JP2000227248A - Photocatalyst filter, indoor unit, and air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an indoor unit to execute various kinds of air cleaning, such as deodorization, antibacteria, and dust collection. SOLUTION: An indoor unit 10 comprises a fan to suck indoor air through an air inlet and blow indoor air through an air outlet; an indoor heat-exchanger to effect heat-exchanger between the indoor air and a refrigerant supplied from an outdoor unit; a filter member 18 disposed between the air inlet and the indoor heat-exchanger; and an indoor unit control part 30 consisting of various electric circuit elements. A filter member 18 consists of a photocatalyst filter 50 and an air cleaning filter 60.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an indoor unit and an air conditioner for providing a comfortable indoor environment by heating or cooling, and more particularly to an indoor unit capable of performing both dust collection and deodorization of sucked indoor air. The present invention relates to a technique suitable for use in a unit and an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner is composed of two major components, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. Each of these units is provided with an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor heat exchanger that exchange heat between the refrigerant and the indoor air and between the refrigerant and the outdoor air.

[0003] These indoor heat exchangers and outdoor heat exchangers are:
In addition, components such as a compressor and an expansion valve are added to constitute a refrigerant circuit. Refrigerant physically circulates through this circuit, and follows the circulating process of changing the state of high-temperature and high-pressure gas, low-temperature and low-pressure gas, high-temperature and high-pressure liquid, and low-temperature and low-pressure liquid. . The cooling and heating of the room is directly realized by heat exchange between the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger and room air.

By the way, during the heating operation, the gas refrigerant, which has been converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor, is sent to the indoor heat exchanger.
This is realized by performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and room air. During the cooling operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger to exchange heat with the outdoor air to produce a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, which is further passed through an expansion valve to lower the temperature and lower the pressure, thereby reducing the indoor temperature. This is realized by sending the refrigerant to a heat exchanger and performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and room air.

[0005] In such an air conditioner, a filter member is provided in an indoor unit for the purpose of purifying air in a room to be air-conditioned. The filter member is attached in addition to a general air filter, and is normally arranged in the order of the suction port, the air filter, the filter member, and the indoor heat exchanger along the flow of the air to be sucked. The air filter is a net-like member, and has a function of removing dust, dust, and the like in the air sucked through the suction port. As the filter member, what is called an air purifying filter (or an electrostatic filter) that adsorbs and removes house dust, cigarette smoke, and the like from the air that has passed through the air filter is generally used. Such a function of the air purifying filter is called a dust collecting function. In addition, a filter member called a photocatalyst filter that decomposes proteins by irradiating ultraviolet rays to exhibit deodorizing and antibacterial functions has been developed, and some air conditioners have installed this photocatalyst filter alone in an indoor unit. This photocatalytic filter is a substrate in which a titanium oxide-containing base material has a honeycomb shape,
Conventionally, those having a thickness of about 10 to 15 mm in the direction in which air passes are used.

[0006]

By the way, in the air conditioner provided with the above-mentioned conventional filter member, in any case, only one type of filter member is installed before the indoor heat exchanger. Therefore, as a matter of course, the air purifying function of the indoor unit can be expected to have only the function of one type of installed filter member, and in order to provide a better indoor environment, various types of air purifying functions are provided to further enhance the commerciality. It is desired to develop improved indoor units and air conditioners. Further, in the air conditioner provided with the conventional photocatalyst filter described above, since the air conditioner having a relatively thick thickness of 10 to 15 mm is used, the light of the ultraviolet lamp is effective to the rear surface as viewed from the lamp side. Therefore, there is a problem that the filter function cannot be sufficiently used. In recent years, the size of the indoor unit in which the photocatalytic filter is installed has been increasingly reduced, and the use of an unnecessarily thick photocatalyst filter is one of the factors hindering such miniaturization. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of an indoor unit and an air conditioner that achieve both a function of purifying air such as deodorization in the indoor unit and a reduction in the size of the indoor unit, and further improve the commercial value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an indoor unit and an air conditioner capable of performing various types of air cleaning such as deodorization, antibacterial and dust collection when air conditioning is performed by an air conditioner. The purpose is to provide the machine. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the thickness of a photocatalyst filter that performs deodorization and antibacterial as much as possible without impairing its performance when air conditioning is performed by an air conditioner, thereby enabling downsizing of an indoor unit. It is in.

