JP2009210177A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of opening and closing a large-sized panel without torsion, reduced in limitation on installation space, and including an arm easily fitted to a cabinet. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner includes a blowoff port 5 formed in front of the cabinet 3, a panel 20 covering the front of the blowoff port 5, and a pair of arms 12, 12 rotatably supporting the panel 20, wherein the arms 12 are provided to freely enter and leave arm entrances 21a formed on both sides of the blowoff port 5 of the cabinet 3, and each arm 12 is provided with an opening and closing means for driving the arm 12 to open and close the panel 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a panel that opens and closes in an indoor unit according to an air conditioning operation.

As a vertical direction wind direction changing device installed at an outlet of an indoor unit or the like of an air conditioner, as shown in Patent Document 1, a vertical direction wind direction changing blade is provided at the tip of an arm portion 6 that rotates about an output shaft 13 ′. The thing of the structure to which was attached so that rotation was possible was known.
JP 2006-138629 A

  However, in the up / down direction air direction changing device described in Patent Document 1, the arm portion rotates in a state of projecting forward of the air outlet, so that a gap is generated between the up / down direction air direction changing vane and the air outlet, resulting in air conditioning. When the machine is shut down, the air outlet 5 cannot be closed with the airflow changing blades in the vertical direction, and the air outlet is always open, which impairs the aesthetics and requires a better appearance. It had been.

  In addition, in the said patent document 1, in order to be able to accommodate an up-down direction wind direction change blade | wing in a blower outlet, the wind direction change apparatus provided with the arm part which has a some indirect part is also described. However, having a plurality of indirect portions has a problem that the structure of the arm portion and the operation control become extremely complicated.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, while adopting a simple arm rotation structure, when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, there is no gap between the panel and the air outlet, and an excellent appearance It aims at providing the air conditioner which has.

  In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner according to the present invention includes an air outlet formed on the front surface of a cabinet, a panel provided on the front side of the air outlet, which opens and closes the air outlet, and supports the panel. A pair of arms, and an arm entrance / exit formed on both sides of the cabinet outlet, wherein the arm has an arm base rotatably attached to the cabinet inside the entrance / exit, and the arm By rotating, the tip of the arm is provided so as to be able to enter and exit the entrance.

  According to the above configuration, the air conditioner can be used as an arm while adopting a simple structure in which the arm can be rotated around the rotation center formed in the cabinet and the arm tip can be moved in and out of the entrance / exit. By adjusting the rotation angle of the arm when the operation is stopped, it is possible to prevent a gap from being generated between the panel and the outlet. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that has an excellent appearance and is less likely to collect dust at the air outlet and the panel.

  In the present invention, the fact that the tip of the arm can be moved in and out of the doorway means that the arm can be retracted in the doorway so that the panel connected to the arm is in close contact with the cabinet without any gap. Means. Therefore, the tip of the arm may actually be immersed in the entrance / exit, or it may be retracted to just before the entrance / exit.

  In the present invention, the cabinet has a curved surface from the bottom surface to the front surface, and an outlet is formed on the curved surface. Arm doorways are provided on both sides of the air outlet. A panel is supported on the arm portion exposed from the arm doorway, and the air outlet can be opened and closed by rotating the arm.

  Further, in addition to the above configuration, if the panel is rotatably supported with respect to the arm, and the panel and the arm can be rotated independently of each other, the vertical direction of the conditioned air blown out from the air outlet is changed. Can be changed.

  That is, the panel takes a closed posture that closes the outlet when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. When the air conditioner is in operation, the panel is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the arm, so that the direction of the wind from the air outlet is changed in the vertical direction between the lower opening position and the upper opening position of the panel. It becomes possible to guide to the indoor space.

  Specifically, when the upper end (front end) of the panel in the closed posture is brought close to the upper edge of the air outlet, the upper open posture can be taken by rotating the lower end of the panel to open. The air blown toward the front can be pressed and guided downward, and the air can be guided to the wall surface or floor surface of the room.

  Further, in a state where the lower end (rear end) of the panel in the closed posture is brought close to the lower edge of the air outlet, the panel is rotated so as to open the upper end of the panel, and the panel is connected to the lower wall of the air outlet. By doing so, it is possible to take a downward opening posture, and it is possible to guide the conditioned air blown out from the blowout outlet to the far side.

