WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is submitted based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Nos. 202210602515.3 and 202221345214.9, both filed on May 30, 2022, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of air conditioning technologies, and more particularly, to a window air conditioner.

BACKGROUND

A window air conditioner in the related art is an integrated air conditioner that may be mounted for use at a window opening. In order to meet noise reduction requirements, some window air conditioners are designed in a form of a saddle with an open bottom groove between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, in order to allow the window air conditioners to be stuck on a window sill using the groove and block noise of an outdoor unit by a physical wall. However, the window air conditioner of this type has a fixed configuration that only meets use requirements.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the related art. To this end, the present disclosure is to provide a window air conditioner, and an outdoor unit body of the window air conditioner is capable of changing its configuration to meet other requirements besides use.

A window air conditioner according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes an outdoor unit body and an indoor unit component. The outdoor unit body is adapted to be arranged at an outdoor side. The indoor unit component includes an indoor unit body and a connection support connected to the indoor unit body. The indoor unit body is adapted to be arranged at an indoor side. The connection support is configured to pass through a window opening. The connection support has an outer end extending to be movably connected to the outdoor unit body. Therefore, the window air conditioner according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can change its configuration to meet other requirements besides use.

In some embodiments, the outdoor unit body is movable relative to the connection support to raise or lower a bottom of the outdoor unit body.

In some embodiments, the outer end of the connection support extends to be pivotally

connected to the outdoor unit body.

In some embodiments, the outdoor unit body is pivotally connected to the indoor unit component by a hinge assembly. The indoor unit component is provided with a first articulation member. The outdoor unit body is provided with a second articulation member. The first articulation member and the second articulation member are hinged to form the hinge assembly.

In some embodiments, the first articulation member and the indoor unit component are separately formed and assembled together; and/or the second articulation member and the outdoor unit body are separately formed and assembled together.

In some embodiments, the hinge assembly is configured to enable the outdoor unit body to rotate between a first state and a second state. The first articulation member is provided with a first stop member. The second articulation member is provided with a second stop member. When the outdoor unit body rotates from the first state into the second state, the first stop member cooperates with the second stop member to prevent the outdoor unit body from further rotating in a current rotation direction.

In some embodiments, the first articulation member is further provided with a third stop member. When the outdoor unit body rotates from the second state into the first state, the second stop member cooperates with the third stop member to prevent the outdoor unit body from further rotating in a current rotation direction.

In some embodiments, the first articulation member is pivotally connected to the second articulation member by a damping rotary shaft.

In some embodiments, the window air conditioner further includes a shielding shell located between the outer end of the connection support and the outdoor unit body and configured to shield a corresponding part of the hinge assembly.

In some embodiments, a pivot axis of the hinge assembly extends in a transverse direction and is located at an upper inner end of the outdoor unit body. The shielding shell includes a top shell and two end shells. The top shell is located above the hinge assembly and extends in the transverse direction. The two end shells are respectively located at two transverse sides of the outer end of the connection support. The two end shells are respectively connected to two transverse ends of the top shell.

In some embodiments, each of the two end shells is pivotally connected to the hinge assembly and is rotatable about the pivot axis relative to the hinge assembly.

In some embodiments, the shielding shell further includes a bottom shell located below the hinge assembly. The bottom shell extends in the transverse direction and has two transverse ends connected to the two end shells respectively.

In some embodiments, the shielding shell further includes an end cover. The end cover is in a snap-fit with or magnetically connected to a transverse outer side surface of each of the two end shells.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be provided at least in part in the following description, or will become apparent in part from the following description, or can be learned from the practice of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a window air conditioner in a use configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a use state of the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 1 in the use configuration.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 1 in a mounting configuration.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a mounting state of the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 3 in the mounting configuration.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a mounting state of the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 1 is mounted in place.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an assembly view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an internal structure of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a partial enlarged view of part A illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a window air conditioner in a rotation position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of a window air conditioner in a rotation position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is an exploded view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a partial assembly view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is an assembly view of a part of a window air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the window air conditioner illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a side view of a window air conditioner in an intermediate configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to examples thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which same or similar elements, or elements having same or similar functions, are denoted by same or similar reference numerals. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative only, and are intended to explain rather than limit the present disclosure.

