JP2004093049A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for improving operation property of a drain hose. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner is provided with a drain pan receiving condensed water generated in a heat exchanger provided inside an air conditioning machine main body and the drain hose connected with the drain pan to discharge condensed water outside a room. The air conditioning machine provided with an operation fitting protruding in the direction of the front of the air conditioning machine is provided in the vicinity of an end part connecting the drain hose with the drain pan. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a drain pan that receives condensed water generated in a heat exchanger provided inside an air conditioner body, and a drain hose connected to the drain pan and discharging the condensed water to the outside of a room In particular, the present invention relates to an air conditioner in which, for example, an operation fitting protruding toward the front of the air conditioner is provided near the connection end of the drain hose to the drain pan to improve the operability of the drain hose. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Due to the function of the air conditioner, when performing a cooling operation, condensed water is generated in the indoor heat exchanger. The condensed water flows into a drain pan arranged below the heat exchanger, and is drained outside by a drain hose connected to the drain pan. The connection between the drain pan and the drain hose includes a press-fitting method, a method of rotating and locking after insertion, and a method of fixing with a fitting and a screw.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10 as Conventional Example 1, a hose fixing member 7 is inserted into an annular groove 6 a formed at an end of a drain hose 6, and the drain hose 6 is attached obliquely rearward to an outlet 5 a of a drain pan 5. There is a type in which a screw 8 is inserted into the screw insertion hole 7a of the fixing bracket 7 as a loosening stopper and the screw 8 is tightened.
However, since the air conditioner is mounted on the wall surface, and the screw 8 is operated from the rear side of the indoor unit of the air conditioner in this way, when the drain hose 6 is removed at the time of service or the like, the indoor unit is removed. The drain hose 6 needs to be attached or detached so that the other components can be removed or the outer shell of the product can be partially removed.
Therefore, in this method, in order to operate the screw 8 from the rear side of the indoor unit, the indoor unit is removed from the wall as described above for the purpose of merely removing the drain hose, and furthermore, the components behind the screw 8 are removed. The operability was poor because it required time and effort to remove.
Various proposals have been made for these measures. For example, in the conventional example 2 (Patent Document 1), a cylindrical body having a plurality of locking pieces is provided on the outer periphery of a drain hose at the tip thereof, and the cylindrical body is held in a sector-shaped hole provided in a cutout at a lower portion of the base. Has been made.
Further, in Conventional Example 3 (Patent Literature 2) as another known example, an engagement claw is provided at a drain discharge port, and the drain claw is connected to the drain claw by an engagement claw provided at a connection port member of the drain hose. A proposal has been made to fix and connect the drain outlet with one touch.
Further, in Conventional Example 4 (Patent Literature 3) as another known example, a drain hose is provided with a ridge, and an upper locking piece is locked with a hanging hook provided on the back of the dew tray, so that the dew tray can be mounted. A proposal has been made to press and fix in the direction of the dew tray by using a hose retainer having a through hole that is fixed by inserting a set screw into a boss provided on the bottom surface of the bottom.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 4-113820 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-112948 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 4-113819
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described Conventional Example 2 or Conventional Example 3, when it is necessary to remove the drain hose for maintenance and inspection, it is necessary to remove the drain hose by putting a hand from the back of the product as in Conventional Example 1. However, the work is usually performed at a high place, and the work is carried out while lifting the product with both hands, which is dangerous and cannot be performed by one person.
In addition, in the proposal of the conventional example 4, when removing the drain hose, the work can be performed from the bottom of the product. However, it is necessary to insert the hand from the bottom into the product and remove the hook of the locking piece located in the back. In addition, aside from those skilled in this blind work, maintenance and inspection that required the drain hose to be removed was not so frequent, resulting in a difficult task.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner having a structure for easily and safely attaching and detaching a drain pan and a drain hose.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides an operation fitting protruding toward the front side of the air conditioner near the connection end of the drain hose to the drain pan, and the drain hose can be detached from the front side of the air conditioner body. Air conditioner.
Further, in order to stabilize the fixed state of the operation fitting, a fixing means for fixing the operation fitting to the air conditioner body can be provided.
Further, in order to improve the attachment of the operation fitting to the drain hose, the operation fitting is formed in a substantially L-shape when viewed from the side, and a mounting portion of the operation fitting to the drain hose is held by the drain hose. It is desirable to form it into a substantially U-shape so as to hold it.
In this case, in order to improve the strength of the substantially U-shaped portion, it is desirable that the substantially U-shaped portion has a shape that is opened in the direction of the substantially L-shaped bent portion.
In order to improve the operability of the operation fitting, it is desirable to provide a guide member for the operation fitting on the drain pan.
