JP2000035228A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner which is so designed as to drain efficiently dew water in the rear of an indoor unit. SOLUTION: This air conditioner is equipped with a rear drain pan 12 for collecting condensate and dew water of a heat exchanger, while a pipe holder 17 which holds and supports a pipe 16 of a piping connected to the heat exchanger is provided with a guide groove guiding the dew water formed on the pipe holder 17 to the rear drain pan 12 and with an engagement part 17c engaging with the rear drain pan 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner comprising an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, which has a function of collecting dew water condensed by cooling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a prior art of this kind of air conditioner, there is one having a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-71782. That is, in this conventional air conditioner, in the indoor unit, moisture in the air cooled by the heat exchanger during the cooling operation is condensed, and a drain pan for collecting the condensed water is provided and discharged to the outside of the indoor unit. It is.

[0003] Also, in the rainy season when room temperature and humidity are high, dew condensation may occur on the outer surface of the housing of the indoor unit due to the temperature difference between the indoor temperature and the temperature of the housing of the indoor unit. In particular, the temperature difference between the room temperature and the inside of the indoor unit is about 3 to 6 ° C. on the rear surface of the indoor unit, which is close to the wall surface and in which heat such as solar radiation outside is transmitted through the wall surface, and dew condensation easily occurs.

[0004] For this reason, a heat insulating material such as polyethylene or polyurethane is adhered to a portion of the rear surface of the indoor unit where air is difficult to flow and the temperature is low, so that the heat insulating effect is improved and the dew condensation on the surface of the housing of the indoor unit is prevented. It has been

[0005]

However, in such a conventional air conditioner, it is necessary to take into consideration the size and thickness of the heat insulating material depending on the mounting location of the indoor unit and the like, and the mounting is complicated. Installation cost. Further, the temperature of the refrigerant passing through the pipes connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit has been reduced due to the recent efficiency improvement of the refrigeration cycle. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, dew condensation occurs on the surface of the pipe retainer 17 that retains and supports the piping pipe 16 whose surface is covered with a heat insulating material and that is disposed along the housing 1b on the rear surface of the indoor unit. This condensed water dripped into the room, making the air conditioner inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that can reduce the cost of mounting an indoor unit, prevent dripping of dew condensation on the rear surface of the indoor unit, and improve the usability. .

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is an air conditioner having a first drain pan for collecting condensed water of a heat exchanger inside an indoor unit. And a second drain pan for collecting the dew water generated on the rear surface of the indoor unit and guiding the collected dew water to the first drain pan is provided outside the rear surface of the indoor unit.

According to this configuration, the first drain pan collects condensed water generated by cooling by the heat exchanger inside the indoor unit, and the second drain pan is provided on the back surface of the indoor unit due to a temperature difference between room temperature and the inside of the indoor unit. The resulting dew water is collected, and the dew water is led to a first drain pan.
Then, the condensed water and the condensed water are discharged to the outside of the indoor unit through the first drain pan.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the air conditioner according to the first aspect, wherein the pipe holder for holding and supporting a pipe connected to the heat exchanger includes:
A guide portion is provided for collecting the dew water generated in the pipe retainer and guiding the collected dew water to the second drain pan.

[0010] According to this configuration, the dew water condensed in the pipe press that presses the pipe pipe disposed on the back of the indoor unit is transferred to the second through the guide section of the pipe press.
The water is guided to the drain pan, and discharged to the outside of the indoor unit together with the condensed water and dew water collected in the first and second drain pans.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the air conditioner according to the second aspect, the tip of the guide portion is formed in a claw shape and is engaged with the second drain pan. It is characterized by doing so. According to this configuration, the dew water condensed by the pipe press that presses the piping pipe disposed on the back of the indoor unit is guided to the second drain pan via the guide section of the pipe press, and the first and second drain pans are formed. It is discharged to the outside of the indoor unit together with the condensed water and dew water collected in the above. The distal end of the guide portion has a claw shape and engages with the second drain pan, thereby preventing the pipe retainer from coming off from the second drain pan.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are an external perspective view and a schematic side sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. In these figures, the indoor unit 1 is attached to a wall in a room by a mounting plate 2.

The front panel 3 of the indoor unit 1 has suction ports 4a and 4b on the front and top surfaces thereof, and has an outlet 5 formed below the suction ports 4a and 4b. The air outlet 5 is provided with a vertical air direction adjusting plate 6 for guiding the air blowing direction in the vertical direction and a horizontal air direction adjusting plate 7 for guiding the air in the horizontal direction.

In the indoor unit 1, a blower fan 13 is disposed substantially at the center of the side surface, and the air sucked from the inlets 4a and 4b by the drive of the blower fan 13 is guided to the outlet 5 by the air guide 1a. It is configured as follows. Reference numeral 8 denotes a filter arranged between the blower fan 13 and the suction ports 4a and 4b, which removes dust in the air entering the indoor unit 1 by driving the blower fan 13.

The heat exchangers 9a, 9b, 9c disposed between the filter 8 and the blower fan 13 are connected to an outdoor unit (not shown) through a pipe, so that the contacting air is cooled by the refrigerant in the pipe and heat. Replace and cool.
Various functions of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner are controlled by the remote control device 18.

