JP2007147123A - Filter and air conditioner using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filter capable of being easily curved, and an air conditioner comprising the filter. <P>SOLUTION: This filter 9 is composed of a filter net 13, and a filter frame 14 supporting four sides of the filter net 13. The filter frame 14 is composed of vertical frames 14a supporting side portions, and horizontal frames 14b supporting upper and lower portions. Both faces of the vertical frames 14a are vertically recessed and projected and have the corrugated shape as a whole. As the vertical frames 14a have the corrugated shape to be reduced in wall thickness and easily deflected, the filter 9 can be easily curved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a filter used for an air conditioner or the like and an air conditioner using the same.

  The air conditioner is provided with a filter along the inner surface side of the suction port of the casing of the indoor unit. The filter can remove dust in the air sucked from the suction port and prevent dust from entering the casing. If the filter becomes dirty, the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner will be reduced due to clogging, so it must be cleaned.

  Therefore, there is an air conditioner that can automatically perform filter cleaning. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a filter that is slidably mounted in a main body having a suction port and an outlet, a drive device that reciprocally moves the filter, and a passage port through which the filter passes. And an air conditioner provided with a dust box provided with a filter cleaning portion disposed so as to come into contact with the filter. By reciprocating the filter, the entire surface of the filter can be automatically cleaned by the filter cleaning unit.

JP 2005-188808 A

  However, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, since the filter has high rigidity, it is difficult to bend the filter. Since a large load is applied to the curved portion, the filter is deformed or cracked.

  In particular, in an air conditioner having a mechanism in which an unevenness is provided on a filter and moved by meshing with a gear which is a driving means, the rigidity of the filter becomes higher due to the formation of the convex portion. If the filter has high rigidity, tooth skipping may occur.

  An object of this invention is to provide the filter which is easy to bend in view of the said subject, and an air conditioner provided with the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a filter net and a vertical frame that supports the side ends of the filter net, and there is unevenness on one side of the vertical frame for meshing with a driving means for moving the filter. The filter is characterized in that a groove is formed in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction on the other surface side of the convex part formed in the movement direction of the vertical frame. When unevenness is provided on the vertical frame, the convex portion becomes thick and the rigidity becomes high. Therefore, if a groove portion is provided on the back surface of the convex portion in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction, the vertical frame is easily bent in the moving direction.

  In addition, although a groove part may be a slit-shaped narrow thing, it is preferable to form so that a side view may become a substantially wave shape as the whole vertical frame. When the corrugated shape is used, the vertical frame can be formed thin overall, so that flexibility can be further improved. The “wave shape” uneven surface may be a curved shape or a square shape.

  In order to prevent warping or undulation of the filter, when the lateral rib extending in the width direction is fixed to the filter net, it is preferable that the lateral rib and the vertical frame are discontinuous. If the horizontal rib and the relatively rigid vertical frame are connected, the flexibility in the moving direction of the filter is lowered. Therefore, if the horizontal rib and the vertical frame are discontinuous, the flexibility in the moving direction of the filter can be maintained even when the horizontal rib is provided.

  The material of the vertical frame is not limited, but a flexible material such as synthetic resin, rubber or paper is preferable. Since it is easy to bend the filter, it is easy to move the movement path.

  The above filter can be applied to an air conditioner such as an air conditioner, an air purifier, an ion generator, a dehumidifier, a humidifier, or a fan heater. In particular, it is suitable for an air conditioner having a driving means for moving the position of the filter. The gear which is the driving means can be moved by engaging the unevenness of the vertical frame of the filter. Furthermore, it is suitable for an air conditioner that moves the filter by bending it. Since the filter of the present invention has excellent flexibility in the moving direction, it is difficult for a load to be applied when the filter is bent and moved. Therefore, even if the moving path A of the filter is curved, it can follow the curve. The present invention can also be applied to an air conditioner provided with a moving path having a steep angle, such as an air conditioner whose moving path is housed in a casing.

  According to the present invention, the groove is formed in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction on the other surface side of the convex portion formed on one surface side of the vertical frame that supports the side of the filter, so that the filter frame is curved in the moving direction. Cheap. Therefore, even if it is bent and attached to the air conditioner, it has excellent durability and can prevent deformation and cracking.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the main part of the air conditioner of the present embodiment, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the main part of the air conditioner, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the filter, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the filter, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the vertical frame of the filter according to another embodiment. is there.

