JP2007255731A - Indoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner, automatically removing dust adhering to an air filter, smoothly guiding the removed dust without adhering to an exhaust fan formed of a centrifugal fan, preventing clogging due to dust, and improving dust discharge efficiency and ventilation performance. <P>SOLUTION: The air filters 17, 20 are disposed between suction ports 4, 5 and a blow-off port 6 in the indoor unit body 1, an exhaust unit 11 includes a scroll-shaped fan casing 90 provided with an intake port 90a and an exhaust port 90b, the exhaust fan 99 formed of the centrifugal fan is housed in the interior, an air filter cleaning mechanism S removes dust from the air filter, the tip of a connection hose 42 extended from the air filter cleaning mechanism is connected to a fan casing along the flowing direction of an air current generated in the fan casing with the rotation of the exhaust fan on the scroll peripheral surface of the fan casing, and a guide projection 100 is provided on the upstream side in the flowing direction of the air current generated in the fan casing at a connecting part of the connection hose in the fan casing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner that has a function of exhausting indoor air to the outdoors, a function of automatically removing dust from a filter, and a function of exhausting the removed dust to the outdoors. About.

In a common house such as a general house or an apartment, in recent years, indoor heat insulation has been increased and airtightness has been improved. Furthermore, as the importance of ventilation is increasing with the revision of the Building Standards Act, air-conditioning indoor units have built-in fans for exhaust, and ventilation and cooling functions have become mainstream. It's getting on.
When the above exhaust fan is built into an indoor unit, connect the exhaust duct to the indoor unit body and combine it with refrigerant piping, drain hose, wiring cable to the outdoor unit, etc., and insert it into the piping hole provided on the wall. To do. Thus, the dirty air in the room can be exhausted to the outside from the exhaust fan through the exhaust duct, or fresh outside air can be taken into the room. As the exhaust fan, a centrifugal fan having a scroll casing is often used so that an air volume can be secured against a high pressure loss of the exhaust duct.

On the other hand, in recent years, since the energy saving performance of the air-conditioning operation in the air conditioner has been improved, the air volume processed by the indoor unit is also increasing. Accordingly, a filter that prevents dust from adhering to the heat exchanger and the blower fan increases the amount of dust trapped in a short time. If the amount of dust that accumulates and accumulates exceeds a certain range, clogging occurs, resulting in a large pressure loss and a reduction in the amount of blown air, leading to deterioration in energy saving performance.
Although this can be easily solved by frequently removing the filter from the indoor unit body and cleaning it, it is difficult to say that the user is easy to clean because the general indoor unit is hung on a high place near the ceiling. It is in the installation situation. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide an automatic cleaning function for the filter in the indoor unit. For example, a proposal as described in [Patent Document 1] has been made.
JP 2004-278923 A

The technique of the above [Patent Document 1] automatically cleans a filter, collects dust adhering to the filter, and discharges it outdoors using a fan. Therefore, the user needs to bother the user directly semi-permanently as compared with a structure in which the dust collected by cleaning the filter is simply stored in the container and the user himself cleans and discards the dust from the container. There is no.
However, in the method of discharging dust to the outdoors using a fan, providing a filter for the suction of the fan cannot be an essential solution for the purpose of use. Therefore, the fan is always exposed to dust and is in a state where dust is likely to adhere.

  If the dust discharge fan is used for a long time, dust adheres to and accumulates on the impeller constituting the fan. In particular, a centrifugal fan that is frequently used as a dust discharge fan has an extremely large number of blades compared to a propeller fan or a cross-flow fan. The narrower the multi-blade fan between the blades, the more easily dust adheres and the blades are easily clogged. Therefore, it is a cause of malfunctions such as a decrease in function for discharging dust and a reduction in ventilation, which is the original function.

  The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to automatically remove dust adhering to the air filter, and when the removed dust is discharged outdoors, the dust is placed between the fan blades. It is intended to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can be smoothly guided without adhering to it, prevent clogging with dust, and improve dust discharge efficiency and ventilation performance.

