JP2011058646A - Cleaning device of heat exchanger of ceiling-type air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device which automatically determines a cleaning degree of cleaning liquid, automatically stops cleaning work in a stage when a prescribed determination result is obtained, and automatically switches to cleaning with water. <P>SOLUTION: A nozzle 24 is disposed inside the heat exchanger 7 and rotated by a motor 21. The cleaning liquid in a cleaning liquid tank 37 is pressure-fed to the nozzle by a pump 32, injected, then collected in a cleaning liquid receiver 43, and returned to the cleaning liquid tank. A dirtiness sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is disposed in the cleaning liquid, to measure light transmittance and to transmit a signal to a control device 53. In the control device, a transmittance value newly measured is divided by a transmittance value measured just before, and when the values are over a predetermined set value continuously three times, three-way valves 40, 46 are switched to stop the cleaning with the cleaning liquid and to start the cleaning with the water in a water tank 38. After performing the cleaning with water for a specific time, the motor and the pump are stopped, and the three-way valves are switched to opposite sides to terminate the cleaning work. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for a ceiling-mounted air conditioner (hereinafter abbreviated as “air conditioner”) including a blower motor, a fan attached to the motor, and a heat exchanger arranged around the fan. The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic cleaning apparatus that automatically determines the progress of cleaning during cleaning and stops the cleaning operation when a predetermined cleaning level is obtained.

  In such an air conditioner, oil and fat, dust, and the like contained in the air sucked in after being used for a long time adhere to the outer surface of the heat exchanger, and heat exchange efficiency deteriorates. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the heat exchanger.

Japanese Patent No. 2806176 discloses such a cleaning device, in which the cleaning liquid stored in the tank 10 is pumped out by the pump 9 and pumped, and injected from the rotating cleaning nozzle 4 toward the heat exchanger 2. is there. Japanese Patent No. 2666126 discloses a cleaning apparatus that includes a fluid injection nozzle 2 that ejects a cleaning liquid and an air blowing nozzle 9 that drains water, and rotates them while moving them up and down.

By the way, in cleaning using a conventional cleaning device including the cleaning device disclosed in the above publication, the degree of cleaning is determined by the visual observation of the worker, and the degree of cleaning after completion of cleaning varies depending on the worker. Moreover, even in the case of the same worker, it is not always uniform. Furthermore, it may be necessary to repeatedly check the cleaning degree and restart the cleaning, which is troublesome.

Japanese Patent No. 2806176 Japanese Patent No. 2666126

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional example, and automatically determines the degree of cleaning during the cleaning operation with the cleaning liquid, and automatically stops the cleaning operation when a predetermined determination result is obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device. Furthermore, there is provided a cleaning device that automatically switches to water cleaning with water after the cleaning with the cleaning liquid is completed.

In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning device for cleaning a heat exchanger of a ceiling-mounted air conditioner according to the present invention is located inside the heat exchanger, and a nozzle that injects a cleaning liquid toward the heat exchanger; A rotating device that rotates the nozzle, a cleaning liquid tank that stores the cleaning liquid, a pump device that pumps the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank to the nozzle, and a reflux flow that collects the cleaning liquid sprayed to the heat exchanger and returns it to the cleaning liquid tank A path, a turbidity measuring device for measuring the turbidity of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank, and a controller for controlling the motor and the pump based on a signal from the turbidity measuring device.
The turbidity measuring device is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element which are arranged opposite to each other in the cleaning liquid tank. The degree of contamination of the cleaning liquid is calculated as a ratio of the amount of light received by the light receiving element to the amount of light emitted by the light emitting element.
The turbidity measuring device measures the turbidity at regular time intervals, and the control device determines whether or not the newly measured turbidity relationship with the turbidity measured immediately before satisfies a predetermined condition. Judgment is made and the rotating device and the pump are controlled based on the result. Specifically, the control device determines whether or not a value obtained by dividing the newly measured pollution degree value by the last measured pollution degree value satisfies a predetermined condition, and based on the result. Control the nozzle and pump. More specifically, the control device continuously determines the number of times that the value obtained by dividing the newly measured pollution value by the previous measured pollution value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Only when it is recognized, it is determined that a predetermined condition is satisfied. At that time, the control device issues a command to end the cleaning with the cleaning liquid.
The cleaning device further includes a water tank for storing water for performing water cleaning, the pump is connected to the cleaning liquid tank and the water tank through a supply flow path including a first three-way valve, and the return flow path is A second three-way valve is provided, and by switching the second three-way valve, the liquid flowing into the return flow path is returned to the cleaning liquid tank or the water tank. When the control device issues a command to end the cleaning with the cleaning liquid, the control device switches the first and second three-way valves and starts the water cleaning with the water stored in the water tank. This water cleaning is performed for a predetermined time. And after performing water washing for predetermined time, a control apparatus stops a rotation apparatus and a pump, and switches a 1st and 2nd three-way valve to a reverse direction.

