EP2886970B1

EP2886970B1 - Indoor unit and air-conditioning apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP2886970B1
Application number: EP14191953.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Takaaki Takishita; Masaaki Maruyama; Tatsuo Furuta; Hiroyuki HATAKEYAMA; Naoya Matsunaga; Takahiro Komatsu
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2013-12-20
Filing date: 2014-11-05
Publication date: 2019-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2034-11-05
Also published as: US20150176856A1; JP5972252B2; TR201908213T4; CN104729046A; JP2015121341A; CN104729046B; EP2886970A1; CN204460625U

Description

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to an indoor unit for, for example, an air-conditioning apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to installation of an airflow direction louver (a wind deflection plate) disposed at an air outlet.

[Background Art]

For example, in an indoor unit for, for example, an air-conditioning apparatus, an airflow direction louver that serves as a wind deflection plate and that changes the direction of air blowing from an air outlet is often located at an air outlet. The airflow direction louver has a flat portion that guides air blowing from the air outlet. The airflow direction louver has a rotation shaft, at the ends of the airflow direction louver, for mounting a flat portion in an indoor unit body. On the other hand, the body has holes for supporting the rotation shafts such that the rotation shaft can rotate when placed in the holes. One of the holes has a bearing portion in which a drive motor is provided. In response to an instruction from a control device, for example, the drive motor can rotate the rotation shaft (the airflow direction louver) such that the rotation shaft becomes parallel with a decorative panel having an air outlet at a desired angle from a state in which the air outlet is closed (i.e., about zero degrees) (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).

[Citation List]

[Patent Literature]

[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-041559
[Patent Literature 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-070051

EP 0809080 A2 discloses an air conditioner provided with at least one longitudinal louver rotating in a longitudinal direction with an almost horizontal rotation axis as the center and with a number of lateral louvers rotating in a lateral direction with a rotation axis line almost perpendicular to the rotation axis line of the longitudinal louver. A cover plate is provided at an upper wall portion of an air outlet so that a specified space occurs between the cover plate and the upper wall portion, and each of the lateral louvers is attached at the cover plate by means of a bush with an arm and a connecting plate for connecting the lateral louvers formed at the bush to prevent a reduction of air blowing efficiency, generation of a noise, and condensation in the air outlet.

[Summary of Invention]

[Technical Problem]

Rotation of, for example, an airflow direction louver typically requires attachment of a gear for transmitting a force from a drive motor to a rotation shaft. In this process, a rotation shaft of the airflow direction louver is inserted (press fitted) at the bottom of a bearing hole of the gear so that the airflow direction louver is positioned along the shaft direction.
In this positioning, if an operator erroneously determines that the airflow direction louver is inserted at the bottom, the unit might be assembled with an incomplete insertion state. Since it has been difficult to determine the situation of insertion, such a difficulty might increase a variation in the rotation shaft direction occurring in installation of the airflow direction louver.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide, for example, an indoor unit that enables determination of whether or not a rotation shaft of an airflow direction louver is appropriately inserted into a gear.

[Solution to Problem]

According to the invention, this object is solved by an indoor unit comprising the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of this indoor unit are defined in the dependent claims.
An indoor unit according to the present invention includes: an airflow direction louver that rotates about a rotation shaft and changes a direction of air that is blowing from an air outlet; and a louver gear that transmits a force from a driving device to the airflow direction louver, wherein the rotation shaft of the airflow direction louver is provided with an insertion indicator, and the louver gear has a hole that allows the insertion indicator to become visible when the airflow direction louver is inserted into a bearing hole in the louver gear and reaches a bottom of the bearing hole.

[Advantageous Effects of Invention]

According to the present invention, the airflow direction louver is provided with the insertion indicator, and the louver gear has the hole that allows the insertion indicator to become visible when the airflow direction louver is inserted into the bearing hole in the louver gear and reaches the bottom of the bearing hole. Thus, an operator can easily confirm that the airflow direction louver is inserted in the bearing hole and reaches the bottom of the bearing hole, in assembly of the indoor unit. This configuration can reduce a variation in the rotation shaft direction and also reduce a variation in assembly.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an installation state of an indoor unit 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which decorative panel corner parts 8 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 are detached.
Fig. 3A illustrates an internal configuration of a part of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 in which the decorative panel corner parts 8 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 have been removed so that the inside of the unit is exposed.
Fig. 3B is an enlarged view of Fig. 3A.
Fig. 4 illustrates a configuration of an end portion of an airflow direction louver 4 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1.
Fig. 5 illustrates a configuration of a louver gear 10 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1.
Fig. 6A illustrates an attachment member of the airflow direction louver 4 of the louver gear 10 in the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1.
Fig. 6B illustrates a state in which the airflow direction louver 4 of the louver gear 10 in the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 has been attached.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the airflow direction louver 4 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 is installed.
Fig. 8 illustrates an example configuration of an air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[Description of Embodiments]