Since the holding force of the drain hose by the U-shaped portion as described above is limited, as a method of compensating for this, another substantially U-shaped metal fitting is provided in parallel with the substantially U-shaped mounting portion. It is desirable to attach it to a hose.
As a method for improving the operability of the fixing means, the fixing means can be operated from the front side of the air conditioner.
[0006]
[Action]
With the above configuration, the drain hose can be attached to and detached from the drain pan simply by pushing or pulling the operation fitting according to the present invention from the front side of the air conditioner body.
When the connection end to the drain hose is formed in a substantially U-shape, the connection state to the drain hose can be easily obtained or removed from the drain hose simply by pushing the connection end.
When the substantially U-shaped portion is opened in the direction of the substantially L-shaped bent portion, the strength of the substantially U-shaped portion is improved.
The operation of the operation fitting is a simple operation of “push” or “pull” from the front of the air conditioner main body. In order to perform this operation more reliably, a guide member for the operation fitting is provided on the drain pan. It is desirable.
Further, if another substantially U-shaped fitting is mounted on the drain hose in parallel with the substantially U-shaped mounting portion, the mounting strength of the connection end is improved.
In addition, the operability is further improved by configuring the operation direction of the fixing means to be operable from the front direction of the air conditioner, similarly to the operation fitting.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view of the entire air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show a drain hose fixture usable in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing an operation of attaching the operation fitting to the drain hose according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an operation of attaching the operation fitting to the drain hose according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing the operation fitting according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the operation fitting according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. FIGS. 9A and 9B are a front view of a retaining ring used together with the operation fitting, and FIGS. 9A and 9B show a state before the operation fitting according to the embodiment is attached to the drain pan and a state after the attachment, respectively. .
[0008]
As is apparent from FIG. 3, an operation fitting 7 is fitted and fixed in an annular groove 6a formed near the connection end of the drain hose 6 with the outlet 5a of the drain pan 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation fitting 7 has an operation end 7a protruding in the front direction so that the rear surface 2a can be operated from the front surface 2b side of the air conditioner body 2 attached to the wall. The operating end 7a is provided with a locking hole 9 which is an example of a fixing means according to the present invention, and the operation fitting 7 is fixed to the drain pan 5 by a screw 8a inserted into the locking hole 9. Is configured.
The operation fitting 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 6. FIG.
In the figure, 1 is a blower guide, 2 is an air conditioner main body, 3 is a heat exchanger, and 4 is a fan.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 2, the operation fitting 7 is a horizontally long metal fitting formed in a substantially L-shape when viewed from a side direction indicated by an arrow X (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2). 7a and the connection end 7b have a structure connected by a bent portion 7e.
The locking hole 9 is drilled in the middle of the operation end 7a, and the connection end 7b to the drain hose 6 has a substantially U shape so as to easily hold the drain hose 6 when viewed from the rear surface indicated by the arrow Y. It has forked arms 7c, 7c formed in a letter shape.
As is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, guide members 10 for guiding the operation end 7a in the front-rear direction of the air conditioner are provided on the drain pan 5 side, that is, on the air conditioner main body side. The pushing or pulling operation of 7a is made easy and reliable.
In order to attach the drain hose 6 to the drain pan 5 as shown in FIG. 3A, the operation fitting 7 is connected to the drain hose 5 using forked arms 7c, 7c formed at the connection ends 7b in advance. 6 is attached to the annular groove 6a as shown. Then, the axes of the drain hose 6 and the outlet 5a of the drain pan 5 are aligned as shown in FIG. Thereafter, by pulling the operation end 7a, the drain hose 6 is inserted into the outlet 5a as shown in FIG. At this time, the guide members 10, 10 for guiding the operation end 7 make the insertion operation easy and reliable.
When the insertion of the drain hose 6 is completed, the operation fitting 7 is fixed to the drain pan 5 or the air conditioner body near the drain pan 5 by the screw 8a.
Next, in order to remove the drain hose 6 from the drain pan 5, simply loosen the screw 8a in the opposite manner, and then push the operation end 7a of the operation fitting 7 from the front 2b direction of the air conditioner body toward the rear surface 2a. The drain hose 6 can be removed from the drain pan 5.
To attach the drain hose 6 again, it is only necessary to pull the operation fitting 7 from the front side of the air conditioner main body, but at that time, the guide members 10, 10 guide the operation fitting 7, so that the work becomes extremely easy.
[0009]
The operation fitting 7 according to the above-described embodiment is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the side, and the connection end 7b is open in the direction of the tip 7d of the connection end 7b. 7c, 7c are cantilevered, and there is a problem in strength slightly. An embodiment in which this point is improved will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 shows an operation of attaching the operation fitting to the drain hose according to this embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the operation fitting according to this embodiment.
