JP2006162138A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for surely changing visible brightness of a display device, interlocking with a mechanism for performing an operation mode and an optical system, by utilizing a front panel for moving in response to an opening mode state of a front suction port. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner has the display device 11 for displaying an operation state between the front suction port 4a and a blowout port 5, and moves this front panel 3C in response to the opening mode state of the front suction port. The front panel has a full opening mode arranged so that a front panel lower end part is positioned above the blowout port by largely moving forwardly obliquely upward from the front suction port, a half opening mode moved smaller than the full opening mode and a full closing mode extended so as to cover an upper side front face. The display device is constituted so that the front panel displays a mode by being exposed to a front face in a state of the full opening mode and the front panel is positioned on the front panel reverse side in a state of the half opening mode and the full closing mode, and the display device displays the operation mode by transmitting the light through the semitransparent front panel for transmitting the light. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner that can be changed in visible brightness of a display device that is provided in an indoor unit and displays a front panel opening mode state.

  In general, a display device using an LED or the like for informing the user of the operating state of the air conditioner is often provided on the front part of the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

  Since this display device is quite bright, it may be too dazzling at night or at bedtime, which may hinder sleep.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes an air conditioner that turns on an LED corresponding to the operation mode and reduces the brightness during the sleep mode operation, and Patent Document 2 shows that by controlling the LED drive current. Air conditioners that control brightness have been proposed.

However, the air conditioners described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 need to be provided with a separate LED drive control device in order to change the brightness of the display device according to the operation mode, and execute the operation mode. Because it is not linked to the mechanism and the optical system, the brightness is not surely changed.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-18146 JP 2003-74951 A

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, utilizing the front panel that is moved according to the opening mode state of the front panel to control the air volume, in conjunction with the mechanism and the optical system for executing the operation mode, An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can surely change the visible brightness of light of a display device.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an air conditioner according to the present invention communicates the suction port and the air outlet with a unit body provided with a suction port on the front surface and an upper surface and a blower port on a lower portion of the front surface. The heat exchanger and blower provided in the air passage formed in the unit main body, the louver provided in the outlet and setting the vertical direction of the heat exchange air, and the front suction of the unit main body A position that covers the mouth and is movably attached in the front-rear direction so as to close and open the front suction port, and the lower end covers the upper front surface of the air outlet in a state of being in contact with the front suction port A front panel configured to extend to the front panel, and a display device that is arranged in a lateral direction between the lower end side of the front suction port and the upper end side of the outlet, and displays the operating state by lighting the light emitter, The front panel A front panel is closed by bringing the panel into contact with the front suction port, and the front panel lower end portion is extended to cover the upper front surface of the air outlet, and the front panel is closed from the front suction port. A front panel fully open mode in which the front panel lower end is positioned so as to be located above the air outlet, and a half open state in which the front panel is moved forward from the front suction port to be smaller than the fully open mode. And a front panel half-open mode in which a lower end portion of the front panel extends and covers the upper front surface of the air outlet, and the display device has a front panel when the front panel is in the front panel full-open mode. When the front panel is in the front panel half-open mode and the front panel fully closed mode, it is located behind the front panel. Configured to, the front panel is characterized in the display that the apparatus is light the portions facing is translucent to transparent in the state of at least the front panel half open mode and the front panel fully closed mode.

  According to the air conditioner according to the present invention, the front panel that moves according to the opening mode state of the front suction port and controls the air volume is utilized, and in conjunction with the mechanism that executes the operation mode and the optical system, It is possible to provide an air conditioner that can change the visible brightness of light with certainty.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view when the front panel of the indoor unit of the air conditioner of the first embodiment is fully opened, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment is a pipe that allows refrigerant to circulate in a normal outdoor unit that includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and the like (all not shown). It has a connected indoor unit 2.

  The indoor unit 2 has a unit main body 3, which is provided with a front suction port 4a on the front surface portion 3a, an upper surface suction port 4b on the upper surface portion 3b, and a lower portion of the front surface portion 3a. Is provided with an outlet 5.

  An air passage 6 is formed in the unit main body 3 so as to communicate both the suction ports 4a and 4b and the air outlet 5, and the heat exchanger is opposed to the air inlets 4a and 4b in the air passage 6. 7 and a blower 8 is provided on the downstream side of the heat exchanger 7.

  Moreover, the blower outlet 5 is provided with an upper louver 9a and a lower louver 9b for blowing to set the air direction in the vertical direction of the heat exchange air. The upper louver 9a and the lower louver 9b are configured so that the lower louver 9b is located lower in the depth dimension than the upper louver 9a located in the upper side.

