JP2009276017A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of performing efficient humidifying operation by collecting and evaporating condensation water by an evaporator without waste and discharging the condensation water to any position within a room. <P>SOLUTION: In the air conditioner, an indoor unit 1 includes a heat exchanger 2, an air blower 11 and a blow-out port 4, and a portion 2a of the heat exchanger 2 functions as an evaporator during heating. Condensation water by the evaporator is collected in one section by a water collecting mechanism 3a, and a means 4 for generating steam from the condensation water and discharging the steam to inside of a room is provided. The air conditioner can intensively deliver humidified air to persons without waste, and moisture retention effects of water particles are enhanced by the steam, to prevent drying of skin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a humidifying function.

  Conventionally, this type of air conditioner enhances the humidification effect by setting a region where a person exists as a humidification region (see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the indoor heat exchanger 2 of the air conditioner 1 includes a first heat exchanger 2a, a second heat exchanger 2b, a third heat exchanger 2c, and a reversible valve (not shown). The reversible valve adjusts the pressure of the refrigerant so that the first heat exchanger 2a functions as an evaporator.

  A drain pan 3a for receiving condensed water is provided below the first heat exchanger 2a and the second heat exchanger 2b. When the air conditioner 1 starts the heating operation, condensed water is generated by the first heat exchanger 2a that is an evaporator, and the condensed water is transferred to the second heat exchanger 2b that is a condenser below the first heat exchanger 2a. It drops and evaporates, becomes humidified air, and is sent into the living room from the outlet 4 of the air conditioner 1. At this time, the left and right blades 5a for blowing the airflow at the outlet in the left-right direction are positioned above to blow dry air via the first heat exchanger 2a and the third heat exchanger 2c, and the left and right blades 5b are directed downward. It is located and the humidified air which passed through the 2nd heat exchanger 2b is ventilated. For example, when a person is in front of the air conditioner 1, the left and right blades 5 b face the front and blow humid air toward the person, and the left and right blades 5 a face both sides and blow dry air toward the wall of the room. Can do.

  Moreover, as another air conditioner, there is one that discharges nanometer-sized water fine particles into the living room in order to remove the adhering odor on the walls and curtains in the living room (see Patent Document 2).

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner described in Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the electrostatic atomizer 6 is provided in the lower part of the blower outlet 4 of the air conditioner 1, and when a high voltage is applied to an electrode (not shown), water particulates are generated and air conditioning is performed. The air is blown into the living room along with the air. The fine water particles not only remove odor components in the air but also deodorize them, and also remove odor components adhering to walls and curtains in the room.
JP 2003-130382 A JP 2005-282873 A

  However, in the conventional configuration according to Patent Document 1, the dew condensation water drops from the first heat exchanger 2a that is uniformly in the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner 1 to the second heat exchanger 2b and evaporates as it is. Is widely blown in the longitudinal direction. In general, humidified air is easy to diffuse, and it is highly likely that the humidified air that has exited from a wide outlet is diffused and mixed with dry air before reaching the person.

Further, in the conventional configuration, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with a humidifying unit composed of zeolite and a heater. However, if the second heat exchanger 2b is used to evaporate the dropped water, considerable energy is required. And, it cannot be said that energy saving is high compared to a unit that uses a heater. Furthermore, there is no problem if all the condensed water by the first heat exchanger 2a is evaporated, but when the second heat exchanger 2b cannot evaporate, the condensed water is discharged to the outside via the drain pan 3a. Become. In that case, the room is dehumidified in total.

  Moreover, although the said conventional structure by patent document 2 has touched that water particulates remove an odor component, it had the subject that the amount of atomization was small and the drying prevention effect with respect to a person was slight. .

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides an air conditioner that can efficiently perform humidification operation by collecting condensed water by an evaporator without waste, evaporating it, and discharging it to an arbitrary position in a living room. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the air conditioner of the present invention has a heat exchanger, a blower, and an outlet in an indoor unit, and a part of the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator during heating, Condensed water from the evaporator is collected at one place by a water collecting mechanism, and includes means for generating water vapor from the condensed water and releasing it into the living room.

  Thereby, it is possible to humidify an arbitrary place in the room by concentrating without losing moisture in the room.

  The air conditioner of the present invention is energy-saving and energy-saving, and can concentrate any area in the room without losing moisture in the room and can humidify any place in the room. .

