JP2003207162A - Heat insulating structure of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat insulating structure of an air conditioner which is easily recycled, secures heat insulating performance and reduces manufacturing costs. <P>SOLUTION: An air passage 11 is provided in a casing 10 of the air conditioner 1. In the air passage 11, a heat exchanger 12 and a fan 13 are arranged. A separate panel 20 is fixed through a seal material 21 made of an elastic body to an air flow guide 11a constituting one of walls of the air passage 11, and a heat insulating space 22 is formed between this panel 20 and the air flow guide 11a. The seal material 21 can be provided with a liquid-tight performance. Parts constituting the heat insulating space 22 can be obtained by extrusion molding. The heat insulating performance can be improved by inserting a convection restricting material 24 in the heat insulating space 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a heat insulating structure for an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since cold air flows in an air passage of an air conditioner, dew condensation occurs on the outer surface of the wall of the air passage. If left unattended, dew condensation will drip and wet the walls and floor, so insulation measures will be taken to prevent condensation.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a conventional heat insulating structure. The indoor unit of the separate type air conditioner is illustrated as the air conditioner 1. An air passage 11 is provided inside the casing 10 of the air conditioner 1. Reference numeral 12 is a heat exchange unit arranged upstream of the air passage 11, and 13 is a fan for blowing air from the air passage 11. Fan 13
Is a cross-flow type.

The casing 10 is constructed by combining a plurality of parts made of synthetic resin. Among them, when the air conditioner 1 is viewed from the front side, the cold air is most strongly applied to the airflow guide 11a which is the inner wall of the air passage 11, and dew condensation is most likely to occur on the back surface thereof. Therefore, the airflow guide 11
Insulating material such as urethane foam and styrene foam on the back of a
01 is adhered so that the air on the back side of the airflow guide 11a does not touch the cooled surface.

Although the purpose of preventing dew condensation can be achieved by the above structure, this structure has the following problems. That is, since it is difficult to automate the bonding of the heat insulating material 101 and it depends on human labor, the manufacturing cost is increased. Also air conditioner 1
The law requires that the material be recycled when it is discarded, but the airflow guide 11a and the heat insulating material 10
Since the type of synthetic resin differs from that of No. 1, both must be separated and separated for recycling.
It takes time, labor, and cost to peel off what is once bonded. Crush with the adhesive still attached,
Then it is not easy to separate them.

In order to deal with the above problem, the configuration shown in FIG. 10 has been proposed. That is, a separate panel 102 is welded to the back surface of the air flow guide 11a, and the heat insulating space 1
03 is formed. Airflow guide 11a and panel 1
If 02 is molded with the same kind of synthetic resin,
There is no need to separate the two during recycling.

The method of forming the heat insulating space by welding has the following problems. That is, in order to form the heat insulating space 103 in the air conditioner 1, the panel 10 having a considerable size is formed.
2 is required, and it is not an easy task to weld the entire periphery in an airtight manner, and it takes time. In addition, the air in the heat insulating space 103 repeatedly contracts and expands every time cooling and cooling are repeated, which may cause cracks in the welded portion or abnormal noise.

Another conventional structure is shown in FIG. This is to simultaneously mold the heat insulating space 103 when molding the airflow guide 11a. An example of the molding method can be found in JP-A-10-205801.

The method of simultaneously molding the heat insulating space 103 requires a special injection molding die. Airflow guide 1 for air conditioner 1
In the case of a large injection-molded product such as 1a, the mold is large in size, and it is very costly to add a special structure to it. If you want to implement it, you have to raise the product cost.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional structure as described above, and is an air conditioner that is easy to handle recycling, secures heat insulating performance, and is low in manufacturing cost. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a heat insulating structure.

[0011]

In the present invention, a heat insulating structure for an air conditioner is obtained as follows.

(1) A separate panel is fixed to the wall of the air passage via a sealing member made of an elastic material, and a heat insulating space is formed between the panel and the wall.

According to this structure, the heat insulating structure can be obtained at a low cost. It is easy to recycle.

(2) The sealing material has liquid tightness.

According to this structure, a structure for receiving dew condensation water can be formed together with the heat insulating space.

(3) The parts constituting the heat insulating space were obtained by extrusion molding.

According to this structure, large parts can be manufactured at low cost.

(4) A convection inhibiting material was inserted into the heat insulating space.

According to this structure, the heat insulating performance of the heat insulating space is improved.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The air conditioner 1 of the first embodiment has the same structure as the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 9. Therefore, the components used in common with the air conditioner 1 in FIG. 9 are given the same reference numerals as previously used, and description thereof will be omitted.
The same principle is applied to the following description of the second embodiment, and the components already described are given the same reference numerals as before,
Description is omitted unless there is a problem.

The airflow guide 11a is incorporated in the casing outer frame 10a shown in FIG. Airflow guide 11a
A panel 20 which is a separate body is screwed to the back surface of the with a screw (not shown). At that time, a sealing material 21 made of an elastic material such as soft rubber or soft synthetic resin is sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the panel 20 and the airflow guide 11a. A heat insulating space 22 is provided between the airflow guide 11a and the panel 20.