According to the present invention, since the cleaning progress is automatically determined and the cleaning operation is stopped, there is no need for the operator to visually confirm the number of times as in the prior art, and the burden on the worker is reduced. It is greatly reduced. In addition, since the determination is based on a preset value, a uniform cleaning result can be obtained.

It is a figure which shows the state which is wash | cleaning the heat exchanger of an air conditioner with the washing | cleaning apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments are exemplarily shown, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state where a heat exchanger of an air conditioner is being cleaned by a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and each member is shown in a simplified manner.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a ceiling of a building where an air conditioner is installed. The air conditioner 2 includes a box-shaped metal casing 3 that is open on the lower side and includes a ceiling wall 4, a peripheral wall 5, and a flange 6 that extends outward near the lower end of the peripheral wall 5. A blower motor (not shown) is attached to the inner central portion of the ceiling wall 4 of the casing 3 and a fan is attached to the output shaft thereof, but the fan is removed during cleaning. Reference numeral 7 is a known heat exchanger arranged around the fan, reference numeral 8 is a drain pan that receives water droplets that fall from the heat exchanger 7 when the air conditioner is used, and reference numeral 9 is an air outlet, and the temperature-controlled air Is erupted downward from here. Although not shown in the drawing, the drain pan 8 is provided with drain holes at appropriate positions. The casing 3 is attached to the ceiling 1 at the flange 6 by using anchor bolts 10 and nuts 11 that are attached to the ceiling 1 and extend downward. Next, the cleaning device 15 will be described.

The cleaning device 15 includes a support frame 16 that is attached to the casing 3 of the air conditioner 2 and supports a motor 21 described later in a suspended state. The support frame 16 has a shape that covers the motor of the air conditioner 2 described above, and includes a horizontal portion 17 to which the motor 21 is attached, and a vertical portion 18 having, for example, a neodymium magnet 19 for attaching to the ceiling at the upper end. Yes.

A rotary joint 20 is attached to a substantially central portion of the horizontal portion 17 of the support frame 16, and a front end side of an output shaft 22 of a motor (a stepping motor is used in the present embodiment) 21 is attached to the rotary joint 20. It is mounted rotatably. Although not shown, the motor 21 is actually covered with a motor cover so that the cleaning liquid is not applied to the motor 21. One end side of the fixed arm 23 is attached to the motor 21, and the neodymium magnet 24 fixed to the other end side of the arm 37 is attached to the lower surface side of the drain pan 14, so that the motor 21 does not move. The motor 21 is connected to a control device 53 described later, and its operation is controlled.