In order to satisfy the above object, the indoor unit of an air conditioner of the present invention includes a suction port and a blowout port in the indoor unit body, and the air filter is placed in the ventilation path between the suction port and the blowout port in the indoor unit body. Arranged to capture dust contained in room air, equipped with an exhaust unit, sucked indoor air into the indoor unit body and discharged it outdoors, and equipped with an air filter cleaning mechanism to remove dust attached to the air filter surface And
The exhaust unit includes a scroll-shaped fan casing provided with an exhaust port at a peripheral end, and a centrifugal fan is accommodated in the fan casing, and the air filter cleaning mechanism includes a connection hose that guides dust removed from the air filter. The front end of the connecting hose is connected to the scroll peripheral surface of the fan casing in the direction along the flow direction of the airflow generated in the fan casing with the rotation of the centrifugal fan. The guide protrusion is provided on the upstream side in the flow direction of the airflow generated in the fan casing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the exhaust fan from being clogged with dust, and to improve the dust discharge efficiency and the ventilation performance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the indoor unit body 1 with the front panel 2 removed. (Note that parts not marked in the description are not shown. The same applies hereinafter.)
The indoor unit main body 1 is composed of a front panel 2 and a rear plate casing 3 that constitute a front casing, and is horizontally long in the width direction with respect to the vertical direction. A front suction port 4 is opened at a part of the front side of the indoor unit body 1, and a movable panel 2 </ b> A supported by an opening / closing drive mechanism is fitted into the front panel 2 facing the front suction port 4.

When the operation is stopped as shown in FIG. 1, the movable panel 2A is joined to the surface of the front panel 2 to become the same surface and closes the front suction port 4. A clearance communicating with the room is generated, and the front suction port 4 is controlled to open to the room. An upper surface suction port 5 is provided in the upper part of the indoor unit body 1. A frame-like crosspiece is fitted into the upper surface suction port 5 and is partitioned into a plurality of spaces by the crosspiece.
A blow-out opening 6 is opened at the front lower portion of the indoor unit body 1, and two blow-out louvers 7a and 7b are provided in parallel in the blow-out opening 6. The blowout louvers 7a and 7b can open and close the blowout opening 6 according to their respective rotation postures and set the blowout direction of the heat exchange air according to operating conditions.

In the indoor unit body 1, a heat exchanger 8 formed in a substantially inverted V shape by the front heat exchanger portion 8A and the rear heat exchanger portion 8B is disposed. An electrical component box 9 is juxtaposed on the side. The front heat exchanger section 8A is formed in a substantially parallel curved shape with a gap with the front panel 2, and faces the front suction port 4 and the upper suction port 5. The rear heat exchanger portion 8B is formed in a straight shape, and is opposed to the upper surface inlet 5 while being inclined obliquely.
An indoor fan 10 is disposed between the front and rear heat exchanger portions 8A and 8B of the heat exchanger 8. The indoor blower 10 includes a fan motor disposed in a space on one side end of the indoor unit main body 1 and a cross-flow fan in which one support shaft is connected to a rotation shaft of the fan motor. And the exhaust unit 11 mentioned later only shown in FIG. 2 is provided in the position adjacent to the bearing part which supports the other spindle of the said cross flow fan.

The lower end portion of the front heat exchanger portion 8A is placed on the front drain pan 12a, and the lower end portion of the rear heat exchanger portion 8B is placed on the rear drain pan 12b. The front and rear drain pans 12a and 12b receive drain water dropped from the respective heat exchanger portions 8A and 8B, and can drain the water to the outside through a drain hose (not shown).
The outer surfaces of the side walls of the front and rear drain pans 12a and 12b are provided close to the indoor blower 10 and constitute a nose for the crossflow fan of the indoor blower 10. A partition wall member 14 connects the side wall portions of the front and rear drain pans 12a and 12b, which are noses, and the side portions of the outlet port 6. A space surrounded by the partition member 14 is a blowout ventilation path 15 that communicates the nose and the blowout opening 9.

On the other hand, a frame assembly 16 is interposed between the front panel 2 and the front surface side to the upper surface side of the heat exchanger 8, and this frame assembly 16 is attached to the front panel 2 via an attachment. Two front left and right front air filters 17, 17 are attached to the front surface of the frame assembly 16, and an air purification unit 18, which is a secondary air filter, is installed inside the front air filters 17, 17. Two upper and lower air filters 20, 20 are attached to the upper surface of the frame assembly 16.
In other words, the front air filter 17 and the air purification unit 18 are interposed between the front suction port 4 and the front heat exchanger portion 8 </ b> A constituting the heat exchanger 8. Further, the upper air filter 20 is interposed between the upper surface suction port 5, a part of the front heat exchanger portion 8A and the rear heat exchanger portion 8B.

Both the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20 are divided into two parts on the left and right sides of the intermediate part in the width direction of the heat exchanger 8. Each of the air filters 17 and 20 has a width dimension of a central reinforcing bar a provided on the upper and lower sides along the width direction of the main body in the peripheral frame and a middle portion in the width direction and orthogonal to the width direction. It is formed larger than the crosspiece. A mesh portion b having a predetermined mesh is provided in an opening formed between the frames.
The air cleaning unit 18 includes a pair of left and right electrostatic precipitators 22 and 22 and a dust collector power supply unit 23 disposed on one electric precipitator 22 side. Each electrostatic precipitator 22 includes a charge-side electrode that gives electric charge to dust in the flowing air, and a dust-collection-side electrode that captures the charged dust. Each electrode surface is coated with a deodorizing agent that adsorbs odorous components contained in the air, and has both a dust collecting function and a deodorizing function as an electric dust collector.