[0008]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the indoor heat exchanger performs heat exchange between the indoor air and a refrigerant supplied from an outdoor unit, with a fan for sucking indoor air from an intake port and blowing out from an outlet. And a filter member disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control unit including various electric circuit elements, wherein the filter member includes a photocatalytic filter and an air purifying filter. It is characterized by the following.

According to such an indoor unit, various types of air cleaning can be performed by exhibiting the deodorizing / antibacterial function by the photocatalytic filter and the dust collecting function by the air cleaning filter.

An air conditioner according to a second aspect of the present invention is an outdoor air conditioner comprising an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor for sending a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger, and various electric circuit elements. An outdoor unit comprising a unit control unit, a fan for sucking room air from an inlet and blowing out from an outlet, and a room for heat exchange between the room air and a refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit. A heat exchanger, and a filter member including a photocatalyst filter and an air cleaning filter disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger,
And an indoor unit including an indoor unit control unit including various electric circuit elements.

According to such an air conditioner, the deodorizing / antibacterial function by the photocatalytic filter in the indoor unit is provided.
Various types of air cleaning can be performed by exhibiting a dust collecting function by the air cleaning filter.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the air conditioner, the photocatalyst filter and the air purification filter of the filter member are divided in the width direction of the indoor unit, and the photocatalyst filter is arranged in a width direction region substantially corresponding to the length of the ultraviolet lamp. It is characterized by being arranged in.

According to such an air conditioner, the photocatalytic filter and the air purifying filter can be arranged in parallel in the width direction of the indoor unit. By arranging the photocatalyst filter in a region in the width direction substantially corresponding to the length of the ultraviolet lamp, the function of the photocatalyst filter can be efficiently exhibited over the entire surface.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the air conditioner, the photocatalyst filter is disposed on a side closer to a power supply in a width direction of the indoor unit.

According to such an air conditioner, since the length of the lead wire can be shortened, it is possible to suppress a voltage drop of the power supply supplied to the ultraviolet lamp.

The photocatalyst filter according to the fifth aspect is a substantially honeycomb-shaped photocatalyst filter that is regenerated and deodorized by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, and has a thickness of 7 mm or less.

According to such a photocatalyst filter, it is possible to make the photocatalyst filter as thin as possible without impairing the performance of the photocatalyst filter for deodorizing and antibacterial.

The indoor unit described in claim 6 is a room for performing heat exchange between the fan for sucking the room air from the suction port and blowing it out from the outlet, and the heat exchange between the room air and the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit. A heat exchanger, including a filter member disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control unit including various electric circuit elements,
The filter member is formed of a honeycomb-shaped photocatalytic filter having a thickness of 7 mm or less.

According to such an indoor unit, deodorization and
Since the thickness of the photocatalytic filter that performs antibacterial action can be reduced as much as possible without impairing the performance of the photocatalyst filter, the size of the indoor unit that houses the filter can be reduced.

An air conditioner according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is an outdoor air conditioner comprising an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor for sending a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger, and various electric circuit elements. An outdoor unit comprising a unit control unit, a fan for sucking room air from an inlet and blowing out from an outlet, and a room for heat exchange between the room air and a refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit. A heat exchanger, a filter member formed of a honeycomb-shaped photocatalytic filter having a thickness of 7 mm or less and disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control unit formed of various electric circuit elements. And an indoor unit comprising:

According to such an air conditioner, the thickness of the photocatalyst filter for performing deodorization and antibacterial can be reduced as much as possible without impairing the performance thereof. The size of the indoor unit can be reduced. Therefore, the commercial value of the air conditioner can be improved.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an indoor unit and an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the air conditioner. The air conditioner includes an indoor unit 10 and an outdoor unit 20. The indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 30 through which the refrigerant flows, an electric wiring (not shown), and the like. Refrigerant piping 3
0 are provided, and the refrigerant flows from the indoor unit 10 to the outdoor unit 20 on one side, and flows from the outdoor unit 20 to the indoor unit 10 on the other side.

The indoor unit 10 has a base 11 and a front panel 12 integrally formed. A base 11 has a plate fin tube type indoor heat exchanger 13 and a substantially cylindrical cross flow fan (fan) 1.
4 etc. are provided. The base 11 is provided with an indoor unit control section 15 composed of various electric circuit elements in order to perform various operation controls and the like relating to the other indoor units 10. The indoor unit control section 15 is provided with an appropriate indicator 15a for displaying an operation status and an error mode. The indicator 15a can be checked from the outside by a see-through portion 12a provided on the front panel 12. In addition, base 1
An installation plate 16 is provided at the rear of 1 so that the indoor unit 10 can be installed on an indoor wall or the like.

