JP2008106973A - Ceiling embedded air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform indoor air-conditioning and heating without impairing comfort even in a room with a high ceiling, in a ceiling embedded air conditioner embedded in the ceiling and having an indoor unit including a lower panel used as a part of the ceiling. <P>SOLUTION: The indoor unit 10 of the ceiling embedded air conditioner has the lower panel 18 including a first ventilating port 22 through which air passes in a vertical direction, and second ventilating ports 24 through which air passes obliquely to the vertical direction. The indoor unit 10 has a fan 12 and a control device 70. The control device 70 selects the blowing direction of the fan 12 to blow off cold air from the second ventilating ports 24 in air-conditioning operation and to blow off warm air from the first ventilating port 22 in heating operation. In the case of heating operation, warm air can thereby be blown off closer to a floor face in the room with the high ceiling, and indoor heating can be performed without impairing comfortableness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ceiling-embedded air conditioner in which an indoor unit is embedded in a ceiling and a lower panel of the indoor unit is a part of the ceiling, and particularly relates to air direction control of the indoor unit.

  As an air conditioner, a ceiling-embedded type in which an indoor unit is embedded in a ceiling of a room is known. This indoor unit has a lower panel which becomes a part of the ceiling, and this lower panel has an air inlet for sucking indoor air and an air outlet for blowing warm air or cold air into the room. A heat exchanger, a fan, and the like are arranged inside the lower panel, that is, inside the ceiling. By the operation of the fan, room air is sucked from the suction port and is sent to the heat exchanger. The air heated or cooled by the heat exchanger is blown out from the outlet, and the room is heated and cooled.

  The air blown out from the blowout port is sent out from the position of the indoor unit to the surroundings in order to spread it over a wider range. For this reason, the shape of the air outlet is determined so as to send air obliquely with respect to the vertical direction.

  In the following Patent Document 1, the end surface of the lower panel is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and a blower outlet is provided on the inclined surface, and the blower outlet is configured to send air in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface. It is disclosed.

JP 2003-267976 A

  In a conventional ceiling-embedded air conditioner, during heating operation, the specific gravity of warm air is smaller than that of the surrounding room air, so the warm air blown out from the air outlet obliquely with respect to the vertical direction before reaching the floor surface May rise. In this case, the lower part of the room cannot be warmed, which causes discomfort to the person. In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 1 further describes that a louver for adjusting the wind direction is provided at the outlet. During the heating operation, the direction of the louvers is changed so that warm air is blown out in the vertical direction. As a result, warm air is sent closer to the floor.

  However, in the case where the ceiling-embedded air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used in a room with a high ceiling, the floor surface can be more easily changed by changing the direction of the louver, unless the wind speed and air volume of the warm air are sufficiently large. Can't send warm air to nearby. In order to send warm air closer to the floor, it is conceivable to operate by increasing the wind speed and air volume of the warm air. However, when this type of operation is performed, the blower outlet is narrowed by the louver oriented in the vertical direction, and the ventilation area of the blower outlet is reduced. Will be given.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling-embedded air conditioner that can cool and heat a room without impairing comfort in a room with a high ceiling.

  The present invention is a ceiling-embedded air conditioner that has an indoor unit that is embedded in a ceiling and includes a lower panel that is a part of the ceiling, and is provided in the lower panel, and the indoor air is perpendicular to the ceiling surface. A first ventilation port through which the room air passes, a second ventilation port that is provided in the lower panel and that is inclined in the vertical direction and through which room air passes, a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the room air and the refrigerant, and room air A fan that sucks in from one of the first and second vents, passes through the heat exchanger, and then blows out into the room from the other vent, and a blowing direction that selects the blowing direction of the fan based on the operation mode When the operation mode is cooling operation, the air blowing direction selecting means selects the air blowing direction so that the room air is sucked in from the first ventilation port and blown out from the second ventilation port, and the operation mode is Heating operation If the indoor air suction from the second vent hole, and selects the blowing direction so that blows from the first vents.