  The air conditioner includes an indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit (not shown). The indoor unit 1 includes a casing 4 in which a heat exchanger 2, an indoor fan 3, and the like are installed. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the casing 4 has a front panel 5 whose front opening is supported so as to be openable and closable, and a suction port formed in a lattice shape on the top surface side of the casing 4 to suck indoor air. 6 and a blower outlet 7 formed in the lower part of the front surface of the casing 4 for blowing out the hot and cold air subjected to heat exchange. The front opening of the casing 4 serves as an opening for mounting a filter 9 described later into the casing 4. The upper part of the front panel 5 is rotatably fixed to the side surface of the casing 4, and the front surface of the casing 4 can be opened by pulling the lower part upward. On the inner surface of the front panel 5, a contact portion 8 protruding in a convex shape is formed. The abutting portion 8 is formed at a portion facing a front plate 24 of a guide piece 19 described later, and can abut on the front plate 24 when the front panel 5 is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the casing 4, the indoor heat exchanger 2 disposed at a position facing the suction port 6 and the indoor air are sucked from the suction port 6, and heat is exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger 2. An indoor fan 3 for blowing out air from the air outlet 7 is provided. The indoor heat exchanger 2 is formed in an inverted V shape, and a substantially triangular space is formed on the front upper side thereof. A U-shaped movement path A for moving the filter 9 is provided from this space to a position along the inner surface of the suction port 6 of the casing 4. The moving path A is formed by the guide means 10, and both ends of the filter 9 are held by the guide means 10. Driving means 11 is provided inside the U-shaped moving path A, and reciprocates the filter 9 in the front-rear direction. Further, a cleaning unit 12 is provided in the middle of the movement path A, and the filter 9 is cleaned.

  The filter 9 includes a right filter and a left filter, and removes dust and dirt in the air sucked from the suction port 6. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the filter 9 includes a filter network 13 and a filter frame 14 that supports four sides of the filter network 13. The filter frame 14 includes a vertical frame 14a that supports the side and a horizontal frame 14b that supports the upper side and the lower side.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the vertical frame 14a is formed in a wave shape when viewed from the side. By forming it in a wave shape, unevenness that can mesh with a driven gear 32 of the driving means 11 described later is formed in the vertical direction (moving direction) on the inner surface side of the vertical frame 14a. The filter 9 can be moved back and forth by the rotation of the driven gear 32. Further, by forming the wave shape, the groove portion 14d is formed on the outer surface side of the convex portion 14c, and the convex portion 14c does not have to be thick. Therefore, since the filter is easily bent in the vertical direction, the filter 9 is easily folded back into a U shape.

  In addition, although the vertical frame 14a is formed so that all the thicknesses are the same, as shown in FIG. 12A, a part of the thickness may be different by forming the groove 14d shallowly. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the groove portion 14d may be formed in a narrow slit shape.

  The shape of the concavo-convex surface formed on the inner surface side of the vertical frame 14a is not limited as long as it can be meshed with the teeth of the driven gear 32, but the pitch of the concavo-convex and the tooth pitch of the driven gear 32 should be the same. preferable. Tooth skipping can be more effectively prevented.

  Further, ribs 15 are provided so as to divide the inside of the filter frame 14 into a lattice shape. The rib 15 is fixed to the filter net 13 and supports the filter net 13. It is possible to prevent the filter 9 from warping or wavy. The rib 15 includes a vertical rib 15a arranged in the vertical direction and a horizontal rib 15b arranged in the horizontal direction. The vertical ribs 15a are formed thin, and the horizontal ribs 15b are formed thicker than the vertical ribs 15a. With this configuration, the filter 9 can be easily bent in the vertical direction while maintaining the rigidity in the horizontal direction. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, the slit 16 is provided between the horizontal rib 15b and the vertical frame 14a of the filter frame 14, and both are made discontinuous. By making the vertical frame 14a and the horizontal rib 15b discontinuous, the vertical frame 14a is hardly affected by the horizontal rib 15b, so that the flexibility of the filter 9 in the vertical direction can be maintained. The material of the filter frame 14 may be any material as long as it is flexible, and any of synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and soft resin, rubber, and paper may be used.

  A filter mesh 13 that allows the air sucked from the suction port 6 to pass through is stretched at the top of the filter 9, but a thin resin sheet 13 a is used at the bottom of the filter 9 instead of the filter mesh 13. The lower part of the filter is structured to prevent air from passing therethrough. In addition, the resin sheet-like 13a is formed to be thin like the vertical ribs 15a, so that the flexibility in the vertical direction is secured over the entire filter 9. The filter net 13 may be stretched over the entire surface of the filter 9.