  1st invention has a heat exchanger, an air blower, and a blower outlet in an indoor unit, a part of said heat exchanger functions as an evaporator at the time of heating, and the dew condensation water by the said evaporator is 1 by a water collection mechanism. An air conditioner comprising means for collecting water vapor from the condensed water and releasing it into the living room, and concentrating without losing moisture in the living room to humidify any place in the room Is possible. By condensing condensed water and humidifying it, it is difficult to diffuse and separation from dry air can be achieved. In addition, the moisture condensing in the evaporator was present in the room, and the release area was humidified before the air conditioner was operated, while the condensed water collected by the water collecting mechanism was always in the room. The humidity of the entire room is not lowered because it is released inside.

  In the second invention, in particular, the air conditioner of the first invention has an electrostatic atomizer in the indoor unit, and the electrostatic atomizer generates water fine particles and discharges it into the living room. By providing water particles in parallel with water vapor, the moisture retention effect of human water particles on human skin can be enhanced.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, the air conditioner of the first or second aspect of the invention has a human position detecting means in the indoor unit, and includes means for releasing water vapor to the human position detected by the human position detecting means. Therefore, the humidification effect can be further enhanced by releasing the humidified air to a person in the living room without waste.

  In the fourth invention, in particular, the air conditioner according to any one of the first to third inventions has a human position detecting means in the indoor unit, and water vapor and water particles are detected at the human position detected by the human position detecting means. In addition, it is possible to further enhance the moisturizing effect of the water fine particles by releasing humidified air without waste to a person in the room.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a human sensor 7 is provided in the upper front portion of the air conditioner 1 so that the position of a person in the room can be recognized. The air conditioner 1 is provided with an inlet 8 and an outlet 4. The outlet 4 is provided with a horizontal flap 9 and a plurality of vertical flaps 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a heat exchanger 2 and a blower fan 11 are provided inside the air conditioner 1. The heat exchanger 2 includes a first heat exchanger 2a, a second heat exchanger 2b, and a third heat exchanger 2c, and a drain pan 3a is provided below the first heat exchanger 2a.

  The 2nd heat exchanger 2b and the 3rd heat exchanger 2c are arrange | positioned so that it may become an inverted V shape in the upper part of the ventilation fan 11, and the 1st heat exchanger 2a is a front surface from the 2nd heat exchanger 2b. On the side, the vertical projection surface of the lower end 2az is arranged so as to be in front of the second heat exchanger 2b.

  The drain pan 3a is gradually inclined downward toward the longitudinal center of the air conditioner 1, and the central portion of the drain pan 3a is at the lowest position and is further connected to the communication portion 12 leading to the outlet 4a. Yes. A movable shutter 13 is provided above the communication portion 12 so that the entrance of the communication portion 12 can be opened and closed. A heater 14 is provided inside the communication part 12, a small fan 15 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet 4 a of the communication part 12, and a wind direction changing blade 16 is provided downstream of the small fan 15. . A humidity sensor 17 is provided on the upstream side of the third heat exchanger 2c so that the humidity can be detected.

  About the air conditioner comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below. When the heating operation of the air conditioner 1 is started, a control unit (not shown) of the air conditioner 1 performs valve adjustment to cause the heat exchanger 2 to function as a condenser. When the blower fan 11 rotates, the warmed air is blown out into the living room from the blowout port 4 to raise the room temperature. When the room temperature rises by performing the heating operation in this way, the humidity is relatively lowered when there is no moisture generation source in the room or when air exchange with the outside is not performed.

  Control of the air conditioner 1 when the control unit determines from the information of the humidity sensor 17 that the living area is in low humidity, or when the resident instructes that humidification is particularly necessary with a remote controller (not shown). The first heat exchanger 2a and the second heat exchanger so that the first heat exchanger 2a functions as an evaporator while the second heat exchanger 2b and the third heat exchanger 2c function as a condenser. Adjust the expansion valve of the connection part 2b.

  The moisture in the room is condensed and attached to the first heat exchanger 2a that is an evaporator. The condensed water is dripped from the lower end 2az through the first heat exchanger 2a, and the first heat exchanger 2a is arranged so that the vertical projection surface of the lower end 2az is in front of the second heat exchanger 2b. Therefore, the condensed water dripped is accumulated in the drain pan 3a. Since the drain pan 3a is inclined toward the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner 1, the dew condensation water flows toward the central portion and is finally collected in the central portion. There is a communication part 12 at the center and a movable shutter 13 at the top of the communication part 12, but the control part has a shutter 13 when the first heat exchanger 2 a is operated as an evaporator in this way. To release. Therefore, the dew condensation water flows to the communication part 12. And if a control part senses dew condensation water inside the communication part 12, it will energize the heater 14 and dew condensation water will evaporate. The evaporated condensed water is sent to the living room when the small fan 15 rotates. At this time, the control unit determines the direction of the wind direction changing blade 16 so that water vapor is sent toward the position of the person recognized by the human sensor 7.

