JP2012047420A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provided an air conditioner capable of securing easiness of attaching and detaching an air filter and simplifying its configuration as much as possible in spite of having a filter cleaning mechanism.SOLUTION: In an air conditioner in which a front panel 4 is placed to be capable of being opened and closed in front of a front cover 3 that covers the front side of a base body 2 equipped with a heat exchanger 15, a blower 16 etc., and an air filter 14 that covers the front side of the front cover 3 and the entire surface of air intake port 8 with respect to a heat exchanger 15 is movably provided along a filter moving paths 19, 27 and 29 through a filter cleaning mechanism 23, a filter guide member 22 which forms a part of the filter moving paths 19, 27 and 29 is fixed and placed on the back side of the front panel 4.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a filter cleaning mechanism that automatically cleans an air filter.

  When the dust collected by the air filter is accumulated, the ventilation resistance increases, and the operation efficiency of the air conditioner decreases. Therefore, an air conditioner having a filter cleaning mechanism that periodically removes dust collected by the air filter and automatically cleans the air filter is provided. Various methods have been proposed as filter cleaning mechanisms. As an example, an air filter disposed on the upstream side of the heat exchanger is moved along the filter guide member, and dust on the air filter is scraped through a rotating brush or the like installed on the moving path. It is known that it is taken and collected in a dust box (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such an air conditioner, an air filter disposed so as to cover the entire surface of the air suction port along the upstream side of the heat exchanger is connected to the front side in the housing along the filter moving path from the normal attachment position. It is made to move to the upper surface side. For this reason, the configuration of the filter movement path tends to be complicated and the number of parts tends to increase accordingly. In particular, on the front side of the housing, the air filter must be detachable. In the case of Patent Document 1, the filter guide member on the front side is a movable guide member, and when the air filter is attached or detached, It is configured to open upward.

JP 2008-57880 A

  However, as shown in Patent Document 1, in the case where the movable guide member is provided on the front side of the casing, the air filter can be smoothly moved along the movement path during filter cleaning. There was a problem that detachability deteriorated. That is, when attaching and detaching the air filter at the time of maintenance, etc., firstly opening the front panel provided on the front surface of the housing, then further opening the movable guide member, by installing a filter cleaning mechanism, There was a problem that the detachability of the air filter was lowered.

  Further, in order to install the movable guide member, it is necessary to divide the front side filter guide member into a fixed side member and a movable side member, and in addition, a component for coupling the movable side member so as to be movable. Therefore, it is inevitable that the configuration is complicated and the number of parts is increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and despite the fact that a filter cleaning mechanism is provided, it is possible to ensure the ease of attaching and detaching the air filter and to simplify the configuration as much as possible. It aims at providing the air conditioner which can do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the air conditioner of the present invention employs the following means.
That is, the air conditioner according to the present invention includes a front panel that is openable and closable on the front surface of the front cover that covers the front side of the base body on which a heat exchanger, a blower, and the like are installed. In the air conditioner in which an air filter that covers the entire surface of the air suction port for the heat exchanger is attached to the front surface and the upper surface side of the heat exchanger so as to be movable along the filter moving path via a filter cleaning mechanism, the back surface of the front panel Further, a filter guide member forming a part of the filter moving path is fixedly installed.

  According to the present invention, an air filter that covers the entire surface of the air suction port for the heat exchanger is provided on the filter moving path via the filter cleaning mechanism on the front surface and the upper surface side of the front cover that is provided with a front panel that can be freely opened and closed. In the air conditioner attached so as to be movable along, a filter guide member forming a part of the filter moving path is fixedly installed on the back surface of the front panel, so that the air filter is moved along the moving path. A filter guide that forms part of the air filter movement path by simply opening the front panel, even in an air conditioner equipped with a filter cleaning mechanism that automatically cleans dust collected while moving The members can be opened simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to directly access the air filter by opening the front panel, and it is possible to simplify and facilitate the attachment and detachment of the air filter, despite the fact that the filter cleaning mechanism is provided. can do.