  The extensions of the upper and lower ends of the vertical frame 15a of the filter 9 are respectively connected to the vertical ribs 15a or the resin sheet-like 13a. That is, the vertical rib 15a is provided so as to be adjacent to the inside of the vertical frame 15a of the filter 9, and the extended portion of the upper end of the vertical frame 15a is connected to the upper end of the vertical rib 15a. Moreover, the extension part of the lower end of the vertical frame 15a and the resin-made sheet-like 13a are connected.

  The net material of the filter net 13 may be a combination of a pre-filter for removing dust and dust and a deodorizing filter for removing indoor odors, or any single filter.

  By configuring the filter 9 as described above, the entire filter 9 becomes soft and can be excellent in longitudinal flexibility and flexibility. Therefore, even if the filter 9 is mounted on the U-shaped moving path, it is excellent in durability and can prevent deformation and cracking of the filter 9. Further, it is easy to mesh with the driven gear 32 of the driving means 11, and tooth skipping hardly occurs.

  The guide means 10 is provided on the inner surface side of the side wall 17 of the casing 4, both side surfaces of the central body 18 that bridges the approximate center of the casing 4 in the front-rear direction, and the guide pieces 19. The guide means 10 includes an inner rail 21 that guides the inner peripheral side of the moving path A and an outer rail 22 that guides the outer peripheral side of the moving path A. The guide means 10 extends from the position 10a along the suction port 6 of the casing 4 to the folded position 10d folded back from the end through the connecting portion 10b and the position 10c along the front panel 5. It is formed in a U shape. Further, the position 10c along the front panel 5 of the guide means 10 and the connecting portion 10b located on the upstream side thereof are formed substantially in a straight line, and are bent at the boundary between them. If the end portion of the filter 9 is sandwiched between the inner rail 21 and the outer rail 22 of the guide means 10 formed in this way, the movement of the filter 9 can be guided to be substantially U-shaped. The length of the movement path A is preferably long enough to reach the position where the upper end of the filter 9 faces the cleaning means 12 when the filter 9 is moved downward. The upper end of the filter 9 can be cleaned.

  Further, the side wall 17 of the casing 4 and a part of the front end of the central body 18 are cut away, and the position 10 c along the front panel 5 of the guide means 10 is divided. A guide piece 19 is provided at the cut portion. The guide piece 19 is provided on the front side of the casing 4 with respect to the cleaning means 12. The guide piece 19 includes a side plate 23 arranged in parallel with the side wall 17 or the central body 18 of the casing 4 and a front plate 24 bent from the front end of the side plate 23 and facing the front surface of the casing 4. An inner rail 21 and an outer rail 22 are formed on the inner surface of the side plate 23 to form a position 10 c along the front panel 5 of the guide means 10.

  Moreover, the upper part of the side plate 23 of the guide piece 19 is extended rearward, and the rotation part 25 supported rotatably by the axis | shaft of the driven gear 32 mentioned later is formed. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, the guide piece 19 can pull up the lower portion toward the front with the rotation portion 25 as the center (open rotation). The opening of the rotating portion 25 may be manually performed, but an urging means may be provided so that the rotating portion 25 can be pulled upward, and by the restoring force for returning the filter 9 to the flat shape. It may be lifted naturally. By rotating the guide piece 19 open, the guide means 10 is divided and the moving path A opens forward. The filter 9 can be easily inserted into the movement path A from this opening.

  Further, the rotating portion 25 is formed at a bent portion that is a boundary between the position 10 c along the front panel 5 of the guide means 10 and the connecting portion 10 b located on the upper side. Since the position 10c along the front panel 5 of the guide means 10 and the connecting portion 10b located on the upper side thereof are each formed in a substantially linear shape, the guide piece 19 is opened and rotated to make them both linear. Can be arranged. Furthermore, when the guide piece 19 is opened and rotated, the guide means 10 (position 10c along the front panel 5) formed on the guide piece 19 and the guide means 10 (connecting portion 10b) formed on the casing 4 are provided. A stopper 20 for restricting the opening and turning of the guide piece 19 is provided above the guide piece 19 so as to stop when it is positioned in a straight line. If the guide means 10 is arranged in a straight line, the filter 9 can be easily inserted.