  As described above, in order to bring the panel into the upper open posture or the lower open posture, the panel must be rotated around the connecting portion with the arm. On the other hand, in order to prevent the rotating panel from colliding with the cabinet, it is necessary to make the arm protrude forward from the arm entrance and to make a gap between the panel and the cabinet in advance. Therefore, when the panel is rotated, the arm is rotated in advance, or the arm is rotated together with the rotation of the panel to form a gap that enables the panel to rotate between the arm tip and the cabinet. It is necessary to do.

  At this time, if the panel is configured to be pivotally supported by the tip of the arm at a position eccentric to either side of the panel in the closed position in the vertical direction (front-rear direction), the panel is rotated. The gap between the arm and the cabinet required for this is small, and the preliminary motion for rotating the panel can be minimized.

  In order to smoothly change the wind direction of the blown air according to the upward opening position or the downward opening position, it is preferable that the panel is large. In addition, in order to rotate the large panel to take the upper opening posture or the lower opening posture, it is necessary to sufficiently secure the length of the arm in accordance with the size of the panel.

  Therefore, in the present invention, an arm having a structure in which an arm base is disposed in one of the upper space or the lower space inside the entrance and the other end is disposed on the other side is used. Thereby, it becomes possible to make the arm of sufficient length protrude ahead of a blower outlet, and to make a panel rotatable.

  Whether the panel is supported at an eccentric position in the vertical direction (front-rear direction) of the panel is determined so that the side close to the arm tip stored in the doorway is supported by the arm when the panel is closed. do it. Specifically, when the arm base portion is disposed in the lower space and the arm tip portion is disposed in the upper space inside the doorway, the upper side of the panel (front side) may be supported by the arm.

  In the above-described configuration, the upper opening posture can be taken by rotating the panel so that the lower end side of the panel faces the front in a state where the arm is slightly rotated from the position of the closed posture toward the front of the cabinet. It becomes possible. In addition, when the arm is rotated so that the upper end side of the panel is opened while the lower end portion of the panel is close to the lower edge portion of the air outlet, it is possible to assume a downward opening posture.

  Further, as described above, in the configuration in which the arm base is arranged in the lower space inside the entrance / exit, in order to rotate the panel attached to the arm, it is necessary to slightly rotate the arm from the closed position to the front of the cabinet. There is. Then, when the panel is in the upward opening position, in order for the upper end of the panel to be close to the upper edge of the air outlet without a step, the position of the upper edge of the air outlet is lower than the position of the upper edge of the doorway. It is necessary to form so that it becomes.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a panel is made larger than a blower outlet, Thereby, the wind direction of the air which blows off from a blower outlet can be changed smoothly. Furthermore, by making the panel larger than the air outlet, it becomes possible to close the air outlet when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, and the panel has a better appearance and more dust on the air outlet and the panel. An air conditioner that is less likely to accumulate can be obtained.

  In addition, use the same panel material as the cabinet material, or form a recess so that it is one step lower than the upper front part of the cabinet from the middle part to the bottom part of the front part of the cabinet. By fitting the panel, the outer surface of the upper part of the cabinet and the outer surface of the panel can be formed to be flush with each other. Thus, when the panel constitutes a part of the cabinet, a sense of unity as the entire air conditioner is increased, and an air conditioner with a better appearance can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the arm base is rotatably attached to the cabinet inside the doorway, and the tip of the arm can be moved into and out of the doorway by turning the arm. Since it is provided, it is possible to provide an air conditioner having an excellent appearance without generating a gap between the panel and the outlet when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped.

  An embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The indoor unit of the air conditioner in this embodiment is shown in FIGS. The indoor unit includes a heat exchanger 1 and an indoor fan 2, which are housed in a cabinet 3. The cabinet 3 is formed in a box shape having a depth longer than the height, and has a curved surface from the front surface to the bottom surface. A suction port 4 is formed on the upper surface of the cabinet 3, and an outlet 5 is formed on the curved surface.

  An air passage 6 extending from the suction port 4 to the blowout port 5 is formed inside the cabinet 3, and the heat exchanger 1 and the indoor fan 2 are disposed in the air passage 6. A filter 7 is disposed between the suction port 5 and the heat exchanger 1, and dust is removed from indoor air sucked from the suction port 4. A cleaning device 8 for cleaning the filter 7 is provided.

