JP2008145026A - Operation method for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation method for an air conditioner, hardly causing the propagation of bacteria in a drain pan of an air conditioner. <P>SOLUTION: In this operation method for the air conditioner including a heat exchanger, the drain pan provided below the heat exchanger to receive drain water due to dew condensation in the heat exchanger, and a drain pump for discharging the drain water staying in the drain pan to the outside, the time (A+B) elapsed from the stop of the air conditioning operation until flowing of drain water to the drain pan is completed is taken as flow completion time, and after the lapse of the flow completion time, the drain pump is driven for a predetermined time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a heat exchanger, a drain pan that is provided below the heat exchanger and receives drain water condensed on the heat exchanger, and a drain pump that discharges the drain water accumulated in the drain pan to the outside. The present invention relates to a method for operating an air conditioner.

  Conventionally, in this type of air conditioner, since organic matter may be contained in the drain water, it is known that bacteria propagate in the drain pan using this organic matter as feed. Bacteria caused various problems such as clogging drain pumps and the like to prevent drainage from the drain pan to the outside in order to produce viscous substances such as slime during reproduction.

In such an air conditioner, during the air conditioning operation such as the cooling operation, the drain pump is driven to control the drain water accumulated in the drain pan to be discharged to the outside. It becomes difficult to breed. On the other hand, even after the air conditioning operation is stopped, the drain pump is continuously driven for a certain period of time and then stopped, so that the drain water collected in the drain pan is reduced to prevent bacteria from breeding.
In addition, since the operating method of the air conditioner used as the prior art in this invention is a general technique, prior art documents, such as a patent document, are not shown.

However, in the conventional air conditioner, even if the air conditioning operation is stopped, since the heat exchanger is cooled, the flow of drain water to the drain pan does not stop immediately.
Therefore, in the conventional air conditioner, even if the drain pump is driven for a certain time after the air conditioning operation is stopped and the drain water accumulated in the drain pan is discharged, the drain water flows down to the drain pan even after the drain pump is stopped. It was insufficient to continue. The drain pan was always in a state where drain water was accumulated, making it easy for bacteria to propagate.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of operating an air conditioner that makes it difficult for bacteria to breed the drain pan of the air conditioner. .

  The first characteristic means of the method of operating an air conditioner according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a heat exchanger and drain water condensed on the heat exchanger, provided below the heat exchanger. An operation method of an air conditioner including a drain pan and a drain pump that discharges the drain water accumulated in the drain pan to the outside, and the flow of the drain water to the drain pan is completed after stopping the air conditioning operation The time until the flow is completed is the flow completion time, and the drain pump is driven for a predetermined time after the flow completion time has elapsed.

In the present invention, the flow completion time means the time from when the air conditioning operation is stopped to when the flow of drain water to the drain pan is completed and the change in the drain water amount of the drain pan disappears. According to this means, since the drain water amount does not increase after the flow completion time has elapsed, the drain water amount of the drain pan is reduced by driving the drain pump and discharging the drain water after the flow completion time has elapsed. Can be minimized. Therefore, the drain pan can be brought into a state in which bacteria are difficult to propagate.
In addition, the drive time of a drain pump is enough if the drain water collected in the drain pan can be discharged | emitted.

  The second characteristic means of the operation method of the air conditioner according to the present invention is that the drain pump is driven before the air conditioning operation is stopped, and after the air conditioning operation is stopped and before the flow-down completion time has elapsed. The point is to stop.

That is, according to this means, the drain pump is driven to discharge the drain water before the flow completion time elapses, thereby reducing the amount of drain water accumulated in the drain pan until the flow completion time elapses. Can do. For this reason, the propagation of bacteria can be further suppressed and the drive time of the drain pump after the elapse of the flow completion time can be shortened.
Moreover, electric power can be saved by temporarily stopping the drain pump before the flow completion time elapses.