  In the air conditioner of the present invention, in the above air conditioner, the filter cleaning mechanism is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the front cover, and the air filter is moved along the filter moving path by a filter driving roller. The filter guide member provided on the back surface of the front panel is formed with a filter pressing portion that pushes the air filter toward the filter driving roller.

  According to the present invention, the filter cleaning mechanism is provided at the lower portion of the front surface of the front cover, and is configured to be able to move the air filter along the filter moving path by the filter driving roller, and is provided on the back surface of the front panel. The filter guide member that forms the filter guide member that forms part of the filter movement path is formed on the back surface of the front panel because the filter retainer that pushes the air filter toward the filter drive roller is formed in the filter guide member As well as a filter presser that pushes the air filter that is moved along the filter moving path toward the filter drive roller. Therefore, when the filter is cleaned, the air filter can be smoothly moved along the filter moving path, the movement of the air filter can be stabilized and surely automatically cleaned, and the reliability of the filter cleaning mechanism can be improved.

  Furthermore, the air conditioner of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the above-described air conditioners, wherein the filter guide member has fitting portions fitted into engaging portions provided at a plurality of positions on the back surface of the front panel. It is characterized by being locked together.

  According to the present invention, the filter guide member is integrally locked by fitting the fitting portions into the locking portions provided at a plurality of positions on the back surface of the front panel. The guide member can be easily locked only by fitting the fitting portion on the filter guide member side into the locking portion on the front panel side. Therefore, the front panel and the filter guide member can be integrated without using extra coupling means and parts, and assembly can be facilitated.

  Furthermore, the air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the above-described air conditioners, the front panel can be opened and closed vertically with respect to the front cover with upper left and right ends as fulcrums. .

  According to the present invention, since the front panel can be opened and closed up and down with respect to the front cover with the left and right upper portions as fulcrums, by opening the front panel upward with the upper portions as fulcrums, Thus, direct access from the front side of the front cover becomes possible. Therefore, the air filter can be easily attached and detached by pulling it downward, and maintenance can be easily performed, and the air filter can be secured.

  According to the present invention, even if the air conditioner is equipped with a filter cleaning mechanism that automatically cleans the collected dust while moving the air filter along the moving path, the air filter can be simply opened by opening the front panel. Since the filter guide member forming a part of the movement path of the air filter can be simultaneously opened, it is possible to directly access the air filter by opening the front panel. The attachment and detachment of the air filter can be simplified and facilitated, and the configuration can be simplified.

1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the front panel of the air conditioner shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioner shown in FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the front panel of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1 from the inner surface side. It is an AA cross section equivalent view of the front panel shown in FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view with a front panel removed, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. Has been. Here, a wall-mounted air conditioner 1 is illustrated.
The air conditioner 1 includes a base body 2, a front cover 3 attached to the base body 2 so as to cover the front part of the base body 2 from the top, bottom, left and right, and the front surface, and a front cover 3 that can be freely opened and closed. A horizontally-long rectangular housing 5 constituted by the front panel 4 is provided.

  The front surface and the upper surface of the front cover 3 constituting the housing 5 are formed as lattice-like crosspieces 6 and 7 on the substantially entire surface, and the air suction port 8 is formed by the crosspieces 6 and 7. , 7 are configured to also serve as filter guides. A suction grill 9 is installed on the upper surface of the front cover 3, and a blow-out port 10 for blowing air temperature-controlled over substantially the entire width is opened at a front portion of the lower surface of the front cover 3. . The air outlet 10 includes a plurality of louvers 11 that change the wind direction in the left-right direction, and two upper and lower louvers that are divided into left and right that can change the wind direction up and down and that can close the air outlet 10. A horizontal flap 12 is provided. The louver 11 and the horizontal flap 12 are configured to be independently rotated by a motor (not shown).

