JP2006266626A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner having a ventilating function not lowering heat exchange efficiency without enlarging an indoor unit and dispensing with a heat insulating structure. <P>SOLUTION: One heat exchanger holder 3 out of a lateral pair of heat exchanger holders 3, 3 supporting a heat exchanger 2 of a base panel 100 from both ends is provided with a ventilating unit 300 with an exhaust unit 310 and an air supply unit 330 integrally built therein, and a ventilating heat exchanger 370 in the ventilating unit 300 is provided upstream of an air supply fan 380. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner (indoor unit), and more specifically, includes a ventilation unit that ventilates while exchanging heat between indoor air and outdoor air, and eliminates the need for a heat insulating structure of the ventilation unit. The present invention relates to an air conditioner in which the heat exchange efficiency in the heat exchanger for ventilation is not lowered.

  In an air conditioner (indoor unit), the air sucked from an air suction port provided at the upper part is generally heat-exchanged to a predetermined temperature by a heat exchanger on the way, and provided at the lower part by a cross flow fan. It is structured to blow out from the air outlet toward the indoor space.

  By the way, the room is often closed during use of the air conditioner. Therefore, if the user smokes or cooks indoors during use, the odor is likely to be trapped in the room and the user is likely to feel uncomfortable. Therefore, the user sometimes opens the window for ventilation, but if the window is opened, the cooled (or heated) air may escape to the outside.

  Thus, for example, an air conditioner has been proposed in which a ventilation unit is provided in a part of an indoor unit so that ventilation can be performed without opening a window. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an air conditioner including a ventilation unit including an air supply passage and a ventilation passage in an upper portion of an indoor unit (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

  According to this, since the indoor air can be ventilated even while the air conditioner is in operation, fresh air is constantly circulated in the room, so it is difficult to feel extreme discomfort even if you smoke or cook. . In addition, the user is freed from work burdens such as opening windows.

  However, the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, in this ventilation unit, it is necessary to open a drawing hole for pulling out the piping (power line, drain hose, etc.) for driving the air conditioner to the outside and two ventilation holes for the ventilation unit separately on the wall. The installation work is not only difficult, but it is difficult for residents in apartment buildings to use.

  And since the ventilation unit is installed in the upper part of an air conditioner, it is necessary to carry out the exclusive design of the indoor unit itself, and cost correspondingly will increase and installation space will also increase. Further, since the fan of the ventilation unit is installed facing the front side of the indoor unit, the noise of the fan tends to leak into the room while the ventilation fan is driven.

  Further, in the ventilation unit, as shown in FIG. 6, when a ventilation heat exchanger is provided in the air flow path at an intermediate position between the supply fan and the exhaust fan, for example, low temperature outside air is taken in in winter. As a result, dew condensation occurs between the air supply fan and the ventilation heat exchanger, so that it is necessary to provide a heat insulation structure, or low temperature outside air and exhaust air before (upstream) the ventilation heat exchanger. Heat exchange efficiency may be reduced because heat is exchanged with the room air to be performed through the partition wall.

The ventilation procedure by the ventilation unit at this time will be described below with reference to FIG.
When a ventilation button provided on a remote controller or the like is operated while the air conditioner 1 is operating or stopped, a control unit (not shown) issues a drive start command to the ventilation unit 300.

  When the exhaust unit 310 receives a drive start command, the exhaust fan 363 of the exhaust unit 310 is activated, and part of the indoor air is sucked from the exhaust port of the exhaust unit 310.

  The air taken in from the exhaust port is blown out in the radial direction from the center of the exhaust fan 360 and is introduced into the exhaust passage 323 as it is. At this time, heat is exchanged when passing through the exhaust-side heat exchange chamber 371 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 provided in the exhaust passage 323.

  The heat-exchanged air flows through the exhaust passage 323 to the lower side of the ventilation unit 300 and is exhausted from an exhaust port 324 provided on the back side. Air exiting the exhaust port 324 is discharged to the outside through an exhaust pipe (not shown).

  When the other air supply unit 330 receives the drive command, the air supply fan 380 of the air supply unit 300 is activated, and outdoor air is sucked from an air supply port 326 connected to an air supply pipe (not shown).

  The air that has entered the air supply unit 310 from the air supply port 326 is first removed of dust contained in the air by the air supply filter 347 and taken into the air supply fan 380 from the air inlet 345.