On the other hand, an air filter cleaning mechanism S is attached between the upper end of each front air filter 17 and the front end of each upper air filter 20. This air filter cleaning mechanism S is formed in the width direction length same as the width direction length of the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20, and has a certain thickness dimension in the front-back direction.
The air filter cleaning mechanism S is disposed so as to face a portion between the front suction port 4 and the upper suction port 5 and is in a so-called corner portion where the front surface portion and the upper surface portion of the front panel 2 intersect. This is a dead space that is inevitably formed between the front panel 2 and the heat exchanger 8.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the frame assembly 16, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the frame assembly 16.
In FIG. 3, the front air filter 17, the upper air filter 20, and the air filter cleaning mechanism S are shown, but the air cleaning unit 18 is omitted. FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross section of the front air filter 17, the upper air filter 20, the air filter cleaning mechanism S, and the air cleaning unit storage portion 16 a.
The opening on the front side of the frame assembly 16 serves as an air purification unit housing 16a to which the air purification unit 18 is attached. That is, a pair of electric dust collectors 22 constituting the air cleaning unit 18 is detachably attached to the air cleaning unit storage portion 16a, and the dust collector power source portion 23 is attached and fixed to the air cleaning unit storage portion 16a.

Since each said electrostatic precipitator 22 is the mutually same structure, you may attach in any position of right and left. In a state where each electric dust collector 22 is attached to a predetermined portion of the air cleaning unit storage portion 16a, the electric dust collectors 22 are electrically connected to each other with a dust collector power source 23, and the dust collector power source 23 is further connected to the inside of the electric component box 9. Electrically connected to electrical components.
A front air filter 17 is supported on the front surface side of the air cleaning unit storage portion 16a so as to be movable upward, and a space is provided on the front side of the front air filter 17 in which the upper air filter 20 can be stored. A front side air filter storage portion 16b is provided. The upper air filter 20 is supported on the upper surface side opening of the frame assembly 16 so as to be movable forward, and the upper surface side of the upper air filter 20 has a space in which the front air filter 17 can be accommodated. An air filter storage portion 16c is provided.

As will be described later, the upper end of the front air filter 17 is inserted into the air filter cleaning mechanism S in a normal state (during non-dust removal operation) with respect to the front air filter 17. Similarly, the front end of the upper air filter 20 is inserted into the air filter cleaning mechanism S in a normal state (during non-dust removal operation) with respect to the upper air filter 20.
If the front panel 2 of the indoor unit body 1 is opened, the front and upper air filters 17 and 20 can be easily detached from the front and upper air filter storage portions 16b and 16c. In addition, the pair of electrostatic precipitators 22 constituting the air cleaning unit 18 can be easily detached from the air cleaning unit storage portion 16a.

The air filter cleaning mechanism S is detachable from an air filter cleaning mechanism mounting portion 16d provided between the front side air filter storage portion 16b and the upper surface side air filter storage portion 16c of the frame assembly 16 except for a part thereof. Configured to be.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, a drive source for driving the air filter cleaning mechanism S and an air filter moving mechanism 55 described later is provided at one side of the frame assembly 16 so as to face the air filter cleaning mechanism S. And the drive part 25 provided with the drive mechanism is attached. On the side of the drive unit 25, the electric component box 9 (not shown) is arranged here.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 again, the air filter cleaning mechanism S accommodates the rotating brush 30 that removes dust adhering to the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20, and the rotating brush 30. A dust box 32 having a dust receiving passage 31 for collecting dust removed by the rotating brush 30 and a seal member 34 capable of opening and closing an opening 33 provided in the dust box 32 are configured.
The dust box 32 is a combination of a box case and a box cover, and accommodates the rotating brush 30 in a state of surrounding the rotating brush 30 along the axial direction. The opening 33 is provided on the lower surface of the box case, from which a part of the rotating brush 30 is exposed.
The seal member 34 is disposed below the opening 33 so as to face the opening 33, and is formed of a flexible elastic material such as synthetic rubber, and is supported by a lift mechanism. Normally, the seal member 34 is located at a position away from the portion of the rotating brush 30 exposed from the opening 33, and the opening 33 can be closed by operating the lift mechanism.