  Further, the inner rail 21 is not formed on the portion of the guide piece 19 that faces the rotating portion 25. When the front panel 5 is closed, the abutting portion 8 of the front panel 5 abuts on the front plate 24 of the guide piece 19, the guide piece 19 is pushed backward to rotate and close, and the guide piece 19 is in a closed posture. At this time, a part of the inner rail 21 of the guide piece 19 is not formed, and the drive gear 31 is provided facing the guide piece 19, so that the filter 9 is sandwiched between the guide piece 19 and the drive gear 31. The unevenness of the vertical frame 14a of the filter frame 14 and the teeth of the drive gear 31 can be automatically engaged. Therefore, the filter 9 can be easily mounted because the guide piece 19 can be closed and the drive gear 31 can be interlocked simply by closing the front panel 5.

  Furthermore, the lower part of the side plate 23 of the guide piece 19 extends rearward, and a locking portion 26 is provided. A protruding convex portion 27 is formed on the inner surface side of the locking portion 26, and is fitted and locked in a locking hole 28 provided in the side wall 17 of the casing 4 or the wall surface of the central body 18. The guide piece 19 can be fixed to the casing 4.

  A partition wall 29 for partitioning the installation area of the filter 9 is provided in the casing 4. The filter 9 can be prevented from coming into contact with the indoor heat exchanger 2. Moreover, it can prevent that a user touches accidentally at the time of front panel 5 opening. The partition wall 29 is formed in a lattice shape so as to allow air to flow. The partition wall 29 constitutes a part of the outer rail 22 of the guide means 10. Specifically, the partition wall 29 constitutes the outer rail 22 at the folding position 10 d of the guide means 10. Thus, by using the partition wall 29 together as the guide means 10, the number of parts does not increase.

  The driving means 11 is provided inside the inner rail 21 of the U-shaped guide means 10 and at a position facing the guide piece 19. The drive unit 11 is engaged with the drive gear 31 and rotated by the motor 30 that is a drive source, the drive gear 31 that is connected to the output shaft of the motor 30, the driven gear 32 that is engaged with the drive gear 31, and the drive gear 31. It comprises a roller gear 33. Note that a gear (not shown) is attached to the rotation shaft of the rubber roller gear 33, so that the roller gear can be rotated. The driven gear 32, the drive gear 31, and the roller gear 33 are arranged in this order from above. The driven gear 32 can move the filter 9 back and forth by meshing with the unevenness of the filter frame 14. The roller gear 33 is in contact with the filter 9 that has been folded back in a U shape on the roller surface, and assists the movement of the filter 9 by friction. Since the driving means 11 is provided at a position facing the guide piece 19, after the guide piece 19 is opened and rotated and the filter 9 is inserted into the movement path A, only the operation of closing the guide piece 19 is performed. Thus, the unevenness formed on the filter frame 14 and the teeth of the driven gear 32 can be easily meshed with each other.

  The cleaning means 12 is provided in the middle of the movement path A of the filter 9 and below the position facing the front end of the suction port 6 of the casing 4. The entire surface of the filter 9 facing the suction port 6 can be cleaned by the cleaning means 12. Further, the cleaning means 12 is provided in the connecting portion 10 b of the guide means 10. Since the connecting portion 10b is formed in a straight line, the filter 9 can be easily attached to the cleaning means 12. Furthermore, since the cleaning means 12 is provided on the front side of the casing 4, it is easy to attach the filter 9 to the cleaning means 12.

  The cleaning unit 12 includes a suction part 34, a suction device 35, and a cylindrical suction duct 36 for connecting the suction part 34 and the suction device 35. The suction portion 34 is composed of an upper case 37 and a lower case 38 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the front of the casing 4 is bridged in the lateral direction with the concave portions of the upper case 37 and the lower case 38 facing each other. In this way, it is fixed to the casing 4. There is a gap between the upper case 37 and the lower case 38, and the filter 9 can travel through this gap. A very narrow space is maintained between the upper case 37 and the lower case 38 and the surface of the filter 9. Both left and right ends of the suction part 34 are opened.

  The suction device 35 includes a suction fan (not shown) and a suction cover 39 that covers the periphery of the suction fan. A suction port (not shown) and an exhaust port 40 are opened in the suction cover 39, and the suction port and the opening of the suction part 34 are connected by a suction duct 36. The exhaust port 40 is connected to a duct (not shown) communicating with the outside. By rotating the suction fan, a suction force is generated, and the dust on the filter 9 can be sucked by the suction portion 34. The sucked air is exhausted from the exhaust port 40 to the outside.