Embodiment 1

An indoor unit, for example, according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, for example. In the drawings, the same reference characters designate the same or like components, and the same holds for the entire description of the embodiments. The configurations of components in the following description are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these examples. In particular, combinations of components are not limited to those in the embodiments, and components in one embodiment are applicable to another embodiment. The upper side in the drawings will be referred to as an "upper (side)" and the lower side in the drawings will be referred to as a "lower (side)." Similar devices designated by suffixes, for example, may be collectively referred to without the suffixes when these devices do not need to be individually distinguished or specified. In the drawings, the size relationship among components may differ from those in an actual unit.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an installation state of an indoor unit 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In Embodiment 1, as a typical example of an indoor unit, the indoor unit 1 of a ceiling embedded type that can be embedded in the ceiling of a room and of a four-way cassette type having air outlets in four ways will be described. The indoor unit 1 is connected to an outdoor unit, not shown, through refrigerant pipes and constitutes a refrigerant circuit that performs refrigeration and air-conditioning by circulating refrigerant.
As illustrated in Fig. 1, the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 includes a box-like housing 2 that has a top panel and side panels and is open to an interior space (air-conditioning target space). Suspension fittings 5 are attached to the outsides of four corners of the housing 2. Four suspension bolts 7 are suspended from the ceiling, and the suspension fittings 5 are fastened at any locations of the suspension bolts 7 so that the indoor unit 1 can be fixed to the ceiling for installation.
The housing 2 houses an indoor fan, not shown, and an indoor unit heat exchanger for exchanging heat with indoor air, for example. A decorative panel 3 that is approximately rectangular in plan view and serves as a design surface (an exterior surface) of the indoor unit 1 is attached to the bottom of the indoor unit 1 and faces the interior space. A suction grille 3a serving as a suction port for sucking air into the indoor unit 1 is provided near the center of the decorative panel 3 together with a filter for removal of dust. An air outlet 3b for expelling the air is formed along each side of the decorative panel 3. The air outlet 3b includes an airflow direction louver 4 that rotates (moves with rotation) about a vane shaft 4a serving as a rotation shaft.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which decorative panel corner parts 8 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 are detached. In Fig. 2, the decorative panel corner parts 8a and 8b are provided at two comers. The decorative panel corner parts 8 are constituted by members different from those of the decorative panel 3. To install the decorative panel corner parts 8, the airflow direction louver 4 is attached to the decorative panel 3, and then the decorative panel corner parts 8 are fitted into the decorative panel 3.
Figs. 3A and 3B are perspective views illustrating a state in which the decorative panel corner parts 8 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 have been removed. Fig. 3A illustrates an internal configuration of a corner of the indoor unit 1 in which the decorative panel corner part 8 has been removed so that the inside of the unit is exposed. Fig. 3B is an enlarged view of Fig. 3A. A vane drive motor part 9 is a driving device that rotates the airflow direction louver 4 such that the airflow direction louver 4 is oriented at an instructed angle on the basis of an instruction from a control device (not shown). As illustrated in Fig. 3B, the vane drive motor part 9 is held by a motor-holding metal sheet 9a. A louver gear 10 is a gear attached to a tip of the vane shaft 4a of the airflow direction louver 4. The louver gear 10 is engaged with a pinion gear 12 attached to the vane drive motor part 9, and rotates in accordance with driving (rotation) of the vane drive motor part 9 so as to transmit a force to the vane shaft 4a so that the airflow direction louver 4 rotates. A bearing 11 is a member having a through hole for supporting the vane shaft 4a placed in the through hole and attached to the decorative panel 3. The pinion gear 12 is attached to the vane drive motor part 9, and is engaged with the louver gear 10 attached to the airflow direction louver 4 so as to transmit a driving force (rotation) from the vane drive motor part 9 to the airflow direction louver 4.