Many different embodiments or examples according to the present disclosure are used to realize different structures of the present disclosure. To simplify the present disclosure, components and settings in specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Moreover, the present disclosure may repeat reference numbers and/or reference letters in different examples. Such repetition is for purposes of simplicity and clarity and is not in itself indicative of a relationship among the various embodiments and/or settings discussed. In addition, the present disclosure provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but those skilled in the art may recognize application of other processes and/or use of other materials.

A window air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to the drawings.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a window air conditioner 100 includes an outdoor unit body 2 and an indoor unit component 101. The outdoor unit body 2 is adapted to be arranged at an outdoor side. The indoor unit component 101 includes an indoor unit body 1 and a connection support 3 connected to the indoor unit body 1. The indoor unit body 1 is adapted to be arranged at the indoor side. The connection support 3 is configured to pass through a window opening 200. The connection support 3 has an out end extending to be movably connected to the outdoor unit body 2. Thus, the outdoor unit body 2 is movable relative to the indoor unit component 101 to meet other requirements, such as requirements of easy mounting, easy adjustment, and easy maintenance of the outdoor unit body 2, rather than just a single use requirement.

In some embodiments, the outdoor unit body 2 is movable relative to the connection support 3 to raise or lower a bottom of the outdoor unit body 2. It should be noted that a movement trajectory herein is not limited, for example, it may be a reciprocal translational movement in a straight line, or a reciprocal rotation in an arc, or an upward-downward movement along an irregular trajectory.

Therefore, when mounting the window air conditioner 100, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 may be raised first, and therefore the outdoor unit body 2 can be easily pushed from the indoor side through the window opening 200 to the outdoor side. After the outdoor unit body 2 is pushed to the outdoor side, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 is lowered to a normal position to meet normal use requirements.

It should be noted that, in the window air conditioner 100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when mounted at the window opening 200, an operation of pushing the outdoor unit body 2 from the inside out by raising the window air conditioner 100 as a whole to enable the bottom wall of the outdoor unit body 2 to be located at higher level than a windowsill is avoided. Instead, only the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 needs to be raised. As a result, the operation is more labor-saving. Moreover, since there is no need to raise the window air conditioner 100 as a whole and then push out the outdoor unit body 2, a risk of the whole machine tipping over and falling off towards the outdoor side, which is caused by a relatively high height of a center of gravity of the whole machine and a difficulty in controlling the whole machine when pushing the whole machine from the inside out, is avoided. Thus, safety of the mounting is improved. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, only the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 needs to be raised, while the indoor unit component 1 may be maintained at an original lower level. An installer can easily press the indoor unit component 1 from top to bottom to avoid the risk of the whole machine tipping over and falling off outwards.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit body 1 of the window air conditioner 100 are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction, to enable the window air conditioner 100 to have a use configuration in which the indoor unit body 1 is located on the indoor side and the outdoor unit body 2 is located on the outdoor side. It should be noted that the window air conditioner 100 described herein is adapted to be arranged for use at the window opening 200. An inward-outward direction of the window opening 200 (i.e., a direction passing through the window opening 200) refers to a “longitudinal direction”; a width direction of the window opening 200 refers to a “transverse direction”; and a height direction of the window opening 200 refers to a “vertical direction”. In short, the indoor unit body 1 and the outdoor unit body 2 are spaced apart from each other in an inward-outward direction when the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration (such as a configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2). In this case, the indoor unit body 1 is arranged at the indoor side for adjusting an indoor environment temperature and the like, and the outdoor unit body 2 is arranged at the outdoor side for heat exchange with an outdoor environment.

In some optional examples, the indoor unit body 1 may include an indoor side heat exchanger, an indoor side fan, etc., and the outdoor unit body 2 may include a compressor, an outdoor side heat exchanger, an outdoor side fan, etc. The indoor unit body 1 is connected to the outdoor unit body 2 via a refrigerant pipeline, and therefore the indoor side heat exchanger, the outdoor side heat exchanger, the compressor, etc. constitute a refrigerant circulation system to realize a refrigeration cycle or a heating cycle. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to thereto. For example, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the indoor side fan, the outdoor side fan, etc. may also be omitted, and no more examples are given herein.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer end of the connection support 3 extends to be pivotally connected to the outdoor unit body 2. As a result, the motion of the outdoor unit body 2 is simple and the outdoor unit body 2 is easy to design and control, and a support at a rotary shaft is reliable.

When the outdoor unit body 2 is movable relative to the connection support 3 to raise or lower the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2, and if the outer end of the connection support 3 extends to be pivotally connected to the outdoor unit body 2, the outdoor unit body 2 is rotatable about an only pivot axis L extending in a transverse direction.

