JP2003176944A - Ventilation system and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of sending the outdoor air into a room and effectively discharging the indoor air to the outside of the room. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner comprises an air charging and discharging pipe 7, a humidifying fan 70 and a switching damper 90. The charging and discharging pipe 7 connects the inside of the room and the outside of the room. The humidifying fan 70 has an air inlet and an air outlet. The switching damper 90 can switch a first condition and a second condition. The first condition is a condition where the air outlet of the humidifying fan 70 and the air charging and discharging pipe 7 are communicated, and the second condition is a condition where the air inlet of the humidifying fan 70 and the air charging and discharging pipe 7 are communicated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ventilation device and an air conditioner included in an air conditioner, and more particularly to a ventilation device and an air conditioner having an air path connecting indoors and outdoors and a blower.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, an air conditioner such as an air conditioner has been introduced which is equipped with a humidifying unit which takes in moisture from outdoor air and conveys the moisture into the room. This humidifying unit has a structure as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-41511, and humidifies the air sent to the room by a blower using a humidifying rotor made of zeolite or the like. Specifically, while adsorbing the moisture in the air to the humidifying rotor on the one hand, desorbing the moisture from the humidifying rotor using the heater on the other hand and adding the desorbed moisture to the air sent to the room, It humidifies the air sent.

As described above, in an air conditioner equipped with a humidifying unit, humidified air can be supplied indoors,
The room is kept at a comfortable relative humidity even in winter when the air is dry. Further, the above humidifying unit has a blower,
Since it has a function of supplying the air taken from the outside to the room, it is possible to perform ventilation using the function of supplying the outside air to the room when humidification is not required.

[0004]

As described above, the humidifying unit that takes in the outdoor air and humidifies it (or does not humidify it) and supplies it to the room by the blower also has the ventilation function as described above. become. Generally, since the air outside the room has a higher degree of cleanliness than the air inside the room, if the blower of the humidifying unit sends the outdoor air into the room, the room is ventilated and the degree of cleanliness of the room air increases.

However, when the indoor air is heavily polluted by smoking or the like, it takes time for the dirty indoor air to be pushed out of the room through the gap in the room by the above ventilation method. It takes. On the other hand, it is possible to install a ventilation fan separately from the air conditioner to effectively discharge the dirt of the air due to smoking etc. to the outside of the room, but unlike the air conditioner, a ventilation fan that is not normally planned to be installed. If the new is installed in the room, the installation cost such as construction cost will increase.

An object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation device or an air conditioner included in an air conditioner, which can send outdoor air into a room and can effectively discharge indoor air to the outside. To provide.

[0007]

A ventilator according to a first aspect of the present invention is a ventilator included in an air conditioner, which comprises an air path, a blower, and a switching means. The air path is
It connects the inside and outside of the room. The blower has an air intake part and an air blowing part. The switching means is the first
It is possible to switch between the state and the second state. First
The state is a state in which the air intake portion of the blower and the air path are in communication with each other. The second state is a state in which the air blowing section of the blower and the air path are in communication with each other.

Here, by switching the first state and the second state by the switching means, the outdoor air can be sent into the room through the air path or the indoor air can be discharged through the air path. You can also do it. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a ventilation method that sends the outdoor air into the room when you want to gently ventilate the room while maintaining a positive pressure, and when you want to effectively discharge the dirty air in the room to the outside. It also becomes possible to adopt a ventilation method in which air is discharged to the outside of the room through an air path.

Although it is conceivable to rotate the blower in the forward and reverse directions instead of providing the switching means, such a blower generally has low blowing efficiency and is not realistic. In view of this, in the present invention, the above-described switching means is provided so that a blower that blows air in one direction can be used. Further, the ventilator according to the present invention may be built into the air conditioner from the beginning, or may be additionally connected to the air conditioner having no ventilation function in an optional form.

A ventilator according to a second aspect is the ventilator according to the first aspect, wherein the switching means is configured to switch between the first state and the second state, and further, the air path is shut off. Switching to three states is possible. When switched to the third state by the switching means, the air path of the ventilation device is cut off. Therefore, if the third state is switched to when the wind is strong outdoors, it is possible to prevent unintended occurrence of air flow from the outdoors to the room.

The ventilator according to claim 3 is the ventilator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the blower and the switching means are arranged outdoors. Here, since the blower and the switching means that may generate noise are arranged outside the room, it is possible to prevent the person in the room from feeling uncomfortable. A ventilator according to claim 4 is the ventilator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a controller. The control unit controls the switching unit to switch between the first state and the second state, thereby switching between air supply from the outside to the room and exhaust from the room to the outside. Further, the control unit changes the output of the blower between when air is supplied and when air is exhausted.

