JP2008134027A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of quickly discharging drainage to the outside of a machine. <P>SOLUTION: In this air conditioner wherein an evaporator 2 in which a heat medium is circulated, and a blower 3 for distributing the air to the evaporator 2 are disposed in an air conditioner main body 1, a drain pan 4 is disposed at a lower portion of an air conditioner main body 1 to receive the drainage flowing down from the evaporator 2, and a drainage discharging means 10 is disposed in the drain pan 4 at an upstream position in the ventilating direction with respect to the evaporator 2, the drain pan 4 is provided with an inclined face portion 7 inclined downward to a downstream side in the ventilating direction, and a water guide groove portion 8a for guiding the drainage stored at the downstream side in the ventilating direction, of the inclined face portion 7 to the drainage discharging means 10. Further the water guide groove portion 8a is inclined downward from the downstream side to the upstream side in the ventilating direction. The pair of water guide groove portions 8a is disposed at both sides of the inclined face portion 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having an improved drain pan.

In a conventional ceiling-embedded air conditioner, as shown in FIG. 4, an air conditioner main body 101 contains a blower 103 and an evaporator 102 inside, an air inlet 105 on the front surface, and an air outlet 106 on the rear surface. Are provided to form a ventilation path for exchanging heat with air from the air-conditioned space and supplying the air-conditioned space. The evaporator 102 used here is inclined at a predetermined angle in order to secure a predetermined heat exchange area. In order to receive drain water flowing down from the evaporator 102 during the refrigeration cycle operation, a drain pan 104 is provided in the lower part of the air conditioner main body 101.

The drain pan 104 is provided with drain water discharge means 110 such as a drain pump between the blower 103 and the evaporator 102. Since the drain water discharging means 110 normally requires a predetermined installation space, it is provided at this position. The drain water discharging means 110 discharges the drain water collected in the drain pan 104 to the outside of the air conditioner main body 101.

A plan view of the drain pan 104 is shown in FIG. 5, and a left side view thereof is shown in FIG. The drain pan 104 is provided with a support portion 113 that supports the evaporator 102 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. The drain pan 104 on the downstream side in the ventilation direction from the support portion 113 is gradually inclined so that the downstream side in the ventilation direction is high and the upstream side in the ventilation direction is low in order to guide drain water to the drain water discharge means 110 provided on the upstream side in the ventilation direction. The inclined surface portion 107 is formed. And the water guide groove part 108 is provided in the left end part of the support part 113, and the drain water collected by the inclined surface part 107 is led to the drain water discharge means 110. FIG. The technique as described above is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

JP-A-10-220955

By the way, in the above-described conventional drain pan 104, the direction in which drain water flows through the inclined surface portion 107 is completely opposite to the direction in which air flows through the ventilation path. For this reason, the smooth flow of the drain water toward the drain water discharge means 110 is hindered by the air flowing through this ventilation path, and the drain water stays on the drain pan for a long time. In such a state, germs and the like are likely to propagate and are unsanitary, and further, an unpleasant odor is scattered in the air-conditioned space, which may impair comfort.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of quickly discharging drain water to the outside of the apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to the present invention accommodates an evaporator that circulates a heat medium and a blower that ventilates the evaporator in the air conditioner body, and the evaporator at the lower part of the air conditioner body. In an air conditioner that has a drain pan that receives drain water flowing down from the evaporator and that has drain water discharge means in the drain pan upstream of the evaporator in the ventilation direction, the drain pan is inclined downward toward the ventilation direction downstream. An inclined surface portion and a water guide groove portion that guides drain water accumulated on the downstream side in the ventilation direction of the inclined surface portion to the drain water discharge means are provided.