It should be noted that “the outer end of the connection support 3 extends to be pivotally connected to the outdoor unit body 2” is intended to illustrate the connection position between the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2, and does not limit how to achieve the connection, for example, which may be a direct connection or an indirect connection. Moreover, a setting position of a linkage for the indirect connection is not limited, for example, which may be arranged at the connection support 3, or may be arranged at the indoor unit body 1.

That is, when one of the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit component 101 serves as a rotating component and another one of the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit component 101 serves as a stationary component, and a force is applied to enable the rotating component to rotate relative to the stationary component, there is only one unique pivot axis L for the rotating component to rotate relative to the stationary component instead of having a plurality of pivot axes L. As a result, a rotation trajectory of the rotating component relative to the stationary component can be guaranteed to be determined.

Therefore, when the configuration of the window air conditioner 100 needs to be changed, the rotating component may be allowed to rotate relative to the stationary component about the unique pivot axis L. Thus, the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 can be easily raised or lowered. In addition, since the pivot connection between the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2 has the unique pivot axis L, the rotating component may be pulled smoothly and reliably to rotate relative to the stationary component about the unique pivot axis L based on the determined trajectory. Thus, the configuration of the window air conditioner 100 can be ensured to be changed reliably and effectively. In addition, since the rotation trajectory of the rotating component is determined and the rotating component is supported at the pivot connection (such as a position R illustrated in FIG. 1), an action of driving the rotating component to rotate can be simple, smooth, and labor-saving, and stability and reliability of the rotation support are good. In some optional examples, the pivot axis L extending in the transverse direction may

be located at an upper inner end of the outdoor unit body 2. Therefore, the reliable rotation support can be provided at the pivot axis L. Thus, the reliability of the rotation support of the outdoor unit body 2 can be improved. In this way, the structure of the outdoor unit body 2 can be simplified to reduce cost. As a result, assembly is simplified. Moreover, this arrangement can reduce a space swept by the rotation of the outdoor unit body 2 as a whole as well as drive torque required to drive the outdoor unit body 2 to rotate. As a result, the operation is more labor-saving, and a height of the window opening 200 is required to be relatively low.

In addition, in some embodiments, the outdoor unit body 2 is designed to be pivotally connected to the indoor unit component 101 to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to rotate relative to the indoor unit component 101 about the unique pivot axis L extending in the transverse direction and located at the upper inner end of the outdoor unit body 2, and therefore it can be easily realized that the outdoor unit body 2 may rotate until a bottom surface of the outdoor unit body 2 is flush with a bottom surface of the connection support 3 (for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4). It should be noted that the term “flush” herein may refer to completely flush or substantially flush. Thus, when the outdoor unit body 2 is pushed from the indoor side to the outdoor side, the window air conditioner 100 as a whole hardly moves in the vertical direction in a process of the outdoor unit body 2 passing through the window opening 200, and the connection support 3 can immediately follow the outdoor unit body 2 and also pass through the window opening 200, thereby simplifying the operation. As a result, the operation is more labor-saving and convenient, and assembly efficiency is higher.

It should be noted that the outdoor unit body 2 may not be pivotally connected to the indoor unit component 101. For example, in other embodiments, the outdoor unit body 2 may be rotatably connected to the indoor unit component 101 as usual, for example, by a connection rod. Thus, there are at least two rotation axes. In this case, a movement of the outdoor unit body 2 flipping relative to the connection support 3 to raise or lower the bottom of the outdoor unit body 2 can be realized. However, the movement trajectory of the rotating component is indetermined, and the support formed by the connection rod for the rotating component needs attention.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9, the outdoor unit body 2 may be pivotally connected to the indoor unit component 101 by a hinge assembly 106. The indoor unit component 101 is provided with a first articulation member 41. The outdoor unit body 2 is provided with a second articulation member 42. The first articulation member 41 and the second articulation member 42 are hinged to form a hinge assembly 106. Thus, providing the hinge assembly 106 can realize the pivotal connection between the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2, to enable the one of the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit component 101 to rotate relative to the other of the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit component 101 about the only pivot axis L extending in the transverse direction. In this way, the configuration of the window air conditioner 100 is changed. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the indoor unit component 101 may also be pivotally connected to the outdoor unit body 2 in other manners, such as by a bearing or a rotary shaft, which will not be repeated herein.

It should be noted that the first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 may be integrally formed or may be separately formed, and the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 may be integrally formed or may be separately formed.