  The cleaning device 8 moves the filter 7 in the cabinet 3 to pass through the dust removing unit 9, and the dust removing unit 9 removes dust attached to the filter 7. A guide path 10 that is curved in a U shape in a side view is formed on the front side in the cabinet 3, and a moving unit including a motor and a gear reciprocates the filter 7 along the guide path 10. In the dust removing unit 9, the rotating brush 11 scrapes off dust from the passing filter 7, and a suction fan causes air to flow in a direction substantially parallel to the filter 7 (left and right direction), and the scraped dust is sucked and discharged. To do.

  An air guide panel 20 that opens and closes the air outlet 5 is provided on the curved surface of the cabinet 3. The wind guide panel 20 is formed by a single curved panel and covers the front surface of the cabinet 3. The width of the wind guide panel 20 is the same as the width of the cabinet 3, and is larger than the width of the air outlet 5. And the front panel 21 is formed in the front surface of the cabinet 3 so that it may become one step lower from the middle part of the front surface to the bottom surface.

  Thereby, a recessed part is formed in the whole width direction, and the wind guide panel 20 fits into the recessed part. An opening is formed in the front panel 21 that forms the recess, and this opening is the air outlet 5. Therefore, the wind guide panel 20 is positioned in front of the air outlet 5 and covers the air outlet 5 and the front panel 21 around the air outlet 5. That is, the air guide panel 20 is formed larger than the air outlet 5. At this time, the wind guide panel 20 is in the closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  As described above, when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, the air guide panel 20 closes the air outlet 5 and an inlet / outlet 21a described later, and the outer surface of the upper portion of the front surface of the cabinet 3 and the outer surface of the air guide panel 20 are flush with each other. Formed to be. Therefore, it is set as the structure where dust does not collect easily in the blower outlet 5 or the wind guide panel 20. FIG.

  The wind guide panel 20 and the cabinet 3 are made of the same material. Thereby, the wind guide panel 20 comprises a part of cabinet, and there exists a feeling of unity and high quality as a whole, and can provide the air conditioner excellent in the external appearance.

  With the wind guide panel 20 in the closed posture, the outer surface of the wind guide panel 20 forms a smooth curved surface extending from the front surface to the bottom surface of the cabinet 3. That is, the wind guide panel 20 is a member constituting a part of the front surface of the cabinet 3. In other words, a part of the panel of the cabinet 3 is used as the wind guide panel 20. Thereby, the wind guide panel 20 becomes a long panel having a long overall length as compared with the louver employed in the conventional air conditioner.

  The air outlet 5 is provided with a wind direction plate 24 and an auxiliary louver (not shown). The wind direction plate 24 changes the wind direction in the left-right direction by changing the angle in the left-right direction. The auxiliary louver changes the vertical direction according to the posture of the wind guide panel 20 and changes the vertical direction while rectifying the blown wind.

  In the air guide panel 20 enlarged as described above, twisting and bending are likely to occur. Therefore, on the inner surface of the wind guide panel 20, reinforcing peripheral walls are formed at both end edges on the front-rear direction (short direction) side. A peripheral wall is formed over the whole left-right direction (longitudinal direction). The peripheral wall has a hollow structure and can be thick. With such a peripheral wall, the strength of the wind guide panel 20 can be increased, and bending can be suppressed. Further, similar reinforcing peripheral walls are also formed at both end edges on the left and right direction sides.

  In this way, by strengthening the four edges of the wind guide panel 20 by increasing the thickness, the strength against deformation of the wind guide panel 20 can be increased, and the size of the wind guide panel 20 can be increased. Moreover, since the wind guide panel 20 has a structure that is not easily deformed, it is possible to increase the degree of bending of the wind guide panel 20 in the front-rear direction, and it is easy to control the air blowing direction when the wind guide panel 20 is opened. . That is, during the cooling operation, the cool air can be guided toward the ceiling, and the reach distance of the cool air can be increased. During heating operation, warm air is guided toward the wall, and the warm air reaches the floor.

  In addition, an inclined surface is formed on the distal end side of the peripheral wall. The inner surface of the peripheral wall is an inclined surface. The outer surface is a vertical surface. When the wind guide panel 20 is in the downward opening posture, the blown cold air may hit the peripheral wall located in the left-right direction, and dew may be attached to the peripheral wall. Therefore, by using the inclined surface, the cold air flows along the inclined surface. The cold air flows without stopping and can prevent condensation on the surrounding wall.