Here, in consideration of the characteristics of the air supply for sending fresh outdoor air into the room and the exhaust air for exhausting indoor air directly to the outside via the air passage, for example, the output of the blower at the time of exhaust Can be increased. On the contrary, if you want to suppress the noise during exhaust,
It is also possible to reduce the output of the blower during exhaust.

An air conditioner according to a fifth aspect includes the ventilation device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects,
It has an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a humidifying unit. The humidifying unit is built in or adjacent to the outdoor unit and has a blower, a switching unit, and a humidifying unit.
The humidifying unit also supplies humidified air to the indoor unit via the air path.

Here, the blower can be used for ventilation, and the blower can be used for supplying humidified air into the room in the humidifying unit.
Further, since the air blower and the switching unit are provided in the humidifying unit built in or adjacent to the outdoor unit, the noise of the blower and the switching unit generated by ventilation and humidification is hard to hear in the room.

Further, by providing the humidifying unit with the switching means, it is possible to discharge the indoor air to the outside by using the blower of the humidifying unit, and the cost is low in the air conditioner equipped with the humidifying unit. It becomes possible to strengthen the ventilation function. That is, in the air conditioner of the present invention, the blower and the switching means in the humidifying unit can perform ventilation by discharging the indoor air to the outside in addition to the ventilation by supplying the outdoor air to the inside of the room. .

An air conditioner according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect, further comprising a temperature adjusting section for adjusting the temperature of the indoor air. In this air conditioner,
By controlling the switching means to switch between the first state and the second state, the air supply from the outside to the room and the exhaust from the room to the outside are switched, and at the time of the exhaust, the temperature adjusting action of the room air by the temperature adjusting unit is performed. Make stronger

At the time of exhaust, since the room air that has been air-conditioned is discharged to the outside of the room as it is through the air passage, it is conceivable that the air conditioning in the room will deteriorate. In view of this, here, the temperature adjusting function of the room air by the temperature adjusting unit is strengthened at the time of exhaust to suppress deterioration of the air conditioning in the room. For example, in an air conditioner that performs inverter control during cooling or heating, it is possible to avoid a sudden change in room temperature by temporarily increasing the frequency of the compressor during exhaust.

An air conditioner according to a seventh aspect is the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect, and the indoor unit has a heat exchanger and an indoor blower. The indoor blower is provided to take indoor air into a predetermined space, pass it through a heat exchanger, and blow it out indoors. The air path connects the humidifying unit and a predetermined space of the indoor unit. here,
When supplying outdoor air to the room, the outdoor air sent from the blower of the humidifying unit through the air path flows into a predetermined space of the indoor unit. The predetermined space is a space on the upstream side of the air flow with respect to the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. Therefore, the outdoor air flowing into the predetermined space of the indoor unit is blown out indoors via the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. Therefore, the temperature change of the indoor air is smaller than that in the case where the outdoor air is directly supplied to the room.

An air conditioner according to claim 8 is the air conditioner according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising a dirt sensor for detecting the degree of dirt in the indoor air.
Here, it is possible to appropriately switch between the air supply from the outside to the room and the exhaust from the room to the outside according to the degree of the dirt of the room air detected by the dirt sensor. For example, it is conceivable to switch to exhaust when the degree of contamination of the indoor air becomes large due to smoking or the like, and to switch to supply air that takes in fresh outdoor air into the room when the indoor air is not so dirty.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <Schematic Configuration of Air Conditioner> FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an air conditioner including a ventilation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioner 1 is composed of an indoor unit 2 attached to a wall surface in the room and an outdoor unit 3 installed outdoors. The outdoor unit 3 includes an outdoor air conditioning unit 5 that houses an outdoor heat exchanger and an outdoor fan, and a humidifying unit 4. An indoor heat exchanger is stored in the indoor unit 2, and an outdoor heat exchanger is stored in the outdoor unit 3. And each heat exchanger and the refrigerant pipe 6 which connects these heat exchangers comprise the refrigerant circuit. Further, it is used between the humidifying unit 4 and the indoor unit 2 when supplying air from the humidifying unit 4 to the indoor unit 2 side and when discharging indoor air to the outside via the humidifying unit 4. A supply / exhaust pipe 7 is provided.

<Structure of Refrigerant Circuit> FIG. 2 shows an air conditioner 1.
It is a system diagram of the refrigerant circuit used in the above, with an outline of the flow of air added. The indoor heat exchanger 11 is provided in the indoor unit 2.
Is provided. The indoor heat exchanger 11 is composed of a heat transfer tube that is folded back a plurality of times at both ends in the length direction, and a plurality of fins through which the heat transfer tube is inserted, and performs heat exchange with contacting air.