  Further, the fan is a propeller type fan, and the air blowing direction selection unit selects a rotation direction of the fan, and the fan can rotate in the selected rotation direction.

  Further, the fan is a propeller type fan, and the air blowing direction selecting means can change an attachment angle of blades attached to a rotating rotor of the fan.

  And a filter that covers the ventilation port through which the room air is sucked and removes dust from the room air, and a filter moving means that moves the filter based on the operation mode. In this case, the filter can be moved to a position covering the first ventilation opening, and when the operation mode is the heating operation, the filter can be moved to a position covering the second ventilation opening.

  According to the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of the present invention, indoor cooling and heating can be performed in a room with a high ceiling without impairing comfort.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment according to the present invention, as an example of an indoor unit that is embedded in the ceiling and has a lower panel that becomes a part of the ceiling, a two-way blowing type indoor unit that blows out air from both ends of the lower panel is given. A ceiling-embedded air conditioner having this will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an indoor unit 10 during cooling operation of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to the present embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the indoor unit 10 at the time of heating operation.

  The indoor unit 10 includes a case 16 that is embedded in a horizontal ceiling 20 and a lower panel 18 that is provided so as to cover the bottom surface of the case 16. The lower panel 18 closes the opening 20 a of the ceiling 20 and is attached to the lower part of the case 16 in a state of being in contact with the ceiling 20, and is a part of the ceiling 20.

  The lower panel 18 is provided with square first and second vent holes 22 and 24 as vent holes through which air passes. The first ventilation port 22 is disposed on the horizontal surface 18a at the center of the lower panel 18, and is formed so that air passes through the horizontal surface 18a in the vertical direction, that is, in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the second ventilation port 24 is arranged outside the two opposite sides of the first ventilation port 22 along the two sides of the lower panel 18. The end face 18b of the lower panel 18 in which the second ventilation opening 24 is disposed is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the second ventilation opening 24 is perpendicular to the inclined end face 18b, that is, obliquely with respect to the vertical direction. It is formed to allow air to pass through. The second vent 24 is provided with a louver (not shown) that adjusts the direction of the air passing therethrough. The lower panel 18 is provided with a filter 38 and a filter moving device 40 described later. The filter 38 removes dust contained in indoor air sucked into the indoor unit 10.

  Inside the case 16, a fan 12 is provided at the center. A heat exchanger 14 is provided around the fan 12, and a drain pan 30 is provided on the lower surface thereof. The fan 12 sucks indoor air from one of the first and second ventilation ports 22, 24, passes it through the heat exchanger 14, and then blows it into the room from the other ventilation port. The heat exchanger 14 exchanges heat of indoor air supplied from the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit (not shown) and the fan 12. The change in state of the refrigerant is used for heat exchange, and the heat exchanger 14 cools the air by the heat absorption action when the low-pressure liquid refrigerant is vaporized, and heats the air by the heat radiation action when the high-pressure gas refrigerant is liquefied. To do. The drain pan 30 receives condensed water generated when air is cooled in the heat exchanger 14 and discharges the condensed water to a drain pipe (not shown) connected to the indoor unit 10.

  The ceiling-embedded air conditioner of the present invention has a plurality of operation modes in order to meet the required indoor environment. The operation mode includes, for example, a cooling operation mode in which cooled air is sent into the room to lower the temperature in the room, a heating operation mode in which heated air is sent into the room to raise the temperature in the room, and dehumidified air is sent into the room to control the humidity in the room. A dehumidifying operation mode for lowering, a blowing operation mode for circulating indoor air, and the like are included.