According to the above construction, no special mold is required for forming the airflow guide 11a and for forming the panel 20, so that the parts manufacturing cost is low. If the constituent material of the panel 20 is the same as that of the airflow guide 11a, it can be easily recycled.

The heat insulating space 22 is sealed with a sealing material 21,
There is no outside air flow If the air in and out of the heat insulating space 22 is free, when the air in the room enters the heat insulating space 22 and touches a cold wall, the moisture contained in the air is condensed and collects in the heat insulating space 22. When water accumulates in the heat insulation space 22, not only the heat insulation performance is deteriorated, but also the danger of leaking out cannot be wiped out. However, if the heat insulating space 22 is hermetically closed, the water contained in the heat insulating space 22 and more than originally contained in the air is not accumulated in the heat insulating space 22, and the above-mentioned concern is unnecessary. Becomes

When the air in the heat insulating space 22 is cooled and contracts, the sealing material 21 is compressed by the atmospheric pressure, and the volume of the heat insulating space 22 itself is reduced. Therefore, unnecessary stress does not occur in the heat insulating structure portion, particularly in the joint portion, so that it is free from stress fracture. Since the sealing material 21, which is an elastic body, is only compressed, no abnormal noise is generated.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment. Here, the sealing material 21 is sandwiched between the airflow guide 11a, the airflow guide extension member 11b, and the panel 20. Thereby, the airflow guide 11a and the airflow guide extension member 11
It is possible to maintain airtightness between the separately molded parts of b and the panel 20 and prevent squeak noise at the joint.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment. Here, the sealing material 21 is sandwiched between the airflow guide 11a and the panel 20 to form the dew condensation water receiving groove 23 from the indoor heat exchanger 12. For this purpose, the sealing material 21 also has liquid-tightness.

A fourth embodiment is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the airflow guide 11a is simple. This air flow guide 11a is provided with a base 3 as shown in FIG.
It is extruded using 0. 3 compared to injection mold
The production cost of 0 is low. The airflow guide 11a is completed by cutting the continuously extruded product from the die 30, so that the productivity is good and the manufacturing cost of the airflow guide 11a can be greatly reduced.

A fifth embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Here, the convection suppressing material 24 is inserted into the heat insulating space 22. The convection suppressor 24 prevents air convection from occurring in the heat insulating space 22, and can be made of urethane foam or polystyrene foam. It may be synthetic fiber or glass fiber cotton.

According to the above construction, no convection of air occurs in the heat insulating space 22, so that the air flow guide 11a and the panel 2 are prevented.
Almost no heat is transferred between 0 and 0. Therefore, the heat insulation performance is further improved.

Even if urethane foam or styrene foam is used as the convection suppressing material 24, it is not necessary to bond them, so that they can be easily separated. Therefore, there is no problem in recycling.

In the above description, an example in which a heat insulating structure is provided for the airflow guide 11a forming one wall of the air passage 11 has been taken up.
If there is a part of the wall 1 that needs heat insulation, the airflow guide 11a
A heat insulating structure similar to can be formed.

Although the respective embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0033]

The present invention has the following effects.

(1) Since a separate panel is fixed to the wall of the air passage via a sealing material made of an elastic material and a heat insulating space is formed between the panel and the wall, the wall of the air passage or No special mold is required to mold the panel, and the cost of manufacturing parts is low. It is easy to recycle because it does not adhere to the heat insulating material.

Since the heat insulating space is sealed with the sealing material, moisture in the outside air will not be condensed and accumulated in the heat insulating space. Also, when the air in the heat insulation space is cooled and contracts, the sealing material is compressed by the atmospheric pressure and the volume of the heat insulation space itself is reduced, so that unnecessary stress does not occur in the heat insulation structure and it does not lead to stress destruction. . No noise is generated because the sealing material, which is an elastic body, is only compressed.

(2) Since the sealing material has a liquid-tight property, even if condensed water is generated, it can be prevented from leaking.

(3) Since the parts constituting the heat insulating space are obtained by extrusion molding, large parts can be manufactured at low cost.

(4) Since the convection suppressing material is inserted in the heat insulating space, the heat insulating performance of the heat insulating space is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an air conditioner showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of components of the air conditioner of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of an air conditioner showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of an air conditioner showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of an air conditioner showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a component according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of an air conditioner showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of components of an air conditioner of a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a first conventional structure of an air conditioner.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view showing a second conventional structure of the air conditioner.

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view showing a third conventional structure of the air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 air conditioner 10 casing 11 air passages 11a Airflow guide 12 heat exchanger 13 fans 20 panels 21 Seal material 22 Thermal insulation space 23 Condensate receiving groove 24 Convection suppression material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner characterized in that a separate panel is fixed to a wall of an air passage via a sealing material made of an elastic material, and a heat insulating space is formed between the panel and the wall. Insulation structure. 2. The heat insulating structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material has a liquid-tight property. 3. The heat insulating structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the components forming the heat insulating space are obtained by extrusion molding. 4. The heat insulating structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a convection suppressing material is inserted in the heat insulating space.