Further, a front panel 3c constituting the front surface of the unit main body 3 is attached to the front surface portion 3a of the unit main body 3 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The front panel 3c forms a smooth surface and has a control motor (not shown). not) using a link mechanism 10 which includes a, being adapted to perform the closing and opening of the front suction port 4a, being in contact with the front suction port 4a, the lower end portion 3c ₁ is outlet 5 It extends to a position that covers the upper front surface of the.

Thus, the front panel 3c is shown in FIG. 4, the contact is brought in close to the front panel 3c of the front suction port 4a, it is positioned extending to cover the upper front of the air outlet 5 of the lower end portion 3c ₁ and the front panel fully closed mode state, shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 3c is moved larger than the front suction port 4a forward obliquely upward, the front panel in a state where the lower end portion 3c ₁ is positioned above the outlet 5 and full open mode, shown in FIG. 3, the front panel 3c half-open state is moved less than the front panel fully open mode in front of the front suction port 4a, the lower end portion 3c ₁ of the front panel 3c of the air outlet 5 of the upper louvers 9a A front panel half-open mode is provided in such a state that it extends and covers the upper front surface of the air outlet 5 so as to face the front surface side.

  The movement of the upper louver 9a and the lower louver 9b differs depending on each mode as described above.

  In the front panel fully open mode shown in FIG. 2, both louvers 9a and 9b are set to a horizontal position so that the blown air is blown forward, and the cooling and dehumidification air is blown from the blowout port 5 toward the indoor space. The operation mode and the reheat dehumidification operation mode in which the air dehumidified from the blower outlet 5 toward the indoor space is blown near the room temperature and the louvers 9a and 9b are set at the obliquely lower position so that the blown air is directed forward and downward. It is made to blow, and it applies to the heating operation mode which blows the air heated toward the indoor space from the blower outlet 5.

  In the front panel half-open mode shown in FIG. 3, both louvers 9a and 9b are set at an obliquely upper position so that the blowing direction is upward. A wind blown from the upper louver 9a is applied to the back side of the front panel 3c to form an air passage that flows to the suction side along the back side surface of the front panel 3c, and the wind blown from the lower louver 9b is placed on the front side of the front panel 3c. A configuration in which an air flow path that flows to the suction side along the surface on the front side is configured, a short circuit operation is performed so that wind flows from these two air flow paths to the suction side, and an air volume at the time of the short circuit operation can be increased. It has become. This front panel half-open mode is applied to a person-friendly air-flow cooling operation mode and a person-friendly air-flow reheat dehumidifying operation mode in which indoor air conditioning operation is not performed directly on the room.

  In this operation mode, it is possible to significantly increase the operation efficiency such as cooling and dehumidifying operation in which the air is directly circulated from the outlet 5 to the suction side. By enlarging the lower louver 9b, the tip of the lower louver 9b can be brought close to the vicinity of the lower end of the front panel 3c, and the wind guide action to the front surface of the front panel 3c can be improved.

  The front panel full-close mode shown in FIG. 4 is applied to a heating operation mode in which the lower louver 9b is set at the lower position so that the blown air is directed downward, and the heated air is blown into the room from the blower outlet 3. The

Moreover, as shown in FIG.1, FIG.2 and FIG.5, it arrange | positions in the horizontal direction between the lower end side part 4a1 of the front surface inlet 4a and the upper end side part 5a of the blower outlet 5, and a driving | running state is LED lighting etc. A display device 11 for displaying is provided. The display device 11 is exposed to the front when the front panel 3c is in the front panel full open mode shown in FIG. 2, and the front panel 3c is in the front panel half open mode and front panel full closed shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. When in the mode state, the front panel 3c is positioned behind the front panel 3c. The front panel 3c is at least when the front panel 3c is in the front panel half-open mode and the front panel fully closed mode. The part 3c ₂ that faces the surface is made translucent to transmit light.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the display device 11 is configured so that the entire display device 11 formed in a horizontally long form a display unit using a prism, and the whole changes in color in the operation mode. 11 is configured to shine light blue during cooling, light orange during heating operation, and light green during dehumidification operation, and in this display device, a display unit that is further lit in points, for example, five LEDs 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, and 11e, LED 11a is green and indicates a clean operation for performing sterilization and drying indoors, LED 11b is orange and indicates a ventilation operation, and LED 11c is blue and is an air purification operation The LED 11d is yellow and displays a human-friendly airflow operation, and the LED 11e is orange and displays a timer operation.

  In addition, it is preferable that the display device 11 includes a luminance adjustment function that can increase the luminance in the front panel half-open mode and the full-close mode. Thereby, in the case of use in a bright state such as in the daytime, the light of the indicator lamp can be displayed brightly to enhance the recognizability.

  The air conditioner of the present embodiment is configured to extend to the front side of the upper louver 9a of the air outlet 5 when the front panel 3c is in the front panel fully closed mode. For this reason, when the operation is stopped, the air outlet 5 is shielded from the front surface, and adhesion of dust to the outside of the front air outlet 5 can be reduced.