  According to a third feature of the method for operating an air conditioner according to the present invention, the drain pump is configured to pump the drain water above the drain pan and discharge the drain water to the outside. Provided with an antibacterial metal ion generator, and after the elapse of the flow-down completion time, the drain pump and the antibacterial metal ion generator are driven to put the antibacterial metal ion in the drain water in the discharge path. After the ions are generated, the drain pump is stopped, and the drain water having the antibacterial metal ions flows back to the drain pan.

  Since the drain pump pumps the drain water above the drain pan and discharges it to the outside, when the drain pump is stopped, the drain water corresponding to the pumping height is not discharged but flows back to the drain pan. In this means, after the flow completion time has elapsed, the drain pump and the antibacterial metal ion generator are driven to generate antibacterial metal ions in the drain water in the discharge path. Therefore, by stopping the drain pump, the drain water flows back together with the antibacterial metal ions, but the drain water amount of the drain pan does not increase anew, so the drain water amount can be made constant and the antibacterial metal ion generation amount By setting, an effective amount of antibacterial metal ions for suppressing bacterial growth can be uniformly distributed throughout the drain pan.

  The characteristic structure of the air conditioner according to the present invention is that an operation method of the air conditioner is performed.

  That is, according to this configuration, it is possible to make it difficult for bacteria to propagate in the drain pan.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for operating an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the case where this invention is applied to the operating method of the indoor unit 1 of a ceiling cassette type air conditioner will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner that is operated by the operation method of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes a heat exchanger 2 that cools or heats air introduced into the indoor unit 1, A drain pan 3 that is provided below the heat exchanger 2 and receives drain water condensed and flowing down in the heat exchanger 2 during cooling operation, etc., and drain water accumulated in the drain pan 3 is pumped up above the drain pan 3 to the outside And a drain pump 41 for discharging.

  As the heat exchanger 2, a conventionally known one can be applied. Although not shown, for example, a heat exchanger 2 having a plurality of aluminum fins provided on a copper pipe through which a heat medium such as chlorofluorocarbon flows is used. The drain pump 41 includes a drain hose 42 having one end connected to the discharge side of the drain pump 41 and the other end connected to the external pipe 10 above the drain pump 41. The drain pump 41 and the drain hose 42 are connected to the drain pump 41. Form a water discharge route. The drain pump 41 is connected to a control device 5 that controls the driving and stopping of the drain pump 41.

  Inside the drain hose 42, there is provided a silver ion generator 6 as an antibacterial metal ion generator for generating silver ions which are a kind of antibacterial metal ions. The silver ion generator 6 includes silver electrodes 61 and 62 as electrodes containing a pair of antibacterial metals, and a DC power source 63 as voltage applying means for applying a voltage between the silver electrodes 61 and 62. The electrodes 61 and 62 have a flat plate shape in the present embodiment, and are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction of the drain hose 42. The control device 5 connected to the drain pump 41 is also connected to the DC power source 63, and controls on / off switching of energization to the silver electrodes 61, 62 in conjunction with the drive / stop control of the drain pump 41. To do. The control device 5 can also control the switching between the anode and cathode of the silver electrodes 61 and 62. By periodically switching each electrode between the anode and the cathode, silver ions are generated from only one of the electrodes. It is possible to prevent this, and to extend the life of the silver electrodes 61 and 62.

In the present embodiment, the silver ion generator 6 generates silver ions by performing constant current control so that the value of the current flowing between the silver electrodes 61 and 62 is constant.
The constant current control is control that maintains a constant current value regardless of the resistance value change between the electrodes. However, the resistance value between the electrodes always changes due to the generation of bubbles on the surface of the electrodes and the change in the distance between the electrodes due to the vibration of the electrodes, so it is difficult to make them completely constant, and some current fluctuations occur To do. Further, due to the extremely high resistance value, a constant current may not flow at a voltage within the allowable range of the circuit, and the current value may decrease. Therefore, in this embodiment, regardless of the change in the current value as described above, the voltage is changed in response to the change in the resistance value between the electrodes, that is, the voltage is increased if the resistance value is increased, and the resistance value is increased. Control that lowers the voltage and stabilizes the current value between the electrodes if lowering is referred to as constant current control.

