JPH05141692A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a comfortable environment forming function of an air conditioner by conducting a room heating as required, and feeding high temperature air into a short-circuiting passage to sterilize in the conditioner. CONSTITUTION:A switching plate 6 is opened as required, for example in summer to form a short-circuiting passage 9 from an air diffuser 5 side to a plate fin type heat exchanger 1 side. First-third wind direction control plates 4a-4c are erected to completely close the diffuser 5. A room heating is conducted in this state. As a result, hot air heated by the exchanger 1 is circulated in an air conditioner body housing 10 as indicated by an arrow with an imaginary line. Thus, a temperature in the conditioner is raised, for example, to about 80-90 deg.C to effectively sterilize mould, ticks, bacteria. Thus, a comfortable environment forming function of the conditioner is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of an air conditioner having a sterilizing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, during cooling operation of an air conditioner for cooling and heating.
In the summer, for example, there is a problem that water droplets adhere to the heat exchanger on the indoor unit side, the drain portion, the filter portion, and the like, and bacteria, molds, mites, and the like propagate there to cause an offensive odor.

Therefore, as a countermeasure, for example, as described in the magazine "Mainichi Life", January 1991, pages 57 to 60, conventionally, when the cooling operation of the air conditioner is stopped by the operation of the thermostat, A method is adopted in which only the operation of the blower is continuously performed to perform ventilation to reduce the degree of pollution of indoor air.

[0004]

However, it is generally limited to large air conditioners for buildings etc. that the operation of the refrigerator can be stopped by the thermostat and the drying operation can be performed by the blower as described above. Even if the drying operation is performed by a blower, for example, the mold growth temperature is 25 to 30 ° C., and the humidity cannot be sufficiently sterilized unless the humidity is kept low for a considerably long time. Therefore, in order to obtain a sufficient sterilizing effect, there is a problem that the time itself of the cooling operation is considerably restricted.

[0005]

The inventions described in claims 1 to 3 of the present application have been made for the purpose of solving the above problems, and are respectively configured as follows. ..

(1) Configuration of the Invention According to Claim 1 The air conditioner according to the invention according to claim 1 has, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 1 and 2, a cooling cycle and a heating cycle.
In an air conditioner equipped with two refrigeration cycles, short circuit flow path forming means 6 and 9 for endlessly circulating communication of the indoor unit side air flow path in which the heat exchanger 1 is placed in a closed state are provided, and as necessary. By performing the heating operation, high temperature air is caused to flow in the short circuit flow passage 9 formed by the short circuit flow passage forming means 6 and 9 to sterilize the inside of the air conditioner.

(2) Structure of the Invention According to Claim 2 The air conditioner of the invention according to claim 2 is based on the structure of the invention according to claim 1 as a basic structure, as shown in FIG. The short circuit flow path forming means in the constitution is characterized by comprising a communication passage 9 for communicating the air outlet 5 upstream of the heat exchanger 1 and an opening / closing means for opening the communication passage 9 during sterilization. Is.

(3) Structure of the Invention According to Claim 3 The air conditioner of the invention according to claim 3 is based on the structure of the invention according to claim 1 as shown in FIG. The short circuit flow path forming means in the configuration is removably fitted to the front surface of the air conditioner body 10, and the air outlet 5 and the air suction port 3 of the air conditioner body 10 are mutually connected at the time of fitting. It is characterized in that it is constituted by an outer casing 20 that communicates with the.

[0009]

The air conditioners of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3 of the present application are configured as described above, and as a result, the following actions are achieved corresponding to the respective configurations.

(1) Operation of the invention of claim 1 In the air conditioner of the invention of claim 1, in the air conditioner comprising two refrigerating cycles, a cooling cycle and a heating cycle, a heat exchanger is provided. A short circuit flow path forming means for endlessly circulating and communicating the intervening indoor unit side air flow path in a closed state is provided, and heating operation is performed as necessary, whereby a short circuit formed by the short circuit flow path forming means. High-temperature air is flowed endlessly within a flow path for a certain period of time to sterilize by drying or moist heat.

Therefore, as compared with the case where only the blower is simply rotated to dry at low temperature, a more complete sterilization effect can be realized, and a sterilization operation for a short time is sufficient, so that the cooling operation time is restricted. Can be small.