Further, a cross flow fan 12 and an indoor fan motor 13 for rotating the cross flow fan 12 are provided in the indoor unit 2. The cross-flow fan 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a peripheral surface provided with blades in the rotation axis direction, and generates an air flow in a direction intersecting with the rotation axis. The cross-flow fan 12 sucks indoor air into the indoor unit 2 and at the same time, the indoor heat exchanger 1
The air after heat exchange with 1 is blown out into the room.

The outdoor air conditioning unit 5 includes a compressor 21 and
A four-way switching valve 22 connected to the discharge side of the compressor 21, an accumulator 23 connected to the suction side of the compressor 21,
An outdoor heat exchanger 24 connected to the four-way switching valve 22 and an electric valve 25 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 24 are provided. The electrically operated valve 25 is connected to the pipe 31 via the filter 26 and the liquid closing valve 27, and is connected to one end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via the pipe 31. The four-way switching valve 22 is connected to the pipe 32 via the gas shutoff valve 28, and is connected to the other end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via the pipe 32. These pipes 31 and 32 are shown in FIG.
Of the refrigerant pipe 6.

Further, inside the outdoor air conditioning unit 5, there is provided a propeller fan 29 for discharging the air after heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger 24 to the outside. The propeller fan 29 is rotationally driven by an outdoor fan motor 30. <Structure of Conventional Outdoor Unit> Before describing the structure of the outdoor unit 3, a conventional outdoor unit before the present invention will be described with reference to an exploded perspective view (FIG. 3).

The conventional outdoor unit comprises a lower outdoor air conditioning unit and an upper humidifying unit, and includes a bottom plate 41, a right side plate 42, a left side plate 43, a front plate 44, a protective wire net 46, and a top plate 47. , An outdoor unit casing including a humidifying unit casing 48 and the like. [Configuration of outdoor air conditioning unit] Behind the front plate 44,
The fan suction port 45 and the partition plate 49 are attached. The outdoor heat exchanger 24, which is substantially L-shaped in plan view, is attached to the front surface of the protective wire netting 46 located on the rear surface of the outdoor unit casing.

A fan motor base 50 for fixing the outdoor fan motor 30 is attached to the front surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 24. The outdoor fan motor 30 is provided to rotate the propeller fan 29. The propeller fan 29 uses a negative pressure in the space formed by the fan suction port 45, the partition plate 49, the left side plate 43, the outdoor heat exchanger 24, and the bottom plate of the humidifying unit casing 48, from the rear surface and the left side surface of the outdoor unit casing. The introduced air is brought into contact with the outdoor heat exchanger 24 and exhausted to the front of the front plate 44.

Between the partition plate 49 and the right side plate 42, the compressor 21, the four-way switching valve 22, the electric valve 25, the liquid closing valve 27,
A refrigerant circuit component such as the gas shutoff valve 28, a thermistor 51 for detecting the temperature of each part, and the like are arranged. A closing valve cover 52 for protecting the liquid closing valve 27 and the gas closing valve 28 is attached to the right side of the right side plate 42.

An electric component box 53 is mounted above the propeller fan 29. The electric component box 53 accommodates a printed circuit board 54 on which circuit components for controlling each part are mounted, which is generated by the circuit components. A radiation fin 55 for radiating heat is attached. [Configuration Related to Humidification Unit] The humidification unit includes a humidification unit casing 48 located above the outdoor unit. Inside the humidifying unit casing 48, the right side is a space for accommodating the humidification rotor 58 and the like, and the left side is an adsorption fan storage space 75 for accommodating the adsorption fan 81 and the like. Inside the humidifying unit casing 48, a humidifying rotor 58, a heater assembly 64, a humidifying fan 70, a cover member 74, a suction fan 81 and the like are arranged.

The humidifying rotor 58 is a honeycomb-shaped ceramic rotor having a substantially disk shape, and has a structure through which air can easily pass. Specifically, it is a rotor having a circular shape in a plan view as shown in FIG. 3, and a fine honeycomb (honeycomb) is shown in a cross-sectional view taken along a horizontal plane.
It is in the shape of. Then, the air passes through a large number of cylindrical portions of the humidifying rotor 58 having a polygonal cross section.

The main part of the humidifying rotor 58 is fired from an adsorbent such as zeolite. Although zeolite is used here, it is also possible to use an adsorbent such as silica gel or alumina. Adsorbents such as zeolite,
It has a property of adsorbing moisture in the air that comes into contact therewith and desorbing the adsorbed moisture when heated. The humidifying rotor 58 is rotatably supported by a supporting shaft 59 provided on the humidifying unit casing 48 side via a rotor guide 60. A gear is formed on the peripheral surface of the humidifying rotor 58 and meshes with a rotor drive gear 62 mounted on the drive shaft of a rotor drive motor 61.