The dust receiving passage 31 is formed on the side of the rotating brush 30 and along the axial direction of the rotating brush 30, and is closed except for the opening 33 where a part of the peripheral surface of the rotating brush 30 is exposed. The dust receiving passage 31 forms a passage surface below the axis of the rotating brush 30 and can reliably receive dust.
A scraping projection 35 is provided between the dust receiving passage 31 and the rotating brush 30 in the dust box 32. The scraping projection 35 is always inserted into the bristles of the rotary brush 30 and is in a position where the bristles are in sliding contact with the rotation of the rotary brush 30. That is, even if dust adheres to the tips of the rotating brush 30, the scraping projection 35 can efficiently scrape off dust adhering to the rotating brush 30 as the rotating brush 30 rotates.

The dust box 32 is molded from an antistatic resin material and subjected to antibacterial treatment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent adhesion of dust and generation of mold and maintain a clean state for a long time. Similarly, the antibacterial treatment of the rotating brush 30 can be used to prevent adhesion of dust and generation of mold and maintain a clean state for a long time.
In the dust box 32, a smooth surface treatment is applied to the dust contact portion so that the movement of the dust is smooth. The dust receiving passage 31 is designed to have a cross-sectional area of substantially the entire area and a thrust diameter of 12 mm or more, and the pressure loss is reduced in the dust removal operation, and the flow of wind is smooth. The ridge line in the dust receiving passage 31 forms a curved surface of R2 mm or more on the windward side, thereby reliably preventing the occurrence of problems such as dust being caught and not moving.

As will be described later, the dust box opening 33 is closed by the sealing member 34 and the dust in the dust receiving passage 31 is discharged to the exhaust unit 11. Various experiments have revealed that the dust in the dust receiving passage 31 can be reliably moved by setting the wind speed at the end of the dust receiving passage 31 to be 2 m / s or more.
The drive unit 25 includes four drive motors 46 to 49, and a casing 51 that houses a gear assembly formed by attaching the drive motors 46 to 49 to the side surface and meshing a plurality of gears therein. . The first drive motor 46 and the second drive motor 47 are drive sources for the front moving mechanism 52 that moves the front air filter 17 and the upper moving mechanism 53 that moves the upper air filter 20, respectively.

The front moving mechanism 52 and the upper moving mechanism 53 constitute the air filter moving mechanism 55. In order to secure the required torque of the air filter moving mechanism 55, it is basically sufficient to prepare one large drive motor. However, if a large motor is attached to the frame assembly 16, it will interfere with the electrical component box 9 and the front panel 2 because it has a large diameter. Therefore, two small drive motors 46 and 47 having half the required torque are prepared to eliminate the problem of the installation space.
The third drive motor 48 constitutes a brush drive mechanism that drives the rotary brush 30. The fourth drive motor 49 drives a switching mechanism that selects and switches to transmit the driving force of the first and second drive motors 46 and 47 to either the front moving mechanism 52 or the upper moving mechanism 53. belongs to.

The front moving mechanism 52 and the upper moving mechanism 53 include a pair of support shafts 75a and 75b along both sides of the seal member 34 that opens and closes the opening 33 of the dust box 32. A predetermined gear of the gear train is fitted and fixed to one end portion (right end portion) of each of the support shafts 75a and 75b.
Drive gears 76 and 77 are fitted and fixed to the front portions of the support shafts 75a and 75b at portions of the front and upper air filters 17 and 20 facing the central reinforcing bar a. Some of these drive gears 76 and 77 protrude from the opening provided in the frame assembly 16. Further, racks (spur gears) 78 are provided along the back surface of the central reinforcing bar a, and the drive gears 76 and 77 protruding from the opening of the frame assembly 16 mesh with each rack 78 as so-called pinion gears. To do.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a connection structure between the air filter cleaning mechanism S and the exhaust unit 11, FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the inside of the exhaust unit 11, and FIG. 7 is a side cover of the fan casing 90 constituting the exhaust unit 11. FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic cross-sectional views showing different states of a part of the exhaust unit 11.
The exhaust unit 11 originally has a ventilation function for discharging the air on the primary side or the secondary side of the heat exchanger 8 to the outside after taking in the room air into the indoor unit body 1. Here, in addition to the ventilation function, as described later, it also serves as an intake / exhaust device that sucks dust collected by the air filter cleaning mechanism S from the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20 and discharges it to the outdoors.

A hole is provided at an end portion (not shown) of the dust box 32 constituting the air filter cleaning mechanism S. The other end is open, and this opening is covered by a discharge box 41 provided in the frame assembly 16 with the air filter cleaning mechanism S attached to the frame assembly 16. The discharge box 41 is integrally provided with a hose connection portion 41a, and one end portion of the connection hose 42 is connected thereto.
The connection hose 42 is bent so as to form a gentle curve as a whole, and the other end is connected to a connection portion 91 provided in the exhaust unit 11. That is, since the dust removed from the upper air filters 17 and 20 circulates in the connection hose 42, consideration is given to avoid clogging in the middle.