(2) Operation of the invention described in claim 2 In the air conditioner of the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the operation similar to that of the invention described in claim 1 based on its basic configuration, in particular, the short circuit flow The passage forming means is the air outlet 5
Since it is composed of the communication passage 9 for communicating the upstream of the heat exchanger 1 and the opening / closing means 6 which opens the communication passage 9 at the time of sterilization, a short circuit flow path can be easily formed only by opening the opening / closing means 6. Then, the sterilization operation can be performed.

(3) Operation of the invention according to claim 3 In the configuration of the air conditioner of the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the same action as that of the invention according to claim 1 based on the basic configuration, in particular the short circuit The circuit flow path forming means is detachably fitted to the front surface of the air conditioner body 10, and the air outlet 5 of the air conditioner body 10 is fitted at the time of fitting.
And external casing 2 for communicating the air inlet 3 with each other
Since it is 0, the air conditioner main body 10 of the conventional structure is used as it is without requiring a special structural improvement on the air conditioner main body 10 side unlike the air conditioner of the invention according to claim 2. can do.

[0014]

Therefore, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, extremely effective sterilization can be performed by a relatively simple method, and the function of forming a comfortable environment of the air conditioner can be improved.

[0015]

【Example】

(1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the configuration and operation of a wall-mounted air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, reference numeral 10 in the drawing denotes a main body housing (main body casing) of the air conditioner.

An air inlet 3 is formed in an upper portion of the main body housing 10 on the front side, and an air outlet 5 is formed in a lower portion thereof. Then, in the main body housing 10, the upstream side air suction port 3 to the downstream side air outlet 5 are provided.
Is formed in the air flow passage 7. The plate fin heat exchanger 1 and the cross flow fan 2 are arranged in this air flow passage 7 in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side. ..

The filter 8 is provided along the back of the air suction port 3 so that it can be taken out from the lower side as needed. Further, the plate fin heat exchanger 1 is
They are located behind the filters 8 and arranged in parallel. Further, the cross flow fan 2 is arranged behind the lower portion of the plate fin heat exchanger 1 in correspondence with the installation shape of the air flow passage 7.

On the other hand, reference numeral 11 is a drain pan provided below the plate fin heat exchanger 1,
The drain water from the plate fin heat exchanger 1 at the time of defrosting is received. A short circuit passage 9 having a predetermined width is formed between the drain pan 11 and the lower portion of the filter 8, and the short circuit passage 9 is opened and closed by the opening / closing plate 6.

Since the opening / closing plate 6 is positioned in the state indicated by the phantom line in the drawing during normal cooling and heating, when the crossflow fan 2 is driven, the air in the room is drawn into the air intake port as indicated by the solid line in the figure. 3 is sucked in and is supplied to the plate fin heat exchanger 1 through the filter 8 to be heat-exchanged (heated or cooled). After that, the heat-exchanged air is passed through the crossflow fan 2 to the air outlet 5
It is blown into the room at a predetermined angle.

Numerals 4a to 4c are first to third wind direction control plates which are rotatably supported by the air outlet 5 and are controlled in the upright direction as shown by the solid lines in the drawing. At this time, the air blown out through the plate fin heat exchanger 1 is circulated again through the short circuit flow path 9 to the plate fin heat exchanger 1 as shown by the phantom line in the figure to circulate the air conditioner body. Housing 1
It is designed to sterilize within 0.

Therefore, in the air conditioner having the above-described structure, for example, in summer, the opening / closing plate 6 is opened to the state shown by the solid line in the drawing as needed to move from the air outlet 5 side to the plate fin heat exchanger 1 side. The short circuit flow path 9 is formed, and at the same time, the first to third wind direction control plates 4a to 4c are controlled to the upright state of the solid line in the figure to completely close the air outlet 5 and perform the heating operation in this state. When you do
The hot air heated by the plate fin heat exchanger 1 circulates in the air conditioner body housing 10 as shown by the phantom line in the figure, and the internal temperature of the air conditioner rises to about 80 to 90 ° C., Effectively kills mold, mites and bacteria. Then, when the heating operation is operated for a certain period of time, it is automatically stopped by a timer or a thermostat,
Then, the opening / closing plate 6 and the first to third wind direction control plates 4a to 4c are also returned to the positions corresponding to the original cooling operation.

