EP2639520A2

EP2639520A2 - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: EP2639520A2
Application number: EP13157729.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shingo Ito; Yuji Okada
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems Ltd
Priority date: 2012-03-12
Filing date: 2013-03-05
Publication date: 2013-09-18
Also published as: JP2013190109A; JP6081068B2; EP2639520A3

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner capable of keeping a heat exchanger from being moved while reducing the number of components for use for fixing the heat exchanger. The air conditioner has an indoor unit (1), which includes: a heat exchanger (4) arranged such that a longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4) is along a longitudinal direction of a main body casing; and a support (3) formed integrally with the main body casing (2), wherein the heat exchanger (4) has a side plate (5) provided at an end in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4); the support (3) is located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4) than the side plate (5); and the side plate (5) has an engagement portion (6) hung on an inner face side of the support (3) in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4).

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioner that includes an indoor unit having a heat exchanger.

{Background Art}

The inside of the indoor unit of an air conditioner is provided with a heat exchanger through which refrigerant passes, and which performs heat-exchange with air supplied from a suction port. Air passing through the heat exchanger is cooled or heated so that cool wind or hot wind is supplied in the indoor side.
Patent Document 1 has disclosed a technology concerning a heat exchanger in connection with a indoor unit of air conditioner, which prevents dew condensed on a wind shielding plate provided between a front side heat exchanger and a rear side heat exchanger from being blown out.

{Citation List}

Patent Literature

{PTL 1} Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-121826 {Summary of Invention}

Technical Problem

The indoor unit includes, for example, a main body casing, an upper suction port, a lower discharge port, a heat exchanger, a front panel, and the like. The heat exchanger is a heavy component in the indoor unit. Thus, there is a possibility that the heat exchanger may be moved from its original mounting position inside the main body casing due to an impact upon transportation, before installation of the air conditioner. According to conventional art, to prevent the heat exchanger from being moved due to the impact, the heat exchanger needs to be fixed to various positions with screws or fixed by using a support member prepared optionally.
In light of the situations described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of keeping a heat exchanger from being moved while reducing the number of components for fixing the heat exchanger.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above-described situations , the air conditioner of the present invention emploies following means.
Specifically, an air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a heat exchanger arranged such that a longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger is along a longitudinal direction of a main body casing; and a support portion formed integrally with the main body casing, wherein the heat exchanger has a side plate provided at an end in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger; the support portion is located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger relative to the side plate; and the side plate has an engagement portion which is in contact with an inner face side of the support portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger.
According to this aspect, the support portion is formed integrally with the main body casing and located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger relative to the side plate of the heat exchanger. In addition, since the side plate of the heat exchanger has the engagement portion and the engagement portion is in contact with the inner face side of the support portion, the heat exchanger can be kept from being moved toward the outside in the longitudinal direction relative to the support portion of the heat exchanger and in connection with the side plate of the heat exchanger. For example, when an impact is applied to the main body casing so that the heat exchanger receives a force which moves the heat exchanger outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger relative to the support portion, the heat exchanger can be kept from being moved outward in the longitudinal direction.
In addition to the above-described aspect, the side plate may be in contact with a face of the support portion which is facing outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger so that the side plate nips the support together with the engagement portion.
According to this aspect, since the side plate of the heat exchanger nips the support portion together with the engagement portion, not only the heat exchanger is kept from being moved but also the heat exchanger is fixed to the main body casing.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to this invention, since the engagement portion is in contact with the inner face side of the support portion, the heat exchanger can be kept from being moved toward the outside in the longitudinal direction relative to the support portion of the heat exchanger and in connection with the side plate of the heat exchanger. Consequently, the heat exchanger can be kept from being moved while reducing the number of components for fixing the heat exchanger.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-section view illustrating an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a side plate of the heat exchanger in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an interior of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-section view illustrating the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

