JP2003074951A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner, reduced in the required number of luminous bodies thereby permitting to reduce the number of parts upon indicating the state of cleanness in a living room, reduced in a labor for manufacturing and assembling while equipped with an indication unit reduced effect on a cost. SOLUTION: The indication unit 3 provided on the fore surface of a unit main body 1 to indicate the state of cleanness in the living room is equipped with a first LED 11 and a second LED 12, arranged so as to be apart from each other and respectively free in the regulation of the brightness of the same while one of them indicates the cleanness in the living room and the other one indicates the degree of dirtiness in the living room, a prism 20, arranged between the first and second LEDs to indicate the light of the LEDs by reflecting the same, and a control unit 30 for controlling the brightnesses of respective LEDs to permit the recognition of change of the cleanness in the living room by the fluctuation of position of a boundary between luminous zones in the prism.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and more particularly to improvement of a display unit structure for displaying the cleanliness status of a living room in the indoor unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit is widely used. In the indoor unit, the main body is provided with a suction port and a blowout port, and a heat exchanger, a blower and the like are housed inside the main unit.

A display portion is provided on the lower front surface or one side portion of the front surface of the main body, and operation is started by an infrared signal transmitted from a wireless remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) attached to the outside of the indoor unit. And the command to end the operation, the room temperature and the air volume set by the user, the wind direction, and other contents related to the operation are displayed.

Further, conventionally, a filter is arranged so as to face a suction port provided in the main body so as to capture dust mixed in room air sucked into the main body.
Recently, there is a heat exchanger in which an electric dust collector is arranged in front of the heat exchanger, and the dust passing through the filter is completely captured.

Alternatively, there is an indoor unit in which a negative ion generator is attached near the outlet. The negative ion generator includes a metal needle having sharpened ends and a high-voltage power supply that applies a predetermined negative high voltage to the needle.

The needle is provided so that one needle tip is directed from the outlet toward the room and the other needle tip is directed toward the blower. When a negative high voltage is applied to this needle from a high voltage power source, negative ions are emitted from the tip of the needle facing the room.

[0007]

As described above, not only simple refrigeration cycle operations such as cooling, heating, and dehumidification, but also
An air conditioner has been provided that promotes cleaning of heat exchange air to provide healthy and comfortable air conditioning.

The display unit is also required to display the operating conditions based on the transmission from the remote controller and the timeliness of the cleanliness (or the degree of dirt) of the living room.

In this case, for example, there is a means for arranging a large number of luminous bodies such as lamps in a straight line and expressing the cleanliness (or the degree of contamination) by the number of lit luminous bodies. Alternatively, the cleanliness (or the degree of contamination) is expressed by arranging a light emitting body along one end of the prism as the reflecting means, emitting light toward the prism at the light emitting portion of the light emitting body, and reflecting the light by the prism. There is a means.

However, in the structure in which a large number of light-emitting bodies are arranged and lighted, not only the space becomes large, but also the control is complicated and the cost is adversely affected.

Further, when the luminous body is arranged at one end of the prism, the lead leg portion of the luminous body connected to the substrate is set to 90 in order to make the luminous section of the luminous body face the side end surface of the prism.
° Bending work is required, which is troublesome and adversely affects the cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to display a cleanliness condition of a living room by requiring a small number of light emitters and reducing the number of parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner having a display unit that does not require manufacturing and assembling and has a small effect on cost.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to satisfy the above object, as a first means of the present invention, an air conditioner main body and a display provided on the front surface of the air conditioner main body for displaying the cleanliness status of a living room. In the air conditioner having a section, the display sections are arranged apart from each other, each of which is capable of adjusting the brightness, one of which represents the cleanliness of the living room and the other of which represents the degree of dirt in the living room. A light emitter and a second light emitter, disposed between the first light emitter and the second light emitter,
The cleanliness of the living room is controlled by controlling the brightness of the reflectors that reflect and display the light of each illuminator and the brightness of the first illuminant and the second illuminant to change the position of the boundary between the luminescent areas of the reflectors. Control means for recognizing the change of

As a second means, the control means is based on a signal from the detection means for detecting the cleanliness condition of the living room.
The relative operating current between the first light emitter and the second light emitter is controlled.

As a third means, the first light emitter and the second light emitter are connected such that their axes are perpendicular to each other with respect to the wiring board, and the longitudinal direction of the reflector is the same as the first light emitter. It is arranged perpendicular to the first light emitter and the second light emitter and parallel to the wiring board, and the reflecting surface thereof is knurled.