A nozzle 24 is attached to the shaft 22 of the motor 21 via a nozzle holder 25 so as to rotate integrally. That is, the output shaft 22 is provided with a mounting block 27 on one end side, and a first holder 26 extending in the left-right direction in the figure is attached, and a second holder 28 extending in the vertical direction in the figure is attached to the mounting block 27. 2 A nozzle 24 is fixed to the upper end of the holder 28. The positions of the first holder 26 and the second holder 28 can be adjusted in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by adjusting screws 29 and 30, respectively, and the position of the nozzle 45 can be adjusted as necessary. The second holder 28 is provided with a vertical hole leading to the injection port of the nozzle 24, and is connected to a hose 33 extending from the pump 32 via a rotary nipple 31 attached to the lower end. Reference numeral 34 is a valve.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a tank, which is partitioned by a partition plate 36 into a cleaning liquid tank 37 and a cleaning water tank 38, in which cleaning liquid and cleaning water are stored, respectively. The main supply pipe 39 connected to the pump 32 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 41 and the cleaning water supply pipe 42 by a three-way valve 40. The cleaning liquid or the cleaning water is pumped out by the pump 32 and is pumped and is jetted from the nozzle 24. The pump 32 is connected to the control device 53 and its operation is controlled.

Reference numeral 43 is a cleaning liquid receptacle that is sprayed from the nozzle 24 and collects cleaning liquid or cleaning water, and has a shape and an area that can sufficiently cover the lower side of the casing 3 of the air conditioner 2 at the upper end, and has a shape that swells downward. I am doing. And it attaches to the flange 6 of the casing 3 of the air conditioner 2 by the magnet 44 (this embodiment uses the neodymium magnet) attached to the upper end. A main return pipe 45 is attached to the central portion of the cleaning liquid receiver 43 and is switched to a cleaning liquid return pipe 47 and a cleaning water return pipe 48 by a three-way valve 46. The cleaning liquid return pipe 47 and the cleaning water return pipe 48 return the cleaning liquid or the cleaning water collected by the cleaning liquid receiver 43 to the cleaning liquid tank 42 and the cleaning water tank 43, respectively.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a turbidity measuring device for measuring the turbidity of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 37. In the present embodiment, this pollution measuring device is a sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged opposite to each other in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning liquid tank 37, and a signal from this sensor is sent to the control device 53 to The control device 53 calculates the light transmittance as a ratio of the amount of received light to the amount of emitted light, which indicates the degree of contamination. That is, as the heat exchanger 7 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank gradually becomes contaminated, and the light transmittance decreases accordingly. In this embodiment, the transmittance is measured at regular time intervals under the control of the control device 53. Reference numeral 52 denotes a heater with a temperature sensor for keeping the cleaning liquid at a desired temperature, which also sends a detected temperature signal to the control device 53 and compares it with a set target temperature to control the on / off of the heater. The

Next, the operation of the cleaning device 21 will be described. When a start button provided on the control device 53 is pressed, the positions of the three-way valves 40 and 46 are first determined. When the main supply pipe 39 is connected to the cleaning water supply pipe 42, the three-way valve 40 is switched and connected to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 41, and the main return pipe 45 is connected to the cleaning water return pipe 48. In this case, the three-way valve 46 is switched and connected to the cleaning liquid return pipe 47. Next, the motor 21 and the pump 32 are started. As a result, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the rotating nozzle 24 toward the heat exchanger 7 to perform cleaning. At this time, as described above, the turbidity measuring device 51 measures the turbidity of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 37, that is, the light transmittance, at regular time intervals, in this embodiment, at one minute intervals. Since the cleaning liquid used for the cleaning returns to the cleaning liquid tank 37, the permeability gradually decreases. This permeability decreases rapidly at the beginning after the cleaning is started, but the degree of decrease decreases as the cleaning proceeds.