The fan casing 90 constituting the exhaust unit 11 is formed in a scroll shape, and a mounting hole 93 is provided in a part of the peripheral surface. A dust guiding case 95 having the connecting portion 91 and the dust discharge path 94 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the fan casing 90 so as to communicate with the mounting hole 93. The connection hose 42 connected to the connection portion 91 communicates with the inside of the fan casing 90 of the exhaust unit 11 through the dust discharge path 94.
A wind damper 96 is provided in the middle of the dust discharge path 94 in the dust guide case 95, and the wind damper 96 is covered with a damper case 97. Therefore, the dust guided from the connection hose 42 to the dust discharge path 94 is introduced into the fan casing 90 of the exhaust unit 11 through the wind damper 96.

The wind damper 96 is made of a plate that is bent into a substantially U shape when viewed from the side, and the damper case 97 is formed to match the shape of the wind damper 96 and protrudes from the dust guide case 95. To do. One end of the wind damper 96 is rotatably supported by the dust guide case 95 via the support shaft u, and the other end of the wind damper 96 hangs down on the dust discharge path 94 due to gravity, thereby closing the dust discharge path 94. .
When a wind pressure of a predetermined pressure or higher is applied to the connection hose 42, the other end of the wind damper 96 is pushed upward by the wind pressure, and the dust discharge path 94 is opened. If the wind pressure exceeding the predetermined pressure disappears from this state, the wind damper 96 closes the dust discharge path 94 again.
The exhaust unit 11 includes an open / close damper (blocking means) 98 provided in an intake port 90a that opens at the center of the side surface of the fan casing 90, a drive mechanism that drives the open / close damper 98 to open and close the intake port 90a, and The exhaust fan 99 includes a centrifugal fan disposed in the fan casing 90, and a fan motor that drives the exhaust fan 99.

The opening / closing damper 98 includes a disk-shaped partition plate that covers the air inlet 90a and a disk-shaped damper that is rotatably overlapped on the surface of the partition plate. Has an opening at a predetermined site. That is, the disk-shaped damper is rotated so that both opening positions are opposed to each other, or the opening positions are shifted and closed.
One of the openings communicates with the secondary space of the heat exchanger 8 and the other of the heat exchanger 8 before passing through the upper air filters 17 and 20 and being led to the heat exchanger 8. It communicates with the primary space. The drive mechanism of the open / close damper 98 rotationally drives the open / close damper 98 based on a control signal.

As schematically shown in FIG. 8B, when the secondary ventilation mode is selected, the open / close damper 98 opens the intake port 90a and passes through the heat exchanger 8 from the upper air filters 17 and 20 in front. The heat exchanger secondary air is guided to the exhaust fan 99. Further, when the primary side ventilation mode is selected, the operation of leading the heat exchanger primary air before passing through the upper air filters 17 and 20 and being led to the heat exchanger 8 to the exhaust fan 99 is performed.
The selection of the primary side ventilation mode and the secondary side ventilation mode is selected according to the indoor environmental conditions and the state in the indoor unit body 1. Further, as schematically shown in FIG. 8A, when the fully closed mode is selected, the open / close damper 98 closes the intake port 90a.
The fan casing 90 includes an exhaust port 90b, and an exhaust duct is connected to the exhaust port 90b. The portion of the fan casing 90 in which the exhaust port 90 b is provided from the mounting hole 93 to which the dust guiding case 95 is attached is formed so as to be farthest from the tip of the blade plate constituting the exhaust fan 99. The exhaust duct passes through the mounting wall surface of the indoor unit body 1 and protrudes outdoors, and the exhaust unit 11 communicates with the outdoors via the exhaust duct.

The connection hose 42 that communicates the air filter cleaning mechanism S and the exhaust unit 11 is connected to a dust guide case 95 provided between the air inlet 90 a and the air outlet 90 b of the fan casing 90. Therefore, if the opening / closing damper 98 closes the intake port 90 a and rotationally drives the exhaust fan 99, negative pressure is applied to the air filter cleaning mechanism S side via the connection hose 42.
Next, the operation of the indoor unit of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described.
When the user presses the operation button on the remote control (remote control panel), the indoor blower 10 is driven and the air cleaning unit 18 is activated. Further, the compressor is driven in the outdoor unit communicating with the indoor unit via the refrigerant pipe, and the refrigeration cycle operation is started. The room air is guided into the indoor unit body 1 from the front inlet 4 and the upper inlet 5 and passes through the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20 which are divided into two.