As a fourth means, a reflective display portion in which the first light emitter and the second light emitter are arranged so as to face both end portions of the reflector and which faces the knurled surface of the reflector. Are set at positions inside each of the light emitters with a predetermined space.

As a fifth means, the reflector is fitted into a cover body which covers the peripheral surface excluding the reflection display portion and has a housing portion for housing the first light emitter and the second light emitter. The cover body includes a first cover and a second cover, which are integrally molded via a hinge.

As a sixth means, the cover body is made of a material of a color having high light reflectivity, and the outer surface of the cover body is covered with a base body made of a light shielding material. 7th
As the means, the display section is covered with a decorative plate made of a semitransparent material.

By adopting the means for solving such a problem, the required number of light emitters can be reduced and the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing and assembling can be done without trouble and the cost is less affected. I'm sorry.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of an indoor unit that constitutes an air conditioner. The unit main body (air conditioner main body) 1 has a laterally long shape in which the width direction is extremely long in the vertical direction, and the front surface thereof is curved and protrudes toward the front side.

A part of the front panel 1a constituting the front surface of the unit main body 1 is supported by an opening / closing drive mechanism (not shown), and when the operation is stopped, it is flush with other panels as shown in the figure, but Sometimes it is controlled to project to the front side.

An upper suction port is provided at the upper part of the unit body 1, and the front panel 1a is provided at the front part of the unit body 1.
A front inlet (not shown) that is partially opened and closed is provided.

A decorative plate 2 made of a translucent material is provided below the front panel 1a of the unit main body 1 in the width direction of the unit main body 1, and covers a display portion 3 which will be described later. There is.

Further, on the lower side of the decorative plate 2, there is provided a blowout opening (not shown) which is opened and closed by two blowout louvers 4a and 4b. Each blowout louver 4a, 4b
Sets the blowing direction of the heat exchange air blown from the outlet.

A negative ion generator is provided in the vicinity of the blowout port so that the heat exchange air blown out from the blowout port is mixed with the negative ions and is guided to the living room.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the indoor unit with the front panel 1a and the decorative plate 2 removed from the unit body 1. An electrostatic precipitator 5 is installed in the center of the unit body 1.
Is visible. This electrostatic precipitator 5 is composed of a charging side electrode and a dust collecting side electrode, which charges the dust in the air and then attracts the charged dust at the dust collecting side electrode. It is designed to remove dust.

The electrostatic precipitator 5 is arranged on the front side of the heat exchanger 6, and a part of the heat exchanger 6 can be seen in the lower part of the electrostatic precipitator 5 and the left side portion in the drawing. The heat exchanger 6 is composed of a front heat exchanger part and a rear heat exchanger part, and has an inverted V shape in a side view. What can be seen in the figure is a part of the front side heat exchanger part, and the rear side heat exchanger part is hidden by the front side heat exchanger part and the electrostatic precipitator 5 and cannot be seen at all.

A two-way valve cover 7 is arranged side by side on the right side of the electric dust collector 5 in the figure. The two-way valve cover 7 is for covering the two-way valve provided in the connection pipe between the front heat exchanger section and the rear heat exchanger section that constitute the heat exchanger 6.

An electric parts box 8 for accommodating electric parts is provided at a further lateral portion of the two-way valve cover 7. The electric parts in the electric parts box 8 are for controlling the electrostatic precipitator 5, parts for driving and controlling the blower arranged between the front and rear heat exchanger parts of the heat exchanger 6, and for controlling the display part 3. Other parts.

Next, the display section 3 will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a part of the display unit 3 omitted.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a part thereof and is a diagram schematically showing an electric circuit related to the display unit 3.

With respect to the electric component base 9 forming a part of the unit main body 1, the wiring board 1 is provided with appropriate means.
0 is attached. Necessary electric circuits are printed on the wiring board 10 and various electric parts are attached.

One of the above-mentioned electric parts is a first LED 11 which is a first light emitter and a second LE which is a second light emitter.
D12 are spaced apart from each other along a straight line, and are arranged to face each other. Here, the left side of the figure is the first LED 11, and the right side is the second LED 12.

Specifically, the lead legs of the LEDs 11 and 12 are inserted into the wiring board 10 and soldered as they are. Therefore, the axes of the LEDs 11, 12 are in a vertical posture with respect to the wiring board 10, and the light emitting portion a at the tip projects from the wiring board 10.

For example, the first LED 11 emits blue light. This blue color is set to represent the cleanliness of the living room. The second LED 12 emits orange light. This orange color is set to represent the amount of dust in the room.