Accordingly, the cleaning degree index C = (current permeability / previous permeability) × 100 is calculated in the control device 53, and the control device 53 determines whether or not to continue cleaning with the cleaning liquid using this cleaning degree index C. To do. This cleanness index C shows a small value immediately after the start of cleaning, but gradually increases as cleaning progresses and eventually becomes 100, but the degree of change in transmittance decreases, and a predetermined set value, for example, When the value of 95 or more is calculated three times in succession, it is determined that the cleaning is completed, the cleaning with the cleaning liquid is stopped, and the water cleaning is switched to the cleaning water. Specifically, the three-way valves 40 and 46 are switched by the control device 53. This set value can be changed, and an arbitrary numerical value such as 50 or 75 can be set when it is desired to simply perform cleaning. Further, instead of the above-described cleaning degree index, for example, the difference between the current transmittance and the previous transmittance may be used to end the cleaning when the difference is equal to or less than a preset value.

When the three-way valves 40 and 46 are switched, the pump 32 pumps out the washing water in the washing water tank 38 and pumps it, and jets it from the nozzle 24 to perform water washing. The water used for cleaning returns to the cleaning water tank 38. In the present embodiment, water washing is performed for a set fixed time. However, as another method, for example, the pH of water in the cleaning water tank 38 may be measured at a constant time interval using a pH sensor, and the water cleaning may be terminated when a certain condition is satisfied. That is, since the cleaning liquid is generally alkaline, when the water cleaning is performed, the cleaning liquid remaining on the heat exchanger 7 is returned to the water tank 38, and the pH of the water in the water tank 38 changes. By detecting the changing pH, it is possible to determine the timing of the end of water washing. Note that a slight amount of acid may be added to the cleaning solution to neutralize the remaining alkali component.

When the water washing is finished, the motor 21 and the pump 32 are stopped, and the three-way valves 40 and 46 are switched. A buzzer device or a light flashing device may be provided to notify that the cleaning is completed.

Claims (10)

  A cleaning device for cleaning a heat exchanger of a ceiling-mounted air conditioner, wherein the nozzle is located inside the heat exchanger and injects a cleaning liquid toward the heat exchanger, a rotating device that rotates the nozzle, and the cleaning liquid A cleaning liquid tank that stores the cleaning liquid, a pump device that pumps the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank to the nozzle, a reflux channel that collects the cleaning liquid sprayed to the heat exchanger and returns it to the cleaning liquid tank, and the cleaning liquid tank A cleaning apparatus comprising: a pollution measuring device for measuring the pollution degree of the cleaning liquid in the inside; and a control device for controlling the motor and the pump based on a signal from the pollution measuring device. The contamination measuring apparatus includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element that are arranged to face each other in the cleaning liquid tank.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pollution degree is calculated as a ratio of a light amount received by the light receiving element to a light amount emitted by the light emitting element. The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pollution measuring device measures the pollution at regular time intervals, and the control device measures the newly measured pollution and immediately before that. A cleaning apparatus, characterized in that it is determined whether or not a relationship with the measured pollution degree satisfies a predetermined condition, and the rotating device and the pump are controlled based on the result.   5. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control device determines whether or not a value obtained by dividing a newly measured pollution value by a previous measured pollution value satisfies a predetermined condition. The cleaning apparatus controls the nozzle and the pump based on the result.   6. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller continuously determines that the value obtained by dividing the newly measured pollution value by the previously measured pollution value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When the predetermined number of times is recognized, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control device issues a command to end cleaning with a cleaning liquid when the predetermined condition is satisfied. 8. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cleaning apparatus further includes a water tank for storing water for performing water cleaning, and the pump is connected to the cleaning liquid tank via a supply flow path including a first three-way valve. Switched to a water tank, the return flow path is provided with a second three-way valve, and the liquid that has flowed into the return flow path by switching the second three-way valve is returned to the cleaning liquid tank or the water tank, When the control device issues a command to end the cleaning with the cleaning liquid, the control device switches the first and second three-way valves to start water cleaning with water stored in the water tank. And a cleaning device. 9. A cleaning apparatus, wherein the water cleaning water according to claim 8 is performed over a predetermined time. 10. The cleaning device according to claim 9, wherein after the water cleaning is performed for the predetermined time, the control device stops the rotating device and the pump, and the first and second three-way valves are turned off first. A cleaning device characterized by switching in the reverse direction.

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