  The indoor unit 1 that is operated by the operation method according to the present embodiment drives a fan (not shown) during air conditioning operation, for example, cooling operation, and uses indoor air taken from a suction port (not shown) by a refrigerant. Heat is exchanged by being brought into contact with the cooled heat exchanger 2, and is sent into the room from the outlet (not shown) as cold air. In this case, condensed water droplets adhere to the heat exchanger 2, and the water droplets flow down and accumulate in the drain pan 3 as drain water. The drain pan 3 is provided with a gradient at the bottom so that the drain water is collected in the drain pump 41, and the drain water accumulated in the drain pan 3 is driven to the drain pipe 41 and discharged to the external pipe 10 through the drain hose 42. The When draining, the drain water is once pumped up above the drain pan 3 by the drain pump 41. Therefore, when the drain pump 41 stops, the drain water corresponding to the pumping height X is not discharged and flows back to the drain pan 3.

  In such an indoor unit 1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the drain pump 41 is driven and a voltage is applied between the silver electrodes 61 and 62 to generate silver ions. Thereafter, when the drain pump 41 is stopped, the drain water containing silver ions flows back to the drain pan 3 as shown in FIG. 2B, so that the silver ions are evenly distributed to the entire drain water of the drain pan 3. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to suppress bacteria from breeding in the drain water of the drain pan 3.

  Moreover, in the indoor unit 1 operated by the operation method according to the present embodiment, the silver ion generator 6 is provided on the discharge side of the drain pump 41. For this reason, when drain water containing silver ions flows backward, it passes through the drain pump 41, and silver ions can be attached to the impeller of the drain pump 41. Therefore, the propagation of bacteria can also be suppressed inside the drain pump 41, and the discharge performance of the drain pump 41 can be prevented from being lowered by slime produced by the bacteria.

  In general, the drain hose 42 of the indoor unit 1 has little difference depending on the type of the indoor unit 1 in the diameter, shape, and the like. For this reason, the silver ion generator 6 of the same shape can be applied to the inside of the drain hose 42 of all types of indoor units 1 and can be manufactured at a low cost because the standard can be unified. It can also be applied to the existing indoor unit 1.

  In the indoor unit 1 operated by the operation method according to the present embodiment, the silver ions can be uniformly dispersed throughout the drain pan 3 by causing the drain water containing silver ions to flow backward. For this reason, it is only necessary to generate silver ions while the drain pump 41 is driven. However, if silver ions are generated at a stage where the drain water in the drain pan 3 is large, the silver ions are discharged together with the drain water. The silver ions are preferably generated after the drain water in the drain pan 3 is reduced. Specifically, it is preferable to generate silver ions at the stage where the drain water of about the pumping height X remains in the drain pan 3. Since the silver ions are generated while pumping, the generated silver ions can be immediately diffused into the drain water, and the drain water corresponding to the pumping height X is not discharged, so silver ions are not wasted. The electrodes 61 and 62 can be used effectively and can be long-lasting.

  The concentration of silver ions in the drain water can be controlled by the amount of electricity flowing between the silver electrodes 61 and 62, the amount of drain water, and the like. That is, the amount of elution of silver ions is approximately proportional to the amount of electricity (C) = constant current value (A) × energization time (sec). Therefore, when performing constant current control, the conduction time is controlled according to the amount of water. By doing so, drain water with a constant concentration of silver ions can be obtained. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, the current value and the energization time so that the concentration of silver ions with respect to the drain water amount corresponding to the pumping height X (the maximum drain water amount stored in the drain pan 3 after drain water discharge) becomes a predetermined value. Is set constant, the concentration of silver ions in the drain water in the drain pan 3 can be set to a predetermined value or more.

Moreover, the silver ion generator 6 in this embodiment can control generation | occurrence | production of silver ion by the presence or absence of the application of a voltage, for example, when the amount of drain water of the drain pan 3 becomes the amount equivalent to the part of the pumping height X. Thus, it is preferable because silver ions can be generated at a desired timing.
When silver ion eluents such as silver supported zeolite, silver supported apatite, and silver-containing glass are used, silver ions are eluted when they come into contact with the drain water regardless of the amount of drain water in the drain pan 3. It may be discharged together with water to reduce efficiency.