  A heat insulating material 30 is provided on the inner surface of the wind guide panel 20 surrounded by the peripheral wall. The heat insulating material 30 is attached over the entire surface except for both end sides in the left-right direction. The width in the left-right direction of the heat insulating material 30 is set to be larger than the width of the air outlet 5. The surface of the heat insulating material 30 is flush. Therefore, there is no protrusion on the inner surface side of the air guide panel 20 facing the air outlet 5, and the flow of the wind is not hindered.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the wind guide panel 20 is detachably attached to the cabinet 3 via the arm 12. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 16 to 19, on both sides of the inner surface of the wind guide panel 20 in the left-right direction, a spline shaft 13 including a spline-shaped shaft portion 13 a and a main body portion 13 b, and a spline shaft 13. A pair of bearings 14 (consisting of a bearing portion 14a and a main body portion 14b) for engaging and supporting the tip end of the shaft portion 13a (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the tip end) is formed.

  It is more preferable that the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14 are positioned eccentrically toward the upper side (front side) in the vertical direction (front-rear direction) of the air guide panel 20 in the closed posture and are positioned at the upper end of the panel. The spline shafts 13 and 13 are slidable in the spline axial direction so that the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal direction A (left and right direction of the air outlet) A of the panel and can be moved close to and away from the bearing 14. Provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, in the front panel 21, on both sides (right and left side portions) of the air outlet 5, a vertically long arm doorway 21 a through which the arm 12 enters and exits is formed. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 15, the arm 12 is unitized and accommodated in the case 15. The case 15 has an opening 15 a on the front side, and is fixed in the cabinet 3 so that the opening 15 a faces the entrance 21 a of the front panel 21.

  As an alignment means for aligning the position of the case 15 with respect to the cabinet 3, a fitting portion that can be fitted into the case 15 in accordance with the outer shape of the case 15 is formed on the inner surface of the cabinet 3. It is not necessary to align the arm 12, the driving means, and the rotating means simply by fitting them into the fitting portion, and the arms 12 can be easily attached to the cabinet 3 via the case 15. After attaching the case 15 to the cabinet 3, it is only necessary to connect the lead wires of the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27 and the electric wiring such as the position detection sensor 43.

  Each arm 12 is attached so that the base portion can freely rotate around a rotation shaft 18 formed in the case 15. That is, the arm base 12b is rotatably attached to the cabinet 3 inside the entrance / exit 21a, and the arm tip 12c rotates while the arm tip 12c draws an arc-shaped locus. The doorway 21a is provided so as to be able to enter and exit.

  The arm base 12b is arranged in a lower space inside the entrance / exit 21a, and the arm tip 12c is arranged in an upper space inside the entrance / exit 12a. In the present embodiment, the internal space of the entrance 21 a is the internal space of the case 15. The position of the upper edge of the blower outlet 5 is formed to be lower than the position of the upper edge of the doorway 21a. Thereby, when the panel 20 takes the upward opening posture, the upper end portion of the panel can be brought close to the upper edge of the air outlet.

  The unit is provided with driving means for driving the arm 12. The drive means includes a drive motor 22 attached to the case 15 and a drive mechanism that transmits the rotational force of the drive motor 22 to the arm 12 to rotate it.

  The drive mechanism includes an arc-shaped rack 12a formed at the rear end portion of the arm 12 and centering on the rotation shaft 18, and a pinion 19 that meshes with the rack 12a. The pinion 19 meshes with a gear 22 a fixed to the shaft of the drive motor 22 installed in the case 15.

  Further, each arm 12 is provided with a rotating means for rotating the air guide panel 20 supported by the arm 12. The rotation means includes a rotation motor 27 and a rotation mechanism that rotates the rotation force of the rotation motor 27 by transmitting the rotation force to the wind guide panel 20.

  The rotation motor 27 and the rotation mechanism constituting the rotation means are installed on the arm 12. More specifically, the turning mechanism includes a driven rotating body and a driving rotating body that are respectively installed at the tip and base of the arm 12, and an endless belt 25 that is stretched between the rotating bodies. . The outer shell of the arm 12 is composed of an arm main body 28 having a hollow structure, the rotation mechanism is accommodated in the arm main body 28, and the wind guide panel 20 is engaged with the driven rotating body. In the present embodiment, the pulley 16 and the driving pulley 23 are used as the driven rotating body and the driving rotating body.