The heater assembly 64 is arranged so as to cover substantially half of the upper surface of the humidifying rotor 58 (half on the right side). The heater assembly 64 includes a heater body 66, an upper cover 65 that covers the heater body 66, and a lower cover 69.
It consists of and. The lower cover 69 has an inlet 67 for sucking air and an outlet 68 for discharging the air heated by the heater body 66 to the humidifying rotor 58 side.
And are formed. The heater assembly 64 is attached above the humidifying rotor 58 via the heater fixing plate 63.

The humidifying fan 70 is arranged below the humidifying rotor 58 and at a position corresponding to the heater assembly 64. The humidifying fan 70 is a centrifugal fan arranged in a space continuous with the humidifying hose 73 (a space below the discharge port 68 of the lower cover 69 of the heater assembly 64). The humidification fan 70 passes through the humidification rotor 58, and the front side portion (heater assembly 6) of the substantially right half portion of the humidification rotor 58.
The air coming down from the lower cover 69 of the lower cover 69 located below the discharge port 68) is sent to the humidifying hose 73. The humidifying hose 73 is connected to the air supply / exhaust pipe 7,
The air sent from the humidification fan 70 is supplied to the indoor unit 2.

The cover member 74 covers a portion of the upper surface of the humidifying rotor 58 where the heater assembly 64 is not located (a left half portion). The cover member 74, together with an adsorption bell mouth 84 described later, forms an air flow path that communicates from the upper surface of the left half portion of the humidification rotor 58 to the upper portion of the adsorption fan storage space 75 described below. The suction fan 81 housed in the suction fan storage space 75 is a centrifugal fan rotated by a suction fan motor 83,
Air is supplied from the opening 85 of the suction side bell mouth 84 arranged at the upper part and is discharged toward the outside of the suction fan storage space 75 (outside of the humidifying unit casing 48). The suction side bell mouth 84 is provided in the upper part of the suction fan storage space 75 and plays a role of guiding the air coming through the air flow path formed by the cover member 74 to the suction fan 81. The suction fan motor 83 is mounted on the motor fixing base 8
It is fixed in the humidifying unit casing 48 by 2.

Further, in the humidifying unit casing 48, a power supply board 79, an electric component casing, etc. are arranged. The electric component casing is composed of an electric component box 76 and a lid 77 that house a printed circuit board 78 therein. <Structure of the outdoor unit 3 of the present embodiment> Next, the outdoor unit 3 of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment will be described.

The outdoor unit 3 is composed of a lower outdoor air conditioning unit 5 and an upper humidifying unit 4. The outdoor air conditioning unit 5 has the same configuration as the outdoor air conditioning unit of the conventional outdoor unit described above. On the other hand, the humidifying unit 4 has a configuration in which a switching damper 90 is added to the above-described conventional humidifying unit for an outdoor unit. [Configuration and movement of switching damper 90] Switching damper 90
Is a rotary type air flow path switching means arranged below the humidifying fan 70, and is a circular member 92 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 7, and 8, and rotates the circular member 92. It is composed of a damper drive motor 91 (see FIG. 6) for driving.

As shown in FIG. 4, the circular member 92 includes a circular bottom plate 92a, a side wall 92b, and a semi-conical side wall 92c.
And an inner wall 92d and an inner cylindrical wall 96. Each wall 92b, 92c, 92d, 96 has a bottom plate 92.
It extends upward from a. The side wall 92b has a side opening 92.
It is divided into two by e and the semi-conical side wall 92c. The inner wall 92d is composed of three plate portions radially extending from the vicinity of the center of the circular member 92.
The internal space of 2 is divided into 3 parts. Due to the inner wall 92d, the inside of the circular member 92 is divided into the first space 93 and the second space 9
4 and a third space 95 (see FIG. 4). The side wall 92b does not exist in the first space 93, and is a space opened laterally by the side opening 92e. Second
The bottom plate 92a of the space 94 has two circular holes 94a and 94b.
Are formed. The inner cylindrical wall 96 arranged in the second space 94 extends upward from the peripheral portion of the circular hole 94b.
The semi-conical side wall 92c is provided adjacent to the circular hole 94a, and the surface thereof has a shape close to a vertically downwardly-divided cone. The space surrounded by the outer surface of the semi-conical side wall 92c is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8,
It is a space open to the side. In addition, each space 9
3, 94, 95, the space surrounded by the outer surface of the semi-conical side wall 92c, and the space surrounded by the inner surface of the inner cylindrical wall 96,
The upper part is open.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the humidifying fan 70 arranged on the circular member 92 has an impeller 70a, an air intake 70b, and an air outlet 70c. There is. The air intake 70b and the air outlet 70c are formed on the lower surface of the casing of the humidifying fan 70, and face the upper opening of the circular member 92.