Fig. 4 illustrates a configuration of an end portion of the airflow direction louver 4 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1. As described above, the airflow direction louver 4 receives, at an end, a force from the vane drive motor part 9, and thus, the louver gear 10 is attached to this end. The airflow direction louver 4 of Embodiment 1 has elasticity at the tip of the vane shaft 4a, and includes a vane nail part 4b having a nail slightly radially projecting from the vane shaft 4a. Here, the nail may be replaced by any projection as long as the projection has elasticity and can serve as at least an insertion indicator that can be seen by an operator.
Fig. 5 illustrates a configuration of the louver gear 10 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1. The louver gear 10 has a bearing hole 10b into which the vane shaft 4a is inserted. The louver gear 10 includes a gear portion 10c that is engaged with the pinion gear 12. The louver gear 10 of Embodiment 1 also has a fitting hole 10a in which especially the nail of the vane nail part 4b of the airflow direction louver 4 is fitted.
Figs. 6A and 6B illustrate attachment of the airflow direction louver 4 of the louver gear 10 in the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1. Fig. 6A illustrates attachment members. Fig. 6B illustrates a state after attachment. In Embodiment 1, when installing the indoor unit 1, for example, the bearing 11 is inserted into the vane shaft 4a, and then the louver gear 10 is attached.
When inserting the bearing 11 into the vane shaft 4a, the bearing 11 is inserted from the side opposite to the side of the vane shaft 4a at which the vane shaft 4a is attached to the airflow direction louver 4, as illustrated in Fig. 6A. In this manner, the bearing 11 is configured to be attached or detached only to or from the side different from the attachment side as illustrated in Fig. 6A, for example. Thus, in the airflow direction louver 4, for example, even when the rotation shaft at the other side is detached in such a manner that the airflow direction louver 4 is about to fall, the airflow direction louver 4 is not detached from the bearing 11, thereby preventing the airflow direction louver 4 from falling completely.
Then, the airflow direction louver 4 is inserted at the bottom of the louver gear 10. When the airflow direction louver 4 reaches the bottom, the shape of the nail of the elastic vane nail part 4b recovers due to elasticity, and thereby, the nail of the elastic vane nail part 4b is fitted into the fitting hole 10a. Thus, an operator can easily see whether the airflow direction louver 4 reaches the bottom or not. Fitting of the nail in the fitting hole 10a can prevent the louver gear 10 from being detached from the airflow direction louver 4 (the vane shaft 4a). On the other hand, if the vane shaft 4a does not reach the bottom, the nail is not fitted in the fitting hole 10a. This configuration ensures that insertion of the vane shaft 4a at the bottom can be visually recognized, for example.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the airflow direction louver 4 of the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1 is installed. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the bearing 11 is attached to the decorative panel 3, and the louver gear 10 is attached and fixed to the motor-holding metal sheet 9a. Then, attachment of the airflow direction louver 4 is completed.
As described above, in the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1, the airflow direction louver 4 has the vane nail part 4b and the louver gear 10 has the fitting hole 10a. In assembling the indoor unit 1, the nail of the vane nail part 4b is fitted in the fitting hole 10a in order to attach the louver gear 10 to the airflow direction louver 4. Thus, an operator of, for example, assembling can at least visually (confirm with eyes) that the airflow direction louver 4 is inserted at the bottom of the bearing hole 10b of the louver gear 10. This configuration can reduce a variation in assembling caused by a failure in inserting the airflow direction louver 4 at the bottom. In this process, the vane nail part 4b in the airflow direction louver 4 and the fitting hole 10a in the louver gear 10 can reduce the variation in assembly without an increase in the number of components. In addition, since the nail of the vane nail part 4b is fitted in the fitting hole 10a, detachment of the louver gear 10 from the airflow direction louver 4 can be prevented.
In the indoor unit 1 of Embodiment 1, insertion and detachment of the vane shaft 4a into or from the bearing 11 are performed only at the side different from the attachment side. Thus, it is possible to prevent detachment and falling off of the airflow direction louver 4 from the bearing 11.