  In the housing 5, an air flow path 13 is formed from the front and upper air suction ports 8 to the air blowout port 10 in the front part of the lower surface, and an air filter is formed in the air flow path 13 from the upstream side. 14, the indoor heat exchanger (heat exchanger) 15, and the air blower 16 are arrange | positioned one by one. The indoor air sucked through the suction grill 9 passes through the air filter 14 and dust is removed. Then, the indoor air is cooled or heated by the indoor heat exchanger 15 and is passed through the blower 16 from the air outlet 8 into the room. It comes to be blown out. The air filter 14 is divided into two parts on the left and right sides, and a horizontally-long air purification filter 17 is disposed via a filter holding frame 18 at a front upper portion on the back side of the air filter 14.

  The indoor heat exchanger 15 is a plate fin tube type heat exchanger bent in a substantially Λ shape, and is disposed in the housing 5 from a lower position on the front surface to an upper surface and a rear surface. On the downstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 15, an elongated cylindrical cross-flow fan constituting the blower 16 is disposed in the inner space. The air filter 14 is provided on the upstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 12 in the area on the front side of the grid-like crosspieces 6 and 7 provided on substantially the entire front surface and upper surface of the front cover 3 constituting the housing 5. It is attached along the 1st filter movement path | route 19 formed of many filter guide members so that it may cover.

  The first filter moving path 19 includes a front surface of the crosspieces 6 and 7 of the front cover 3, a lower surface of the suction grille 9, a filter guide member 20 installed on the front side of the front cover 3, a filter holding frame 18 of the air purification filter 17, A large number of filter guide members 21 disposed at the upper front portion of the front cover 3 so as to face the filter holding frame 18, filter guide members 22 disposed on the back surface of the front panel 4 so as to face the filter guide member 20, and the like. It is formed by a filter guide member.

  The first filter moving path 19 includes a moving path 19 </ b> A formed along the upper surface side of the housing 5 and a moving path 19 </ b> B formed along the front surface side of the housing 5. In addition, the air filter 14 attached along the upstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 15 via the first filter moving path 19 removes dust collected on the upstream side surface thereof by the filter cleaning mechanism 23. The first filter moving path 19 can be reciprocated.

  The filter cleaning mechanism 23 removes dust collected on the air filter 14 and automatically cleans the air filter 14, and is installed in a lower part on the front side of the front cover 3. The filter cleaning mechanism 23 according to the present embodiment is disposed opposite to a pair of left and right cylindrical filter driving rollers 24 for reciprocating the air filter 14 and the filter driving rollers 24, and is moved by the filter driving rollers 24. A pair of left and right rotating brushes 25 that scrape dust from the dust collecting surface of the air filter 14 and a pair of left and right removable dust boxes 26 that collect and collect the dust scraped off by the rotating brush 25; Has been.

  Gears 24A are provided at both left and right ends of the filter driving roller 24, and the gears 24A and racks 14A provided on the filter frames on the left and right sides of the air filter 14 are engaged with each other. As a result, the air filter 14 can reciprocate in the first filter movement path 19 via the filter driving roller 24. The filter driving roller 24 is rotated forward and backward via a motor (not shown).

  Further, when the air filter 14 is moved through the filter driving roller 24 of the filter cleaning mechanism 23 during filter cleaning, a second filter moving path 27 and a third filter moving path 29 for securing the moving path are provided. It is formed in the body 5. The second filter moving path 27 is a curved path (U-turn path) for turning the air filter 14 upward via a curved portion along the filter driving roller 24, and the outer peripheral surface of the filter driving roller 24 and the filter It is formed by a curved guide member 28 provided along the driving roller 24. The second filter movement path 27 is continuous with one end of the first filter movement path 19.

  The third filter movement path 29 is a path for guiding the air filter 14 to a position off the upper part of the indoor heat exchanger 15, and is continued to the U-turned end of the second filter movement path 27. ing. This third filter movement path 29 is connected to the movement path 19B of the first filter movement path 19 extending in the vertical direction along the back surface of the front panel 4 on the front side of the indoor heat exchanger 15, and the indoor heat exchange. It extends upward in parallel with the movement path 19B through the space between the front side of the vessel 15.