  The air that has entered the air inlet 345 is blown out in the radial direction from the center of the air supply fan 380, and is directly introduced into the air supply passage 343. At this time, the air passing through the supply passage 343 is heat-exchanged with the exhaust-side air by passing through the supply-side heat exchange chamber 372 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 provided in the middle.

  At that time, for example, low-temperature outside air circulates in the supply passage 343 in the winter, which causes a problem that condensation occurs in the intake casing 340 on the upstream side of the ventilation heat exchanger 370. .

  Further, the supply air flowing through the supply air passage 343 toward the ventilation heat exchanger 370 exits the ventilation heat exchanger 370 and exchanges heat with the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage 323. There was a possibility that the heat exchange efficiency in the ventilation heat exchanger 370 might be lowered.

JP-A-62-226843

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the purpose thereof is to make the indoor unit unit larger without making a heat insulating structure unnecessary and to improve the heat exchange efficiency in the ventilation heat exchanger. An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner having a ventilation function that does not deteriorate.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention has the following features.
An indoor unit housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, wherein a heat exchanger and a blower are disposed in an air passage connecting the air inlet and the air outlet, In the air conditioner in which the body has at least an air supply fan and a heat exchanger for ventilation, and a ventilation unit that replaces indoor air is provided,
The ventilation heat exchanger is provided on the upstream side of the air supply fan.

  The ventilation heat exchanger is provided in the vicinity of an air supply port and an exhaust port of the ventilation unit.

  According to the invention, if the air conditioner of the type that supports the heat exchanger with the heat exchanger holder by incorporating the ventilation unit in the space next to the heat exchanger holder of the heat exchanger, it is particularly dedicated. The ventilation unit can be incorporated without designing the casing, and the indoor unit does not increase in size.

Further, even when low-temperature outside air is introduced in winter, the ventilation heat exchanger is provided upstream of the supply fan, so that the supply fan and the ventilation heat exchanger Condensation does not occur in the meantime, and therefore it is not necessary to have a heat insulating structure at the location.
In addition, the heat exchange efficiency in the ventilation heat exchanger is reduced because heat is not exchanged between the low temperature outside air and the exhausted indoor air through the partition wall on the upstream side of the ventilation heat exchanger. It never happens.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail as examples based on the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an air conditioner (indoor unit) according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a state in which a ventilation unit is removed from the indoor unit, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the unit, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the ventilation unit, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part of the indoor unit.

  An air conditioner (indoor unit) 1 according to the present invention includes a base panel 100 that is attached to a wall surface via a mounting bracket (not shown), and a decorative panel 200 that is attached to the base panel 100 so as to cover from the upper surface to the front surface of the base panel. Both of them are composed of synthetic resin molded products.

  The base panel 100 is entirely formed in an L-shaped cross section, and stores a cross flow fan (not shown) constituting a blower, a heat exchanger 2 included in a refrigeration cycle, a drain pan (not shown), and the like. .

  A pair of left and right heat exchanger holders 3 for supporting the heat exchanger 2 are provided at both ends of the base panel 100, and the heat exchanger 2 is spanned between the heat exchanger holders 3. ing.

  In this example, the heat exchanger 2 is formed by connecting three heat exchanger units 21 to 23 in combination with a lambda (Λ) shape, and is attached so as to cover the cross flow fan.

  The front side heat exchanger units 21 and 22 and the back side heat exchanger unit 23 are connected to each other by a wind shielding plate 24 at the top. The wind shielding plate 24 is provided to prevent the sucked air from bypassing the heat exchanger 2, and also functions as a filter guide for an air filter disposed above the heat exchanger 2. ing.

  Next to one heat exchanger holder 3 (right side in FIG. 1) of the base panel 100, there is provided an electrical component box 4 in which various power supply devices and electronic components for driving the indoor unit 1 are stored. It has been. A ventilation unit 300 for ventilating indoor air is provided next to the other heat exchanger holder 3 (left side in FIG. 1) of the base panel 100.

  On the lower surface side of the base panel 100, an air outlet 110 is formed for sending air toward the room by the blowing action of the cross flow fan. The air outlet 110 is provided with a diffuser (both not shown) that opens toward the floor during rapid heating or rapid cooling operation, for example, in addition to the upper and lower wind direction plates and the left and right wind direction plates for changing the air blowing direction. It's okay.