When the first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 are separately formed and assembled together, and the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 are also separately formed and assembled together, there is no need for special structural design and processing of the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2, which reduces the cost. Moreover, the first articulation member 41 and the second articulation member 42 that have been hinged are easily fixed at the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2, respectively, and reliability of the articulation can be well guaranteed. In addition, the first articulation member 41 and the second articulation member 42 may be made of suitable materials independently without being affected by materials selected for the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2, which can not only ensure reliability of the hinge assembly 106, but also enable the indoor unit component 101 and the outdoor unit body 2 not to be selected with special materials for the articulation. In this way, the cost is reduced to meet requirements of mass production.

When the first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 are integrally formed, and the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 are also integrally formed, reliability of the connection between the first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 as well as reliability of the connection between the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 can be guaranteed. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 may also be integrally formed, while the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 are separately formed. Alternatively, the first articulation member 41 and the indoor unit component 101 may be separately formed, while the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 may be integrally formed. The effects of these embodiments can be known by referring to the above description, and will not be repeated herein.

In some embodiments, when the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2 are separately formed, an extension length of the second articulation member 42 in an inward-outward direction is not limited and may be smaller than ½ of an extension length of the outdoor unit body 2 in the inward-outward direction for ease of connection, or may be greater than ½ of the extension length of the outdoor unit body 2 in the inward-outward direction to improve the support effect on the outdoor unit body 2. In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12, the hinge assembly 106 is configured to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to rotate between a first state (e.g., the state illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2) and a second state (e.g., a state illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4). The first articulation member 41 is provided with a first stop member 411. The second articulation member 42 is provided with a second stop member 421. When the outdoor unit body 2 rotates from the first state into the second state (e.g., a state illustrated in FIG. 12), the first stop member 411 cooperates with the second stop member 421 to prevent the outdoor unit body 2 from further rotating in a current rotation direction (e.g., a counterclockwise direction illustrated in FIG. 12). Therefore, a limit rotation angle of the outdoor unit body 2 can be better controlled to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to reach and stay in the second state. Thus, the structure and a control strategy can be simplified.

Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the first articulation member 41 is further provided with a third stop member 412. When the outdoor unit body 2 rotates from the second state into the first state (e.g., a state illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11), the second stop member 421 cooperates with the third stop member 412 to prevent the outdoor unit body 2 from further rotating in a current rotation direction (e.g., a counterclockwise direction illustrated in FIG. 10). Therefore, another extreme rotation angle of the outdoor unit body 2 can be better controlled to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to reach and stay in the first state. Thus, the structure and the control strategy can be simplified.

For example, in some embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the first state, a back plate of the outdoor unit body 2 (that is, a first back plate 21) is vertically arranged, and the window air conditioner 100 is in a use configuration. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the second state, the back plate of the outdoor unit body 2 (that is, the first back plate 21) is transversely arranged, and the window air conditioner 100 is in a mounting configuration. Therefore, if the first stop member 411 and the second stop member 421 are arranged to cooperate with each other, the window air conditioner 100 can be effectively stopped in the mounting configuration when switching from the use configuration to the mounting configuration. In this way, the operation and control is simplified to improve the assembly efficiency. If the third stop member 412 and the second stop member 421 are arranged to cooperate with each other, the window air conditioner 100 can be effectively stopped in the use configuration when restoring from the mounting configuration to the use configuration. In this way, the operation and control is simplified to improve the assembly efficiency.