The fitting 70 according to this embodiment is similar to the above-described embodiment in that the connection end 70b is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from the rear surface side. It is open in the direction of the bent portion 70e where the connection 70a and the connection end 70b are connected. As described above, the open portion of the substantially U-shaped portion is connected to the operation end 70a and is reinforced so that the drain hose 6 once attached is not easily pulled out. In order to adjust the strength of the connection end 70b, a notch 70f indicated by a broken line may be formed in the connection end 70a, and the depth of the notch may be adjusted.
The operation of attaching and detaching the operation fitting 70 to and from the drain hose 6 is shown in FIG.
If the holding force of the drain hose 6 by the connection end 7b or 70b is a problem, as shown in FIG. 5, the single substantially U-shaped retaining ring 11 shown in FIG. 8 is connected as shown in FIG. It may be arranged in parallel with the end 7b or 70b and fitted into the annular groove 6a.
Further, in the above embodiment, the screw 8a for fixing the operation fitting 7 to the drain pan 5 or the like is stopped from a direction perpendicular to the drain hose 6, and there is a problem that the operation of the screw 8a is difficult.
In order to solve this, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a screwing piece 71g in a direction perpendicular to the drain hose 5 is formed on the operating end 71a of the operating fitting 71, and a locking hole is formed in the screwing piece 71g. 9 and a screw mounting piece 71h parallel to the screwing piece 71g is desirably provided on the drain pan 5 side. In this case, when the core of the drain hose 6 is aligned with the drain pan outlet 5a as shown in FIG. 9A and the drain hose 6 is inserted into the outlet 5a as shown in FIG. The screw hole 71h matches the screw hole, and by inserting the screw 8a here, the screw 8a can be operated from the front surface 2b of the air conditioner main body, and the operability of the screw is improved.
[0010]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the air conditioner according to the present invention, since the operation fitting protrudes toward the front of the air conditioner main body, the drain hose can be connected to the drain hose simply by pushing or pulling the operation fitting from the front side of the air conditioner main body. It can be removed from the drain pan.
When the connection end to the drain hose is formed in a substantially U-shape, the connection state to the drain hose can be easily obtained or removed from the drain hose simply by pushing the connection end.
When the substantially U-shaped portion is opened in the direction of the substantially L-shaped bent portion, the strength of the substantially U-shaped portion is improved.
Further, when the drain pan is provided with a guide member for the operation fitting, the operability in pushing or pulling the operation fitting is improved.
Furthermore, if another substantially U-shaped fitting is mounted on the drain hose in parallel with the substantially U-shaped mounting portion, the mounting strength of the connection end is improved.
In addition, the operability for fixing the drain hose is further improved by configuring the operation direction of the fixing means to be operable from the front side of the air conditioner similarly to the operation fitting.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an entire air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state (a) before assembling and a state (b) after assembling of the operation fitting used in the embodiment shown in FIG.
3A is a diagram showing a state before the operation fitting shown in FIG. 2 is attached to a drain pan, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state after the attachment.
FIG. 4 is a view showing an operation fitting according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a view showing an operation fitting according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operation fitting according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an operation fitting according to the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a front view of a retaining ring used in the embodiment.
9A is a diagram showing a state before the operation fitting according to the embodiment is attached to the drain pan, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a state after the attachment.
FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of an entire air conditioner according to a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 blower guide 2 air conditioner body 3 heat exchanger 4 fan 5 drain pan 5 a drain pan outlet 6 drain hose 6 a annular groove 7 70 71 operating bracket 7 a 70 a 71 a operating end 7 b 70 b 71 b connection end 7 c arm 8 a screw 9 locking hole 10 Guide member 71g Screw fixing piece 71h Screw mounting piece

Claims (7)

An air conditioner including a drain pan that receives condensed water generated in a heat exchanger provided inside the air conditioner main body, and a drain hose connected to the drain pan and discharging the condensed water,
An air conditioner, wherein an operation fitting is provided near a drain hose connection portion to the drain pan. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the operation fitting is provided so as to protrude forward from the main body. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the operation fitting is formed in a substantially L shape, and an attachment portion to the drain hose is formed in a substantially U shape so as to hold the drain hose. 4. . The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the substantially U-shaped portion has a shape that is opened in a direction of the substantially L-shaped bent portion. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a guide member for guiding the operation fitting is provided on the drain pan. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein another substantially U-shaped auxiliary fitting is attached to the drain hose in parallel with the substantially U-shaped mounting portion. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising fixing means for fixing the operation fitting to the main body, wherein the fixing means is a fixing means operable from the front of the main body. Machine.

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