Generally speaking, bacteria, fungi, mites, etc. are substantially killed by drying and heating. Therefore, as described above, it is effective to sterilize by temporarily operating the heating during the cooling operation in the summer and short-circuiting the indoor unit to keep the indoor unit in a dry state at a predetermined high temperature (about 40 to 90 degrees). High (dry sterilization: sterilization under dry high temperature condition).

The optimum temperature for the growth of most molds is 25 to 30 ° C. and the humidity is 80% or more. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is impossible to sterilize the mold itself by 100% only by the dry heat. However, in moist heat sterilization (sterilization in a moist high temperature state), fungi of the same mold are easily killed by heating at 60 ° C and asexual spores at 65 to 70 ° C for 5 to 10 minutes.
Therefore, when the heating is activated during the cooling operation in the summer as in the above, the humidifier is activated in the same state and a predetermined amount of water is added, and then the indoor unit is short-circuited as described above. Moist heat the mold (about 4
It becomes possible to sterilize surely by 0-90 degree).

(2) Second Embodiment Next, FIG. 2 shows the construction of an air conditioner having a sterilizing function according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the air conditioner having the structure of the first embodiment,
Short circuit operation using the heating function allows arbitrary dry heat and wet heat sterilization. Open / close plate 6
Since it can be realized only by changing the positions of the wind direction control plates 4a to 4c, the operability is also good.

However, this construction has a problem that the cost is slightly increased and the thickness before and after the housing is increased due to the formation of the short circuit flow passage 9, which is contrary to the recent demand for thinner indoor units.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the air conditioner body itself is the same as the conventional one as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and is required between the air conditioner body and the conventional air conditioner body. Accordingly, the short circuit flow path 9 having the same function as the short circuit flow path 9 of the first embodiment.
The outer casing 20 capable of forming A is configured to be combined.

That is, reference numeral 20 in the drawing denotes the same outer casing, and the outer casing 20 is fitted with fitting pieces 21a, 21b which can be fitted to the upper surface 10a and the lower surface 10b of the air conditioner body housing 10 as shown in the drawing. And a box-shaped first casing 21 provided with the airflow blown from the air outlet 5 side inside the first casing 21 in an arc shape in the direction of the air suction port 3 as shown by the arrow in the figure. It is composed of a second casing 22 having two upper and lower rounded surfaces 24, 23 for circulating.

As a result, a short circuit channel 9A as shown in the drawing is formed between the second housing 22 and the front surface of the air conditioner main body housing 10.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, if necessary,
When the outer casing 20 is fitted to the front surface of the air conditioner main body housing 10 as shown in the drawing to form the short circuit flow path 9A as described above, and heating operation is performed in this state, the plate fin heat exchanger 1 The hot air heated at circulates in the air conditioner main body housing 10 as indicated by an imaginary line in the figure, and the internal temperature of the housing is 80 to 90, for example.
The temperature rises to around ℃ and effectively kills molds, mites and bacteria. Then, the heating operation is automatically stopped by a timer or a thermostat after being operated for a certain time. Then, the outer casing 20 is removed and the original cooling operation state is restored. Therefore, also in the case of this embodiment, the same operation as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, in the case of the present embodiment, it is convenient because no structural improvement of the air conditioner body itself is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a plate fin heat exchanger, 2 is a cross flow fan, 4a to 4c are first to third wind direction control plates, 5 is an air outlet, 6 is an opening / closing plate, 9 and 9A are short circuit flow paths, and 20 is An outer casing, 21 is a first housing, and 22 is a second housing.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising two refrigeration cycles, a cooling cycle and a heating cycle, in which an indoor unit side air flow passage provided with a heat exchanger is circulated in an endless circulatory communication. By providing a passage forming means and performing a heating operation as necessary, high temperature air is caused to flow in the short circuit flow passage formed by the short circuit flow passage forming means to sterilize the inside of the air conditioner. And an air conditioner. 2. The short circuit flow path forming means comprises a communication passage for connecting the air outlet to the upstream side of the heat exchanger and an opening / closing means for opening the communication passage at the time of sterilization. Air conditioner. 3. The short circuit flow path forming means is detachably fitted to the front surface of the air conditioner main body, and at the time of the fitting, the air outlet and the air intake of the air conditioner main body are mutually connected. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner includes an external casing that communicates with the air casing.