Such first and second LEDs 11, 12
Is covered with a prism cover 13 which is a cover body. The prism cover 13 is made of a synthetic resin material of a color (for example, white) having high light reflectivity, and the claw portions 14 and 14 are provided on both sides so as to project. Each of the claw portions 14 is mounted in a mounting hole 15 provided in the wiring board 10.

Further, an accommodating portion 16 for accommodating the first LED 11 and the second LED 12 is formed inside the base end of the claw portion 14 of the prism cover 13. A prism support portion 17 is formed between the accommodating portions 16, and a prism 20 which is a reflector is supported there.

Most of the front surface of the prism support portion 17 is open, and a step portion 21 provided along the end surface of the prism 20 is fitted into the opening portion 18.
Therefore, the front surface of the stepped portion 21 of the prism 20 is opened by the opening portion 18.
It is exposed from the bottom, and the front side of this step is the reflective display surface 2
Call 2.

Surfaces on both right and left sides of the prism 20 are inclined reflecting portions 23 that are cut obliquely, and the prism supporting portion 17 also has an inclined surface 1 along the inclined reflecting portions 23.
7a is formed. The prism 20 is the above-mentioned accommodation unit 1.
6, the projection surface 19 of the prism support portion 17 formed inside 6
Supported by.

The accommodating portion 16 of the prism cover 13 accommodating the first and second LEDs 11 and 12 is designed to be located outside a position spaced by a predetermined distance d from both ends of the opening 18. In addition, if it demonstrates, the inclination reflection part 23 and the inclination surface 17a are located facing the accommodating part 16, and the prism step part 21 and the opening part 18 are inside this.

One surface of the prism 20 supported by the projecting surface 19 of the prism supporting portion 17, that is, the reflective display surface 22.
The surface opposite to is subjected to so-called knurling in which a large number of fine grooves are provided in parallel to the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and this surface will be referred to as a knurled surface 24 hereinafter.

Due to the existence of the knurled surface 24, the light entering the prism 20 is reflected to the reflective display surface 22 in a diffused reflection state, and there is no reduction in the reflected light amount with respect to at least the incident light amount in the prism 20.

The surface of such a prism cover 13 is
It is covered by the base body 25. The base body 25 is made of, for example, a black and opaque light-shielding material, and is fitted over the entire outer peripheral surface of the prism cover 13 except for the claw portions 14.

The above-mentioned first LED 11 and second LED
As will be described later, 12 is controlled so that the light emission amount (hereinafter, referred to as brightness) is increased or decreased in response to a signal from the control unit 30.

The control unit 30 receives a signal from a gas sensor 31, which is a detection means mounted near the negative ion generator, performs a calculation based on the detection signal, and sends a brightness control signal to each of the LEDs 11 and 12. It is like this.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the prism cover 13 to which the prism 20 is attached. The prism cover 13 is integrally connected to the first cover 13A on which the claw portion 14 is formed and the first cover 13A via a so-called PP hinge (hereinafter referred to as a hinge portion) 26. 2 cover 13B.

The prism 20 is provided on the first cover 13A.
The opening portion 18 into which the stepped portion 21 is fitted is provided, and the peripheral surface excluding the knurled surface 24 is fitted into the cover 13A.

The second cover 13B is provided via the hinge portion 26.
By fitting into the first cover 13A, the projection surface 19 of the second cover 13B abuts on the knurled surface 24 of the prism 20 to support the prism.

As an actual assembling process, as shown in FIG. 5, after the prism 20 is fitted in the first cover 13A, the second cover 13B is fitted in the first cover 13A, and the prism cover 13 is inserted. The prism 20 is supported.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the base body 25 is fitted into the prism cover 13. Only the reflection display surface 22 of the prism 20 is exposed, and the claw portion 1 of the prism cover 13 is exposed.
The entire outer peripheral surface except 4 is covered with the base body 25.

In this state, the base body 25 faces the wiring board 10 attached to the electric component base 9. The wiring board 10 already has the first and second LEDs 11, 12
And the indicator lights 28 and other electric parts 29 are connected,
In addition, the mounting holes 15 are provided near the respective LEDs. Therefore, the claw portion 14 of the prism cover 13 faces the mounting hole 15 of the wiring board 10, and the claw portion 14 is inserted and mounted in the mounting hole 15.

As shown in FIG. 7, the wiring board 10 is provided with a base body 25 for covering the prism 20 and the prism cover 13. Each L is placed in each accommodation portion 16 of the prism cover 13.
The EDs 11 and 12 will be accommodated.