  Further, the interval between the side walls of the upper case 37 and the lower case 38 is set to be substantially the same as the interval between the lateral ribs 15 b of the filter 9. When the side walls of the upper case 37 and the lower case 38 overlap with the lateral ribs 15b, the suction portion 34 becomes a substantially sealed space, so that the suction force is increased. In addition, although the suction-type thing was used as the cleaning means 12, the scraper-type thing by a brush may be used.

  According to the above configuration, the filter 9 is moved forward by the driving means 11 when the filter 9 is cleaned. At this time, since the movement path A is formed by the guide means 10 so as to be folded in a U shape in front of the casing 4, the front end of the filter 9 is guided to the rear side (downstream side) while curving with the forward movement. The Thus, since the moving path A for moving the filter 9 within the casing 4 is provided, the filter 9 does not protrude out of the casing 4. Therefore, it is not necessary to open the front panel 5 at the time of cleaning. Moreover, since the filter 9 is plate-shaped, it is easy to remove only the filter 9 from the casing 4.

  Moreover, since the filter frame 14 of the filter 9 is formed in a wave shape, the filter frame 14 is easily bent and easily folded back into a U shape. Therefore, the curved movement path A can be followed.

  Furthermore, since a part of the guide means 10 is provided on the rotatable guide piece 19, the guide means 10 is divided by opening and turning the guide piece 19, and the moving path A opens forward. To do. Since the filter 9 can be attached and detached from this opening, it is easy to attach and detach the filter.

  Further, by rotating the guide piece 19 open, the guide means 10 (position 10c along the front panel 5) formed on the guide piece 19 and the guide means 10 (connecting portion 10b) formed on the casing 4 are provided. However, since it is arranged in a straight line, the filter 9 can be inserted more easily. Moreover, since the cleaning means 12 is provided in the connection part 10b of the guide means 10 formed in linear form, it is easy to attach or detach the filter 9 also to the cleaning means 12.

  Further, when the front panel 5 is closed, the contact portion 8 of the front panel 5 contacts the front plate 24 of the guide piece 19 and the guide piece 19 is pushed rearward to rotate and close, so that the guide piece 19 is closed. Become posture. At this time, since the drive gear 31 is provided facing the guide piece 19, the unevenness of the filter frame 14 and the teeth of the drive gear 31 are automatically meshed with each other. Therefore, the filter 9 can be easily mounted because the guide piece 19 can be closed and the drive gear 31 can be interlocked simply by closing the front panel 5. In the present embodiment, the front panel 5 has been described as rotating, but it may be moved in parallel with the casing 4.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, many corrections and changes can be added to the said embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the air conditioner is not limited to the separate type in which the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit are separated, and may be an integrated type. The air conditioner is not limited to an air conditioner, and may be any of an air cleaner, an ion generator, a dehumidifier, a humidifier, or a fan heater.

The perspective view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner of this embodiment Cross section of the air conditioner 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Cross section of the air conditioner with the front panel open The perspective view which shows the principal part of the air conditioner of this embodiment. The perspective view which similarly shows the principal part of an air conditioner Perspective view of filter 7 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Front view of the filter A-A cross section BB cross section Side view of vertical frame of filter of other embodiment

Explanation of symbols

A Movement path 1 Indoor unit 4 Casing 5 Front panel 8 Contact portion 9 Filter 10 Guide means 11 Driving means 12 Cleaning means 13 Filter net 14 Filter frame 15 Rib 17 Side wall 18 Central body 19 Guide piece 20 Stopper 21 Inner rail 22 Outer rail 23 Side plate 24 Front plate 25 Rotating portion 26 Locking portion 27 Protruding portion 28 Locking hole 29 Partition wall
30 Motor 34 Suction part 35 Suction device 36 Suction duct

Claims (6)

A filter net and a vertical frame that supports the side edge of the filter net are provided, and an unevenness for engaging with a driving means for moving the filter is formed on one surface side of the vertical frame along the moving direction. A groove characterized in that a groove is formed in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction on the other surface side of the convex portion formed by the above. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the vertical frame is formed in a side view wave shape. The filter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a transverse rib extending in a width direction is fixed to the filter net, and the transverse rib and the vertical frame are discontinuous. The said vertical frame has flexibility, The filter in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. An air conditioner provided with a curved moving path for moving the filter and a driving means for moving the filter, wherein the filter according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is a gear that is the driving means. An air conditioner characterized by being meshed. The air conditioning apparatus characterized in that the movement path is provided in a casing.

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