  Further, the third filter moving path 29 includes an upper moving path 29A formed between the surface of the crosspiece 6 on the front surface side of the front cover 3 and the rear surface 20A of the filter guide member 20, and the inside of the housing 5. A movement path 29B formed by a filter guide member 21 and a filter guide member 22 on the rear surface of the front panel 4 that extends to the rear surface of the front panel 4 and intersects the first filter movement path 19 at a front upper portion of the front panel 4; It is formed by a filter guide member 21 and a filter guide member 22 that are folded downward along the back surface of the panel 4 and extend downward, and merge with the first filter moving path 19 near the lower end of the filter guide member 21. And a movement path 29C.

  The position where the third filter moving path 29 and the first filter moving path 19 intersect is the position where one end of the air filter 14 moves along the third filter moving path 29 when the one end approaches the intersecting position. The second filter moving path 27 is set at the farthest upper position from the U-turn position so that the other end of the air filter 14 moving along the first filter moving path 18 passes through the crossing position.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the filter guide member 22 forming the movement path 19B of the first filter movement path 19 and the movement paths 29B and 29C of the third filter movement path 29 has a front cover. It is set as the structure fixedly installed in the back surface of the front panel 4 provided in the front surface of 3 so that opening and closing is possible. The front panel 4 provided on the front surface of the front cover 3 so as to be openable and closable is rotatably supported by the front cover 3 via a shaft portion 31 of a support arm 30 provided at the upper part of both ends in the width direction. It is installed on the front surface of the front cover 3 so as to be openable and closable with the upper portion as a fulcrum through hooking claws 32 provided at lower portions at both ends in the width direction.

  On the back surface of the front panel 4, when the air filter 14 is moved as described above via the filter cleaning mechanism 23 during filter cleaning, the air filter 14 is guided to move and the movement of the air filter 14 is suppressed. A filter guide member 22 is provided. The filter guide member 22 has a lower end edge inserted into a plurality of engaging portions 33 provided in a lower part of the back surface of the front panel 4 and an upper end edge provided in a plurality of parts provided in an upper part of the back surface of the front panel 4. By being fitted into the locking portion 34, the front panel 4 is integrally locked. In portions corresponding to the locking portions 33 and 34 of the filter guide member 22, fitting portions 35 and 36 for the locking portions 33 and 34 are provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the filter guide member 22 includes a wide vertical and horizontal grid contacting the frame portion of the air filter 14, and the filter guide members 20 and 21 provided on the front cover 3 side. The movement path 19B of the first filter movement path 19 and the movement paths 29B and 29C of the third filter movement path 29 are formed opposite to each other, and further below the filter guide member 22 that guides the air filter 14 to the filter drive roller 24. A filter retainer 37 that is smoothly curved and protrudes inward while pushing the air filter 14 toward the filter driving roller 24 is integrally formed at the site.

With the configuration described above, according to the present embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.
When the air conditioner 1 is operated, room air is sucked into the housing 5 through the suction grill 9 and the air suction port 8 by the rotation of the blower 16. In the process of passing through the air filter 14 and the air purification filter 17, dust, odor, and the like are removed from the air, and the air is purified and supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 15. Then, after the air is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant circulating in the interior by the indoor heat exchanger 15 and cooled or heated, the air is blown into the room through the air flow path 13 and the air outlet 10 to cool the room. Or it is used for heating.

  When the operation time of the air conditioner 1 becomes longer, dust collected by the air filter 14 is accumulated little by little, and the ventilation resistance is gradually increased. If the operation is continued as it is, the pressure loss increases and the operation efficiency of the air conditioner 1 is reduced. For example, the filter cleaning mechanism 23 is operated every time the operation ends when the accumulated operation time reaches the set time, and the air A filter cleaning operation for removing dust accumulated on the filter 14 is performed. In this filter cleaning operation, the filter driving roller 24 and the rotary brush 25 of the filter cleaning mechanism 23 are rotationally driven, and the air filter 14 provided along the first filter moving path 19 passes through the second filter moving path 27. This is done by moving to the third filter movement path 29.

