JP2010065875A - Filter cleaning device and air conditioner equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filter cleaning device having a simple structure and capable of connecting a connecting shaft of a brush to a drive shaft without noticing the angle position of the brush when the brush for cleaning an air filter is fitted to a body case, and an air conditioner equipped with the filter cleaning device. <P>SOLUTION: The filter cleaning device is provided with a filter driving part 20 for driving the air filter 15 moved along an air suction port 3; the brush 50 having one end with the connecting shaft and removing dust adhered to the air filter 15; and a drive device for driving the filter driving part 20, having the drive shaft to which the connecting shaft of the brush 50 is connected and oscillating the brush 50 in a range of approximately 180°. A spring is provided in either one of the drive shaft of the drive device or the connecting shaft of the brush 50, and a recessed groove to which the spring is fitted is provided in the other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a filter cleaning device that automatically removes dust adhering to a filter with a brush, and an air conditioner including the same.

  Endless front part equipped with a moving mechanism that moves to the back side from the position opposed to the suction port, facing the front suction port and the upper suction port formed in the indoor unit main body, respectively, in a conventional air conditioner Some have an air filter and an upper air filter, and are provided with a cleaning unit made of a rotating brush, a dust box, or the like that rotates 360 ° between the upper end of the front air filter and the front end of the upper air filter.

  This cleaning unit drives the front air filter and the upper air filter from the opposite part of the front suction port and the upper suction port to the back side, and removes dust adhering to these air filters with a rotating brush during movement. An air filter cleaning device for collecting in the dust box is provided. When the dust box is filled with dust, the dust box is removed from the main body, and the dust box is discarded and attached to the main body again (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-57204 A (page 3-6, FIG. 1)

  In the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, an endless front air filter and an upper air filter are driven by front and upper drive sources, respectively, and a lower roller is provided on the opposite side of the drive source. Since the rear roller and the tension mechanism are provided, the structure is extremely complicated, the manufacturing is troublesome, and the cost is increased.

  Also, when the dust box is full of dust removed by the rotating brush, remove the dust box from the body, discard the dust, and then attach it to the body again. The mounting operation is extremely troublesome because it must be accurately aligned. In order to connect with the gear of the drive shaft without considering the angular position of the rotating brush, the rotating brush had to be rotated 360 °.

  On the other hand, in order to make the rotating brush reciprocate at 360 ° or less, it is necessary to provide a key groove or the like to connect the rotating brush to the drive shaft, which is not only difficult for the user to connect but also due to poor connection. There has been a problem that malfunction is likely to occur. Further, when the rotating brush is connected to the drive shaft with a gear as described above, another part for fixing the dust box to the main body is required, which increases the cost.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has a simple structure. When the brush for cleaning the air filter is mounted on the main body case, the connecting shaft is not conscious of the angular position of the brush. It aims at providing the filter cleaning apparatus which can be connected with a drive shaft, and an air conditioner provided with the same.

  The filter cleaning device according to the present invention includes a filter driving unit that drives an air filter that moves along an air suction port, a brush that has a connecting shaft at one end and removes dust attached to the air filter, and the filter driving unit. And a drive device that has a drive shaft to which the connecting shaft of the brush is connected, and swings the brush within a range of approximately 180 °, the driving shaft of the driving device or the connecting shaft of the brush One of them is provided with a spring, and the other is provided with a concave groove into which the spring is fitted.

  Moreover, the air conditioner which concerns on this invention is equipped with said filter cleaning apparatus.

  According to the present invention, when the brush for cleaning the air filter is mounted on the main body case, the connecting shaft can be fitted and connected to the driving shaft of the driving device without being aware of the angular position of the brush. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a filter cleaning device that can be easily mounted and an easy-to-use air conditioner including the filter cleaning device.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner provided with a filter cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 with a part omitted, and FIG. 3 is a part of the filter cleaning device of FIG. It is an enlarged view.
In the figure, a front plate 2 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the main body case 1, and a grill-like air suction port 3 is provided on the upper surface. Further, a heat exchanger 4 is disposed on the downstream side (inside) of the air suction port 3, and a blower 5 for sucking outside air from the air suction port 3 is installed on the downstream side thereof. An air outlet 7 is provided on the downstream side of the blower 5 through a duct 6.