  At this time, the control unit controls the horizontal flaps 9 and the vertical flaps 10 so that the directions of the horizontal flaps 9 and the vertical flaps 10 are not in the same direction as the wind direction changing blades 16 so that the dry air and water vapor flowing from the outlet 4 are difficult to mix. For example, when a person is in front of the air conditioner 1, the wind direction changing blade 16 is directed so as to send water vapor to the person position, and the horizontal flap 9 is controlled slightly downward so that the dry air is closer to the air conditioner 1 side than the person position. To do. In this way, the feet are warm and water vapor reaches the exposed parts such as the face, so that the mucous membranes such as the nose and throat can be protected and the dry feeling can be reduced. It can also prevent dry skin. Alternatively, when there is a person on the left side of the air conditioner 1, if the vertical flap 10 is controlled to be slightly on the right side of the person position, it is difficult to mix water vapor and warm dry air, and the dry feeling of the person is reduced. The

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 shows an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Components having the same configuration as that shown in FIG. An electrostatic atomizer 18 is provided inside the air conditioner 1.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the electrostatic atomizer in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The electrostatic atomizer 18 is demonstrated using FIG. Inside the electrostatic atomizer 18, there is a cooling unit 19 made of a Peltier element, and the cooling unit 19 cools the discharge electrode 20. Moisture in the air is condensed on the cooled discharge electrode 20. The discharge electrode 20 has a counter electrode 21 at an opposite position. By applying a high voltage between the discharge electrode 20 and the counter electrode 21, water condensed on the discharge electrode 20 is atomized to generate water fine particles. It is like that. The water fine particles can be sent together with the water vapor described in Embodiment 1 from the outlet 4a to any position in the room.

  Here, the action of the water fine particles will be described. Water fine particles drift in the air as nanometer-sized radicals with smaller particles than normal water vapor, so they are easily adsorbed to the skin surface and the mucous membranes of eyes, nose and throat, which are difficult to penetrate with normal water vapor. Therefore, it is possible to suppress dryness of the skin and protect the moisture of the mucous membrane.

  However, since the amount of water fine particles generated by the electrostatic atomizer 18 as shown in FIG. 4 is very small, even if it is blown into the living room as it is, the above-mentioned action can be given only to the vicinity of the blown-out portion. Although it may be mixed with the air at the outlet of the air conditioner, it diffuses with a large amount of air and the original effect is diminished. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, indoor moisture is condensed and collected, and is blown out toward a person together with evaporated water vapor. By doing so, water fine particles can be concentrated on the skin surface and blown out to suppress the drying of the skin, and normal water vapor is also sprayed at the same time, so that moisture adsorbed on the skin re-evaporates into the air. It is possible to prevent and fix moisture. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a further skin dryness preventing effect.

  As described above, the air conditioner according to the present invention is energy-saving and saves parts, and can efficiently send humid air to a person in the room without losing moisture in the room. It can also be applied to other uses.

1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Sectional drawing of the air conditioner in Embodiment 1 of this invention External appearance perspective view of the air conditioner in Embodiment 2 of this invention Schematic diagram of the electrostatic atomizer in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Cross section of a conventional air conditioner Cross-sectional view of another conventional air conditioner

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Heat exchanger 2a 1st heat exchanger 2az 1st heat exchanger lower end part 2b 2nd heat exchanger 2c 3rd heat exchanger 3, 3a Drain pan 4, 4a Outlet 7 Human sensor 8 Inlet DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Horizontal flap 10 Vertical flap 11 Blower fan 12 Communication part 13 Shutter 14 Heater 15 Small fan 16 Wind direction change blade 17 Humidity sensor 18 Electrostatic atomizer 19 Cooling part 20 Discharge electrode 21 Counter electrode

Claims (4)

The indoor unit has a heat exchanger, a blower, and an outlet, and a part of the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator during heating, and the condensed water by the evaporator is collected in one place by a water collecting mechanism, An air conditioner comprising means for generating water vapor from condensed water and releasing it into a living room. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising an electrostatic atomizer in the indoor unit, and means for generating water fine particles by the electrostatic atomizer and discharging the water into the living room. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indoor unit has a human position detecting means and discharges water vapor to the human position detected by the human position detecting means. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the indoor unit has a human position detection unit, and the water vapor and water fine particles are discharged together at the human position detected by the human position detection unit. The air conditioner described.