  Moreover, since the indoor unit 1 operated by the operation method according to the present embodiment periodically drains the drain water of the drain pan 3 by the drain pump 41 during the air conditioning operation, the drain water of the drain pan 3 is replaced. Bacteria become difficult to propagate. In addition, when the drain pump 41 is driven, silver ions are generated each time, so that silver ions can be present in the drain water in the drain pan 3 and bacterial growth can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, when the air conditioning operation is stopped, the drain water of the drain pan 3 is discharged, and the drain pump 41 is also stopped. At this time, since the drain water of at least the pumping height X flows backward, after the air-conditioning operation is stopped, the drain water is maintained in a state where it is accumulated in the drain pan 3, and an environment in which bacteria are easy to propagate is obtained. Further, in the indoor unit 1, even if the air conditioning operation is stopped, the heat exchanger 2 is cooled, so that the flow of drain water to the drain pan 3 does not stop immediately. Even if the drain water is discharged, the drain water continues to flow into the drain pan 3 even after the drain pump 41 is stopped. For this reason, even when silver ions are generated in the drain water of the drain pan 3 when the air pump 41 is driven when the air conditioning operation is stopped, the amount of drain water in the drain pan 3 is reduced by the flow of the drain water to the drain pan 3 thereafter. Since the concentration of silver ions increases and the concentration of silver ions relatively decreases, there is a possibility that the concentration of silver ions necessary to suppress bacterial growth cannot be maintained. Therefore, hereinafter, an operation method of the indoor unit 1 according to the present embodiment after the air-conditioning operation is stopped will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the operation method of the indoor unit 1 according to the present embodiment, the flow of drain water to the drain pan 3 is completed after the fan of the indoor unit 1 is turned off and the air conditioning operation is stopped, and the amount of drain water stored in the drain pan 3 is The time (A + B) until no change occurs is measured in advance as the flow completion time, and after the flow completion time has elapsed, the drain pump 41 is turned on and driven for a predetermined time (C), and accumulated in the drain pan 3. The drain water is discharged until the drain water in the drain pan 3 is substantially eliminated. As a result, the amount of drain water stored in the drain pan 3 after the stop of the air conditioning operation is only the amount of residual drain water corresponding to the pumping height X, and can always be kept constant and minimized.

  Thereafter, when the drain pump 41 is stopped, the drain water flows backward to the drain pan 3, and therefore, for a certain time (D) after the drain pump 41 is stopped, for example, the drain water corresponding to the pumping height X is supplied to the drain pan 3. After elapse of the time until flowing out, etc., the drain pump 41 is driven again to pump the drain water of the drain pan 3, and the silver ion generator 6 is driven to generate silver ions, which are mixed in the drain water. In the operation method of the present embodiment, the silver ion generator 6 is energized by switching between the anode and the cathode of the silver electrodes 61 and 62 for a certain time. When the drain pump 41 is driven again, the drain water is only an amount corresponding to the pumping height X and is not discharged to the outside. Therefore, the drive time (E) of the drain pump 41 is the silver ion generator. 6 can be arbitrarily determined according to the driving time of the sixth embodiment. Specifically, in the operation method of the present embodiment, the driving time of the silver ion generator 6 is set to 20 seconds (reversed every 10 seconds), and the drain pump 41 The driving time (E) is 21 seconds.

  Then, by stopping the drain pump 41, the drain water corresponding to the pumping height X flows back to the drain pan 3 together with the generated silver ions. As a result, an amount of silver ions effective for inhibiting bacterial growth can be uniformly distributed throughout the drain pan 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the pumped water height X is the highest (for example, X = 850 mm, drain water amount 510 ml). In this case, too, the silver ion concentration of drain water is effective. If the generation amount of ions (for example, current value, energization time, etc.) is set, even if the pumping height X is low, more than the necessary amount of silver ions can be present in the drain water.