The damper drive motor 91 is provided to rotate the circular member 92 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8. Although not shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the damper drive motor 91 is arranged below the circular member 92, for example. The damper drive motor 91 rotates the circular member 92 so that the circular member 92 is in the rotating position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the circular member 92 is in the rotating position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Switch between 2 states.

In the first state, the passage 89 (FIG. 5) for guiding the humidified air or the outdoor air that has passed through the heater assembly 64 and the humidifying rotor 58 to the circular member 92 of the switching damper 90.
And the first space 93 of the circular member 92 communicate with each other through the side opening 92e. Further, in the first state, the first space 93 of the circular member 92 passes through the upper opening and the humidification fan 7 is opened.
It communicates with the air intake port 70b of 0. Further, in the first state, the inner cylindrical wall 96 of the circular member 92 communicates with the air outlet 70c of the humidifying fan 70 at the upper portion and communicates with the hose connecting portion 3a at which the humidifying hose 73 is connected at the lower portion, The air blowout port 70c of the humidifying fan 70 and the humidifying hose 73 are connected. Since the humidifying hose 73 is connected to the air supply / exhaust pipe 7, in the first state, the humidifying fan 7
The air blown out from the 0 air blowout port 70c is supplied to the indoor unit 2 through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7.
As a result, in the first state, air flows in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 4 and 5, and humidified air or outdoor air is supplied to the indoor unit 2 through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7. become.

On the other hand, in the second state, the hose connecting portion 3a to which the humidifying hose 73 is connected communicates with the second space 94 of the circular member 92 via the circular hole 94a. Further, the second space 94 communicates with the air intake port 70b of the humidification fan 70 via the upper opening. Further, in the second state, the air blowout port 70c of the humidifying fan 70 is located above the semi-conical side wall 92c of the circular member 92, and the air blowout port 70c forms a space surrounded by the semiconical side wall 92c. Via, it is connected to the passage 3b leading to the outside (outside the outdoor unit 3). Therefore, in the second state, the air flows in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the air discharged from the indoor unit 2 and flowing through the supply / exhaust pipe 7 is in the humidification fan 70.
The air is discharged from the air blowout port 70c to the outside of the machine.

The supply / exhaust pipe 7 is, as shown in FIG.
It is connected to a predetermined space 2a of the indoor unit 2. The predetermined space 2a is a space on the upstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 11 in the air flow, and is a space in which air before heat exchange exists. Therefore, the air that has been supplied to the indoor unit 2 through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7 rides on the air flow in the indoor unit 2 generated by the cross flow fan 12, and is heat-exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger 11. And then blown out indoors.

[Operation of Humidifying Unit 4] When performing the humidifying operation, the switching damper 90 is switched to the first state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The humidifying unit 4 takes in air from the outside into the humidifying unit casing 48 by rotating the suction fan 81. The air that has entered the humidifying unit casing 48 passes through a substantially half portion on the left side of the humidifying rotor 58, and passes through the air flow path formed by the cover member 74 and the suction side bell mouth 84 and the suction fan 81. , And is discharged outward from the suction fan storage space 75. The air taken in from outside into the humidifying unit casing 48 causes the humidifying rotor 5 to
8 passes through approximately the left half portion of the humidifying rotor 5
8 adsorbs water contained in the air.

The left half of the humidifying rotor 58 that has adsorbed water in this adsorption step becomes the right half of the humidifying rotor 58 as the humidifying rotor 58 rotates. That is, the adsorbed moisture is absorbed by the humidification rotor 58.
With the rotation of the heater assembly 64, it moves to the portion of the humidification rotor 58 located below the heater assembly 64. Then, the moisture that has moved here is separated into the air flow generated by the humidification fan 70 by the heat from the heater body 66 of the heater assembly 64.

When the humidifying fan 70 is rotationally driven, air is taken into the humidifying unit casing 48 from the outside,
The air passes upward from below the inner part of the left half of the humidifying rotor 58, and the lower cover 6
It is introduced into the upper cover 65 from the suction port 67 of 9. Then, the air that has entered the upper cover 65 is discharged from the discharge port 68, passes through the front part of the approximately left half portion of the humidification rotor 58 from above to below, and passes through the passage 89 and the switching damper 90. And reaches the humidification fan 70. Such an air flow is generated by the humidification fan 70. The humidifying fan 70 sends the air that has passed through the humidifying rotor 58 and the switching damper 90 as described above to the indoor unit 2 via the humidifying hose 73 and the air supply / exhaust pipe 7. The air sent to the indoor unit 2 is the humidification rotor 5
It contains the water that was adsorbed on the plate 8.