The front panel 12 has a suction grill (suction port) 12b formed on each of a front surface and an upper surface. The indoor air (room air) is supplied to these suction grills 12b.
Thereby, the air is sucked into the indoor unit 10 from multiple directions. Incidentally, an air filter 17 is provided behind the suction grill 12b, and functions to remove dust such as sucked air. Also, front panel 1
2, an air outlet 12c is formed below the air outlet 2, from which warmed or cooled air is blown out. The air suction and the air blowing are performed by the rotation of the cross flow fan 14.

The indoor unit 10 is provided with a filter member 18 for purifying the air in the room to be air-conditioned. The filter member 18 is disposed between the indoor heat exchanger 13 and the suction grill 12b serving as a suction port and an air filter 17 provided behind the suction grill 12b to cover a part of the indoor heat exchanger 13. By passing a part of the air from which dust and dust etc.
It has a deodorizing / antibacterial function and a dust collecting function.

2A is an exploded perspective view showing the detailed structure of the above-described filter member 18, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing the arrangement of the filter member 18 in the indoor unit 10 when viewed from the front. FIG. 4 is a view showing the filter 17 with the filter 17 removed, and the filter member 18 is configured by two types of filters, a photocatalytic filter 50 and an air purifying filter 60. The photocatalyst filter 50 and the air cleaning filter 60 are divided in the width direction of the indoor unit 10 and are arranged in parallel without overlapping, and one of the photocatalyst filters 50 needs to be connected to a power source. Are arranged on the right side, that is, on the right side when viewed from the front in the illustrated example (the right side on the paper surface of FIG. 2B).

In FIG. 2A, the photocatalyst filter 50 and the air cleaning filter 60 of the filter member 18 are detachably attached to the base member 18a. The base member 18a substantially includes both the filters 50, 6
The member which becomes the frame of No. 0 is almost open except the rectangular periphery so that air can pass through. The photocatalyst filter 50 has a substantially honeycomb shape containing titanium oxide, and can decompose proteins to exert a deodorizing / antibacterial function by turning on an ultraviolet lamp, which will be described later, and applying ultraviolet rays. . For this reason, on the front surface of the photocatalytic filter 50, a horizontally long ultraviolet lamp 51 is mounted at a predetermined position of the base member 18a so as to be arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. The width of the photocatalyst filter 50 in the width direction substantially coincides with that of the ultraviolet lamp 51, so that the entire surface of the photocatalyst filter 50 receives ultraviolet rays. That is, the width direction area of the photocatalyst filter 50 is determined according to the standard length of the ultraviolet lamp 51, and the air purification filter 60 is disposed in the remaining width direction area, so that the width direction area of the indoor heat exchanger 13 can be effectively used. To cover it. Reference numeral 52 in the drawing denotes an ultraviolet lamp cover which is open almost entirely except for the lamp portion, 53 denotes a lead wire for supplying power to the ultraviolet lamp 51, and 54 denotes a connector for connecting the lead wire 53 to the indoor unit control unit 15. It is.

Thus, the filter member 18 is unitized by assembling the photocatalyst filter 50, the ultraviolet lamp 51, the ultraviolet lamp cover 52, and the air cleaning filter 60 on the base member 18a, and integrally formed at a predetermined position of the indoor unit 10. It is configured to be removable. When the filter member 18 is attached or detached, it is necessary to connect or disconnect the connector 54 at the end of the lead wire 53 and the indoor unit controller 15 in advance.

The indoor unit 10 described above includes a remote controller 40 as an operation unit for performing various driving operations. The remote controller 40 is provided with various switches and the like, and can transmit an operation signal of the air conditioner to a receiving unit (not shown) of the indoor unit control unit 15. Note that the operation of the air conditioner can be partially performed by switches (not shown) provided at appropriate places in the indoor unit.

The outdoor unit 20 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 20b, a propeller fan 20c, a compressor 20
f, an outdoor unit control unit 20g, and the like. The outdoor heat exchanger 20b is configured by a refrigerant pipe having a large number of corrugated fins around it, and realizes heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air. The propeller fan 20c constantly generates new air in the housing 20a by generating an airflow that flows from the back to the front.
It is provided in order to improve the heat exchange efficiency in the outdoor heat exchanger 20b.