At this time, dust contained in the room air is captured by the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20. The room air from which dust has been removed by the front air filter 17 passes through a pair of electrostatic precipitators 22 constituting the air purification unit 18, and finer dust is electrically collected and deodorized.
The cleaned indoor air flows through the heat exchanger 8 and performs a heat exchange action with the refrigerant led to the room air. After that, the heat exchange air is guided along the blowout ventilation path 15, guided from the blowout opening 6 to the blowout louvers 7a and 7b and blown into the room, and the efficient air conditioning operation is continued.

The user selects the “air filter cleaning mode” on the remote control, or after the air conditioning operation is finished every predetermined period, or at a preset time or a predetermined time zone, etc. Is done automatically. At this time, the control unit sends drive signals to the first, second, and third drive motors 46, 47, and 48 in the drive unit 25.
Initially, the front moving mechanism 52 constituting the air filter moving mechanism 55 is driven, and at the same time, the brush driving mechanism is activated. A drive signal is sent to the fourth drive motor 49 at the end of selection of the previous air filter cleaning mode, and no drive signal is sent at the start of this cleaning mode.

In the front moving mechanism 52, the support shaft 75a and the drive gear 76 attached to the support shaft 75a are rotationally driven. As the drive gear 76 rotates, the rack 78 provided on the central reinforcing bar a of the front air filter 17 meshing with the drive gear 76 moves. Accordingly, the front air filters 17 start to move by the same amount reliably at the same time, gradually move up from the front side air filter storage portion 16b, and are guided to the air filter cleaning mechanism S.
In the air filter cleaning mechanism S, the lift mechanism is folded flat, the seal member 34 is in the lowered position, and the opening 33 of the dust box 32 is opened. The front air filter 17 passes through a gap formed between the lower end of the dust box 32 and the seal member 34. That is, the front air filter 17 faces the rotating brush 30 sequentially from the upper end to the lower end side, and moves upward while sliding.

The dust adhering to the front air filter 17 is smoothly and reliably scraped off and removed by the rotating brush 30. The dust transferred from the front air filter 17 to the rotary brush 30 is immediately scraped off from the rotary brush 30 by the scraping projection 35 and falls into the dust receiving passage 31. Since the dust receiving passage 31 has a sealed structure except that a portion facing the rotating brush 30 is opened, dust does not scatter to the periphery.
The front air filter 17 is inserted into the upper surface side air filter storage portion 16c while dust is removed by the rotating brush 30. That is, the front air filter 17 is guided on the upper surface side of the upper air filter 20 so as to face each other with a narrow gap therebetween. When the upper end of the front air filter 17 is inserted into the rear end of the upper surface side air filter storage portion 16c, the control unit temporarily controls the first and second drive motors 46 and 47 to stop.

Next, the control unit sends a drive signal that rotates in the reverse direction to the first and second drive motors 46 and 47. The third drive motor 48 is controlled to increase the rotation speed, although the rotation direction does not change. The gears constituting the gear train rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction described above, and the front moving mechanism 52 moves the front air filters 17 downward by the same amount simultaneously. It should be noted that the fourth drive motor is kept stopped.
Although all dust is removed from the front air filter 17 by the dust removing action when the front air filter 17 described above moves upward, depending on conditions, dust may still remain in the front air filter 17 There is. However, since the front air filter 17 is also slidably contacted with the rotary brush 30 when moving downward, all the remaining dust is reliably removed.

The front air filter 17 exits from the upper surface side air filter storage portion 16c and completely returns to the front side air filter storage portion 16b. The control unit that senses this state sends a stop signal to the first and second drive motors 46 and 47. Therefore, the dust removing action on the front air filter 17 is finished.
Next, the control unit sends a drive signal to the fourth drive motor 49, operates a feed switching mechanism in the gear assembly, and sends a drive signal to the first and second drive motors 46, 47. A control drive signal having the same rotational speed as that when the upper air filter 20 is moved backward is sent to the third drive motor 48.
The upper moving mechanism 53 operates, and the support shaft 75b and the drive gear 77 attached to the support shaft 75b rotate. As the drive gear 77 rotates, the rack 78 provided on the central reinforcing bar a of the upper air filter 20 that meshes with the drive gear 77 moves. Each of the upper air filters 20 starts to move at the same time by the same amount and gradually moves out of the upper surface side air filter storage portion 16c and is guided to the air filter cleaning mechanism S.