In addition, it should be noted that the back plate (i.e., the first back plate 21) of the outdoor unit body 2 refers to a structure of the outdoor unit body 2 at a side of the outdoor unit body 2 facing towards a wall at a window opening when the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration. For example, when the outdoor unit body 2 has a closed structure, the first back plate 21 may be a side wall surface of a housing of the outdoor unit body 2. For another example, when the outdoor unit body 2 has a semi-open structure, the first back plate 21 may also be a side wall surface of a condenser.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the first articulation member 41 is pivotally connected to the second articulation member 42 by a damping rotary shaft 43. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a spring spacer may be applied to the damping rotary shaft 43, and rotation torque may be adjusted as desired, thereby solving a problem of the outdoor unit body 2 falling off rapidly during the rotation. Moreover, the structure of the damping rotary shaft 43 is strong enough to effectively support the outdoor unit body 2 to rotate.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the hinge assembly 106 may be an exposed hinge a. At this time, the first articulation member 41 may be mounted outside a top wall of the connection support 3 (for example, as illustrated in FIG. 7), or the first articulation member 41 may also be mounted outside a bottom wall of the connection support 3 (for example, as illustrated in FIG. 8). Thus, the mounting and inspection of the exposed hinge a can be simplified.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the hinge assembly 106 may also be a built-in hinge b. At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the window air conditioner 100 may further include a shielding shell 51. The shielding shell 51 is located between the outer end of the connection support 3 and the outdoor unit body 2 and configured to shield a corresponding part of the hinge assembly 106. That is, a part of the built-in hinge b corresponding to the shielding shell 51 can be shielded by the shielding shell 51. Thus, the built-in hinge b can be effectively protected to prevent the built-in hinge b from being damaged by collision, eroded by liquid, etc., and ensure a service life and operation reliability of the built-in hinge b.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the shielding shell 51 may include a top shell 511 and two end shells 512. The top shell 511 is located above the hinge assembly 106 and extends in the transverse direction. The two end shells 512 are respectively located at two transverse sides of the outer end of the connection support 3. The two end shells 512 are respectively connected to two transverse ends of the top shell 511. Thus, the hinge assembly 106 can be protected from a top and two transverse sides of the hinge assembly 106. Thus, a protection effect for the hinge assembly 106 is improved.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the end shell 512 is pivotally connected to the hinge assembly 106 and rotatable about the pivot axis L relative to the hinge assembly 106. Therefore, stable mounting of the shielding shell 51 can be realized. Moreover, the shielding shell 51 does not need to rotate synchronously with the second articulation member 42 and the outdoor unit body 2. Thus, when an internal pipe routing of the shielding shell 51 is used, interference on the pipe routing due to a synchronous movement of the shielding shell 51 and the outdoor unit body 2 is avoided.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the hinge assembly 106 may be arranged at a position close to each end shell 512. That is, the hinge assembly 106 may be arranged at each of two transverse end portions of the connection support 3. Thus, the hinge assembly 106 can be pivotally connected to the end shell 512 by a shorter rotary shaft 44. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and at least one hinge assembly 106 may be arranged between the two hinge assemblies 106, to improve the stability and the reliability of the pivotal connection between the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit component 101, and thus to improve the support effect for the rotation of the outdoor unit body 2.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the shielding shell 51 further includes a bottom shell 513. The bottom shell 513 is located below the hinge assembly 106. The bottom shell 513 extends in the transverse direction and has two transverse ends connected to the two end shells 512 respectively (for example, by a screw passing through a screw hole 515 in FIG. 15). Therefore, the hinge assembly 106 can be protected more comprehensively. Moreover, in this embodiment, the mounting of the shielding shell 51 can be realized regardless of whether the end shell 512 is pivotally connected to the hinge assembly 106. Therefore, when the shielding shell 51 includes the bottom shell 513, the end shell 512 may be or may not be pivotally connected to the hinge assembly 106.

In other embodiments, the bottom shell 513 may not be connected to the two end shells 512, but may be connected to the connection support 3, which will not be repeated herein. Alternatively, the shielding shell 51 may include no bottom shell 513. At this time, the connection support 3 may have a bottom surface extending to the outside side (for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17) to shield a bottom of the hinge assembly 106.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the shielding shell 51 may further include an end cover 514 arranged at a transverse outer side surface of each of the two end shells 512. The end cover 514 is mounted at the end shell 512 corresponding to the end cover 514 by means of a snap-fit connection or a magnetic connection. Thus, the end shell 512 can be shielded by the end cover 514 to avoid a connection shaft, a screw head, etc. on the end shell 512 from being exposed and damaged, and thus to improve protection reliability of the shielding shell 51 against the hinge assembly 106. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the end cover 514 is a physical cover without hollowing to allow for a better shielding effect.

For example, the end cover 514 may be a plastic cover. The end cover 514 is provided with a snap at a surface of the end cover 514 facing towards the end shell 512, and the end shell 512 has a snap hole. The snap is in a snap-fit with the snap hole to achieve a fixed connection between the end cover 514 and the end shell 512, and thus to achieve the shielding and sealing for the end shell 512.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the end shell 512 and the bottom shell 513 have positioning structures cooperating with each other. The screw hole 515 can be easily aligned through the cooperation between the positioning structures. Thus, the end shell 512 may be connected to the bottom shell 513 by the screw, and then the end cover 514 is in a snap-fit with the end shell 512 to complete the connection of the shielding shell 51.