Moreover, the said structure WHEREIN: The water guide groove part is inclined and provided downward from the ventilation direction downstream toward the ventilation direction upstream, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  And in each above-mentioned structure, a pair of water guide groove part is provided in the both sides of the inclined surface part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In the present invention, the drain pan is provided with an inclined surface portion that is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the ventilation direction, and a water guide groove portion that guides drain water accumulated on the downstream side of the inclined surface portion in the ventilation direction to the drain water discharge means. The direction in which the inclined surface portion is inclined downward matches the ventilation direction, and the drain water can flow through the inclined surface portion very smoothly.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the overall configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a drain pan of the air conditioner.
In each figure, the air conditioner according to this embodiment is a thin ceiling-embedded air conditioner installed in the ceiling of a building, and distributes the heat medium in the air-conditioner body 1 having a hollow box shape. The evaporator 2 and the blower 3 that ventilates the evaporator 2 are accommodated. In addition, a drain pan 4 that receives drain water flowing down from the evaporator 2 is disposed below the air conditioner main body 1, and a drain water discharging means 10 is provided in the drain pan 4 at a position upstream of the evaporator 2 in the ventilation direction.

The blower 4 is fixed to the partition plate 9, and the ventilation path in the air conditioner main body 1 is partitioned into an air suction side space 15 and an air blowing side space 16 with the partition plate 9 as a boundary. A suction port 5 for taking in air 21 of the air-conditioned space such as indoors into the air conditioner main body 1 is formed in the air suction side space 15, and blows out air 22 that has been air-conditioned after passing through the evaporator 2. An outlet 6 is formed to open into the air blowing side space 16.

The evaporator 2 is disposed so as to be inclined upward toward the air outlet 6, and the drain water generated on the surface of the evaporator 2 in accordance with the operation of the refrigeration cycle flows down onto the drain pan 4. The drain pan 4 is formed in a size that occupies almost the entire bottom surface of the air blowing side space 16 so as to receive all of the drain water. The drain pan 4 is surrounded by a front side wall portion 17, a rear side wall portion 18, a right side wall portion 19, and a left side wall portion 20 erected on the periphery of the bottom plate, and is formed in a saucer shape. Further, a support portion 13 that supports the lower portion of the evaporator 2 is projected at a substantially central portion of the drain pan 4 in the front-rear direction, and the drain pan 4 on the downstream side in the ventilation direction from the support portion 13 faces the downstream side in the ventilation direction. An inclined surface portion 7 that is inclined downward is provided.

Further, a rear groove portion 21 is provided on the downstream side of the inclined surface portion 7 in the ventilation direction, and a pair of water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are provided on the left and right sides of the inclined surface portion 7, respectively. The water guide grooves 8 a and 8 b are formed so as to be inclined downward toward the upstream side in the ventilation direction, and the drain water accumulated in the rear groove 21 is guided to the drain water discharge means 10. Further, the lowest water collection portion 14 in the drain pan 4 is provided between the front side wall portion 17 and the support portion 13.

The drain water discharge means 10 is configured by a natural drain port 22 provided in the left side wall portion 20, and discharges drain water collected in the drain pan 4 to the outside of the air conditioner main body 1. The drain water discharging means 10 may be a drain pump attached to the water collecting portion 14 instead of the natural drain port 22, and drain water collected in the drain pan 4 is removed from the air conditioner main body 1 through the drain hose. It may be one that is discharged.

The operation of the air conditioner of this embodiment will be described below. When the air conditioner starts operation and the blower 3 is driven, the air 31 in the air-conditioned space is sucked into the air suction side space 15 from the suction port 5, enters the air blowing side space 16 through the blower 3, and is cooled in the evaporator 2. Then, it blows out from the blower outlet 6 to the air-conditioned space. In this way, the air-conditioned space is cooled.

  With the refrigeration cycle operation, drain water is generated in the evaporator 2 and flows down to the drain pan 4 as water droplets. All the drain water that has flowed down is received by the drain pan 4 and is pushed by the flow of air moving through the ventilation path by the inclined surface portion 7, and quickly flows to the rear groove portion 21 on the downstream side in the ventilation direction. The drain water that has flown up to the rear groove portion 21 gradually accumulates in the rear groove portion 21 and flows from the left and right ends of the rear groove portion 21 to the water guide groove portion 8. The water guide groove portions 8 are formed on both sides of the ventilation path. Therefore, it is almost in a windless state, and the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are inclined downward from the downstream side in the ventilation direction toward the upstream side in the ventilation direction, so that the drain water flows in the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b. The slope can flow quickly.