  In a conventional indoor unit, the first ventilation port corresponds to a suction port that sucks air into the indoor unit from the room, and the second ventilation port corresponds to a blowout port that blows air from the indoor unit to the room. However, in the indoor unit 10 of the present embodiment, the first and second ventilation ports 22 and 24 are both outlets and suction ports, depending on the operation mode. During the cooling operation, the first ventilation port 22 serves as a suction port, and the second ventilation port 24 serves as a blower outlet. On the other hand, at the time of heating operation, the 1st ventilation port 22 becomes a blower outlet, and the 2nd ventilation port 24 becomes a suction inlet. Thus, in order to change the direction of the air passing through the first and second ventilation ports 22 and 24 based on the operation mode, the indoor unit 10 has a mechanism for changing the direction of the air blown by the fan 12.

  The fan 12 is a fan that blows air in the axial direction, and is, for example, a propeller fan. The blades 36 have a substantially flat plate shape and are attached to the rotary rotor 34 in the radial direction. The rotary rotor 34 is connected to a motor shaft 32 a extending downward from the fan motor 32 fixed to the case 16. When the fan motor 32 rotates, the blades 36 rotate through the motor shaft 32a and the rotating rotor 34, and the fan 12 blows air in the axial direction.

  The fan 12 sends air upward in the case of normal rotation, and sends it downward in the case of reverse rotation. The blades 36 have a flat plate shape so as to produce the same air volume and speed regardless of whether the fan 12 is rotating forward or backward, and are attached to the rotary rotor 34 at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, for example. During the cooling operation, as shown in FIG. 1, the fan 12 rotates forward and blows air upward in the axial direction. By the operation of the fan 12, indoor air is sucked from the first ventilation port 22, and this air is sent to the heat exchanger 14. And the air cooled with the heat exchanger 14 blows off from the 2nd ventilation port 24, and indoor cooling is performed. On the other hand, during the heating operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the fan 12 reverses and blows air downward. By the operation of the fan 12, indoor air is sucked from the second ventilation port 24, and this air is sent to the heat exchanger 14. And the air heated with the heat exchanger 14 blows off from the 1st ventilation port 22, and indoor heating is performed.

  Next, the filter moving device 40 that moves the position of the filter 38 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the filter moving device 40 according to the present embodiment.

  The filter moving device 40 has a pair of guide rails 46 that movably support the filter 38 between the first and second ventilation ports 22 and 24. The guide rail 46 has a concave cross section, and is arranged so that the concave inner bottom surfaces 46b face each other and the filter 38 is sandwiched therebetween. Both end portions 46 of the guide rail 46 extend to the end surface 18b of the lower panel 18, and are inclined in accordance with the inclination of the end surface 18b of the lower panel 18.

  The filter 38 consists of two sheets, and is attached to each of the square filter frames 42. Two guide rollers 44 are rotatably supported on each outer side surface of the filter frame 42 facing the guide rail 46. The guide roller 44 has a diameter smaller than the width between the concave inner walls 46b of the guide rail 46, contacts the inner wall 46b of the guide rail 46, and rotates along the inner wall 46b. As a result, the filter 38 is supported so as to be sandwiched between the guide rail 46 via the filter frame 42 and the guide roller 44, and can move smoothly along the guide rail 46.

  The filter frames 42 are respectively connected to the interlocking rope 50 via the interlocking rope attachment 48. The interlocking rope 50 is wound around the drive pulley 52 and the driven pulley 54 so as to circulate and move in the direction in which the filter 38 moves. The interlocking rope attachment 48 includes an upper portion that extends between these pulleys 52, 54 and Each is fixed to the lower interlocking rope 50. An interlocking rope drive motor 56 that rotationally drives the drive pulley 52 is connected to the drive pulley 52.

  A microswitch operating piece 58 for operating a microswitch 60 provided on the upper surface of the guide rail 46 is attached to the interlocking rope attachment 48. The micro switch 60 is a switch that detects that the filter 38 has moved to a position that covers the first and second ventilation ports 22 and 24. When the microswitch operating piece 58 comes into contact with the microswitch 60, the microswitch 60 outputs a signal to the control device 70 described later.