Embodiment 2

Although not specifically described in Embodiment 1, the color of at least the nail of the vane nail part 4b may be different from that of a peripheral portion of the fitting hole 10a by, for example, forming the airflow direction louver 4 and the louver gear 10 in different colors. Then, it becomes easier to determine visually, for example, whether the nail is fitted in the fitting hole 10a and the airflow direction louver 4 is inserted at the bottom of the bearing hole 10b of the louver gear 10.

Embodiment 3

In Embodiments 1 and 2, the nail of the vane nail part 4b of the airflow direction louver 4 is fitted in the fitting hole 10a of the louver gear 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and it is sufficient to confirm at least visually that the airflow direction louver 4 is inserted at the bottom of the bearing hole 10b of the louver gear 10. For example, the airflow direction louver 4 is provided with an insertion indicator such as color and/or shape, instead of using the vane nail part 4b. In this case, the fitting hole 10a may be used as a confirmation hole so that the insertion indicator can be seen through the confirmation hole when the airflow direction louver 4 is inserted at the bottom.

Embodiment 4

Fig. 8 illustrates an example configuration of an air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 4. In Fig. 8, the air-conditioning apparatus is an example of a refrigeration cycle system. In Fig. 8, components already described in, for example, Fig. 1 operate in the same manner as those in Fig. 1. In the air-conditioning apparatus illustrated in Fig. 8, an outdoor unit 200 and the indoor unit 100 described in Embodiments 1-3 are connected by pipes of a gas refrigerant pipe 300 and a liquid refrigerant pipe 400. The outdoor unit 200 includes a compressor 210, a four-way valve 220, an outdoor heat exchanger 230, and an expansion valve 240.
The compressor 210 compresses sucked refrigerant and discharges the compressed refrigerant. Although not specifically limited, the compressor 210 may change the capacity (i.e., the amount of refrigerant that is fed in a unit time) of the compressor 210 by changing the operating frequency with, for example, an inverter circuit. The four-way valve 220 is, for example, a valve for switching a refrigerant flow between a cooling operation and a heating operation.
The outdoor heat exchanger 230 of Embodiment 4 performs heat exchange between refrigerant and air (outdoor air). For example, the outdoor heat exchanger 230 serves as an evaporator in a heating operation, and causes refrigerant to evaporate and vaporize. The outdoor heat exchanger 230 serves as a condenser in a cooling operation, and condenses and liquefies refrigerant.
The expansion valve 240 such as a reducing device (a flow rate controlling means) reduces the pressure of refrigerant and causes the refrigerant to expand. For example, in a case where the expansion valve 240 is an electronic expansion valve, for example, the expansion valve 240 adjusts the opening degree on the basis of an instruction from, for example, a control device (not shown). An indoor heat exchanger 110 performs exchange heat between air to be conditioned and refrigerant, for example. The indoor heat exchanger 110 serves as a condenser in a heating operation, and condenses and liquefies refrigerant. The indoor heat exchanger 110 serves as an evaporator in a cooling operation, and causes refrigerant to evaporate and vaporize.
First, a cooling operation of the refrigeration cycle system will be described with reference to a flow of refrigerant. In the cooling operation, the four-way valve 220 is switched such that a connection relationship indicated by the continuous lines is established. High-temperature high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 210 and discharged from the compressor 210 passes through the four-way valve 220 and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 230. Then, the refrigerant passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 230 and exchanges heat with outdoor air so as to be condensed and liquefied, and the resulting refrigerant (liquid refrigerant) flows into the expansion valve 240. The refrigerant that has been subjected to pressure reduction in the expansion valve 240 and is in a two-phase gas-liquid state, flows out from the outdoor unit 200.
The two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant that has flown from the outdoor unit 200 passes through the liquid refrigerant pipe 400 and flows into the indoor unit 1. The refrigerant is distributed by a distributor and a capillary tube (not shown) for controlling the flow rate, and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 110. As described above, the refrigerant (gas refrigerant) that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 110 so as to evaporate and become a gas state through heat exchange with air, flows out from the indoor unit 1.
The gas refrigerant that has flown from the indoor unit 1 flows into the outdoor unit 200 through the gas refrigerant pipe 300. The refrigerant passes through the four-way valve 220 and is sucked in the compressor 210 again. In the manner described above, refrigerant of the air-conditioning apparatus circulates, and air-conditioning (cooling) is performed.
Next, a heating operation will be described with reference to a flow of refrigerant. In the heating operation, the four-way valve 220 is switched such that a connection relationship indicated by the dotted lines is established. High-temperature high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 210 and discharged from the compressor 210 passes through the four-way valve 220 and flows out of the outdoor unit 200. The gas refrigerant that has flown out of the outdoor unit 200 flows into the indoor unit 1 through the gas refrigerant pipe 300.
The refrigerant that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 110 and has been condensed and liquefied through heat exchange with air to be conditioned, for example, passes through a capillary tube (now shown) for controlling the flow rate, and flows out of the indoor unit 1.
The refrigerant that has flown out of the indoor unit 1 flows into the outdoor unit 200 through the liquid refrigerant pipe 400. The refrigerant that has been subjected to pressure reduction in the expansion valve 240 and is in a two-phase gas-liquid state, flows in the outdoor heat exchanger 230. Then, the refrigerant (gas refrigerant) that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 230, has evaporated and become a gas state through heat exchange with outdoor air, passes through the four-way valve 220 and is sucked in the compressor 210 again. In the manner described above, refrigerant circulates in the air-conditioning apparatus, and air-conditioning (heating) is performed.