Description of Embodiments

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner is provided with a heat exchanger 4 through which refrigerant passes, a blower 7, a motor, a drain pan, and the like in a main body casing 2. The main body casing 2 includes a base 9 which is positioned at a rear side of the indoor unit 1, a front panel 10 provided at a front side of the base 9, and the like.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the front panel 10 is provided with a suction port 11 and an air outlet 12. Air sucked from the suction port 11 is introduced into the heat exchanger 4 by means of the blower 7. Then, after passing through the heat exchanger 4, cooled or heated air is blown indoor through the air outlet 12.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the heat exchanger 4 is arranged along a longitudinal direction of the main body casing 2. A side plate 5 is provided at one end of the heat exchanger 4 so as to be in contact with the main body of the heat exchanger 4 and a resin block 8 is provided at the other end of the heat exchanger 4. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the heat exchanger 4 is arranged so as to surround the blower 7.
A support portion 3 is formed on the base 9 integrally with the base 9. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the support portion 3 has a plate-like portion. The plate-like portion is formed perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the base 9 or to the right and left direction of the indoor unit 1.
Next, a configuration of the fixing means of the heat exchanger 4 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
The support portion 3 is located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4 relative to the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4. The "inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4" means an area located between both ends in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4.
Unlike a conventional side plate, the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4 has an engagement portion 6. The engagement portion 6 is, for example, of a plate-like member, and formed integrally with the side plate 5 and coupled to the side plate 5 so that it does not get loose upon an impact. The engagement portion 6 is so configured to nip the plate-like portion of the support portion 3 of the main body casing 2. The engagement portion 6 may be so springy that it is urged to the side plate 5 side. When the heat exchanger 4 is installed in the main body casing 2, the engagement portion 6 becomes in contact with the inner face side of the support portion 3 in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4.
Further, when the heat exchanger 4 is installed in the main body casing 2, the side plate 5 becomes in contact with a face of the support portion 3 which is facing outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4 to nip the support portion 3 of the main body casing 2 together with the engagement portion 6. The "outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4" means an outer area outside the both ends of the heat exchanger 4 in the longitudinal direction.
Next, a function of the fixing means of the heat exchanger 4 according to this embodiment will be described below.
According to the conventional art, the heat exchanger provided with a side plate having no engagement portion 6 of this embodiment is fixed to the main body casing by a bolt, which is inserted from the outside in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger into the support portion of the main body casing, or using an optional support component.
On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the side plate 5 and the engagement portion 6 coupled to the side plate 5 nip the support portion 3 so that the heat exchanger 4 is fixed to the main body casing 2 via the support portion 3. The support portion 3 is formed integrally with the main body casing 2 and located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4 relative to the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4. The engagement portion 6 coupled to the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4 is in contact with the inner face side of the support portion 3.
When an impact is applied to the main body casing 2 so that the heat exchanger 4 receives a force which moves itself outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4 relative to the support portion 3, the heat exchanger 4 attempts to move outward in the longitudinal direction. Unless the engagement portion 6 is provided, there is a possibility that the heat exchanger 4 may be moved without any support because the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4 is located at the outer side relative to the support portion 3.
According to this embodiment, the engagement portion 6 is in contact with the inner face side of the support portion 3 in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger 4. Consequently, the heat exchanger 4 can be kept from being moved toward the outside in the longitudinal direction relative to the support portion 3 of the heat exchanger 4 and in connection with the side plate 5 of the heat exchanger 4.
As described above, according to this embodiment, the heat exchanger 4 can be kept from being moved, thereby the quality of the air conditioner can also be improved. Additionally, the heat exchanger 4 can be fixed to the main body casing 2 without using any screw or any support component, and consequently, the number of necessary components can be reduced, thereby reducing manufacturing cost.
Although in the above-described embodiment, a case where the engagement portion 6 is provided at a single position of the side plate 5 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the engagement portion 6 may be provided at two or more positions of the side plate 5.

Reference Signs List

1: Indoor unit
2: Main body casing
3: Support portion
4: Heat exchanger
5: Side plate (side panel)
6: Engagement portion
7: Blower
8: Resin block
9: Base
10: Front panel
11: Suction port
12: Air outlet

Claims

An air conditioner comprising:
a heat exchanger (4) arranged such that a longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4) is along a longitudinal direction of a main body casing (2); and

a support portion (3) formed integrally with the main body casing (2), wherein

the heat exchanger has a side plate (5) provided at an end in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4);

the support portion (3) is located inward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4) relative to the side plate (5); and

the side plate (5) has an engagement portion (6) which is in contact with an inner face side of the support portion (3) in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4).
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the side plate (5) is in contact with a face of the support portion (3) which is facing outward in the longitudinal direction of the heat exchanger (4) so that the side plate (5) nips the support portion (5) together with the engagement portion (6).