Air conditioner

Abstract

An air conditioner includes a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a discharge plate having a plurality of holes disposed adjacent to the outlet, a heat exchanger disposed within said housing, a blowing fan for blowing air exchanged with the heat exchanger; and a shutter movably provided to close at least one of a first path through which air blown by the blowing fan flows to the outlet and a second path that flows to the discharge plate.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner comprising:
 a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a discharge plate having a plurality of holes arranged adjacent to the outlet;   a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing;   a blowing fan configured to blow air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger; and   a shutter movably disposed to open and close at least one of a first path through which the air blown by the blowing fan flows to the outlet and a second path through which the air blown by the blowing fan flows to the discharge plate.   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter is configured to slide between a first position at which the shutter closes the first path and a second position at which the shutter closes the second path. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner of  claim 2 , wherein the second position is located on a rear surface of the discharge plate. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge plate is formed on at least one of a front surface and a side surface of the housing. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter is rotatably disposed inside the housing, and configured to close the second path when the outlet is open. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter is configured to slide inside the housing, and configured to close the second path when the outlet is open. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter is rotatably disposed inside the housing, and configured to close the first path when the outlet is closed. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a blade configured to guide air discharged from the outlet, and to close the outlet,
 wherein the blade comprises:   a plurality of first blades configured to move between a guide position for guiding the air discharged from the outlet and a closed position to close the outlet;   at least one second blade configured to move the plurality of first blades between the guide position and the closed position, and to close the outlet together with the plurality of first blades at the closed position.   
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a drain panel formed below the discharge plate and the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner of  claim 9 , wherein the drain panel protrudes from a front surface of the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a light emitting unit formed along at least a portion of the discharge plate, and configured to emit light. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet further comprises:
 a first inlet formed in at least one of a rear surface and a side surface of the housing; and,   a second inlet formed in a front direction from the housing together with the outlet, and configured to be closed when air blown by the blowing fan is discharged through the discharge plate.   
     
     
         13 . The air conditioner of  claim 12 , further comprising an inlet door configured to open and close the second inlet. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioner of  claim 12 , further comprising an auxiliary blowing fan disposed above the second inlet, and configured to blow air discharged from the discharge plate toward the front direction from the housing. 
     
     
         15 . An air conditioner comprising:
 a housing having an outlet and a discharge plate disposed adjacent to the outlet;   a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing; and   a blowing fan configured to discharge air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger to an outside of the housing through at least one of the outlet and the discharge plate,   wherein the discharge plate comprises:   a first plate and a second plate, each of the first plate and the second plate having a plurality of holes,   wherein the first plate and the second plate are configured to move between a close mode in which the plurality of holes of the first plate are closed by the second plate and an open mode in which the plurality of holes of the first plate and the second plate are open.   
     
     
         16 . The air conditioner of  claim 15 , wherein the discharge plate is configured to operate in the close mode when the outlet is open, and
 the discharge plate is configured to operate in the open mode when the outlet is closed.   
     
     
         17 . The air conditioner of  claim 15 , wherein the first plate and the second plate are configured to slide between the open mode and the closed mode, and
 wherein the plurality of holes of the first plate are aligned with the plurality of holes of the second plate in the open mode.   
     
     
         18 . The air conditioner of  claim 15 , wherein the first plate contacts the second plate in the close mode, and the first plate is spaced apart from the second plate in the open mode. 
     
     
         19 . An air conditioner comprising:
 a housing having an outlet and a discharge plate having a plurality of holes disposed adjacent to the outlet;   a heat exchanger disposed inside the housing;   a blowing fan configured to discharge air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger to an outside of the housing through at least one of the outlet and the discharge plate; and   an auxiliary plate disposed inside the housing and spaced apart from the discharge plate,   wherein the auxiliary plate includes a plurality of holes through which air blown from the blowing fan toward the discharge plate passes.   
     
     
         20 . The air conditioner of  claim 19 , wherein the air blown by the blowing fan sequentially passes through the auxiliary plate and the discharge plate, and is discharged to the outside of the housing.