The upper air filter 20 guided to the air filter cleaning mechanism S passes through the dust box 32 and dust is removed by the rotating brush 30. The removed dust is collected in the dust receiving passage 31 and is not scattered around.
When the upper air filter 20 moves to a position facing the front side of the front air filter 17 in the front side air filter housing portion 16b with a gap, the control unit turns the first and second drive motors 46, 47 on. Control to stop once. Then, a reverse rotation drive signal is sent to the first and second drive motors 46 and 47 to drive the drive gear 77 in the reverse rotation and raise the upper air filter 20.

A drive signal is sent to the third drive motor 48, and the stop state is continued for the fourth drive motor 49. The upper air filter 20 comes into sliding contact with the rotating brush 30 again, and the remaining dust is reliably removed. When the upper air filter 20 returns to the upper surface side air filter housing portion 16c again, the first and second drive motors 46 and 47 and the third drive motor 48 are stopped. Therefore, the dust removing action on the upper air filter 20 is completed.
When the cleaning operation for the front air filter 17 and the upper air filter 20 is completed, the control unit sends a drive signal to the fourth drive motor 49 to operate the lift mechanism. The seal member 34 is biased upward and is in close contact with the lower surface of the dust box 32. The opening 33 provided on the lower surface of the dust box 32 is completely closed by the seal member 34.

Next, the control unit selects the fully closed mode for the exhaust unit 11, whereby the open / close damper 98 closes the intake port 90 a. Further, a drive signal is sent to the exhaust fan 99, and the exhaust fan 99 is rotationally driven. As the exhaust fan 99 is driven, negative pressure is applied to the dust discharge path 94 of the dust guiding case 95, and the wind damper 96 provided here opens the dust discharge path 94.
The negative pressure acts on the air filter cleaning mechanism S from the dust discharge path 94 via the connection hose 42 and the discharge box 41, and the dust in the dust receiving passage 31 is sucked. The dust comes out of the dust box 32 and is guided to the connection hose 42. Since the material of the dust box 32 itself is selected to perform surface treatment and the conditions for allowing dust to easily pass through the dust receiving passage 31 are adjusted, the dust is quickly and reliably discharged without stagnation and exhausted from the connection hose 42. Guided to unit 11.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the flow of dust in the exhaust unit 11.
The dust guided from the connection hose 42 to the fan casing 90 moves along the inner peripheral surface of the fan casing 90 and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 90b, as indicated by broken line arrows in the figure. In other words, when the intake port 90a is closed by the open / close damper 98 and the exhaust fan 99 is rotationally driven, the flow in the centrifugal direction from the inner periphery to the outer periphery of the impeller of the exhaust fan 99 is not generated. An induced airflow that rotates with the impeller is generated around the car.
Most of the induced airflow generated on the outer peripheral side of the impeller of the exhaust fan 99 is peeled off at the nose portion of the fan casing 90 formed in a scroll shape. Accordingly, the pressure inside the fan casing 90 is negative, and an intake capacity is generated in the mounting hole 93.

The dust guided from the air filter cleaning mechanism S to the mounting hole 93 through the connection hose 42 is discharged outside without adhering to the exhaust fan 99 in the casing 90. That is, the amount of dust adhering to the exhaust fan 99 is suppressed, the cleanliness of the exhaust fan 99 is maintained for a long time, and the deterioration of the blowing performance is prevented.
FIG. 10 is a view showing a connection structure of the connection hose 42 to the fan casing 90 as a comparative example, and FIG. 11 is a view showing a connection structure of the connection hose 42 to the fan casing 90 in the embodiment of the present invention.

That is, in order to improve the dust discharging performance in the exhaust unit 11, it is necessary to reduce the pressure loss at the time of merging inflow from the connection hose 42 into the fan casing 90 as much as possible. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the connection hose 42 may be made to flow in substantially the same direction so as to follow the airflow in the fan casing 90 that is the same as the rotation direction of the exhaust fan 99.
Without considering such circumstances, for example, when the connection hose 42 is connected in a direction orthogonal to the air flow, the dust removed from the connection hose 42 is guided while the exhaust fan 99 is driven to rotate. An air flow toward the exhaust port 90b is generated in the casing 90. However, as soon as the dust guided to the connection hose 42 enters the fan casing 90, it collides with the airflow flowing in the fan casing 90.

That is, since the flow direction of the airflow flowing in the fan casing 90 is about 90 ° or an angle close to 90 ° with respect to the flow direction of the dust guided to the connection hose 42, a collision is inevitable. For this reason, the bending loss of the dust guided from the connection hose 42 into the fan casing 90 becomes large, and the flow separation occurs to generate many small vortex flows, resulting in a large pressure loss.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the direction in which the connection hose 42 is connected to the fan casing 90 is generated in the fan casing 90 in accordance with the rotation of the exhaust fan 99. It is set so as to follow the flow direction of the airflow. In other words, the connecting direction of the fan casing 90 of the connection hose 42 is set along a concentric tangential direction that is the same as the rotation direction of the exhaust fan 99.