  In the operation method of the indoor unit 1 according to the present embodiment, the drain pump 41 is driven for a certain period of time (A) after the air-conditioning operation is stopped. As a result, the amount of drain water accumulated in the drain pan 3 before the flow completion time (A + B) elapses can be reduced. For this reason, the propagation of bacteria can be further suppressed, and the drive time of the drain pump 41 after the elapse of the flow completion time can be shortened. The driving time (A) of the drain pump 41 after the stop of the air-conditioning operation is not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily set, for example, 5 minutes.

  In the present embodiment, the generation of silver ions is the time (E) during which the drain pump 41 pumps up the drain water and the silver ion generator 6 and the drain water are in contact with each other. In general, when using a silver ion eluent such as silver-supported zeolite, it is required to contact with drain water for a long time (1 hour or more) in order to obtain a sufficient antibacterial effect. In particular, since the drain water of the air conditioner is derived from the concentration in the air, it contains less electrolyte than general water (tap water, well water, river water, etc.). Therefore, when silver ions are eluted by an ion exchange method as in the case of silver-supported zeolite, the elution rate of silver ions is reduced and it is necessary to make contact for a longer time. On the other hand, the silver ion generator 6 in the present embodiment is preferable because predetermined silver ions can be generated in a short time by controlling the amount of electricity. Thereby, the drive time of the drain pump 41 can be shortened, and power consumption and operation sound can be reduced.

(Example 1)
Stop the air-conditioning operation using the 5 hp ceiling cassette type indoor unit 1, setting the temperature to 27 ° C, 30 ° C, 35 ° C and setting the humidity to 40% RH, 60% RH, 80% RH. Thereafter, the amount of drain water accumulated in the drain pan 3 after the drain pump 41 was driven for 5 minutes (A) was measured. As a result, the amount of drain water is less influenced by temperature and mainly influenced by humidity. For example, at 30 ° C., as shown in FIG. 5, 230 ml at 40% RH, 310 ml at 60% RH, 80%. It was 330 ml with RH. However, in all cases, the amount of drain water did not change after 30 minutes. For this reason, it turned out that the flow of drain water is completed in 30 minutes after the lapse of time A. Therefore, in this case, the drain water amount of the drain pan 3 can be minimized by setting the flow completion time (A + B) to 35 minutes (5 minutes + 30 minutes).

(Example 2)
500 ml, 750 ml, and 1000 ml of drain water were put in the drain pan 3 of the indoor unit 1 similar to the above, and the time until the drain water was discharged by the drain pump 41 was measured. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, it was found that even when 1000 ml of drain water was put in the drain pan 3, it could be discharged in 90 seconds. Therefore, if the drive time (C) of the drain pump 41 is 90 seconds or more, the amount of drain water in the drain pan 3 can be minimized.

(Example 3)
To 5 sterilized Erlenmeyer flasks, 100 ml of R2A liquid medium was dispensed, and 1 ml of a culture solution obtained by seed culture of drain water with R2A liquid medium (30 ° C., 1 day, shaking culture at 200 rpm) was added. And silver ion is not put in the medium of each Erlenmeyer flask, and the concentration of silver ions is 0.1 mg / L, 0.5 mg / L, 1 mg / L, 2 mg / L by the silver ion generator 6 respectively. Thus, the number of bacteria was measured over time. The reaction conditions were shaken at 30 ° C. and 180 rpm, and sampling was performed 1 ml at a time at the start of the reaction, 3 hours, 6 hours, and 24 hours later, and serial dilution was performed on the R2A agar medium. The culture was performed at 30 ° C. for 2 days, and colonies were measured.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, it was found that the growth can be suppressed for several hours (for example, 6 hours) by setting the silver ion concentration to 0.1 mg / L or more for the bacteria producing slime. The growth of bacteria in the drain water of the drain pan 3 is remarkable because the amount of drain water is the highest for several hours after the air conditioning operation is stopped. In addition, air conditioning operation is often resumed after several hours. If the operation is resumed, the drain water in the drain pan 3 is replaced at any time and the water temperature is lowered, so that bacteria are difficult to grow. Therefore, a sufficient effect is expected when the concentration of silver ions in the drain water of the drain pan 3 is 0.1 mg / L or more.
Further, it was found that if the silver ion concentration was 1 mg / L or more, not only the growth was suppressed but also the effect of reducing the number of bacteria. If it is this density | concentration, the growth of a microbe can be prevented more effectively and the production | generation of slime can be suppressed.