FIG. 8 shows the final product state. Further, the indicator lamps 28 are covered with another cover b, and other electric parts 29 and a part of the wiring board 10 are separated as necessary. It is covered with a cover c.

In the indoor unit of the air conditioner constructed as described above, the front panel 1a closes the front inlet when the operation is stopped, and the unit main body 1 is opened from this inlet.
No dust invades inside. The outlet is also closed by two outlet louvers 4a and 4b.

When the operation switch of the remote controller is turned on, the opening / closing drive mechanism operates to move the front panel 1a to the front side, so that the front suction port is opened. The room air is guided into the unit main body 1 through the upper suction port and the front suction port, passes through the air filter, and the dust contained in the room air is captured.

The electrostatic precipitator 5 operates to completely trap dust that has not been trapped by the air filter. Therefore, the purified air is guided to the heat exchanger 6 and the heat exchange action is performed.

The heat-exchanged air is guided from the outlet to the louvers 4a, 4b and blown out into the room, so that an efficient air conditioning operation is performed. When the operation switch of the remote controller is turned off to end the air conditioning operation, the operation of the compressor, the blower, and the electrostatic precipitator 5 is stopped, and the opening / closing drive mechanism moves the front panel 1a backward to close the front suction port. .

The gas sensor 31 detects the amount of negative ions generated from the negative ion generator, and the control unit 30 calculates based on this detection signal, and the respective LEDs 11, 12 are
To the control signal.

Based on the control signal from the control unit 30,
The first LED 11 and the second LED 12 emit light, and the prism 20 reflects this light and displays it on the reflective display surface 22.

When the amount of negative ions generated is large, the amount of dust is small and the degree of contamination is small, and the cleanliness is high. When the amount of negative ions generated is small, the amount of dust is large. This is the case when the degree of dirt is large and the degree of cleanliness is low.

As described above, the first LED (blue) 1
1 represents the cleanliness, and the second LED (orange) 12 is set to represent the degree of contamination. Also, the prism 2
The total length of 0 in the longitudinal direction is 100 (%), and each state is represented by a ratio.

For example, when the cleanliness of the living room is 50 (%), the first LED 11 and the second LED 12 have exactly the same brightness, and blue and orange are almost at the center of the prism reflection display surface 22. The border with color comes.

When the cleanliness of the living room increases and the degree of contamination decreases, the boundary between blue and orange is on the right side (second LED 1
Move to 2) side and blue area becomes large. On the contrary, if the degree of dirtiness increases and the degree of cleanliness decreases, the boundary between blue and orange moves to the left side (first LED 11) side, and the orange area becomes large. Therefore, the resident in the living room knows the current cleanliness of the living room (that is, the degree of dirtiness) from the areas of each color shining on the left and right sides displayed on the display unit 3, and changes in the cleanliness from the movement of the boundary of each color. You can know the situation.

The control unit 30 adjusts the brightness of each of the LEDs 11 and 12 by controlling the drive current for each of the LEDs. Furthermore, each LED1
Brightness adjustment is performed by the control unit 30 having means for relatively controlling the light emission amounts of 1 and 12.

For example, the luminance is adjusted by controlling the duty of the energization amount for each of the LEDs 11 and 12. The duty control itself includes a switching element in the circuit.
This is a well-known control that changes the energization amount by adjusting the ratio of ON to OFF in the cycle. According to such control, analog display is possible, and there is an advantage that it is easy to recognize.

The LEDs 11 and 12 are connected to the wiring board 10.
And the tip light emitting portions a are arranged so as to face both end portions of the prism 20 mounted in parallel with the wiring substrate 10.

That is, it is only necessary to insert the lead leg portions of the LEDs 11 and 12 into the connection holes provided in the wiring board 10, and the step of bending the lead leg portions is not particularly required.
It can be installed as it is, saves labor and is easy to manufacture.

Since the light emitting portions a of the LEDs 11 and 12 face the inclined reflecting portions 23 formed on both sides of the prism 20, even if the LEDs 11 and 12 and the prism 20 face each other vertically, the prism There is no problem with the light emission at 20.

In the prism 20, the light from the inclined reflecting portion 23 is received by the knurled surface 24 and reflected, and the reflective display surface 22
Light from. Due to the presence of the knurled surface 24, the brightness of the LEDs 11 and 12 can be increased and the recognition can be improved.

The reflective display surface 2 of the prism 20 is provided on the inner side at a predetermined distance from the position of the accommodating portion 16 of each LED 11, 12.
It is designed so that both sides of 2 are located. In other words, L is outside the end of the prism 20 on the reflective display surface 22 side.
There is a housing 16 for the EDs 11, 12.