Dust guided from the connection hose 42 into the fan casing 90 joins the airflow in a smooth state and is guided without bending loss or flow separation. Therefore, the pressure loss is suppressed to a small level and the exhaust pressure is increased. Increased air volume can be obtained.
However, even with the above configuration, some defects remain. Specifically, when the flow guided along the inner wall surface of the fan casing 90 out of the circulating flow formed with the rotation of the exhaust fan 99 passes through the mounting hole 93 connecting the connection hose 42, The dust flow which is going to be guided into the fan casing 90 from the connection hose 42 is pressed.

FIG. 12 is a fan suction characteristic diagram in the fan casing 90, where the vertical axis represents the static pressure coefficient and the horizontal axis represents the flow coefficient.
When the configuration shown in FIG. 10 as the comparative example described above is employed, it has been found that the flow rate coefficient is suppressed to a low level where the static pressure coefficient is low, as shown by an A curve connecting triangles in FIG.
The configuration shown in FIG. 11 is adopted in the embodiment of the present invention. This is because the front end of the connection hose 42 is connected to the scroll peripheral surface of the fan casing 90 and to the direction along the flow direction of the airflow generated in the fan casing 90 as the exhaust fan 99 rotates. Is the premise.

Furthermore, the guide protrusion 100 is provided on the upstream side in the flow direction of the airflow generated in the fan casing 90 at the connection portion of the connection hose 42 in the fan casing 90.
With such a configuration, the flow of the airflow guided along the inner wall surface of the fan casing 90 collides with the guide protrusion 100 at a portion immediately before facing the mounting hole 93. Then, the flow of the air current is splashed up by the guide protrusion 100 and passes through a part separated from the mounting hole 93.

Therefore, when the dust guided to the connection hose 42 flows into the fan casing 90 from the mounting hole 93, the air flow is alleviated from being compressed. Dust smoothly flows into the fan casing 90 from the connection hose 42 through the mounting hole 93, and is smoothly discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 90b.
As shown by a B curve with a circle in FIG. 12, the static pressure coefficient is higher and the flow coefficient is higher than that of the A curve, so that the suction performance can be improved.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments.

The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the indoor unit which comprises the air conditioner based on Embodiment of this invention. The front view of the indoor unit which removed the front panel based on the embodiment. The perspective view of the frame assembly based on the embodiment. Sectional drawing of the frame assembly based on the embodiment. The perspective view of the indoor unit one side part which removed the front panel based on the embodiment. The partial perspective view of the exhaust unit based on the embodiment. The perspective view which removed the side cover of the exhaust unit based on the embodiment. The schematic sectional drawing explaining the mutually different state of the exhaust unit based on the embodiment. The figure explaining the flow of the airflow and dust in an exhaust unit based on the embodiment. The figure explaining the flow of the airflow and dust in the fan casing and connection hose connection part as a comparative example based on the embodiment. The figure explaining the flow of the airflow and dust in a fan casing and a connection hose connection part based on the embodiment. The characteristic view of the static pressure coefficient-flow rate coefficient based on the embodiment and a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Front suction port, 5 ... Upper surface suction port, 1 ... Indoor unit main body, 17 ... Front air filter, 20 ... Upper air filter, 11 ... Exhaust unit, S ... Air filter cleaning mechanism, 90b ... Exhaust port, 90 ... Fan casing, 99 ... exhaust fan (centrifugal fan), 42 ... connection hose, 100 ... guide protrusion.

Claims (1)

An indoor unit body equipped with a suction port and a blowout port;
An air filter that is disposed in a ventilation path between the suction port and the blowout port in the indoor unit body and captures dust contained in the indoor air;
An exhaust unit that sucks indoor air into the indoor unit body and discharges it to the outside;
In an indoor unit of an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning mechanism that removes dust adhering to the air filter surface,
The exhaust unit is
A scroll-shaped fan casing provided with an exhaust port at a peripheral end thereof, and a centrifugal fan housed in the fan casing and driven to rotate,
The air filter cleaning mechanism includes a connection hose that guides dust removed from the air filter,
The front end of the connection hose is connected to the scroll peripheral surface of the fan casing and in the direction along the flow direction of the airflow generated in the fan casing as the centrifugal fan rotates,
An indoor unit of an air conditioner, characterized in that a guide protrusion is provided on the upstream side in the flow direction of the air flow generated in the fan casing at a connection portion of the connection hose in the fan casing.

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