themselves according to actual requirements on use.

[0036] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment, when the air inducing device is installed in place, the air inducing panels 23 and the air outlet panel 24 are each disposed in a vertical direction, and the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inducing panel 233 are disposed in sequence in the vertical direction from top to bottom; that is, the first air inlet corresponding to the first air inducing panel 231, the second air inlet corresponding to the second air inducing panel 232 and the third air inlet corresponding to the third air inducing panel 233 are disposed in sequence from top to bottom. It should be noted that the present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the installation method of the air inducing device, and those skilled in the art may set the specific installation method by themselves according to actual requirements on use. In addition, the air conditioner further includes an indoor temperature sensor and a controller. The indoor temperature sensor can detect the indoor temperature, the controller can obtain the indoor temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor, and the controller can also control the operating condition of the air conditioner; for example, the controller controls the action of the first air blocking member and the action of the third air blocking member. Those skilled in the art can understand that the present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the specific structure and model of the controller, and the controller may be the original controller of the air conditioner, or it may be a controller separately provided for implementing the air supply control method of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art may set the structure and model of the controller by themselves according to actual requirements on use.

[0037] Next, reference is made to FIG. 5, which is a flowchart of the steps of a preferred embodiment of the air supply control method of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, based on the air conditioner and the air inducing device described in the above preferred embodiments, a preferred embodiment of the air supply control method of the present disclosure specifically includes the following steps:

[0038] S101: obtaining indoor temperature;

[0039] S102: controlling opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the indoor temperature;

[0040] S103: controlling the first air inlet to be closed and the third air inlet to be opened, if the indoor temperature is lower than or equal to a first preset temperature;

[0041] S104: controlling both the first air inlet and the third air inlet to be opened, if the indoor temperature is higher than the first preset temperature and lower than a second present temperature; and

[0042] S105: controlling the first air inlet to be opened and the third air inlet to be closed, if the indoor temperature is higher than or equal to the second preset temperature.

[0043] Further, in step S101, the controller can obtain the indoor temperature through the indoor temperature sensor; of course, this method of obtaining the indoor temperature is not restrictive, and the controller may also use an external temperature sensor to obtain the indoor temperature, as long as the indoor temperature can be obtained by the controller. Next, in step S102, the controller can control the opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet according to the obtained indoor temperature; it should be noted that the present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the specific control method thereof; as long as the controller can control the opening and closing states of the first air inlet and the third air inlet through the indoor temperature, any control method will belong to the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In addition, it should be noted that in this preferred embodiment, the second air inlet is normally opened, that is, the second air inlet is always opened, so as to ensure the air inducing effect of the air inducing device more effectively; but this is not restrictive. Obviously, the present disclosure may not be provided with the second air inlet.

[0044] Further, in step S103, if the controller judges that the obtained indoor temperature is lower than or equal to the first preset temperature, it indicates that the indoor temperature at this point is relatively low. In this case, in order to effectively accelerate the increase of the indoor temperature, the air conditioner needs to reduce the induced air volume of the air inducing device, thereby effectively raising the temperature of outflow air; at the same time, in order to also avoid the problem of uneven heat distribution in the room caused by a large amount of cold air accumulating in a lower part of the room, the air conditioner controls the first air inlet to be closed and the third air inlet to be opened, so that the air inducing device can introduce more air from the lower part of the room; therefore, the air conditioner can perform heat exchange more evenly to effectively improve user experience. Specifically, the controller can control the first air blocking member to block the first air inlet, so that the indoor air cannot be introduced by the air inducing device through the air inducing holes provided in the first air inducing panels 231; at the same time, the controller can also control the third air blocking member to no longer block the third air inlet, so that the indoor air can be introduced by the air inducing device through the air inducing holes provided in the third air inducing panels 233. In this case, the air inducing device can introduce indoor air through the air inducing holes provided in the second air inducing panels 232 and the third air inducing panels 233; that is, the air inducing device can mainly introduce the air in the lower part of the room. In addition, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may set the specific value of the first preset temperature by themselves according to the actual use situation, as long as the indoor cold air will accumulate in the lower part when the indoor temperature is lower than or equal to the first preset temperature.

[0045] Further, in step S104, if the controller judges that the obtained indoor temperature is higher than the first preset temperature and lower than the second preset temperature, it indicates that the indoor temperature at this point is appropriate. In this case, in order to effectively increase the induced air volume of the air inducing device, the air conditioner controls both the first air inlet and the third air inlet to be opened, so that the air after heat exchange can fully exchange heat with a large amount of indoor air before being blown out, thereby ensuring the comfort of air supply to the greatest extent. Specifically, the controller can control the first air blocking member to no longer block the first air inlet and control the third air blocking member to no longer block the third air inlet; in this case, the air inducing device can introduce the indoor air through the air inducing holes provided in the first air inducing panel 231, the air inducing holes provided in the second air inducing panel 232 and the air inducing holes provided in the third air inducing panel 233 altogether, so as to effectively increase the induced air volume of the air inducing device.

[0046] Further, in step S105, if the controller judges that the obtained indoor temperature is higher than or equal to the second preset temperature, it indicates that the indoor temperature at this point is relatively high. In this case, in order to effectively accelerate the decrease of the indoor temperature, the air conditioner needs to reduce the induced air volume of the air inducing device, thereby effectively lowering the temperature of outflow air; at the same time, in order to also avoid the problem of uneven heat distribution in the room caused by a large amount of hot air accumulating in an upper part of the room, the air conditioner controls the first air inlet to be opened and the third air inlet to be closed, so that the air inducing device can introduce more air from the upper part of the room; therefore, the air conditioner can perform heat exchange more evenly to improve the user's heat exchange experience maximally. Specifically, the controller does not control the first air blocking member to block the first air inlet, so that the indoor air can be introduced by the air inducing device through the air inducing holes provided in the first air inducing panels 231; at the same time, the controller can also control the third air blocking member to block the third air inlet, so that the indoor air cannot be introduced by the air inducing device through the air inducing holes provided in the third air inducing panels 233. In this case, the air inducing device can introduce indoor air through the air inducing holes provided in the first air inducing panels 231 and the second air inducing panels 232; that is, the air inducing device can mainly introduce the air in the upper part of the room. In addition, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may set the specific value of the second preset temperature by themselves according to the actual use situation, as long as the indoor hot air will accumulate in the upper part when the indoor temperature is higher than or equal to the second preset temperature.

[0047] Hitherto, the technical solutions of the present disclosure have been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but it is easily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of protection of the present disclosure is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principle of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art can make equivalent changes or replacements to relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after these changes or replacements will fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.