  A decorative panel 200 is attached to the base panel 100 so as to cover the heat exchanger 2. The decorative panel 200 is fixed to the upper end of the base panel 100 via a locking claw (not shown) provided on the rear end side, and configures the appearance of the indoor unit 1.

  According to this example, the decorative panel 200 is provided with an air inlet 210 over substantially the entire surface. The air inlet 210 may be formed in a grill bar shape, and the opening area thereof is preferably larger than the upper projected area of the heat exchanger 2. An air filter (not shown) that captures dust in the air is detachably provided inside the air inlet 210 of the decorative panel 200.

  According to this, the electrical component box 4 and the ventilation unit 300 are relatively disposed on both sides of the base panel 100 with the heat exchanger 2 interposed therebetween, so that the indoor unit unit 1 has the above described in the center. The air outlet 110 is formed, the indoor unit 1 has a symmetrical structure, and can be neatly organized in terms of design.

  In the present invention, the configuration of the base panel 100 and the decorative panel 200 may be arbitrary as long as the configuration is such that the heat exchanger 2 is supported by the heat exchanger holder 3. A description of the configuration is omitted.

  Next, the ventilation unit 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. The ventilation unit 300 includes an exhaust unit 310 that exhausts a part of the air sucked from the air suction port 210 to the outside, and an air supply unit 330 that supplies outdoor air to the room through the indoor unit 1. I have. The ventilation unit 300 is made of a synthetic resin molded product.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ventilation unit 300 includes three casing members, an exhaust casing 320, an air supply casing 340, and a lid casing 350. The exhaust casing 320 and the air supply casing 340 are formed in a U-shaped cross-section (a shape having side walls extending substantially vertically from both end edges of the bottom plate to the open end), and the bottom of the exhaust casing 320 has the above-mentioned supply air. By combining the open end of the air casing 340, an exhaust path and an air supply path are formed independently inside.

  The exhaust casing 320 includes a fan housing 322 in which the exhaust fan 360 is housed, an exhaust passage 323 through which the air sucked by the exhaust fan 360 passes, and an exhaust port 324 through which the air that has passed through the exhaust passage 323 is discharged. The exhaust passage is formed on one surface across the partition wall 50.

  The fan storage portion 322 is formed in a cylindrical shape that can store the exhaust fan 360, and an exhaust port 325 is provided at the center thereof. The exhaust port 325 is formed coaxially with the rotation axis of the exhaust fan 360, and driving the exhaust fan 360 causes a part of the air sucked from the air suction port 210 to be exhausted. Inhaled from 325.

  The exhaust fan 360 has a base plate 361 that is fitted along the periphery of the fan housing portion 322, and a drive motor 362 is integrally attached to the center of the base plate 361. A radial fan 363 is integrally attached to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 362. The fan housing 322 is closed by a base plate 361 to form a sealed space.

  One end of the exhaust passage 323 is opened at a substantially right angle toward the fan housing portion 322, and the other end extends downward along the partition wall 50 and is connected to the exhaust port 324. An opening 326 in which the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is accommodated is formed at or near the exhaust port 324, and the exhaust side heat exchange chamber 371 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is stored therein.

  The exhaust port 324 is formed toward the back side (wall surface side) of the ventilation unit 300. A connection pipe 324a connected to an exhaust pipe (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 324 via a joint member 324b.

  The fan storage portion 322, the exhaust passage 323, and the exhaust port 324 are recesses surrounded by side walls that stand vertically along the peripheral edge of the partition wall 50, and a sealed space is formed by covering the lid casing 350 thereon. Is formed.

  The lid casing 350 is a plate-like body attached along one side surface (left side surface in FIG. 3) of the exhaust casing 320. The lid casing 350 is provided with two port members 351 and 352 that match the exhaust port 324 and the air supply port 346, and the port members 351 and 352 serve as the exhaust port 324 and the air supply port 346. To form a cylindrical shape.

  Next, the air supply casing 340 includes a fan storage part 342 in which the air supply fan 380 is stored, an intake passage 343 through which air sent from the fan storage part 342 flows, and the indoor unit 1. A discharge port 344 that blows out air is provided. The air supply passage is formed on the other surface of the exhaust passage with the partition wall 50 interposed therebetween.