  The operation of the filter moving device 40 will be described. Based on the operation mode, the interlocking rope drive motor 56 rotates in accordance with an instruction from the control device 70 described later. By the operation of the interlocking rope driving motor 56, the power of the motor 56 is transmitted to the driving pulley 52, the driving pulley 52 rotates, and the interlocking rope 50 is circulated. Since the upper and lower interlocking ropes 50 that cross between the driving and driven pulleys 52 and 24 move in opposite directions, the filter frames 42 connected to the interlocking ropes 50 via the interlocking rope mounting brackets 48 are opposite to each other. Move in the direction. When the filter 38 moves to a position that covers the first or second ventilation port 22, 24, the microswitch operating piece 58 comes into contact with the microswitch 60, and the interlocking rope drive motor 56 is in accordance with an instruction from the control device 70 described later. Stops, and the moving filter 38 stops. Thereby, the filter movement apparatus 40 can move the filter 38 to the position which covers the 1st and 2nd ventilation openings 22 and 24 based on an operation mode. That is, in the cooling operation, the filter 38 is moved to a position covering the first ventilation port 22 as shown in FIG. 4, and in the heating operation, the filter 38 is moved to a position covering the second ventilation port 24 as shown in FIG. Can be moved. As a result, even if the ventilation port corresponding to the suction port changes depending on the operation mode, the filter 38 can reliably remove dust contained in the air sucked from the room.

  Next, the control device 70 of the indoor unit 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system that controls the direction of air flow of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38.

  The control device 70 controls the operations of the fan motor 32 and the interlocking rope drive motor 56 based on various input signals. The various input signals are the operation mode input from the remote controller 74 via the light receiving unit 72 and the position of the filter 38 input from the micro switch 60. The control device 70 stores a table in which each operation mode is associated with the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38. When a signal instructing the cooling operation is input from the remote controller 74, the control device 70 selects the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 that are suitable for the cooling operation from the table. A signal instructing the fan motor 32 and the interlocking rope drive motor 56 to output the selected rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 is output. When the macro switch 60 detects that the filter 38 has moved to the position of the second ventilation port 24, the control device 70 outputs a signal to stop the interlocking rope drive motor 56. On the other hand, when a signal instructing the heating operation is input from the remote controller 74, the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 that match the heating operation are selected from the table. A signal instructing the fan motor 32 and the interlocking rope drive motor 56 to output the selected rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 is output. When the macro switch 60 detects that the filter 38 has moved to the position of the first ventilation port 22, the control device 70 outputs a signal to stop the interlocking rope drive motor 56.

  Next, the control operation of the control device 70 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control operation of the control device 70 according to the present embodiment.

  First, in step S01, an instruction for cooling operation or heating operation is input from the remote controller 74 via the light receiving unit 72.

  In step S02, the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 are selected based on the input operation mode. The control device 70 stores the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 corresponding to each operation mode as a table. From this table, the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 corresponding to the input operation mode are selected. In the case of the cooling operation, the rotation direction of the fan 12 is selected to be, for example, normal rotation, and the position of the filter 38 is selected to cover the first ventilation port 22. On the other hand, in the heating operation, for example, the rotation direction of the fan 12 is selected to be the reverse rotation, and the position of the filter 38 is selected to be a position that covers the second ventilation port 24.

  In step S03, it is determined whether or not the rotation direction of the selected fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 are different from those at present. If it is determined that the current state is different from the selected state, in step S04, the fan motor 32 and the interlocking rope drive motor 56 are operated so that the rotation direction of the fan 12 and the position of the filter 38 are selected. This control operation ends. If it is determined that the current state is the same as the selected state, this control operation ends.