As described above, in some embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the first state, a back plate of the outdoor unit body 2 (that is, a first back plate 21) is vertically arranged, and the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the second state, the back plate of the outdoor unit body 2 (that is, the first back plate 21) is transversely arranged, and the window air conditioner 100 is in the mounting configuration. It should be noted that the expression “vertically arranged” described herein refers to a vertical or substantially vertical orientation, and the expression “transversely arranged” described herein refers to a transverse or substantially transverse orientation, which should be understood in a broad sense.

In addition, it should be noted that “the outdoor unit body 2 is rotatable between the first state and the second state” is intended to illustrate that the outdoor unit body 2 has an ability to switch between the above-mentioned two states through the rotation, but it is not limited to achieve the switching of the above-mentioned two states by driving the outdoor unit body 2 to rotate necessarily. For example, when it is necessary to switch the state of the outdoor unit body 2, it can be achieved by driving the outer unit body 2 to rotate or by driving the indoor unit component 101 to rotate, which fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

For example, when the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration (for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2), the outdoor unit body 2 may be changed into the first state. When the window air conditioner 100 needs to be changed to a mounting configuration for ease of mounting (for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4), the outdoor unit body 2 may be changed into the second state. In addition, it should be noted that when the window air conditioner 100 is switched between the use configuration and the mounting configuration, the position and the state of the indoor unit body 1 may be changed or not changed, which are not limited herein.

It can be understood that a vertical height position of the pivot axis L of the pivotal connection between the connection support 3 and the outdoor unit body 2 may be maintained unchanged whether the outdoor unit body 2 is in the first state or in the second state. When the outdoor unit body 2 is in the first state, the pivot axis L is located at a position at which a top portion of the outdoor unit body 2 is located. When the outdoor unit body 2 is in the second state, since the back plate of the outdoor unit body 2 is raised to a state of being transversely arranged, the pivot axis L is equivalent to being located at a position at which a bottom portion of the outdoor unit body 2 is located.

That is, it is roughly equivalent to: when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the first state, the outdoor unit body 2 as a whole is generally located at lower level than the pivot axis L; and when the outdoor unit body 2 is in the second state, the outdoor unit body 2 as a whole is generally located at higher level than the pivot axis L. Therefore, when the outdoor unit body 2 changes from the first state into the second state, since the outdoor unit body 2 as a whole is raised relative to the rotation connection position, the outdoor unit body 2 can be easily pushed out from the window opening 200 from the indoor side to the outdoor side. Therefore, a difficulty of the mounting of the window air conditioner 100 is reduced. As a result, the mounting of the window air conditioner 100 is more labor-saving.

In the window machine of the saddle-type in the related art, the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are relatively fixed, and the upper end of the indoor unit is connected to the upper end of the outdoor unit. During the mounting, it is necessary to raise the window machine of the saddle-type as a whole and push the outdoor unit outside the window. This operation is more laborious, and there is the risk of the outdoor unit falling off outwards. In the window air conditioner 100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit body 2 is pivotally arranged, which can effectively solve the technical problems described above.

For example, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the outdoor unit body 2 may rotate about the pivot axis L by 90° from the first state (such as the state illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2) into the second state (such as the state illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4). For example, the indoor unit component 101 may be lifted by hand and rotated by 90°, and the indoor unit component 101 may rotate to a vertical state (for example, as illustrated in FIG. 18); or the outdoor unit body 2 may be lifted by hand and rotated by 90°, and the outdoor unit body 2 may be rotated to a transverse position (for example, as illustrated in FIG. 3).

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the outdoor unit body 2 rotates by 90° to reach the second state, a lower bottom surface of the outdoor unit body 2 is flush with a lower bottom surface of the connection support 3. As a result, the outdoor unit body 2 and the connection support 3 can be smoothly pushed outwards. With reference to FIG. 5, when the outdoor unit body 2 reaches the outdoor side, the outdoor unit body 2 may slowly rotate and drop down, and the outdoor unit body 2 may rotate by 90° to return into the first state (for example, a state illustrated in FIG. 6). Therefore, the mounting and the fixing of the window air conditioner 100 are realized, which is safe and reliable. Thus, the difficulty of the mounting of the window machine of the saddle-type and the problem that the outdoor unit is too heavy to be directly lifted from the window opening 200 to the outdoor side for the mounting can be effectively solved.