  8a and 8b are an outer side guide rail and an inner side guide rail that are provided opposite to each other from the upper part on the front side to the rear part on the upper side on the inner side of the front plate 2 and the air suction port 3. A central guide 9 is provided between them to form a wide space, and the space between them is narrowed from the upper surface side to the rear. Filter passages 10a and 10b are formed between the outer guide rail 8a and the intermediate guide 9, and between the inner guide rail 8b and the central guide 9, respectively. 10b is integrated, and a filter passage 10c is formed between the outer guide rail 8a and the inner guide rail 8b. A rear end portion of the inner guide rail 8b is formed in a substantially U shape (hereinafter referred to as a groove-like portion 8c), and a limit switch such as a micro switch connected to the control unit (both not shown) is provided near the bottom portion. Is provided.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a substantially arc-shaped lower guide rail installed between the front end portions of the outer guide rail 8a and the inner guide rail 8b (below the central guide 9).
Reference numeral 15 denotes an air filter for dust removal provided on a flexible frame. A rack 16 is provided on the inner side (back side) on both sides in the width direction, and the tip is near the lower guide rail 11. The rear end portion is located in the groove-like portion 8c and is movably disposed in the filter passages 10a and 10c along the outer guide rail 8a.

A gear-like filter drive unit 20 is rotatably provided inside the lower guide rail 11 (between the central guide 9) and is provided on both sides of the shaft 21 so as to mesh with the rack 16 of the air filter 15. Yes.
Reference numeral 25 denotes a drive unit for the filter drive unit 20 provided in the main body case 1, and includes a cylindrical drive shaft 26 that drives a brush member 50 described later. The filter drive unit 20 and the drive shaft 26 of the brush member 50 Are driven by a single motor through a gear mechanism or the like, but may be driven by different motors.

  A dust box 30 is detachably attached to the main body case 1 below the outer guide rail 8a and the inner guide rail 8b (below the lower guide rail 11). The width of the dust box 30 in the left-right direction is substantially equal to the width of the air filter 15, and the thickness in the front-rear direction is formed to be substantially equal to the distance between the outer guide rail 8a and the inner guide rail 8b. It consists of a box 31 and a lid 32 detachably attached to the dust collection box 31.

  A brush member 50 is detachably attached to the lid 32, and includes a brush holder 51 and a brush 52 having a length substantially equal to the width of the air filter 15 provided on the brush holder 51 (in the following description, The brush member 50 may be referred to as a brush). A disc-shaped flange 53 having a protrusion 54 on the outer periphery (opposite side of the brush 52) is provided at one end of the brush holder 51, and the flange 53 is provided on the outer surface side of the flange 53. A columnar connecting shaft 55 is provided which is concentrically smaller than the flange portion 53 and is fitted and connected to the driving shaft 26 of the driving device 25. Reference numeral 56 denotes a support shaft provided at the other end of the brush holder 51.

  3 and 4, the lid 32 of the dust box 30 has a front plate 33 and a rear plate 34, and an arcuate bottom 35 corresponding to the lower guide rail 11 is formed between them. An opening 36 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the central portion of the bottom 35. 37a and 37b are a number of claw portions that are provided downward in the longitudinal direction on both sides of the opening portion 36 of the bottom portion 35 and scrape off dust adhering to the brush 52. Note that a substantially U-shaped filter passage 10 d is formed between the lower guide rail 11 and the bottom 35.

  38a and 38b are filter guides provided on both sides of the front plate 33, and 39a and 39b are attachment portions of the dust collection boxes 31 provided on both sides from the front plate 33 to the rear plate 34. Reference numeral 40 denotes a mounting stopper provided in the vicinity of one fixed arm 38b, and includes a stopper shaft 40a that is locked to a locking portion 1a (see FIG. 6) provided in the main body case 1.

  41 is a holding hole provided in one attachment portion 39a and having a bearing function through which the connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50 is inserted to hold the flange portion 53. The rotation range of the brush member 40 is regulated on both sides thereof. Stoppers 42a and 42b are provided. Reference numeral 43 denotes a bearing portion that is provided on the other attachment portion 39b and that supports the support shaft 56 of the brush member 50. The bearing portion 43 also has a role of positioning when the dust box 30 is attached to the main body case 1.

