# US 11,079,135 B2 · Air conditioner > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,135 B2 - Document ID: US11079135B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/988,088 - Filed: 2020-08-07 - Published: 2020-11-19 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2015-10-23 - Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Dong Yoon Lee; Jae Hyoung Sim; Do Yeon Kim; Do-Hoon Kim; Byung Yul So; Joon-Ho Yoon; Jung Dae Lee; Sung-June Cho - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079135B2 ## CPC - F24F 1/0011: characterised by air outlets - F24F 13/20: Casings or covers - B01D 46/0005: {Mounting of filtering elements within casings, housings or frames (B01D46/2422 takes precedence)} - B01D 46/4263: {Means for active heating or cooling} - B01D 46/523: {with means for maintaining spacing between the pleats or folds} - F24F 1/0014: having two or more outlet openings - F24F 1/0047: mounted in the ceiling or at the ceiling - F24F 1/0073: characterised by the mounting or arrangement of filters - F24F 8/10: by separation, e.g. by filtering - F24F 8/108: using dry filter elements - F24F 13/084: {with mounting arrangements, e.g. snap fasteners for mounting to the wall or duct} - F24F 13/085: {including an air filter} - F24F 13/222: {for evacuating condensate} - F24F 13/28: Arrangement or mounting of filters - F24F 13/30: Arrangement or mounting of heat-exchangers - B01D 2275/202: Disc-shaped filter elements - B01D 2279/50: for air conditioning - F24F: AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING (removing dirt or fumes from areas where they are produced B08B15/00; vertical ducts for carrying away waste gases from buildings E04F17/02; tops for chimneys or ventilating shafts, terminals for flues F23L17/02) - B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28) ## Abstract Disclosed herein is an air conditioner including a suction panel which includes a suction port through which air is suctioned in inside a housing. The suction panel is formed to rotate with an axial direction of an air blowing fan or a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the air blowing fan as a rotation axis to be coupled with or separated from the housing. Accordingly, a user may easily and intuitively separate the suction panel and falling of the suction panel, which may occur when the suction panel is separated, may be effectively reduced using a supporting unit disposed at the suction panel. Also, the housing and cover members which cover an outer perimeter of a lower portion of the housing may be coupled with each other by pressurizing the cover members toward the housing, thereby allowing the user to easily coupled the cover members. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An air conditioner comprising: a housing including an upper housing having a cylindrical shape and a lower housing; a suction panel including a suction port and having a circular shape provided along a central axis of the housing and separably coupled to the lower housing; a filter disposed on a top surface of the suction panel, having a circular shape corresponding to the suction panel, and configured to decouple from or couple to the suction panel; a discharge port configured to discharge air through an annular region between the suction panel and the housing; and a heat exchanger having an arc shape and disposed inside the housing; wherein the suction panel includes a plurality of coupling members formed to protrude upwardly from the top surface of the suction panel facing the housing and configured to couple with a plurality of coupling portions provided at the lower housing to correspond to the coupling members, and the suction panel further includes a plurality of coupling hooks provided on a perimeter of the suction port and configured to support the filter. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of hooks is disposed at each of the plurality of coupling members. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the plurality of coupling members is configured to couple with the plurality of coupling portions by being rotated with respect to the central axis of the housing in one of a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction, and to decouple from the plurality of coupling portions by being rotated with respect to the central axis of the housing in the other one of the clockwise direction or the counter-clockwise direction. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the plurality of coupling members is arranged in a circumferential direction of the top surface of the suction panel, and each of the plurality of coupling portions is configured to support a corresponding coupling member of the plurality of coupling members while the coupling member is inserted into the lower housing. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of coupling members includes: a guide surface configured to guide the coupling member to a corresponding coupling portion of the plurality of coupling portions, and an insertion protrusion protruding from the guide surface and supported by the corresponding coupling portion. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of coupling portions includes: a guide groove configured to guide a corresponding coupling member of the plurality of coupling members during coupling or decoupling of the corresponding coupling member to or from the lower housing, an insertion groove into which the corresponding coupling member is inserted, and a supporting step configured to support the corresponding coupling member while the coupling member is inserted into the insertion groove. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The air conditioner of claim 6, wherein the an upper housing is configured to cover the heat exchanger, wherein the lower housing includes a first lower housing disposed adjacent to the heat exchanger, and a second lower housing disposed further from the heat exchanger than the first lower housing, and wherein the guide groove is provided in the second lower housing, and the insertion groove and the supporting step are provided in the first lower housing. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising a cover member located outward of the suction panel in a radial direction of the housing to cover a perimeter of the lower housing, and wherein the cover member is coupled with the lower housing and is provided to be rotatable with respect to the central axis of the housing. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising: a drain tray disposed to collect water condensed at the heat exchanger, and a cover member located outward of the suction panel in a radial direction of the housing to cover a perimeter of the lower housing, wherein the cover member is coupled with at least one of the lower housing and the drain tray and is provided to be rotatable with respect to the central axis of the housing. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The air conditioner of claim 9, wherein: the lower housing further includes a first assembling portion protruding outward from an outer circumferential surface of the lower housing, the drain tray includes a second assembling portion protruding outward from an outer circumferential surface of the drain tray, the first and second assembling portions are disposed to correspond to each other, at least one of the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion forms a recess, and the recess is recessed in an axial direction of the housing. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The air conditioner of claim 10, wherein: the cover member includes a coupling hook configured to couple to at least one of the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion, the recess has a larger width than a width of the coupling hook, and the cover member rotates with respect to the central axis of the housing for a length that is approximately a difference between the width of the recess and the width of the coupling hook. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein cover member includes an opening having a circular shape, and a coupling slit extending in a circumferential direction of the opening, and the cover member is coupled to at least one of the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion and rotates for approximately a length of the coupling slit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein the cover member rotates in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion of the housing and is supported by at least one of the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The air conditioner of claim 13, wherein the cover member includes an annular portion and a coupling protrusion provided at an inner circumferential surface of the annular portion and protruding inwardly in a radial direction of the annular portion, and the coupling protrusion is coupled to and supported by at least one of the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The air conditioner of claim 14, wherein the cover member further includes an auxiliary coupling protrusion protruding inwardly in the radial direction of the annular portion and configured to be received by the recess. ### Claim 16 An air conditioner comprising: an upper housing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape; a lower housing located below the upper housing and including a discharge port formed in a partial ring shape; a heat exchanger located inward of an outer circumferential surface of the discharge port in a radial direction of the upper housing, and formed in a partial cylindrical shape; a suction panel including a suction port and formed in a substantially circular shape, the suction panel having a circumference arranged inward of the discharge port in the radial direction of the upper housing; and a filter disposed formed in a substantially circular shape corresponding to the suction panel, and configured to decouple from or couple to the suction panel; wherein the suction panel is separably coupled to the lower housing by being rotated in a circumferential direction of the upper housing, and the suction panel further includes a plurality of coupling hooks provided on a perimeter of the suction port and configured to support the filter. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The air conditioner of claim 16, further comprising a cover located outward of the discharge port in the radial direction of the upper housing and formed in a substantially ring shape to cover an outer portion of the lower housing, and wherein the cover is separably coupled to the lower housing by being rotated in a circumferential direction of the upper housing. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The air conditioner of claim 16, wherein the suction panel includes a plurality of coupling members formed to protrude upwardly from the top surface of the suction panel facing the housing and configured to couple with a plurality of coupling portions provided at the lower housing to correspond to the coupling members, and each of the plurality of hooks is disposed at each of the plurality of coupling members. ### Claim 19 An air conditioner comprising: an upper housing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape; a heat exchanger located inward of an inner circumferential surface of the upper housing in a radial direction of the upper housing, and formed in a partial cylindrical shape; a drain tray configured to collect condensate generated from the heat exchanger, disposed at a lower side of the upper housing, and formed in a substantially ring shape; a suction panel including a suction port and formed in a substantially circular shape, the suction panel having a circumference arranged inward of the discharge port in the radial direction of the upper housing; and a filter disposed formed in a substantially circular shape corresponding to the suction panel and configured to decouple from or couple to the suction panel; wherein the suction panel is separably coupled to the drain tray by being rotated in a circumferential direction of the upper housing, and the suction panel further includes a plurality of coupling hooks provided on a perimeter of the suction port and configured to support the filter. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The air conditioner of claim 19, further comprising a cover configured to cover an outer portion of a lower side of the drain tray and formed in a substantially ring shape, and wherein the cover is separably coupled to the drain tray by being rotated in a circumferential direction of the upper housing.