The air thus supplied from the humidifying unit 4 to the indoor unit 2 is blown out into the room from the predetermined space 2a through the indoor heat exchanger 11. <Structure and Control of Control Unit 100> The control unit 100 is divided into an electrical equipment box and the like arranged in the indoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, the outdoor air conditioning unit 5, and the humidification unit 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 100 is connected to each device of the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3, and the remote controller 1
02, etc. based on the operation command from heating operation, cooling operation,
The operation control of each device is performed according to each operation mode such as dry operation, humidification operation, air supply operation, and exhaust operation.

[Humidification Operation] The control unit 100 includes the remote controller 1
The humidifying operation is performed when the humidifying command from 02 is received or when it is determined that the humidifying operation is necessary according to the humidifying automatic operation command from the remote controller 102. This humidifying operation is often performed together with the heating operation. In the humidifying operation, the rotor driving motor 61, the heater body 66, the motor for rotating the humidifying fan 70, and the adsorption fan motor 83 in the humidifying unit 4 are driven. In this humidifying operation,
As described above, the moisture contained in the air introduced into the humidification unit 4 from the outside by the rotation of the adsorption fan 81 is adsorbed to the humidification rotor 58, and the air heated by the heater body 66 is rotated by the rotation of the humidification fan 70. Air containing moisture that has passed through the humidification rotor 58 and separated from the humidification rotor 58 is supplied to the indoor unit 2 via the air supply / exhaust pipe 7.

[Ventilation by air supply operation or exhaust operation]
Also, when it is determined that it is necessary to ventilate the room,
The control unit 100 performs air supply operation or exhaust operation. The air supply operation is an operation in which the humidifying unit 4 takes in outdoor air and supplies the outdoor air from the air supply / exhaust pipe 7 to the indoor unit 2. The exhaust operation is performed by the humidifying fan 7 of the humidifying unit 4.
0 causes the air in the supply / exhaust pipe 7 to be sucked in, that is, the indoor air to be sucked into the supply / exhaust pipe 7 via the indoor unit 2,
The operation is to discharge it from the humidifying fan 70 to the outside of the outdoor unit 3. The air flow in the air supply operation and the exhaust operation is as described in the first state and the second state in the above [Configuration and movement of the switching damper 90].
During the air supply operation, the switching damper 90 is in the first state, air flows in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 4 and 5, and outdoor air is supplied to the indoor unit 2 through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7. Be worried. On the other hand, during the exhaust operation, the switching damper 90 is in the second state, the air flows in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the air discharged from the indoor unit 2 and flowing through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7 However, the air outlet 70c of the humidification fan 70
Is exhausted to the outside of the aircraft. During the air supply operation and the exhaust operation, the adsorption fan 8 of the humidifying unit 4 is used.
1, the rotor drive motor 61 is not operated, and only the humidification fan 70 is rotated.

The control unit 10 determines whether or not it is necessary to ventilate the room, and selects the air supply operation and the exhaust operation.
0 is determined based on the operation mode set by the remote controller 102 and the detection result of the dirt sensor 101. The dirt sensor 101 is provided in the indoor unit 2 and detects the degree of dirt in the indoor air. In the case where the operation mode is the automatic operation, the control unit 100 determines that indoor ventilation is necessary when the degree of dirtiness exceeds the first allowable value. Then, the control unit 100 selects the air supply operation when the dirt level exceeds the first allowable value and is below the second allowable value, and the exhaust operation when the dirt level exceeds the second allowable value. Select. The user of the air conditioner 1 can also directly select the air supply operation or the exhaust operation as the operation mode from the remote controller 102. For example, when the room is smoking due to smoking and it is desired to use the air conditioner 1 instead of the ventilation fan, it is desirable to directly select the exhaust operation. Further, when it is desired to take in fresh outdoor air while performing air conditioning and perform gentle ventilation, the air supply operation can be selected.

The humidifying fan 70 is controlled so that the output is larger during the exhaust operation than during the air supply operation. Further, the control unit 100, during the exhaust operation,
In the inverter control of the compressor 21, the frequency is increased and the motor speed of the compressor 21 is increased. <Characteristics of Air Conditioner 1> (1) In the air conditioner 1, the switching damper 90 in the humidifying unit 4 is switched between the first state and the second state, so that the supply / exhaust pipe 7 (air path) is provided. It is possible to perform both the air supply operation of sending the outdoor air into the room and the exhaust operation of exhausting the indoor air to the outside via the air supply / exhaust pipe 7. As a result, it is possible to select the air supply operation or the exhaust operation as the operation for the purpose of ventilation.