For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration, the indoor unit body 1 and the outdoor unit body 2 are spaced apart from each other in an inward-outward direction. In this case, a bottom plate (i.e., a second bottom plate 12) of the indoor unit body 1 faces downwards; a top plate (i.e., a second top plate 13) of the indoor unit body 1 faces upwards; a panel (i.e., a second panel 14) of the indoor unit body 1 faces towards the indoor side; and a back plate (i.e., a second back plate 11) of the indoor unit body 1 faces towards the outdoor side. A bottom plate (i.e., a first bottom plate 22) of the outer unit body 2 faces downwards; a top plate (i.e., a first top plate 23) of the outer unit body 2 faces upwards; a panel (i.e., a first panel 24) of the outer unit body 2 faces towards the outdoor side; and the back plate (i.e., a first back plate 21) of the outer unit body 2 faces towards the indoor side. The outdoor unit body 2 is rotatable about the only pivot axis L relative to the indoor unit component 101, and the only pivot axis L extends in the transverse direction and located at the upper inner end of the outdoor unit body 2.

For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, if the outdoor unit body 2 is pulled upwards to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to counterclockwise pivot about the pivot axis L, the window air conditioner 100 is in the mounting configuration after the outdoor unit body 2 rotates by 90°. In this case, the bottom plate (i.e., the first bottom plate 22) of the outdoor unit body 2 faces the outdoor side; the top plate (i.e., the first top plate 23) of the outdoor unit body 2 faces towards the indoor side; the panel (i.e., the first panel 24) of the outdoor unit body 2 faces upwards; and the back plate (i.e., the first back plate 21) of the outdoor unit body 2 faces downwards. The indoor unit body 1 still maintains the bottom plate (i.e., the second bottom plate 12) facing downwards, the top plate (i.e., the second top plate 13) facing upwards, the panel (i.e., the second panel 14) facing towards the indoor side, and the back plate (i.e., the second back plate 11) facing towards the outdoor side.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 18, if the indoor unit component 101 is pulled upwards to enable the indoor unit component 101 to clockwise pivot about the pivot axis L, the window air conditioner 100 is in an intermediate configuration after the indoor unit component 101 rotates by 90°. In this case, the bottom plate (i.e., the second bottom plate 12) of the indoor unit body 1 faces towards the indoor side; the top plate (i.e., the second top plate 13) of the indoor unit body 1 faces towards the outdoor side; the panel (i.e., the second panel 14) of the indoor unit body 1 faces upwards; and the back plate (i.e., the second back plate 11) of the indoor unit body 1 faces downwards. The outer unit body 2 still maintains the bottom plate (i.e., the first bottom plate 22) facing downwards, the top plate (i.e., the first top plate 23) facing upwards, the panel (i.e., the first panel 24) facing towards the outdoor side, and the back plate (i.e., the first back plate 21) facing towards the indoor side. It can be understood that the window air conditioner 100 may be in the mounting configuration (as illustrated in FIG. 3, for example) by counterclockwise rotating the window air conditioner 100 in the intermediate configuration (as illustrated in FIG. 18) by 90° as a whole.

In summary, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration, the pivot axis L is located at the position at which the top portion of the outdoor unit body 2 is located. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the window air conditioner 100 is in the mounting configuration, the pivot axis L is located at the position at which the bottom portion of the outdoor unit body 2 is located. Since the vertical height of the pivot axis L remains unchanged, it is equivalent to raising the outdoor unit body 2 as a whole. Therefore, the outdoor unit body 2 can be easily pushed outwards from the indoor side to the outdoor side through the window opening 200 without changing the state of the indoor unit body 1. In this way, the difficulty of the mounting of the window air conditioner 100 is reduced. As a result, the mounting of the window air conditioner 100 is more labor-saving and easier to control, thereby reducing the risk of the whole machine tipping over and falling off towards the outdoor side.

It can be understood that if the window air conditioner 100 always maintains the use configuration, then when the outdoor unit body 2 needs to be pushed outwards from the window opening 200, the window air conditioner 100 needs to be raised as a whole, which is laborious to operate. Moreover, if the window air conditioner 100 always maintains the use configuration, when the whole machine is raised to be pushed outwards, the center of gravity of the whole machine is relatively high because the indoor unit component 101 is also located at a relatively high level (for example, higher than a bottom edge of the window opening 200). In this case, there is a problem of the outdoor unit body 2 tipping over outwards, which is difficult to control and dangerous.