The drain water that has flowed into the left water guide groove 8 a flows into the drain water discharge means 10 as it is. On the other hand, the drain water that has flowed into the right water guide groove portion 8 b flows into the drain water discharge means 10 through the water collecting portion 14.

As described above, the air conditioner according to the present embodiment drains drain water accumulated in the drain pan 4 on the downstream side in the ventilation direction of the inclined surface portion 7 and the inclined surface portion 7 that is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the ventilation direction. Since the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b leading to the water discharge means 10 are provided, the downward inclination of the inclined surface portion 7 and the ventilation direction coincide with each other, so that the drain water can flow smoothly on the inclined surface portion 7. Furthermore, the drain water accumulated on the downstream side in the ventilation direction of the inclined surface portion 7 can be discharged from the drain water draining means 10 through the introduction groove portions 8a and 8b. Accordingly, since the drain water is not accumulated in the air conditioner main body 1 for a long time, it is possible to prevent the propagation of germs and to keep the drain pan 4 hygienic. Furthermore, it is possible to maintain comfort without generating unpleasant odor.

  In addition, since the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are provided to be inclined downward toward the upstream side in the ventilation direction, the drain water accumulated in the rear groove portion 21 is reduced compared to the case where the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are horizontal. Can drain to drain water discharge means 10 in a short time

Furthermore, since the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are provided on both the left and right sides of the inclined surface portion 7, when installing the air conditioner, the air conditioner main body 1 is not placed horizontally and should be installed in a slightly inclined state to the left and right. Even in such a case, the drain water can always be guided to the drain water discharge means 10 from either the right or left water guide groove portions 8a, 8b. Accordingly, when the water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are provided only at one of the left and right sides, or when the inclined surface portion 7 is provided at a position other than the left and right sides, for example, the central portion in the longitudinal direction, etc. The drain water is not retained for a long time. Further, since the right and left sides of the inclined surface portion 7 are almost free of wind due to the arrangement of refrigerant pipes and electric cords, the drain water flows toward the drain water discharge means 10 even if the drain water is guided against the ventilation direction. It will be.

In the above embodiment, the pair of water guide groove portions 8a and 8b are provided on both the left and right sides of the inclined surface portion 7, but the air conditioner of the present invention is not limited thereto, for example, the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the inclined surface portion. The water guide groove portion may be provided at another location of the drain pan, the water guide groove portion may be provided at only one place, or three or more places may be provided. Further, the water guide groove portion does not need to be provided along a direction that coincides with the ventilation direction in plan view, and can be provided obliquely from the ventilation direction.

It is a side lineblock diagram of an air-conditioner concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the drain pan of the said air conditioner. It is a left view of the drain pan. It is a side block diagram of the conventional air conditioner. It is a top view of the drain pan of the said conventional air conditioner. It is a left view of the said conventional drain pan.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner main body, 2 Evaporator, 3 Blower, 4 Drain pan, 7 Inclined surface part, 8a, 8b Water conveyance groove part, 10 Drain water discharge means.

Claims (3)

In the air conditioner main body, an evaporator that circulates the heat medium and a blower that ventilates the evaporator are housed, and a drain pan that receives drain water flowing down from the evaporator is disposed below the air conditioner main body, In the air conditioner provided with drain water discharge means in the drain pan at a position upstream of the evaporator in the ventilation direction, an inclined surface portion that is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the ventilation direction of the drain pan, and the ventilation direction of the inclined surface portion An air conditioner comprising: a water guide groove that guides drain water accumulated on the downstream side to the drain water discharge means. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the water guide groove portion is provided so as to be inclined downward from the downstream side in the ventilation direction toward the upstream side in the ventilation direction. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of water guide groove portions are provided on both sides of the inclined surface portion.

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