The surface of the housing 20a where the outdoor heat exchanger 20b and the propeller fan 20c face the outside,
Each is provided with a finger 20d and a fan guard 20e. The fingerings 20d are provided so that the corrugated fins are not damaged by an unexpected impact from the outside. Similarly, the fan guard 20e is provided for the purpose of protecting the propeller fan 20c from external impact similarly and for the purpose of preventing dust and the like contained in the outside air from being taken into the housing 20a. Things.

The compressor 20f supplies a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant to the compressor 20f.
The refrigerant is converted into high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant and discharged, and plays the most central role in the components constituting the refrigerant circuit. Incidentally, the refrigerant circuit is the compressor 20f
In addition to the above, the indoor heat exchanger 13 and the outdoor heat exchanger 2
0b, a refrigerant pipe 30, an expansion valve, and a four-way valve (both not shown) that regulates the flow direction of the refrigerant, and circulates the refrigerant between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20. It is a circuit to make it.

The outdoor unit controller 20g includes the propeller fan 20c, the compressor 20f, and the other outdoor units 2c.
It performs operation control and the like relating to various devices provided in the device 0, and includes various electric circuit elements.

The outdoor unit 20 includes the housing 2 in addition to the above.
A pedestal 20h is provided in order to support Oa and avoid the influence of external vibration and the like. The compressor 2
The wall of the casing 20a close to 0f is a panel 20i that can be removed for maintenance of the compressor 20f and the like.
It is provided with.

In the following, the operation of the air conditioner having such a configuration will be described for each of the heating operation and the cooling operation. First, during the heating operation, the refrigerant converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor 20f is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 13 of the indoor unit 10 through the refrigerant pipe 30. In the indoor unit 10, the cross flow fan 1
Heat is given from the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger 13 to the room air taken in from the suction grill 12b by 4. This allows the front panel 12
Warm air is blown out from the lower outlet 12c. At the same time, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is condensed and liquefied in the indoor heat exchanger 13, and becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant.

The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant is again supplied to the refrigerant pipe 3
0 through the outdoor heat exchanger 20 in the outdoor unit 20
b. In the outdoor unit 20, the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 20b takes heat from fresh outdoor air taken into the housing 20a by the propeller fan 20c. As a result, the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates and becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. This is sent to the compressor 20f again, and the above process is repeated.

Next, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant circuit in a direction opposite to the above. That is, the refrigerant converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor 20f is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 20b through the refrigerant pipe 30, and gives heat to the outdoor air to be condensed and liquefied to become a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant passes through an expansion valve (not shown) to become a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant, and is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 13 again through the refrigerant pipe 30. The low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant here takes heat from room air to cool the room air, and the refrigerant itself evaporates and becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. This is again the compressor 20
f and the above process is repeated.

These operations are performed by the indoor unit control unit 15 and the outdoor unit 20 housed in the indoor unit 10.
It is controlled by the outdoor unit control unit 20g housed therein cooperating.

Hereinafter, the characteristic portions of the present invention will be described. The above-described indoor unit 10 includes the filter member 1.
8, the filter member 18 includes a photocatalyst filter 50 and an air purifying filter 60 as described above.
Therefore, air cleaning can be performed by two types of filters having different functions.

When heating or cooling operation is performed in this air conditioner, indoor air is sucked in the indoor unit 10 by rotation of the cross flow fan 14. The air sucked into the indoor unit 10 from the suction grill 12b first passes through an air filter 17 to remove dust, dust, and the like. Then, after a portion of the air passes through a filter member 18, the indoor heat exchanger 13 And the remaining air is directly guided to the indoor heat exchanger 13. At this time, the ultraviolet lamp 5
1 is already lit.

The air that passes through the filter member 18 is guided to the indoor heat exchanger 13 after the air that has passed through the photocatalytic filter 50 on the indoor unit control unit 15 side, that is, the right side when viewed from the front, is deodorized and sterilized. Heat exchange with the refrigerant.
After the air that has passed through the air purification filter 60 on the left side when viewed from the front is collected, the air is guided to the indoor heat exchanger 13 and exchanges heat with the refrigerant. The indoor air sucked into the indoor unit 10 is heated or cooled after passing through the indoor unit 10, is blown out into the room, and is sucked and circulated again. Therefore, by continuing the operation of the air conditioner, the indoor air is maintained. The whole is gradually cleaned by deodorization / sterilization and dust collection.
Therefore, not only a comfortable indoor environment is provided by air conditioning, but also a comfortable and good indoor space can be provided by air purification.