  The fan storage portion 342 is formed in a cylindrical shape that can store the air supply fan 380, and an air inlet 345 is provided at the center thereof. The intake port 345 is formed coaxially with the rotation axis of the air supply fan 380 and communicates with the air supply port 346 that takes in outside air. By driving the air supply fan 380, the air sucked from the air supply port 346 and circulated through the air supply side heat exchange chamber 372 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is sucked into the intake port 345.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the air inlet 345 is opened toward the back side heat exchanger unit 23 with the top portion (wind shield plate 24) of the Λ-type heat exchanger 2 interposed therebetween, and the air inlet port The air before passing through the back side heat exchanger unit 23 through 210 is sucked in.

  The air supply fan 380 has a base plate 381 that is fitted along the periphery of the fan housing portion 342, and a drive motor 382 is integrally attached to the center of the base plate 381. A radial fan 383 is integrally attached to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 382. The fan housing part 342 forms a sealed space by being closed by the base plate 381. In this example, the supply fan 380 and the exhaust fan 360 have the same shape and configuration.

  One end of the air supply passage 343 is connected to the fan housing chamber 342 of the air supply fan 380, and the other end extends upward along the partition wall 341 and is connected to the discharge port 344. The intake-side heat exchange chamber 372 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is stored in or near the supply port 346 on the upstream side of the supply passage 343.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge port 344 is opened toward the front heat exchanger unit 22 with the top portion (wind shield plate 24) of the Λ-type heat exchanger 2 interposed therebetween. According to this, the intake port 345 and the discharge port 344 are arranged separately on the front side and the back side across the top of the heat exchanger 2, so that the discharged air is directly supplied to the intake port 345. Never be inhaled.

  The intake casing 340 is integrally attached to the other surface of the exhaust casing 320, so that the intake casing 340 is used as a lid for closing the other surface of the exhaust casing 320. At this time, a filter chamber 346 into which the air supply filter 347 is inserted is formed between the exhaust casing 320 and the air supply fan storage 342 of the air supply casing 340.

  The filter chamber 346 is formed with a predetermined width by a spacer 348 provided on the back surface (the side in FIG. 3) of the air supply fan storage portion 342 contacting the exhaust casing 320, and the air supply filter 347 is placed there. Installed in a pluggable state.

  In the ventilation heat exchanger 370, two heat exchange chambers 371 and 372 are formed with a partition plate 373 disposed in the center, and one heat exchange chamber 371 is on the exhaust side and the other heat exchange chamber 372 is formed. Is on the air supply side. The ventilation heat exchanger 370 is made of a metal material having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and the heat exchange chambers 371 and 372 are provided with a large number of fins for heat exchange.

  According to this, heat is taken away from the air flowing through the exhaust side heat exchange chamber 371 by the fin, and the deprived heat is propagated from the fin through the partition plate 373 to the other air supply side heat exchange chamber 372. Heat is exchanged with the air flowing through the air supply passage 343 from the fins on the air supply side heat exchange chamber 372 side.

  At this time, since the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is provided on the upstream side of the air supply fan 380, for example, even when low-temperature outside air is introduced in winter, the ventilation heat exchanger 370 and the above-described heat exchanger 370 Condensation does not occur between the air supply fan 380, and therefore, it is not necessary to provide a heat insulating structure at the location.

  In order to prevent such condensation, the intake-side heat exchange chamber 372 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is located near the supply port 346 of the ventilation unit 300 that is further upstream of the supply passage 343. Is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 2, three screws for attaching the ventilation unit 300 along the heat exchanger holder 3 of the heat exchanger 2 are provided on the side surface (supply casing 340 side) of the ventilation unit 300. Units 301, 302, and 303 are provided.

  On the other hand, the heat exchanger holder 3 is provided with three screw holes 31 to 33 corresponding to the screwing portions 301 to 303, and by screwing these in a state of being aligned with each other, The ventilation unit 300 is attached to the heat exchanger holder 3.

  The ventilation unit 300 is provided with guide ribs 304 as positioning means when attached to the heat exchanger holder 3. The guide rib 304 has an L-shaped cross section and is formed along the end 121 of the panel side plate 120 of the base panel 100.

  According to this, the attachment positioning of the ventilation unit 300 can be easily performed by attaching the guide rib 304 of the ventilation unit 300 along the end portion 121 of the panel side plate 120.

  Finally, by connecting an exhaust pipe and an air supply pipe (both not shown) to the exhaust port 324 and the air supply port 326, it is possible to draw all the piping out of the room with one wall hole.