In the window air conditioner 100 according to some embodiments of the present

disclosure, since the indoor unit component 101, in the mounting configuration, may still maintain to be located at the same level as in the use configuration, for example, at lower level than the bottom edge of the window opening 200, an installer can easily press against the indoor unit body 1 from a top of the indoor unit body 1 to avoid the problem of the outdoor unit body 2 tipping over and falling off outwards, which is easy to control and reduces a risk.

It should be noted that the connection relation between the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 is not limited. For example, the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 may be fixedly connected to each other or may be slidingly connected to each other in such a manner that the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 move relative to each other in longitudinal direction, which is not limited herein. When the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 are fixedly connected to each other, at least part of the connection support 3 is always located outside the indoor unit body 1, to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to be spaced apart from the indoor unit body 1 in the longitudinal direction. When the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 are relatively slidably connected to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the window air conditioner 100 is in the use configuration (for example, as illustrated in FIGS.

1 and 2), at least part of the connection support 3 is located outside the indoor unit body 1, to enable the outdoor unit body 2 to be spaced apart from the indoor unit body 1 in the longitudinal direction. When the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 are relatively slidably connected to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the window air conditioner 100 is in the mounting configuration (for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4), the connection support 3 may be stacked on the top portion of the indoor unit body 1, to enable the indoor unit component 1 to be adjacent to the outer unit body 2, or at least part of the connection support 3 is located outside the indoor unit body 1, to enable the indoor unit body 1 to be spaced apart from the outdoor unit body 2 in the longitudinal direction.

When the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 are slidably connected to each other in such a manner that the indoor unit body 1 and the connection support 3 move relative to each other in the longitudinal direction, a relative longitudinal position of the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit body 1 may be adjusted, which not only helps to reduce a longitudinal distance between the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit body 1 for ease of packaging and transportation, but also allows the longitudinal distance between the outdoor unit body 2 and the indoor unit body 1 to match longitudinal dimension requirements of different windowsills.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the window air conditioner 100 may further include a buckle assembly. The buckle assembly includes a first buckle 61 and a second buckle 62. The first buckle 61 is arranged at the indoor unit component 101, and the second buckle 62 is arranged at the outdoor unit body 2. When the outdoor unit body 2 is in the second state (for example, a state illustrated in FIG. 3), the first buckle 61 is engaged with the second buckle 62 for locking to prevent the outdoor unit body 2 from rotating reversely in the direction along which the outdoor unit body 2 returns into the first state (for example, a state illustrated in FIG. 1). When the first buckle 61 is disengaged from the second buckle 62 for unlocking (as illustrated in FIG. 5), the outdoor unit body 2 may be out of the second state and rotates reversely in the direction along which the outdoor unit body 2 returns into the first state to change back into the first state (for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6). Therefore, by providing the buckle assembly, the outdoor unit body 2 can be stably and reliably kept in the second state to facilitate the mounting of the window air conditioner 100.

In the description of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that, the terms such as “longitudinal,” “transverse,” and “length” refer to the directions and location relations which are the directions and location relations shown in the drawings, and for describing the present disclosure and for describing in simple, and which are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or the elements are arranged to locate at the specific directions or are structured and performed in the specific directions, which could not to be understood to the limitation of the present disclosure.

In addition, the terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance, or to implicitly show the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature associated with “first” and “second” may comprise one or more this feature distinctly or implicitly. In the description of the present disclosure, the “plurality of” means two or more than two, unless specified otherwise.

In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “coupled” and “fixed” are understood broadly, such as fixed, detachable mountings, connections and couplings or integrated, and may be direct and via media indirect mountings, connections, and couplings, and also may be inner mountings, connections and couplings of two components or interaction relations between two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above-mentioned terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited otherwise, the first feature is “on” or “under” the second feature refers to the first feature and the second feature may be direct or via media indirect contact. And, the first feature is “on”, “above”, “over” the second feature may refer to the first feature is right over the second feature or is diagonal above the second feature, or just refer to the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than the horizontal height of the second feature. The first feature is “below” or “under” the second feature may refer to the first feature is right below the second feature or is diagonal under the second feature, or just refer to the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than the horizontal height of the second feature.

Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “an example”, “a specific example”, or “some examples” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The appearances of the above phrases in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, different embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in the specification may be combined by those skilled in the art without mutual contradiction.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, it is conceivable for those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications, replacements, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure shall be defined by the claims as appended and their equivalents.