(2) In the air conditioner 1, the humidifying fan 70 and the switching damper 90 that operate during the humidifying operation, the air supplying operation, and the exhausting operation are arranged inside the outdoor humidifying unit 4. Therefore, the noise generated from them hardly gives an indoor person an uncomfortable feeling. (3) In the air conditioner 1, the output of the humidifying fan 70 is controlled to be larger during the exhaust operation than during the air supply operation, and the exhaust operation selected when it is desired to ventilate the room faster. The ventilation effect of is very high. On the other hand, in the air supply operation used for the ventilation method in which fresh outdoor air is sent indoors, the humidification fan 70 is operated with a relatively small output.

(4) In the air conditioner 1, as in the conventional case,
The humidification fan 70 is used for the air supply operation, and the humidification fan 70 is used for the humidification operation. Further, here, the switching damper 90 is newly provided in the humidifying unit 4, so that the exhaust operation of discharging the indoor air to the outside by using the humidifying fan 70 can be performed. In the air conditioner including the humidifying unit, it is possible to make a design change to enhance the ventilation function at such a low cost.

(5) During the exhaust operation of the air conditioner 1, the room air that has been air-conditioned is discharged to the outside of the room as it is through the air supply / exhaust pipe 7, so that the condition of air conditioning in the room deteriorates. Can be considered. In view of this, in the air conditioner 1, the frequency is increased in the inverter control of the compressor 21 during the exhaust operation. As a result, deterioration of air conditioning in the room is suppressed to a small level even if exhaust is performed, and a rapid change in room temperature is avoided.

(6) In the air conditioner 1, the outdoor air sent from the humidifying fan 70 of the humidifying unit 4 via the air supply / exhaust pipe 7 to the indoor unit 2 during the air supply operation for supplying the outdoor air to the room. It flows into the predetermined space 2a. Since the predetermined space 2a is a space on the upstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 11 in terms of air flow, the outdoor air flowing into the predetermined space 2a is blown out into the room through the indoor heat exchanger 11. . Therefore, the temperature change of the indoor air is smaller than that when the outdoor air is directly supplied to the room.

[Other Embodiments] (A) As a selective state of the switching damper 90, it is effective to provide a third state shown in FIG. 9 in addition to the first state and the second state. In this third state, the circular member 9
A part of the second bottom plate 92a closes the upper opening of the hose connecting portion 3a to which the humidifying hose 73 is connected. Therefore, the state in which the inside and the outside of the room are communicated with each other via the supply / exhaust pipe 7 and the humidifying hose 73 is eliminated by the bottom plate 92a of the circular member 92, and the supply / exhaust pipe 7 and the like cannot communicate with the inside and outside of the room.

If the switching damper 90 is switched to the third state by manual operation or automatic control when the wind is strong outdoors or when necessary, for example, the flow of air from the outside to the inside of the room. It is possible to prevent unintended occurrences of. (B) In the above embodiment, the stain sensor 101 is installed in the indoor unit 2
However, in the case where the user of the air conditioner 1 is to judge the necessity of ventilation or the selection between the air supply operation and the exhaust operation, the installation of the dirt sensor 101 may be omitted.

(C) In the above embodiment, the rotary switching damper 90 is adopted, but it is also possible to devise the surrounding structure and use a sliding switching damper. (D) In the above-described embodiment, the output of the humidification fan 70 is controlled to be larger during the exhaust operation than during the air supply operation. However, when the exhaust noise outside the room is a serious problem, It is conceivable that the output of the humidifying fan 70 is controlled to be smaller during the exhaust operation than during the air supply operation.

[0057]

In the ventilator according to the first aspect of the present invention, by switching the first state and the second state by the switching means, it is possible to send the outdoor air into the room through the air path. It is also possible to exhaust the indoor air to the outside. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a ventilation method that sends the outdoor air into the room when you want to gently ventilate the room while maintaining a positive pressure, and when you want to effectively discharge the dirty air in the room to the outside. It also becomes possible to adopt a ventilation method in which air is discharged to the outside of the room through an air path.

In the ventilator according to the second aspect, when the switching means switches to the third state, the air path of the ventilator is shut off. Therefore, if the third state is switched to when the wind is strong outdoors, it is possible to prevent unintended occurrence of air flow from the outdoors to the room. Claim 3
In the ventilator according to the present invention, since the blower and the switching means that may generate noise are arranged outside the room, it is possible to suppress the discomfort of the person in the room.