Next, a connection structure between the drive shaft 26 of the drive device 25 and the connection shaft 55 of the brush member 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5A, the cylindrical drive shaft 26 is provided with a slit 27 in the axial direction, the base portion is fixed to the outer periphery of the drive shaft 26, and the distal end portion (free end) is substantially the same. A spring 28 that is formed in an inverted mountain shape and is inserted into the drive shaft 26 (inside the cylindrical portion) from the slit 27 is provided.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, a concave groove 57 is provided in the axial direction of the columnar connecting shaft 55.

Now, when the connecting shaft 55 is inserted into the drive shaft 26 at an arbitrary angle (without considering the position of the concave groove 57), as shown in FIG. 5B, the spring 28 positioned in the drive shaft 26 is connected. The shaft 55 is pushed into the slit 27.
In this state, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), when the drive shaft 26 is driven by the drive device 25, the drive shaft 26 rotates on the outer periphery of the connecting shaft 55 in the direction of the arrow a, for example, and the protrusion 54 has stoppers 42a, 42a, At the same time, the spring 28 reaches the position of the concave groove 57 and is engaged with the concave groove 57 due to its elasticity.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the connecting shaft 55, and hence the brush member 50, is automatically connected to the driving shaft 26 via the spring 28, and is driven by the driving device 25 in the direction of the arrow a or b. Swing.

  As described above, the dust box 30 in which the lid 32 provided with the brush member 50 is attached to the dust collection box 31 is disposed between the main body case 1 and the driving device 25 as shown in FIG. The connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50 is inserted into the drive shaft 26 without being aware of the position of the concave groove 57 by being obliquely pressed in the direction of the arrow X. Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the opposite side (right side of the figure) of the dust box 30 is pushed up in the direction of the arrow Y, and the stopper shaft 40a of the mounting stopper 40 is locked to the locking portion 1a of the main body case 1. For example, the dust box 30 is held at a predetermined position of the main body case 1 and the attachment is completed. In addition, you may make it fix the upper cover 32 to the main body case 1 as needed.

  At this time, the connecting shaft 55 provided at one end of the brush member 50 passes through the holding hole 41 of the lid body 32, and the flange 53 provided integrally with the connecting shaft 55 is held in the holding hole 41 having a bearing function. Since the support shaft 56 provided at the other end is supported by the bearing 43, positioning when attaching the dust box 30 is easy, and the brush member 50 can be attached to the lid 32 without providing any special parts. It is supported rotatably.

  For example, when the drive shaft 26 is driven by the drive device 25 during operation of the filter cleaning device, the connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50 is integrated with the drive shaft 26 via the spring 28 as described above, and the brush The member 50 is connected to the drive shaft 26.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner provided with the filter cleaning device as described above will be described.
In the initial state of the filter cleaning device, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the air filter 15 is located in the filter passages 10 c and 10 a from the inside (downstream side) of the air suction port 3 to the upper part on the front side. The rack 16 near the front end on the front side is engaged with the filter driving unit 20. The dust box 30 is attached to the main body case 1 below the lower guide rail 11, and the tip of the brush 52 of the brush member 50 is located in the filter passage 10d from the opening 36 of the lid 32 of the dust box 30. .

  In the air conditioner as described above, the air sucked from the air suction port 3 by the blower 5 is cleaned by the dust contained in the air trapped by the air filter 15 and cooled or heated by the heat exchanger 4. As a result, the air becomes cold air or warm air and is blown into the room through the air blowing port 7.

  When a certain time has elapsed, the blower 5 is stopped by a command from a control unit (not shown), and then the filter driving unit 20 is driven by the driving device 25 to rotate in the direction of arrow c (FIG. 3). As a result, the air filter 15 that meshes with the filter drive unit 20 moves in the direction of the arrow e in the filter passages 10a and 10c (hereinafter sometimes referred to as advance), and as shown in FIG. It is sent to the filter passages 10b and 10c through a U-shaped filter passage 10d formed between the bottom 35 of the lid 32 of the dust box 30.