Although the occupant can see the reflective display surface 22 of the prism 20, the presence of each of the LEDs 11 and 12 is blocked by the base body 25 and cannot be recognized, and the amount of light on the reflective display surface 22 is secured.

Since the prism cover 13 covering the peripheral surface and the back surface of the prism 20 is made of a synthetic resin material such as PP, and the first cover 13A and the second cover 13B are integrally molded through the hinge portion 26, It is possible to cover the outer circumferences of the LEDs 11 and 12 that need to reflect light, the inclined reflecting portion 23 and the knurled surface 24 of the prism 20, and the like with one component, and it is possible to improve component management and mounting workability.

Since the prism cover 13 is made of a material having high light reflectivity and the outer surface of the prism cover is covered with the base body 25 made of a light shielding material, only the reflective display surface 22 of the prism 20 is brighter. Becomes, display unit 3
Besides, the light does not leak, and the recognition is improved.

The outside of such a display unit 3 is covered with a decorative plate 2 made of a semitransparent material. Therefore, L of the display unit 3
When the EDs 11 and 12 are not turned on and are turned off, the reflection display surface 22 of the prism 20 is obscured by the decorative plate 2.

When the LEDs 11 and 12 are turned on, the prism 2
Since the 0 reflective display surface 22 is viewed through the semi-transparent decorative plate 2, the presence of the reflective display surface 22 becomes more prominent, the recognizability is improved, and the difference from when the light is turned off becomes clear.

Although LEDs are used as the first and second light emitters 11 and 12, the present invention is not limited to this, and any light emitter whose brightness can be adjusted, such as an incandescent lamp, is applicable. it can.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention, when displaying the cleanliness state of the living room, the number of light-emitting bodies required is small, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing and assembling are troublesome. In addition, it is possible to provide a display unit that has a small effect on cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner, showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the indoor unit showing the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing another embodiment with a part of the display unit omitted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display unit showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cover body showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the assembly of the display unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an assembled display unit showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating final assembly around a display unit according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Unit body (air conditioner body), 3 ... Display, 11 ... First LED (first light emitter), 12 ... second LED (second light emitter), 20 ... Prism (reflector), 30 ... Control unit (control means), 31 ... Gas sensor (detection means), 24 ... Knurled surface, 13 ... Prism cover (cover body), 13A ... the first cover, 13B ... second cover, 26 ... Hinge, 25 ... Base body, 2 ... Decorative board.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G09F 13/20 F24F 1/00 371B F term (reference) 3L051 BC01 3L061 BA01 BC07 BD03 5C096 AA27 BA04 BC02 BC03 CA06 CC06 DC03 DC19 DC20 FA03

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising an air conditioner main body and a display unit provided on the front surface of the air conditioner main body for displaying the cleanliness status of a living room, wherein the display units are separated from each other. First illuminants and second illuminants, each of which is arranged and whose brightness is adjustable, one of which represents the cleanliness of the living room and the other of which represents the degree of dirt in the living room, and the first and second luminous bodies. And a reflector for reflecting and displaying the light of each of the light emitters, and controlling the brightness of the first and second light emitters so as to control the brightness of the light emitters. An air conditioner comprising: a control unit for recognizing a change in cleanliness of a living room due to a change in the position of the boundary of the air conditioner. 2. The control means controls the relative operating currents of the first light emitter and the second light emitter based on a signal from a detector for detecting the cleanliness condition of the living room. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The first luminous body and the second luminous body,
The axes thereof are connected to each other in a state perpendicular to the wiring board, and the longitudinal direction of the reflector is perpendicular to the first light emitter and the second light emitter and parallel to the wiring board. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the air conditioner is arranged and its reflecting surface is knurled. 4. The first member facing both end portions of the reflector.
And the second illuminant is arranged, and the reflective display surface of the reflector facing the knurled surface is set at a position with a predetermined interval inside each illuminator. The air conditioner according to claim 3. 5. The reflector is fitted into a cover body which covers a peripheral surface except the reflective display surface and has a housing portion for housing a first light emitter and a second light emitter, and the cover body. Is integrally molded via a hinge, the first
The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the air conditioner comprises a cover and a second cover. 6. The cover body is formed of a material of a color having high light reflectivity, and the outer surface of the cover body is covered with a base body made of a light shielding material.
Air conditioner described. 7. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the display portion is covered with a decorative plate made of a translucent material.