Example 4
When the pumping height X is 60 cm (drain water amount 390 ml), when 390 ml of drain water remains in the drain pan 3, the drain pump 41 is driven and at the same time, the silver electrode 61, which is the silver ion generator 6, A current of 20 mA (constant current) was applied between 62 (electrode size: width 10 mm × length 50 mm, distance between electrodes 3 mm), and the concentration of silver ions in the drain water was measured over time. The silver ion concentration was measured using a multi-item rapid water quality analyzer (HACH DR2400). The conductivity of the drain water was 25 μS / cm. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, linearity is obtained between the silver ion concentration and the energization time. In this case, the silver ion concentration (1 mg / L) or more that has the effect of reducing bacteria is increased. In order to achieve this, it was found that it was necessary to energize for about 15 seconds or more.

(Example 5)
When the pumping height X is 60 cm (drain water amount 390 ml), when 390 ml of drain water remains in the drain pan 3, the drain pump 41 is driven and at the same time, the silver electrode 61, which is the silver ion generator 6, 62 (electrode size: width 10 mm × length 50 mm, distance between electrodes 3 mm), a current of 20 mA (constant current) was applied for 15 seconds, the drain pump 41 was stopped, and the drain pan 3 shown in FIG. The concentration of silver ions in the drain water at the position of -f was measured. Further, as a comparative example, the silver ion concentration at the positions a to f when the silver ion generator 6 was provided at the position a which is one location of the drain pan 3 to generate silver ions was also measured. As a result, as shown in Table 1, in this example, it was found that silver ions were uniformly dispersed at about 1 mg / L in the entire drain water of the drain pan 3.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the indoor unit 1 in which the silver ion generator 6 is provided inside the drain hose 42 on the discharge side of the drain pump 41 is operated as the drain water discharge path has been described. It is also possible to operate the indoor unit 1 provided inside the drain pump 41, on the suction side of the drain pump 41, and the like.

In this embodiment, the case where the indoor unit 1 provided with the silver electrodes 61 and 62 is operated as the silver ion generator 6 which is an antibacterial metal ion generator has been described. However, the silver electrodes 61 and 62 are made of pure silver. Any electrode that contains silver and can elute silver ions may be used, and the shape of the electrode is not limited to a flat plate, and an electrode having another shape such as a rod can be used.
In addition, the antibacterial metal ion generator is not limited to the silver ion generator 6 and may be any device that generates at least one kind of antibacterial metal ions such as silver ions, copper ions, and zinc ions. Good. In such a case, an electrode containing an antibacterial metal and eluting antibacterial metal ions, such as copper, zinc, or an alloy thereof with silver, is used as the electrode. As an antibacterial metal ion, silver ion has the highest antibacterial effect and is desirable, but copper ion, zinc ion and the like also have an antibacterial effect and are inexpensive, so that they can be preferably applied.

  In this embodiment, although the case where the indoor unit 1 which applied the silver electrode which is an electrode containing an antibacterial metal to any of an anode and a cathode was demonstrated was demonstrated, an antibacterial metal is used for an anode among several electrodes It is also possible to use an electrode that does not elute antibacterial metal ions, such as a titanium electrode, a platinum electrode, a carbon electrode, and a conductive plastic electrode.

  In the present embodiment, the case of operating the indoor unit 1 provided with a DC power supply as a voltage application unit has been described, but an AC power supply having a sine wave, a rectangular wave, or the like may be provided.