[Industrial Applicability]

In Embodiments 1-4, the indoor unit 1 is an indoor unit of a four-way cassette type in which the airflow direction louvers 4 are provided at the four air outlets 3b so that air blows in four ways. However, the present invention is not limited to this type. The present invention is also applicable to an indoor unit of another ceiling embedded type for from which air blows in two or three ways. The present invention is not limited to the indoor unit of the ceiling embedded type, and is also applicable to an indoor unit of another type. The number of air outlets 3b and the number of airflow direction louvers 4 are not specifically limited.
In Embodiments 1-4, the air-conditioning apparatus has been described as an example of a refrigeration cycle system. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the present invention is also applicable to other refrigeration cycle systems such as cooling systems, refrigeration systems, and other refrigeration cycle systems. The present invention is also applicable to fans and ventilation devices as well as refrigeration cycle systems.

[Reference Signs List]

1: indoor unit, 2: housing, 3: decorative panel, 3a: suction grille, 3b: air outlet, 4: airflow direction louver, 4a: vane shaft, 4b: vane nail part, 5: suspension fittings, 7: suspension bolt, 8, 8a, 8b: decorative panel corner part, 9: vane drive motor part, 9a: motor-holding metal sheet, 10: louver gear, 10a: fitting hole, 10b: bearing hole, 10c: gear portion, 11: bearing, 12: pinion gear, 110: indoor heat exchanger, 200: outdoor unit, 210: compressor, 220: four-way valve, 230: outdoor heat exchanger, 240: expansion valve, 300: gas refrigerant pipe, 400: liquid refrigerant pipe.

Claims

An indoor unit (1) comprising:
an airflow direction louver (4) that rotates about a rotation shaft (4a) and changes a direction of air that is blowing from an air outlet (3b); and

a louver gear (10) that transmits a force from a driving device to the airflow direction louver (4), wherein

the rotation shaft (4a) of the airflow direction louver (4) is provided with an insertion indicator, and

characterized in that the louver gear (10) has a fitting hole (10a) and a bearing hole (10b), wherein the fitting hole (10a) allows the insertion indicator to become visible when the rotation shaft (4a) of the airflow direction louver (4) is inserted into the bearing hole (10b) in the louver gear (10) and reaches a bottom of the bearing hole (10b).
The indoor unit (1) of claim 1, wherein the insertion indicator is a projection that is formed in the rotation shaft (4a) and is configured to be fitted in the fitting hole (10a) in the louver gear (10).
The indoor unit (1) of claim 2, wherein a color of at least the projection is different from a color of a peripheral portion of the fitting hole (10a) in the louver gear (10).
The indoor unit (1) of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:
a bearing (11) that is configured to be inserted in the rotation shaft (4a) before insertion of the louver gear (10) and to be attached to a decorative panel (3) serving as an exterior member of the indoor unit (1), wherein

a direction in which the bearing (11) is inserted in the rotation shaft (4a) is regulated.
An air-conditioning apparatus comprising:
the indoor unit (1) of any one of claims 1 to 4; and

an outdoor unit (200), wherein

air-conditioning apparatus performs air-conditioning.