  As described above, the pulley 16 as a driven rotating body is rotatably disposed at the tip of the arm 12. A spline hole 17 that can be fitted to the spline shaft 13 is formed at the center of the pulley 16. The pulley 16 is attached to the arm 12 so that the axial direction of the spline hole 17 is parallel to the panel left-right direction A. The spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14 are arranged so that the bearing 14 is closer to the left and right ends of the wind guide panel 20.

  Then, the shaft portion 13 a of the spline shaft 13 is fitted into the spline hole 17 of the pulley 16, and the tip of the spline shaft 13 is engaged with the bearing portion 14 a of the bearing 14. As a result, the pulley 16 is sandwiched between the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14, and the wind guide panel 20 is securely fixed to the pulley 16. In order to engage the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14, a concave portion is formed at the center of the tip of the spline shaft 13, a convex portion is formed in the bearing portion 14a of the bearing 14, and the convex portion is inserted into the concave portion. is doing.

  A driving pulley 23 is installed as a driving rotating body near the rotating shaft 18 of the arm 12, and an endless belt 25 is stretched between the driving pulley 23 and the pulley 16. A tension roller 26 for increasing the tension of the belt 25 is installed between the pulley 16 and the drive pulley 23. A gear 23 a is concentrically attached to the drive pulley 23 and meshed with a gear 27 a fixed to the shaft of the rotation motor 27. In the present embodiment, stepping motors are used as the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27.

  The rotation motor 27 is installed on the outer surface of the arm body 28 at the base of the arm 12, and the motor shaft is introduced into the arm body 28. Therefore, when the arm 12 is rotated around the rotation shaft 18 by the drive motor 22, the rotation motor 27 moves together with the arm 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, a lead-out hole 15c is formed at the position of the center of rotation (rotation shaft 18) of the arm 12 in the case 15, and the lead of the rotation motor 27 is formed from this lead-out hole 15c. The line 27a is drawn out. Thereby, even if the rotation motor 27 moves, the distance from the rotation motor 27 to the lead-out hole 15c is constant and does not change, and the disconnection of the lead wire 27a can be prevented.

  In the arm 12, the tip end portion of the arm main body 28 exposed from the cabinet 3 has a rounded shape. Moreover, the front cross-sectional shape of the part of the arm main body 28 that enters and exits from the entrance 21a (in other words, the arm part to which the airflow hits when the cold air is blown in the left-right direction of the outlet 5) is a square shape. The part is also rounded. Accordingly, even when an air flow hits the arm when the cold air is blown in the left-right direction of the air outlet 5, the cold air flows along the surface of the arm 12, so that condensation on the arm 12 can be prevented.

  In the air conditioner, an outdoor unit (not shown) is installed outside the indoor unit. The outdoor unit includes a compressor, a heat exchanger, a four-way valve, an outdoor fan, and the like, and a refrigeration cycle 40 is formed by these and the indoor heat exchanger 1. And as shown in FIG. 20, the control apparatus 41 which controls the refrigerating cycle 40 is provided in an indoor unit. A control device 41 composed of a microcomputer controls the refrigeration cycle 40 based on a user instruction and detection signals of various sensors 42 such as a temperature sensor that detects a room temperature and an outside air temperature, and performs an air conditioning operation. At this time, the control device 41 controls the drive of the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27 according to the air conditioning operation, and opens and closes the wind guide panel 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a position detection sensor 43 for detecting the open position of the air guide panel 20 is provided in the case 15 at a position adjacent to the rear end portion of the arm 12. In the drawing, the tension roller 26 between the pulley 16 and the drive pulley 23 is omitted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a position detection sensor 44 is also provided at the step portion at the lower end of the front panel 21.

  The position detection sensors 43 are provided on the left and right arms 12, and the position detection sensors 44 are also provided on both left and right ends of the front panel 21 near the front end of the lower wall 5. The position detection sensors 43 and 44 are limit switches. Further, a non-contact type optical sensor (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the position detection sensor 44 and outputs a detection signal to the control device 41 when the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 approaches the lower end of the front panel 21. To do.