  During this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the brush 52 of the brush member 50 comes into contact with the surface of the air filter 15 to scrape off the dust 60 adhering thereto and drop it into the dust collection box 31, as well as the driving device 25. 8 and 9, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, it is rotated constantly or intermittently in the range of about 180 ° in the direction of the arrow a or the direction of the arrow b. It is called).

  As a result, the dust 60 adhering to the brush 52 is scraped off by the claw portions 37 a or 37 b provided on the lid body 32 and falls into the dust collection box 31 to be collected. The swing range of the brush member 50 at this time is regulated by the protrusion 54 provided on the flange 53 contacting the stopper 42a or 42b provided on the lid 32.

When the air filter 15 moves in the filter passage 10c and its tip reaches the groove 8c and contacts the limit switch, the drive unit 25 is stopped by the command of the control unit, and the movement of the air filter 15 is also stopped accordingly. To do.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the filter drive unit 20 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction (arrow d direction) by the command of the control unit, and the air filter 15 is moved in the arrow f direction opposite to the previous time (hereinafter referred to as backward movement). That is). And when the front-end | tip part reaches the groove part 8c of the filter channel | path 10c and contacts a limit switch, the filter drive part 20 will stop again.

  During this time, as in the forward movement, the brush 52 of the brush member 50 contacts the surface of the air filter 15 and scrapes dust remaining on the air filter 15 and swings in the direction of arrow a or b to move the claw portion. The dust adhering to the brush 52 is scraped off by 37a, 37b. Thereby, the clean air filter 15 from which dust has been removed returns to the state of FIG. 1 and is located downstream of the air suction port 3.

  When throwing away the dust accumulated in the dust collection box 31 of the dust box 30, as shown in FIG. 6B, the stopper shaft 40a of the mounting stopper 40 is moved to be detached from the locking portion 1a, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the dust box 30 is moved obliquely in the opposite direction of the arrow X while moving the mounting stopper 40 downward, the connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50 is pulled out from the drive shaft 26, and the dust box 30 is taken out downward.

Then, the lid body 32 having the brush member 50 is rotated and opened from the dust collection box 31 to discard the dust in the dust collection box 31, and the lid body 32 is mounted again. Note that the lid 32 may be removed as necessary, or the brush member 52 may be removed from the lid 32 and cleaned by washing or the like.
When the dust box 30 is removed from the case body 1, the drive shaft 26 and the easily deformable spring 28 attached thereto remain on the main body case 1 side, and since the spring 28 does not exist in the removed dust box 30, When the brush member 50 is cleaned, the spring 28 is not deformed or damaged, and is not lost.

  When the dust is discarded, the dust box 30 is attached to the case body 1 again. The procedure for attaching the dust box 30 to the main body case 1 is as described above. In this case, the dust box 30 may be fitted into the drive shaft 26 without worrying about the angular position of the connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50. Mounting to the main body 1 is extremely easy.

  In the above description, the case where the drive shaft 26 provided in the drive device 25 of the filter cleaning device is formed in a cylindrical shape and the connecting shaft 55 of the brush member 50 fitted to the drive shaft is formed in a columnar shape is shown. 26 may be formed in a columnar shape, provided with a slit 27 (concave groove) and a spring 28, and a connecting shaft 55 may be formed in a cylindrical shape that fits to the outer periphery of the drive shaft 26 to provide a slit-shaped concave groove 57. . Although not preferred, the drive shaft 26 may be provided with a concave groove, and the connecting shaft 55 may be provided with a slit and a spring.

  Further, in the above description, the case where the air conditioner is operated and the filter cleaning device is operated after a certain time has elapsed has been shown. However, even when the air conditioner is stopped, for example, it is incorporated into a remote controller. The filter cleaning device may be operated by operating the filter cleaning mode to clean the air filter 15.

  Furthermore, although the case where the filter cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention was integrated in the illustrated air conditioner was shown, it is not limited to this, It can also incorporate in the air conditioner of another structure. Further, the filter cleaning device according to the present invention can be incorporated in other devices such as an air cleaning device.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, when the dust box 30 including the brush member 50 for cleaning the air filter 15 is attached to the main body case 1, the connection is made without being aware of the angular position of the brush member 50. Since the shaft 55 can be fitted and connected to the drive shaft 26 of the drive device 25, the mounting operation is extremely easy.