  Next, a ventilation procedure of the ventilation unit 300 will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 5 and with reference to FIG. In addition, in order to explain in detail, it is changed beforehand that there is a point which overlaps with the ventilation procedure demonstrated above based on FIG. 7 in background art.

  When a ventilation button provided on a remote controller or the like is operated while the air conditioner 1 is operating or stopped, a control means (not shown) issues a drive start command to the ventilation unit 300, and the exhaust unit 310 receives a drive start command. The exhaust fan 363 of the exhaust unit 310 is activated. By driving the exhaust fan 360, a part of the air sucked from the air suction port 110 is sucked from the exhaust port 325.

  The air taken in from the exhaust port 325 is blown out in the radial direction from the center of the exhaust fan 360 and is introduced into the exhaust passage 323 as it is. At this time, heat exchange is performed when passing through the exhaust side heat exchange chamber 371 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 provided in front of the exhaust port 324 communicating with the exhaust passage 323.

  The heat-exchanged air flows to the lower side of the ventilation unit 300 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 324 provided on the back side. Air exiting the exhaust port 324 is discharged to the outside through an exhaust pipe (not shown).

  When the other air supply unit 330 receives a drive command, the air supply fan 380 of the air supply unit 300 is activated, and outdoor air is sucked from the air supply port 326 connected to an air supply pipe (not shown).

  The air that has entered the air supply unit 310 from the air supply port 326 is first removed of dust contained in the air by the air supply filter 347, and the air provided immediately after the leeward side of the air supply port 326. After passing through the air supply side heat exchange chamber 372 of the ventilation heat exchanger 370 and exchanging heat with the exhaust side air, the air is taken into the air supply fan 380 from the intake port 345.

  The air that has entered the intake port 345 is subjected to heat exchange, and then blown from the center of the supply fan 380 in the radial direction. The air is discharged from the outlet 344 toward the upper surface side of the front side heat exchanger 32 of the indoor unit 1. The discharged air is heat-exchanged through the heat exchanger 2 and then blown out from the air outlet 110 into the room.

  Thereby, for example, even when low-temperature outside air is taken in in winter, the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is provided on the upstream side of the supply fan 380, so the supply fan 380 and the ventilation fan are provided. Condensation does not occur in the air supply casing 340 with the heat exchanger 370.

  Further, since the low temperature outside air and the exhausted indoor air are not heat exchanged via the partition wall on the upstream side of the ventilation heat exchanger 370, the heat exchange efficiency in the ventilation heat exchanger 370 is not caused. Is no longer reduced.

  The ventilation procedure of the ventilation unit 300 may be performed while the indoor unit 1 is being driven, or may be performed while the indoor unit 1 is stopped. Further, only one exhaust unit 310 of the ventilation unit 300 may be driven, or only the other air supply unit 330 may be driven.

  The present invention has been described above by taking the indoor unit of the split type and ceiling wall type air conditioner in which the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are separated as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention includes, for example, a floor-rise air conditioner, an integrated air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are housed in a single housing, a gas combustion air conditioner, and a hot water circulation air conditioner in terms of heat sources. It can be widely used for an air conditioner having an air filter such as a machine.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the air conditioner (indoor unit) which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the state which removed the ventilation unit from the indoor unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a ventilation unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a ventilation unit. It is a principal part perspective view of an indoor unit. It is a principal part perspective view of the air conditioner (indoor unit) by a prior art example. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing explaining the ventilation path | route of a ventilation unit.

Explanation of symbols

1 Air conditioner (indoor unit)
2 heat exchangers 3, 3 heat exchanger holders 100 base panel 120 panel side plate 200 decorative panel 210 air suction port 300 ventilation unit 310 exhaust unit 320 exhaust casing 330 air supply unit 340 air supply casing 350 lid casing 360 exhaust fan 370 for ventilation Heat exchanger 380 Air supply fan

Claims (2)

An indoor unit housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, wherein a heat exchanger and a blower are provided in an air passage connecting the air inlet and the air outlet. In the air conditioner in which the body has at least an air supply fan and a heat exchanger for ventilation, and a ventilation unit that replaces indoor air is provided,
The air conditioner characterized in that the heat exchanger for ventilation is provided on the upstream side of the air supply fan.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation heat exchanger is provided in the vicinity of an air supply port and an exhaust port of the ventilation unit.

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