  The control device 41 controls driving of the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27 based on the detection signals of the position detection sensors 43 and 44 and the optical sensor so that the wind guide panel 20 is in an initial state without twisting. ing.

  The position detection sensors 43 and 44 are switched on when the wind guide panel 20 is in the initial state (in this embodiment, when the wind guide panel 20 is closed). That is, the rear end of the arm 12 contacts the position detection sensor 43, and the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 contacts the position detection sensor 44. Therefore, the position detection sensors 43 and 44 detect that the wind guide panel 20 is in the initial state, that is, in the closed posture.

  In addition, when the wind guide panel 20 is in an initial state, that is, in a closed posture, position detection sensors may be provided at both left and right end positions of the front panel 21 that are in contact with the upper end of the wind guide panel 20. Thereby, since it is detected by a total of four position detection sensors that it is in a closed posture, it can be detected with higher accuracy that it is in a closed posture.

  Next, opening and closing of the wind guide panel 20 will be described. When the drive motor 22 is driven by the control device 41, the arm 12 rotates around the rotation shaft 18 as the gear 19 rotates, and the arm 12 enters and exits from the entrance 21 a of the front panel 21.

  The left and right arms 12 and 12 are controlled to be driven independently by the control device 41. Therefore, when performing the air conditioning operation, a stepping motor is used as the drive motor 22 so that the operations of the left and right arms 12 and 12 are synchronized, and the control device 41 rotates the drive motor 22 and the rotation according to a predetermined timing. The drive of the motor 27 is turned on / off. That is, the motors 22 and 27 are sequence-controlled.

  In the air conditioner, the cooling / heating operation is performed according to an instruction when the user operates the remote controller or when a timer setting time is reached. The control device 41 controls the refrigeration cycle 40 and controls the opening and closing of the wind guide panel 20.

  The wind guide panel 20 changes the blowing direction of the conditioned air by opening downward or upward according to the operation mode. Specifically, during the cooling operation, the control device 41 drives the drive motor 22 to open the arm 12 around the rotation shaft 18 (counterclockwise in FIG. 4) as shown in FIGS. ). The arm 12 is rotated until the tip is inclined downward.

  When the wind guide panel 20 is fixed and rotated around the rotation shaft 18 together with the arm 12, the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 contacts the lower end of the front panel 21. Therefore, the control device 41 drives the rotation motor 27 in accordance with the rotation of the arm 12 so that the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 and the lower end of the front panel 21 are not in contact with each other, and the spline. The wind guide panel 20 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 4 around the shaft portion 13a of the shaft 13. Then, after the rotation of the arm 12 is completed, the wind guide panel 20 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4 so that the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 is in contact with the lower wall of the air outlet 5.

  Thus, the wind guide panel 20 opens downward during the cooling operation. In this downward opening posture, the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 is connected to (in contact with) the lower wall of the air outlet 5, and a long nozzle is formed by the air guide panel 20 and the upper wall of the air outlet 5. . The wind guide panel 20 guides the cool air obliquely upward, and the cool air blows out along the ceiling.

  During the heating operation (see FIGS. 5 and 6), the control device 41 drives the drive motor 22 to rotate the arm 12 counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 18, and the wind guide panel 20. The clockwise rotation about the shaft portion 13a of the spline shaft 13 is the same as in the cooling operation. However, during the heating operation, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the arm 12 stops rotating when it faces the horizontal direction, and the wind guide panel 20 is moved until the outer surface of the wind guide panel 20 is obliquely upward. The turning point is different from the cooling operation.

  In this case, since the front end of the wind guide panel 20 approaches the upper portion of the front panel 21 as the wind guide panel 20 rotates, the control device 41 rotates the arm 12 and the wind guide panel 20 so that they do not come into contact with each other. (Driving of the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27) is controlled.

  Thus, the wind guide panel 20 opens upward at the time of heating operation. In this upward opening posture, the air guide panel 20 shields the front of the air outlet 5, suppresses the warm air blown forward, and guides the warm air toward the floor surface. Even at the initial stage of the cooling operation, the air guide panel 20 is in the upwardly open posture, and the cool air is blown out toward the floor surface to perform rapid cooling.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, it is possible to rotate the air guide panel 20 from the upwardly opened posture until the outer surface of the panel faces upward without rotating the arm 12. By taking this maximum upward opening posture, it becomes possible to blow out conditioned air toward the front floor surface more than in the normal upward opening posture.