  In addition, since the holding hole 41 that also functions as a bearing for holding the flange 53 provided in the brush member 50 is provided in the upper lid 32 of the dust box 30 to which the brush member 50 is mounted, the connecting portion 55 is fitted to the drive shaft 26. The positioning of the brush member 50 is easy, and the brush member 50 can be reliably supported by the flange portion 53 and the support shaft 56 without using other fixing parts.

  Further, when removing dust adhering to the air filter 15 by the brush 52 of the brush member 50, the brush 52 is swung constantly or intermittently within a range of about 180 ° and adhered to the brush 52 by the claw portions 37a and 37b. Since the dust that has been removed is removed, the brush 52 can always be kept clean, whereby the cleaning ability of the air filter 15 can be enhanced.

Moreover, according to the air conditioner provided with the filter cleaning device as described above, dust attached to the air filter 15 can be surely removed, so that an increase in air resistance due to dust on the air filter 15 is prevented. As a result, the energy saving property can be improved.
Moreover, since the air filter 15 with low air resistance is obtained, the amount of air flowing into the heat exchanger 4 can be increased, so that the heat exchange performance can be improved, and thus the performance of the air conditioner can be improved.

It is sectional drawing of the air conditioner provided with the filter cleaning apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of FIG. 1 which abbreviate | omitted one part. It is an enlarged view of the filter cleaning apparatus part of FIG. It is a perspective view of the cover body of the dust box of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the structure and connection state of the connection part of the drive shaft of a drive device, and a brush member. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment procedure to the main body case of a dust box. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a filter cleaning apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a filter cleaning apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a filter cleaning apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case, 2 Front plate, 3 Air inlet, 4 Heat exchanger, 5 Blower, 7 Air outlet, 8a Outer guide rail, 8b Inner guide rail, 9 Central guide, 10a-10d Filter passage, 11 Lower guide rail , 15 Air filter, 16 racks, 20 filter drive unit, 25 drive unit, 26 drive shaft, 27 slit, 28 spring, 30 dust box, 31 dust collection box, 32 lid, 35 bottom, 36 opening, 37a, 37b claw Part, 40 mounting stopper, 41 holding hole, 42a, 42b stopper, 43 bearing, 50 brush member, 52 brush, 53 collar part, 54 protrusion, 55 connecting shaft, 56 support shaft, 57 concave groove.

Claims (9)

A filter driving unit that drives an air filter that moves along the air suction port; a brush that has a connecting shaft at one end thereof to remove dust attached to the air filter; drives the filter driving unit; A drive device having a drive shaft to which the connection shaft is connected, and a device for swinging the brush in a range of about 180 °;
A filter cleaning device, wherein a spring is provided on one of the drive shaft of the drive device and the connecting shaft of the brush, and a concave groove into which the spring is fitted is provided on the other.   A slit is provided in the axial direction of the drive shaft of the drive device, and a spring is provided with one end fixed to the drive shaft and the other end located in the drive shaft from the slit, and is provided on the brush and fitted into the drive shaft. The filter cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a concave groove into which the spring is fitted is provided in an axial direction of the connecting shaft.   3. The filter cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the brush is connected to the drive shaft by fitting a spring provided on the drive shaft into a concave groove provided on the connection shaft.   The filter cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the connecting shaft is detachable in the axial direction in a state where the connecting shaft fitted into the drive shaft presses the spring outward.   A dust collection box having an upper surface opened; and a lid that has the brush and is attached to the dust collection box, and is detachably attached to the body case at a position where the brush can contact the air filter. The filter cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dust box.   One of the lids of the dust box is provided with a holding hole in which a connecting shaft provided at one end of the brush is inserted and a flange provided integrally with the connecting shaft is held, and provided at the other end of the brush. 6. The filter cleaning device according to claim 5, further comprising a bearing for supporting the support portion.   The filter cleaning device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a claw portion for removing dust adhering to the swinging brush is provided on the lid body along both longitudinal sides of the brush.   The connecting shaft of the brush provided on the lid of the dust box is connected to the driving shaft of the driving device, and the mounting stopper provided on the opposite side of the connecting shaft of the lid is locked to the main body case. The filter cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the dust box is attached to the main body case.   An air conditioner comprising the filter cleaning device according to claim 1.

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