Further, even when downward blowout during heating operation, it is possible to lower portion 3c ₁ of the front panel 3c is, functions as a wind direction guide downward, increasing the heating effect.

  Further, in the front panel half-open mode state, the air blown from the upper louver 9a of the blower outlet 5 is applied to the back side of the front panel 3c to form an air passage that is guided to the suction side along the back surface of the front panel 3c. With the louver 9b facing upward and the air passage led to the suction side along the front surface of the front panel 3c, it is possible to increase the air volume during short circuit operation, and the direct air flow from the air outlet 5 to the front air inlet 4a side It is possible to greatly improve the operation efficiency of air-conditioning cooling operation and dehumidifying operation that are friendly to the person who circulates the air. For this reason, after the room has been stabilized at a predetermined temperature, it is possible to perform an airflow operation that is gentle to a person who does not generate an airflow in the room. In particular, it is possible to maintain a comfortable state with little temperature fluctuation in the room at night or at bedtime.

  In the front panel fully open mode, the front surface of the air outlet 5 is greatly opened, so that air is blown forward from the air outlet 5 so that the room can be quickly air-conditioned.

  At this time, the display unit is exposed to the front surface, and the operation state can be confirmed directly by the indicator lamp. Since such a state is often a bright state such as daytime, the light of the indicator lamp is displayed brightly, thereby improving the recognition.

Further, in the front panel half-open mode and the fully closed mode, the front panel 3c extends to the upper front surface of the air outlet 5, so that the light of the display unit 11 is interlocked with the mechanism and the optical system for executing the operation mode. The light passes through the translucent portion 3c ₂ of 3c and reaches the user. For this reason, since the light reaching the user is dimmed, the display is soft. Since such a driving state is at night or at bedtime, the lighting of the display device 11 is not excessively dazzled, and the driving state can be confirmed.

  As described above, according to the air conditioner of the present embodiment, during the powerful operation in which the front panel is in the front panel full open mode, the display device is directly exposed to the front, the light reaching the user is brighter, When operating airflow that is friendly to people in front panel half-open mode and front panel full-closed mode, the air conditioner has a soft brightness via the front panel in conjunction with the mechanism and optical system that execute the operation mode. Display according to the function can be easily realized without changing the illuminance of the display device itself.

The perspective view at the time of the front panel full open of the indoor unit of the air conditioner concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of the front panel full open of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of the front panel half-opening of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The longitudinal section at the time of front panel full closure of the indoor unit of the air harmony machine concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The front view at the time of the front panel full open of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram of the display apparatus used for the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Air conditioner, 2 ... Indoor unit, 3 ... Unit main body, 3a ... Front part, 3b ... Upper surface part, 3c ... Front panel, 3c ₁ ... Lower end part, 4a ... Front suction port, 4b ... Upper surface suction port, 5 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Air outlet, 6 ... Air flow path, 7 ... Heat exchanger, 8 ... Air blower, 9a ... Upper louver, 9b ... Lower louver, 10 ... Link mechanism, 11 ... Display apparatus.

Claims (2)

A unit main body provided with a suction port on the front surface and an upper surface, and a blower outlet on a lower portion of the front surface;
A heat exchanger and a blower provided in a blower passage formed in the unit body so as to communicate the suction port and the blowout port;
A louver that is provided at the outlet and sets the vertical air direction of the heat exchange air;
Covering the front suction port of the unit main body and movably attached in the front-rear direction so as to close and open the front suction port, the lower end portion of the blowout port is in contact with the front suction port A front panel configured to extend to a position covering the upper front surface of the
A display device that is arranged in a lateral direction between the lower end side of the front suction port and the upper end side of the outlet, and displays the operation state by lighting the light emitter;
The front panel is closed by bringing the front panel into contact with the front suction port and closing the front panel lower end portion so as to cover the upper front surface of the air outlet. Front panel fully open mode in which the panel is moved forward and obliquely upward from the front suction port, and the lower end of the front panel is positioned above the air outlet, and the front panel is fully open mode forward from the front suction port A front panel half-open mode in which the lower end of the front panel is extended so as to cover the upper front of the air outlet, and the front panel is switched to one of these modes. Configured to be
The display device is exposed to the front when the front panel is in the front panel full open mode, and the front panel is located behind the front panel when the front panel is in the front panel half open mode and the front panel full closed mode. Configured to be located,
The air conditioner is characterized in that the front panel is made translucent to transmit light through a portion facing the display device in at least a front panel half-open mode and a front panel full-close mode. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the display device includes a luminance adjustment function for increasing luminance in a front panel half-open mode and a full-close mode.

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