In the above configuration, the air sucked in from the suction ports 4a and 4b based on the driving of the blower fan 13 is subjected to dust removal by the filter 8 on the way, and then is passed through the heat exchangers 9a, 9b and 9c. The heat is exchanged and then the blower fan 13
, The air is blown into the room from the air outlet 5 in the direction adjusted by the vertical wind direction adjusting plate 6 and the left, right, left and right wind direction adjusting plates 7.

During the cooling operation, the heat exchangers 9a, 9b, 9c
As a result, the water in the air is condensed to generate condensed water. The condensed water generated from the two heat exchangers 9a and 9b on the front side is dropped and collected on the front drain pan 10 and discharged outside the indoor unit 1. Then, the air is discharged outside the room through a drain pipe (not shown). The condensed water generated from the rear heat exchanger 9c is supplied to the rear drain pan 1
The water is collected by being dropped into the first unit 1, guided to the front drain pan 10 by a pipe section (not shown), and discharged from the front drain pan 10 to the outside of the indoor unit 1 together with the condensed water generated in the heat exchangers 9 a and 9 b.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the back of the indoor unit 1, a rear drain pan 12 is disposed along the lateral direction with respect to the housing 1b, and condensed water generated on the back of the indoor unit 1 flows down and is collected. Are formed. Back drain pan 1
2, the condensed water flows down to a drain recovery port 15 provided on the back surface of the indoor unit 1 as shown in the perspective view of the main part of FIG. I have. The condensed water is guided from the drain recovery port 15 to the front drain pan 10 located in the front of the indoor unit 1 through the pipe section (not shown), and the heat exchangers 9a, 9b, 9c
Is discharged from the front drain pan 10 to the outside of the indoor unit 1 together with the condensed water generated in the above.

As described above, the provision of the back drain pan 12 makes it possible to collect dew water generated on the back of the indoor unit and eliminate the need for attaching heat insulating material. The cost can be reduced.

Each of the heat exchangers 9a is covered with a heat insulating material.
The pipes 16 connected to the pipes 9b and 9c are supported by a pipe press 17. The pipe retainer 17 is fixed to the hole 17a provided in the pipe retainer 17 by scratching the engaging portion 1c provided in the housing 1b. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pipe retainer 17 forms a guide groove 17b for water recovery, and has a claw-shaped engaging portion 17c at the tip of the guide groove 17b to engage with the back drain pan 12. I am trying to do it.

In this way, the dew water generated in the pipe retainer 17 is collected in the back drain pan 12 by the guide groove 17b and the engaging portion 17c, and guided to the front drain pan 10 (see FIG. 2) as described above. It is discharged outside the indoor unit. Therefore, an easy-to-use air conditioner can be obtained without water drops dripping into the room.

Further, since the pipe retainer 17 is fixed at two places, the hole 17a and the engaging part 17c, the strength for supporting the pipe 16 is increased as compared with the conventional example (see FIG. 7). Thereby, the danger that the piping pipe 16 will come off can be prevented, and an air conditioner with improved reliability can be obtained.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the condensation generated on the rear surface of the indoor unit by providing the back drain pan (second drain pan). After the water flows down to the back drain pan, it is guided to the front drain pan (first drain pan) and discharged to the outside of the indoor unit, so that dew condensation water generated on the back of the indoor unit can be collected and a heat insulating material is attached. Since there is no need to do so, the complexity of mounting the indoor unit is eliminated, and the mounting cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the dew water generated in the pipe retainer is collected by the back drain pan by the guide groove and the engaging portion (guide portion), and is guided to the front drain pan to be used for the indoor unit. Since the water is discharged to the outside, a convenient air conditioner can be obtained without water drops dripping into the room.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the engaging portion at the end of the guide groove engages with the back drain pan,
The pipe retainer is fixed at two places, the hole and the engaging part, and the strength for supporting the pipe is increased. Thus, it is possible to prevent the pipe from coming off, and to obtain an air conditioner with improved reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an indoor unit of the air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner as viewed from the back.

FIG. 4 is a view of a main part of the indoor unit of the air conditioner as viewed from the back.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a pipe holder provided in the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the pipe retainer of FIG. 5 taken along line AA ′ and viewed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a main part of an indoor unit of a conventional air conditioner viewed from the back.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 3 Front panel 4 Inlet 5 Outlet 9a, 9b, 9c Heat exchanger 10 Front drain pan 11 Rear drain pan 12 Back drain pan 13 Blower fan 16 Pipe pipe 17 Pipe press 17a Guide groove 17b Engagement part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first method for recovering condensed water from a heat exchanger.
In an air conditioner having a drain pan inside an indoor unit, a second drain pan for collecting dew water generated on the rear surface of the indoor unit and guiding the collected dew water to the first drain pan is provided outside the rear surface of the indoor unit. Air conditioner. 2. A pipe holder for holding and supporting a pipe connected to the heat exchanger, wherein a guide part for collecting dew water generated in the pipe holder and guiding the collected dew water to a second drain pan is provided. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein a tip of the guide portion is formed in a claw shape so as to engage with a second drain pan.