  In this case, a recess 21 b is formed in the front panel so that the front end of the wind guide panel 20 does not contact the front panel 21. Similarly, a recess 15 b is formed at a position corresponding to the case 15. Note that the wind guide panel 20 may be controlled to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the arm 12 when taking the maximum upward opening posture. When the operation is stopped, the air guide panel 20 is closed by performing an operation opposite to the operation of opening the air guide panel 20 and covers the air outlet 5 and is integrated with the cabinet 5 as shown in FIG.

  In the air conditioner having the above-described configuration, a case will be described in which the air guide panel 20 that has been once removed by maintenance or the like is attached to the cabinet 3 during assembly work of the air conditioner. First, as shown in FIG. 19, the spline shafts 13 provided on the left and right sides of the air guide panel 20 are slid to increase the distance between the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14.

  Next, the wind guide panel 20 is held with both hands, and alignment is performed so that the bearing 14 and the pulley 16 of the arm 12 overlap each other. In this state, the spline shaft 13 is slid so as to hold the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14, and the shaft portion 13a of the spline shaft 13 is fitted into the spline hole 17, and the tip of the spline shaft 13 is connected to the bearing portion 14a of the bearing 14. Is engaged and supported. Thereby, the wind guide panel 20 can be attached to the cabinet 3 easily and smoothly.

  In the present embodiment, a lock mechanism (not shown) is provided to lock the spline shaft 13 and the bearing 14 in an engaged state, whereby the wind guide panel 20 is being driven. The air guide panel 20 can be prevented from being detached from the arm 12.

  A known mechanism may be employed as the locking mechanism. For example, a locking claw is provided on one of the main body portion 13b of the spline shaft 13 and the main body portion 14b of the bearing 14, and a claw receiving portion is provided on the other side. The locking claw can be locked to the claw receiving portion in a state in which the bearing 13 and the bearing 14 are engaged. In this case, the lock mechanism can be released from the locked state by a simple operation.

  Thereafter, the control device 41 is caused to execute an operation (initial operation) for setting the wind guide panel 20 to an initial state. In the initial operation, the control device 41 separately controls the left and right arms 13 and 13 based on signals from the position detection sensors 43 and 44 and the optical sensor.

  Specifically, the control device 41 rotates the wind guide panel 20 counterclockwise until the optical sensor outputs a signal for detecting that the rear end of the wind guide panel 20 has approached the lower end of the front panel 21. Let As described above, after the tip of the air guide panel 20 is brought close to the front panel 21, the arm 12 is rotated clockwise until the switch of the position detection sensor 43 is turned on.

  In addition, since the wind guide panel 20 moves with the arm 12 during the rotation of the arm 12, the detection signal of the optical sensor may not be detected. In this case, until the optical sensor outputs the detection signal, At any time, the wind guide panel 20 is rotated counterclockwise.

  Then, after the position detection sensor 43 is turned ON, the wind guide panel 20 is rotated counterclockwise until the position detection sensor 44 is turned ON. When the ON signal of the position detection sensor 44 is detected, it is determined that the wind guide panel 20 is in an initial state (in the present embodiment, the panel 20 is closed), and the initial operation is terminated.

  The twisting of the wind guide panel 20 can be automatically eliminated by performing the above initial operation simultaneously for each of the left and right arms. In order to cause the control device 41 to execute the initial operation, a switch for performing the initial operation is provided, and after the panel is attached to the arm, the twist of the panel is eliminated by turning on the initial operation switch. it can.

  In this way, the same DC pulse is supplied from the control device 41 to the left and right drive motors 22 and the rotation motor 27 with respect to the left and right arms that are in the initial state by the initial operation, so that the arms 12 and the pulleys 16 have the same left and right angles. Can be rotated.

  Further, the initial operation may be automatically performed by inserting the power plug into the outlet. That is, when removing or attaching the wind guide panel 20, it is preferable to remove the power plug of the air conditioner from the commercial power outlet for safety. It is recommended to perform the initial operation automatically by inserting the plug into the outlet.