When such air cleaning is performed, if the photocatalyst filter 50 and the air cleaning filter 60 overlap in the direction of air flow, the flow path resistance increases and the amount of air passing through the filter member 18 decreases. Will be
In the configuration of the present invention, since both filters 50 and 60 are arranged in parallel, such a problem does not occur.

The photocatalyst filter 50 and the air purifying filter 60 may be arranged separately in the width direction of the indoor unit 10 described above, or may be arranged vertically, for example. Also, in the case of disposing the photocatalyst filter 50 in the width direction, for example, the photocatalyst filter 50 is disposed at the center, and the air purification filters 60 are disposed on both sides thereof.
It goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

However, if the photocatalyst filter 50 and the air purifying filter 60 are divided in the width direction and the photocatalyst filter 50 is arranged on the side close to the power supply, the length of the lead wire 53 can be minimized. In addition to the advantage, there is an advantage that the voltage drop can be minimized.

Incidentally, the thickness (t) of the photocatalyst filter 50 described above is preferably made as thin as possible as long as desired performance can be ensured, so that the indoor unit 10 storing the photocatalyst filter 50 can be downsized.
Therefore, an experiment described below was performed to study a suitable thickness (t) of the photocatalytic filter 50.

The photocatalyst filter 50 used here has a honeycomb shape which is regenerated and deodorized by irradiation with ultraviolet rays. In this experiment, the thickness (t) of the photocatalyst filter 50 was changed by using acetaldehyde as an introduction gas and changing the initial concentration set at 10 PPM by operating the air conditioner for 30 minutes. It was measured. The irradiation intensity of the ultraviolet lamp 51 used in this experiment was 4.0 mW / cm ² , and the blowing of the indoor unit 10, that is, the operation of the cross flow fan 14 was set to “weak operation”.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the thickness (t) of the photocatalytic filter and the deodorizing effect as a result of the above-mentioned experiment. The horizontal axis represents the thickness t (mm) of the photocatalytic filter, and the vertical axis represents 3.
This is the acetaldehyde concentration (PPM) after 0 minutes.
According to the experimental results, when the thickness t of the photocatalyst filter 50 is in the range of about 5 to 15 mm, the acetaldehyde concentration after 30 minutes has passed is about 7 PPM, which is almost constant. Therefore, it can be seen that even if the photocatalyst filter 50 is made thicker than necessary, the deodorizing effect hardly changes. It is considered that this is because the ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 51 reach the vicinity of the surface of the photocatalytic filter 50 sufficiently, but do not reach the rear part very much.
In other words, it is presumed that the rear part of the photocatalytic filter 50 cannot receive sufficient ultraviolet light, and thus cannot perform its deodorizing function.

Therefore, in the present invention, the thickness (t) of the photocatalytic filter 50 is limited to 7 mm or less based on the above experimental results. This is because when the thickness is larger than 7 mm, there is little change in the characteristics of the deodorizing effect. Even if the thickness is larger than this, the improvement of the deodorizing / antibacterial effect cannot be expected, and the cost and the size of the indoor unit 10 are reduced. Is also disadvantageous. If the thickness (t) of the photocatalytic filter 50 is too small, sufficient deodorizing and antibacterial effects cannot be obtained, and problems such as insufficient rigidity of the filter itself arise. 7m to meet the conditions
The value of m or less may be appropriately selected.

[0049]