  According to the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of the present invention, the direction of the fan 12 is selected based on the operation mode. In particular, when heating operation is performed in a room with a high ceiling, this ceiling-embedded air conditioner further warms the floor surface because the direction of the air blown by the selected fan 12 is directed to the vertical direction from the first vent 22. It can be sent out and the lower part of the room can be warmed. In addition, since the ventilation area of the first ventilation opening 22 when warm air passes in the vertical direction is sufficiently large, there is no discomfort due to the generation of wind noise at the first ventilation opening 22. On the other hand, when the cooling operation is performed, the cold air is blown obliquely from the second ventilation port 24 with respect to the vertical direction, so that the cold air blown as usual can be spread over a wide range in the room. Thus, according to the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of the present invention, indoor cooling and heating can be performed without impairing comfort.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the rotation direction of the fan 12 is changed in order to change the direction of the fan 12 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The attachment angle of the blades 36 attached to the rotating rotor 34 may be changed. When changing the attachment angle of the blade | wing 36, the axis | shaft of the blade | wing 36 is supported by the rotation rotor 34 so that rotation is possible, for example, and the actuator which rotates this axis | shaft is provided in the rotation rotor 34. By rotating the axis of the blade 36 by the actuator, it is possible to change the direction of the fan 12 without changing the rotation direction of the fan 12.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the blades 36 have a flat plate shape has been described. However, the blades 36 having a curved shape with good airflow characteristics may be used. By rotating the attachment angle of the blade 36 by 180 degrees and further changing the rotation direction of the fan 12, the direction of the air blown by the fan 12 can be changed while maintaining good air flow characteristics.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the indoor unit at the time of the air_conditionaing | cooling operation of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the indoor unit at the time of the heating operation of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the filter moving apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the filter position when it sees from the lower side in FIG. It is a figure which shows the filter position when it sees from the lower side in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system which controls the direction of the ventilation of a fan, and the position of a filter. It is a flowchart which shows the control operation example of the control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  10 indoor unit, 12 fan, 14 heat exchanger, 16 case, 18 lower panel, 20 ceiling, 22 first vent, 24 second vent, 30 drain pan, 32 fan motor, 34 rotating rotor, 36 blades, 38 filter , 40 filter moving device, 42 filter frame, 44 guide roller, 46 guide rail, 48 interlocking rope fitting, 50 interlocking rope, 52 driving pulley, 54 driven pulley, 56 interlocking rope drive motor, 58 micro switch operating piece, 60 micro Switch, 70 control device, 72 light receiving unit, 74 remote control.

Claims (4)

A ceiling-embedded air conditioner having an indoor unit that is embedded in a ceiling and includes a lower panel that becomes a part of the ceiling,
A first vent hole provided in the lower panel, through which room air passes in a direction perpendicular to the ceiling surface;
A second vent hole provided in the lower panel, through which room air is inclined in the vertical direction;
A heat exchanger that exchanges heat between indoor air and refrigerant;
A fan that sucks indoor air from one of the first and second ventilation openings, passes the heat exchanger, and then blows out into the room from the other ventilation opening;
A blowing direction selecting means for selecting a blowing direction of the fan based on an operation mode;
Have
The blowing direction selecting means is
If the operation mode is cooling operation, select the air blowing direction so that indoor air is sucked in from the first vent and blown out from the second vent,
When the operation mode is heating operation, the air is sucked in from the second vent and the blowing direction is selected so as to blow out from the first vent,
Embedded ceiling air conditioner characterized by that. The ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to claim 1,
The fan is a propeller type fan,
The blowing direction selecting means selects a blowing direction by selecting a rotation direction of the fan.
The fan rotates in a selected direction of rotation;
Embedded ceiling air conditioner characterized by that. The ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to claim 1,
The fan is a propeller type fan,
The air blowing direction selection means changes the attachment angle of the blades attached to the rotating rotor of the fan, and selects the air blowing direction.
Embedded ceiling air conditioner characterized by that. The ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A filter that covers the ventilation holes through which room air is sucked and removes dust from the room air;
Filter moving means for moving the filter based on the operation mode;
Have
The filter moving means includes
If the operation mode is cooling operation, move the filter to a position that covers the first vent,
When the operation mode is heating operation, the filter is moved to a position covering the second vent.
Embedded ceiling air conditioner characterized by that.

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