  It is also possible to perform an initial operation prior to opening and closing of the panel when the operation switch of the air conditioner is turned ON / OFF. In this case, the operation switch may be pushed. When the operation switch is turned ON / OFF, the initial operation is performed prior to the opening / closing of the panel, so that the panel can be reliably prevented from being twisted.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, many corrections and changes can be added to the said embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, the position detection sensor 43 may be provided for the arm. Further, the position detection sensors 43 and 44 may directly detect the position of the wind guide panel 20 and may use not only a contact type sensor such as a limit switch but also a non-contact type sensor such as an optical sensor or a camera. .

  Moreover, the initial state of the wind guide panel 20 is not limited to the state where the wind guide panel 20 is closed, and may be set with the panel slightly opened. In this case, adjustment is made so that the position detection sensors 43 and 44 are turned on in this state. And it is also possible to return the air guide panel 20 to the closed state by controlling the drive of the drive motor 22 and the rotation motor 27 at a preset timing from the position.

  In the present embodiment, the arm 12 has the arm base 12b disposed in the lower space inside the entrance 21a and the arm tip 12c disposed in the upper space inside the entrance 21a. Is also possible. That is, the arm tip portion is arranged in the lower space inside the entrance / exit 21a, and the arm base portion is arranged in the upper space inside the entrance / exit 21a. And the wind guide panel 20 should just form a bearing in the panel eccentric direction (front-back direction) in the position eccentrically located near the lower side (rear side), preferably at the lower end of the panel.

  In the above aspect, with the arm slightly rotated from the closed position toward the front of the cabinet, the panel can be rotated so that the upper end side of the panel faces the front, thereby taking the downward opening position. It becomes possible. Further, when the arm is rotated so that the lower end side of the panel is opened while the upper end portion of the panel is close to the upper edge portion of the air outlet, it is possible to take an upward opening posture.

1 is an external perspective view showing an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. Side sectional view of the indoor unit of FIG. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state where the wind guide panel is opened downward. Side view of the indoor unit of FIG. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state where the wind guide panel is opened upward. Side view of the indoor unit of FIG. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a state where the wind guide panel is further rotated. Side view of the indoor unit of FIG. The perspective view which shows the positional relationship of a wind guide panel and a case in the closed state External perspective view of the case The perspective view which shows the state which removed the one side of the case from FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which removed the motor from FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which removed the half of the cover body from FIG. Side view of FIG. The side view which shows the state which the arm rotated in FIG. Perspective view showing a wind guide panel Enlarged perspective view in a circle in FIG. Perspective view showing a wind guide panel Enlarged perspective view in a circle in FIG. Air conditioner control block diagram Case side view

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat exchanger 2 Indoor fan 3 Cabinet 4 Suction port 5 Outlet 6 Air passage 12 Arm 12a Rack 13 Spline shaft 14 Bearing 15 Case 15a Opening 15b Recess 16 Pulley 17 Spline hole 18 Rotating shaft 19 Pinion 20 Wind guide panel 21 Front Panel 21a Entrance / exit 21b Recess 22 Drive motor 23 Drive pulley 23a Gear 24 Wind direction plate 25 Belt 26 Tension roller 27 Rotating motor 29 Gear 30 Heat insulating material 40 Refrigerating cycle 41 Control device 42 Sensor 43, 44 Position detection sensor A Left-right direction of panel

Claims (8)

An air outlet formed in the front of the cabinet, a panel provided on the front side of the air outlet to open and close the air outlet, a pair of arms that support the panel, and an arm formed on both sides of the air outlet of the cabinet The arm has an arm base pivotably attached to the cabinet inside the doorway, and the arm can be rotated to move the tip of the arm into and out of the doorway. An air conditioner characterized by being provided in the air conditioner. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the panel is rotatably supported by the arm, and the panel and the arm are independently rotatable. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the panel is rotatably supported on the tip of the arm at a position eccentric to either side of the panel in the vertical direction. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arm has an arm base disposed in one of an upper space and a lower space inside the entrance and an arm tip portion disposed in the other. . The arm base portion is disposed in a lower space inside the entrance and exit, and the position of the upper edge of the air outlet is formed to be lower than the position of the upper edge of the entrance and exit. Air conditioner. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the panel is formed larger than the air outlet. The air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the panel closes the outlet when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the panel constitutes a part of the cabinet when the panel is closed.

Images