According to the indoor unit and the air conditioner of the present invention described above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since the filter member of the indoor unit is configured by combining filters having different functions of a photocatalytic filter and an air purifying filter, the indoor unit unit collectively has different air purifying functions of deodorizing, antibacterial and dust collecting. And an air conditioner can be provided. Therefore, the air purifying function is further improved, and the air conditioner is also excellent in commerciality. (2) Since the photocatalyst filter and the air cleaning filter are arranged in parallel without overlapping, the amount of air flowing into each filter is not hindered.
The performance of each filter can be used effectively. (3) Since the photocatalytic filter, which requires a power supply for lighting the ultraviolet lamp, is disposed near the power supply, that is, at the indoor unit control unit side, the length of the lead wire can be reduced. Therefore, not only can the cost be reduced because the lead wire is shorter, but also the voltage drop can be minimized. (4) The thickness (t) of the photocatalytic filter can be made as thin as 7 mm or less, even if the necessary deodorizing and antibacterial performance is sufficiently secured, so that the cost of the photocatalytic filter can be reduced. (5) By making the photocatalytic filter thinner, it is possible to reduce the size of the indoor unit, which is effective for improving the commercialization of the air conditioner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional perspective view showing an embodiment of an indoor unit and an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a configuration of a filter member according to the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a front view showing a schematic arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a graph of an experimental result showing a relationship between a thickness (t) of a photocatalytic filter and a deodorizing effect.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Indoor unit 11 Base 12 Front panel 12a Transparent part 12b Suction grill (suction port) 12c Blow-out port 13 Indoor heat exchanger 14 Cross flow fan (fan) 15 Indoor unit control part 16 Installation plate 17 Air filter 18 Filter member 20 Outdoor unit Reference Signs List 20b Outdoor heat exchanger 20c Propeller fan (outdoor fan) 20f Compressor 20g Outdoor unit control unit 30 Refrigerant pipe 40 Remote controller (operation unit) 50 Photocatalytic filter 51 Ultraviolet lamp 52 Ultraviolet lamp cover 53 Lead wire 54 Connector 60 Air cleaning filter

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 13, 2000 (2004.1.
3)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 2

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0008]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the indoor heat exchanger performs heat exchange between the indoor air and a refrigerant supplied from an outdoor unit, with a fan for sucking indoor air from an intake port and blowing out from an outlet. And a filter member disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control unit including various electric circuit elements, wherein the filter members overlap each other.
And a photocatalyst filter and an air purifying filter arranged in parallel without using the filter.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

An air conditioner according to a second aspect of the present invention is an outdoor air conditioner comprising an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor for sending a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger, and various electric circuit elements. An outdoor unit comprising a unit control unit, a fan for sucking room air from an inlet and blowing out from an outlet, and a room for heat exchange between the room air and a refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit. Heat exchanger, without overlapping between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger
An indoor unit including a filter member composed of a photocatalyst filter and an air purification filter arranged in parallel and an indoor unit control section composed of various electric circuit elements is provided.

Claims (7)

[Claims] A fan for sucking room air from a suction port and blowing it out from a blow-off port; an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the room air and a refrigerant supplied from an outdoor unit; An indoor unit control unit comprising various electric circuit elements, wherein the filter member comprises a photocatalytic filter and an air purifying filter. unit. 2. An outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor for delivering a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger.
An outdoor unit comprising an outdoor unit control section comprising various electric circuit elements, a fan for sucking indoor air from an inlet and blowing out from an outlet, and a refrigerant supplied from the indoor air and the outdoor unit. An indoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the two, a filter member including a photocatalyst filter and an air purification filter disposed between the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control including various electric circuit elements. An air conditioner comprising: an indoor unit comprising: 3. The photocatalyst filter and the air purification filter of the filter member are divided in the width direction of the indoor unit,
The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the photocatalyst filter is disposed in a width direction region substantially corresponding to a length of the ultraviolet lamp. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the photocatalyst filter is arranged on a side closer to a power supply in a width direction of the indoor unit. 5. A substantially honeycomb-shaped photocatalytic filter which is regenerated and deodorized by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, and has a thickness of 7 mm.
A photocatalytic filter characterized by the following. 6. A fan for sucking indoor air from an inlet and blowing it out from an outlet, an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the indoor air and a refrigerant supplied from an outdoor unit, and the inlet A filter member disposed between the air conditioner and the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit control section including various electric circuit elements, wherein the filter member is a honeycomb-shaped photocatalytic filter having a thickness of 7 mm or less. An indoor unit, characterized in that: 7. An outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor for sending a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger.
An outdoor unit comprising an outdoor unit control section comprising various electric circuit elements, a fan for sucking indoor air from an inlet and blowing out from an outlet, and a refrigerant supplied from the indoor air and the outdoor unit. An indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the heat exchanger and the suction port and the indoor heat exchanger having a thickness of 7 mm.
An air conditioner comprising: a filter member formed of a honeycomb-shaped photocatalytic filter described below; and an indoor unit including an indoor unit control unit formed of various electric circuit elements.