  In this embodiment, although the case where the indoor unit 1 which provided the silver ion generator 6 in the inside of the drain hose 42 was drive | operated was demonstrated, the indoor unit 1 which does not have antibacterial metal ion generators, such as a silver ion generator You can also drive. In this case as well, by minimizing the amount of drain water in the drain pan 3, it is possible to make the drain pan 3 difficult for bacteria to propagate.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the drain pump 41 is driven for a certain period of time (A) after the air-conditioning operation is stopped has been described, but before the flow-down completion time elapses after the air-conditioning operation is stopped. The drain pump 41 may not be driven.

  In the present embodiment, after the flow-down completion time (A + B) has elapsed, the drain pump 41 is stopped and then driven again to generate silver ions. After the completion time has elapsed, silver ions can be generated while the drain pump 41 is being driven (C). In this case, the silver ion generator 6 may be driven immediately before the drain pump 41 is stopped (for example, when the amount of drain water in the drain pan 3 is about the pumping height X).

  In the present embodiment, the case where the silver ion generator 6 is driven by switching between the anode and the cathode once has been described. However, the silver ion generator 6 may be switched multiple times by one drive. In addition, switching may not be performed by one driving, but may be performed at the next driving (for example, the next day) or after a plurality of driving. Note that the switching between the anode and the cathode may be periodic or random.

  In this embodiment, although the case where the silver ion generator 6 was driven once (during E) was demonstrated, you may drive several times and it does not specifically limit.

  In this embodiment, although the drain pump 41 and the silver ion generator 6 were driven simultaneously and the silver ion generator 6 was stopped and the drain pump 41 was stopped was demonstrated, it is not limited to this. For example, the drain pump 41 can be driven first, and the silver ion generator 6 can be driven to generate silver ions in the drain water while the drain water is present in the drain hose 42.

  The operation method of the air conditioner according to the present invention is not limited to the operation of the indoor unit of the ceiling cassette type air conditioner of a chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant, and is provided below the heat exchanger and the heat exchanger. Various air conditioners, such as an air conditioner equipped with a drain pan that receives the drain water condensed on the vessel and a drain pump that discharges the drain water accumulated in the drain pan to the outside, such as an air conditioner that uses cold water or the like It can be applied to driving.

Schematic diagram of indoor unit of ceiling cassette type air conditioner Explanatory drawing of the method of dispersing silver ions in the drain pan Explanatory drawing of how to operate indoor unit of ceiling cassette type air conditioner Graph showing the relationship between the amount of residual drain water and silver ion concentration Graph showing change in drain water over time Graph showing drain water discharge time Graph showing changes in bacterial count over time Graph showing the relationship between energization time and silver ion concentration The figure which shows the silver ion concentration measurement position of the drain pan

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Heat exchanger 3 Drain pan 41 Drain pump 42 Drain hose 6 Silver ion generator (antibacterial metal ion generator)
61,62 Silver electrode (electrode containing antibacterial metal)
63 DC power supply (voltage application means)

Claims (4)

An air conditioner provided with a heat exchanger, a drain pan provided below the heat exchanger for receiving drain water condensed on the heat exchanger, and a drain pump for discharging the drain water accumulated in the drain pan to the outside Driving method,
Operation of the air conditioner that drives the drain pump for a predetermined time after the flow completion time has elapsed, with the time from the stop of the air conditioning operation until the flow of the drain water to the drain pan is completed as the flow completion time Method.   The operation method of the air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the drain pump is driven before the air conditioning operation is stopped, and is stopped after the air conditioning operation is stopped and before the flow-down completion time has elapsed. The drain pump is configured to pump the drain water above the drain pan and discharge it outside, and an antibacterial metal ion generator is provided in the drain water discharge path,
After the flow-down completion time has elapsed, the drain pump and the antibacterial metal ion generator are driven to generate antibacterial metal ions in the drain water in the discharge path, and then the drain pump The operation method of the air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the drain water having the antibacterial metal ions is caused to flow back to the drain pan.   The air conditioner which performs the operating method of the air conditioner of any one of Claims 1-3.

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