In the ventilator according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in consideration of the characteristics of the supply air for sending the fresh outdoor air into the room and the exhaust air for directly discharging the indoor air through the air passage, For example, it is possible to increase the output of the blower during exhaust. On the contrary, when it is desired to suppress noise during exhaust, the output of the blower can be reduced during exhaust.

In the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect, the blower can be used for ventilation and the blower can be used for supplying humidified air to the room in the humidifying unit. Further, since the air blower and the switching unit are provided in the humidifying unit built in or adjacent to the outdoor unit, the noise of the blower and the switching unit generated by ventilation and humidification is hard to hear in the room.

In the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect, the temperature adjusting action of the room air by the temperature adjusting section is strengthened at the time of exhaust to suppress deterioration of the air conditioning in the room. In the air conditioner according to claim 7, the outdoor air sent from the blower of the humidifying unit through the air path flows into the predetermined space of the indoor unit, and is blown out indoors through the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. become. Therefore, the temperature change of the indoor air is smaller than that in the case where the outdoor air is directly supplied to the room.

In the air conditioner according to the eighth aspect, it is possible to appropriately switch between the air supply from the outside to the room and the exhaust from the room to the outside according to the degree of dirt of the room air detected by the dirt sensor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a refrigerant circuit and an air flow.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional outdoor unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first state of a humidification fan and a switching damper of the humidification unit.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a first state in the vicinity of a humidification fan and a switching damper of the humidification unit.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second state of the humidifying fan and the switching damper of the humidifying unit.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a second state near the humidification fan and the switching damper of the humidification unit.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a third state in the vicinity of a humidifying fan and a switching damper of a humidifying unit according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 air conditioner 2 Indoor unit 2a predetermined space 3 outdoor unit 4 Humidification unit 7 air supply and exhaust pipe 11 Indoor heat exchanger 12 cross flow fan 21 compressor 58 Humidification rotor 64 heater assembly 70 Humidification fan 70b Air intake 70c Air outlet 73 Humidification hose 90 switching damper 100 control unit 101 dirt sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 4, 2002 (2002.10.
4)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0007

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0007]

A ventilator according to a first aspect of the present invention is a ventilator included in an air conditioner, which comprises an air path, a blower, and a switching means. The air path is
It connects the inside and outside of the room. The blower has an air intake part and an air blowing part. The switching means is the first
It is possible to switch between the state and the second state. First
The state is a state in which the air blowing portion of the blower and the air passage are in communication with each other. The second state is the air removal of the blower
This is a state in which the container and the air path are in communication.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kozo Yoshinaga             2 of 1000 Otani, Okamoto-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga             Daikin Industries, Ltd. Shiga Works F-term (reference) 3L056 BD01 BE07                 3L060 AA05 AA06 AA07 CC13 DD07                       EE05

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A ventilation device included in an air conditioner (1), comprising: an air path (7, 73) connecting indoors and outdoors; an air intake portion (70b) and an air blowing portion (70).
a blower (70) having c), the air intake part (70b) and the air path (73)
And a first state in which the air blowing section (70
A ventilation device comprising a switching means (90) capable of switching between c) and a second state in which the air path (73) is in communication. 2. The ventilation device according to claim 1, wherein the switching means (90) is further switchable to a third state in which the air passages (7, 73) are blocked. 3. The ventilation device according to claim 1, wherein the blower (70) and the switching means (90) are arranged outdoors. 4. The air supply from the outside to the room and the exhaust from the room to the outside are controlled by controlling the switching means (90) to switch between the first state and the second state, and the air supply is performed. The ventilation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control unit (100) that changes an output of the blower (70) depending on time and the time of exhaust. 5. The indoor unit (2) and the outdoor unit (3) including the ventilation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and being installed in or adjacent to the outdoor unit (3), the blower ( 70), the switching means (90), and a humidifying means, and a humidifying unit (4) for supplying humidified air to the indoor unit (2) through the air passages (7, 73). Air conditioner (1). 6. A temperature adjusting unit (2) for adjusting the temperature of indoor air.
1) is further provided to control the switching means (90) to control the first state and the second state.
The switching between the state and the switching between the air supply from the outside to the room and the exhaust from the room to the outside, and enhances the temperature adjusting action of the room air by the temperature adjusting section (21) at the time of the exhaust. The air conditioner (1) described. 7. The heat exchanger (11) for the indoor unit (2)
And an indoor blower (1) for taking indoor air into a predetermined space (2a) and passing it through the heat exchanger into the room.
2, 13), and the air path (7, 73) includes the humidification unit (4).
The air conditioner (1) according to claim 5, wherein the air conditioner and the predetermined space (2a) of the indoor unit (2) are connected to each other. 8. The air conditioner (1) according to claim 5, further comprising a dirt sensor (101) for detecting the degree of dirt in the room air.