IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,331,939
Granted Patent B2
US 12,331,939 · App. 18/387,335 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Indoor unit of an air conditioner

Inventors: Seongkuk Mun (Seoul, KR); Junseok Bae (Seoul, KR); Eunsun Lee (Seoul, KR); Kangyoung Kim (Seoul, KR); Hakjae Kim (Seoul, KR); Taeyun Lee (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
F24F1/0018F24F1/0007F24F1/0011F24F1/0029F24F1/005F24F13/082F24F13/1426F24F2013/1446F24F2013/146
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,331,939
App. No.
18/387,335
Granted
Jun 17, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A front end of a steering grill from which air is discharged protrudes further than the front surface of a door assembly, and the steering grill is steered by a steering assembly, and thus conditioned air may be provided by a directed air movement to a long-distance target region, and since the front end of the steering grill protrudes further than the front surface of the door assembly, the occurrence of flow resistance as a result of a cabinet assembly or the door assembly interfering with the discharged air may be minimized, and the direction of the steering grill may be instantly changed, by means of steering, from any one direction to another among up, down, left, right, upper left, lower left, upper right, or lower right.

Claims (55)

1. An air conditioner comprising:

a casing having a suction inlet and a discharge outlet defined therein communicating an inner space of the casing with an indoor space;

a grill configured to adjust a discharge direction of air discharged to the discharge outlet;

a fan housing disposed in rear of the grill;

a fan configured to flow air introduced through the suction inlet;

a fan motor configured to rotate the fan; and

a tilting assembly disposed between the fan housing and the grill and configured to tilt the grill,

wherein the tilting assembly includes:

a first steering assembly configured to push or pull a first point located above or under a central axis of the grill to tilt the grill around the central axis of the grill, and/or a second steering assembly configured to push or pull a second point located at a left or right side around the central axis of the grill to tilt the grill around the central axis of the grill; and

a joint assembly tiltably coupled to the grill and providing a tilting center,

wherein the tilting center coincides with the central axis,

wherein the first steering assembly is installed on a structure of the fan housing, and

wherein the fan housing includes:

a rear fan housing having a fan suction inlet defined therein; and

a front fan housing disposed in front of the rear fan housing and coupled to the rear fan housing, wherein the front fan housing includes a motor installation portion on which the fan motor is installed.

2. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the first steering assembly includes:

a steering body installed on the structure of the fan housing;

a steering actuator coupled to the steering body;

a moving rack movably coupled to the steering body and movable based on an operation of the steering actuator; and

an adjust assembly coupled to each of the moving rack and the grill so as to be rotatable relative thereto.

3. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the first steering assembly is disposed in front of the fan motor.

4. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the fan motor includes a motor mount coupled to the motor installation portion,

wherein the first steering assembly is installed on the motor mount.

5. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the first steering assembly is installed on the front fan housing.

6. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the fan is disposed between the front fan housing and the rear fan housing,

wherein the fan motor is disposed in front of the front fan housing.

7. The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein a rotary shaft of the fan motor coincides with the central axis.

8. The air conditioner of claim 1 ,

wherein the second steering assembly is installed on a structure of the fan housing.

9. An air conditioner comprising:

a casing having a suction inlet and a discharge outlet defined therein communicating an inner space of the casing with an indoor space;

a grill configured to control a discharge direction of air discharged to the discharge outlet;

a fan housing disposed in rear of the grill;

a fan configured to flow air introduced through the suction inlet;

a fan motor configured to rotate the fan; and

a tilting assembly disposed between the fan housing and the grill and configured to tilt the grill,

wherein the tilting assembly includes:

a joint assembly tiltably coupled to the grill and providing a tilting center; and

a steering assembly configured to push or pull a point of the grill spaced apart from the tilting center to tilt the grill,

wherein the steering assembly is installed on a structure of the fan housing, and

wherein the fan housing includes:

a rear fan housing having a fan suction inlet defined therein; and

a front fan housing disposed in front of the rear fan housing and coupled to the rear fan housing, wherein the front fan housing includes a motor installation portion on which the fan motor is installed.

10. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein the steering assembly includes:

a steering body installed on the structure of the fan housing;

a steering actuator coupled to the steering body;

a moving rack movably coupled to the steering body and movable based on an operation of the steering actuator; and

an adjust assembly coupled to each of the moving rack and the grill so as to be rotatable relative thereto.

11. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein the steering assembly is disposed in front of the fan motor.

12. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein the fan motor includes a motor mount coupled to the motor installation portion,

wherein the steering assembly is installed on the motor mount.

13. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein the steering assembly is installed on the front fan housing.

14. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein the fan is disposed between the front fan housing and the rear fan housing,

wherein the fan motor is disposed in front of the front fan housing.

15. The air conditioner of claim 9 , wherein a rotary shaft of the fan motor coincides with the tilting center.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 6, 2023
From: MUN, SEONGKUK; BAE, JUNSEOK; LEE, EUNSUN; KIM, KANGYOUNG; KIM, HAKJAE; LEE, TAEYUN
To: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Reel/Frame 065472/0202 →
Priority Claims (2)
KR 10-2018-0027005 · Mar 7, 2018 · national
KR 10-2019-0017449 · Feb 14, 2019 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 16978138
Related Publication 20240068675A1 · Feb 29, 2024
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