  That is, the rotation of the filter driving roller 24 moves the air filter 14 meshed with the gear 24A via the rack 14A, and from the first filter moving path 19 to the second filter moving path 27 and the third filter moving path 29. Being forwarded. During this time, the rotary brush 25 disposed opposite to the filter drive roller 24 contacts the dust collecting surface of the air filter 14, scrapes the dust accumulated on the air filter 14, and collects the dust in the dust box 26. By doing so, the dust collecting surface of the air filter 14 is automatically cleaned.

  The first filter movement path 19 through which the air filter 14 is moved and the third filter movement path 29 intersect each other, but one end of the air filter 14 that has moved to the third filter movement path 29 is at the first filter movement path 19. Since the other end of the air filter 14 has already passed through the crossing position when the crossing position of the third filter moving path 29 is reached, the ends of the air filter 14 are connected to each other by the third filter moving path 29 and the first filter moving path 29. The air filters 14 do not interfere with each other at the intersection position with the movement path 19, and the air filter 14 is moved across the intersection position from the movement path 29A of the third filter movement path 29 to the movement path 29B.

  Then, one end of the air filter 14 is folded downward along the back surface of the front panel 4 from the movement path 29B of the third filter movement path 29, and passes through the movement path 29C extending downward to the first filter movement path. 19 enters the movement path 19B of 19 and moves so as to follow the other end to reach a position slightly ahead of the filter driving roller 24, and at the same time the cleaning of the entire surface of the air filter 14 is completed, the forward movement of the air filter 14 Is stopped. During this time, dust scraped off from the air filter 14 by the rotary brush 25 falls into the dust box 26 and is collected.

  The dust box 26 can store a certain amount of dust. When an appropriate amount of dust has accumulated, the dust box 26 can be discarded by removing the dust box 26 from the housing 5. On the other hand, when the automatic cleaning of the air filter 14 is completed, the filter driving roller 24 is reversely rotated, and the air filter 14 is moved in the reverse direction along the third, second, and first filter moving paths 29, 27, and 19 described above. 3 is returned to the normal attachment position set in the first filter movement path 19 shown in FIG.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, a part of the movement path of the air filter 14, that is, the movement path 19 B of the first filter movement path 19 and the movement paths 29 B and 29 C of the third filter movement path 29 are the front panel 4. It is formed with the filter guide member 22 provided in the back surface. That is, the filter guide member 22 fixedly installed on the back surface of the front panel 4 is provided to face the filter guide members 20 and 21 provided on the front cover 3 side, and between the filter guide members 20 and 21. The movement path 19B of the first filter movement path 19 and the movement paths 29B and 29C of the third filter movement path 29 are formed, and the air filter 14 is formed along the first filter movement path 19 and the third filter movement path 29. Can be moved.

  The front panel 4 on which the filter guide member 22 is provided is supported on the front upper portion of the front cover 3 via the shaft portion 31 of the support arm 30 so as to be rotatable upward. For this reason, the filter guide member 22 which forms the moving path of the air filter 14 can be simultaneously opened by removing the hook nail 32 of the front panel 4 and opening it upward. Accordingly, it is possible to directly access the air filter 14 by opening the front panel 4, and the attachment / detachment of the air filter 14 is simplified and facilitated despite the fact that the filter cleaning mechanism 23 is mounted. be able to. Further, there is no need to provide a movable guide member, and the configuration can be simplified.

  Further, a filter cleaning mechanism 23 is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the front cover 3, and is configured so that the air filter 14 can be moved along the filter moving paths 19, 27, 29 by the filter driving roller 24, and further the front panel. The filter guide member 22 provided on the back surface of the front panel 4 is provided with a filter pressing portion 37 that pushes the air filter 14 toward the filter drive roller 24 on the filter guide member 22 provided on the back surface of the front panel 4. 22 can function as a filter guide that forms part of the filter movement paths 19, 27, and 29, and the air filter 14 that is moved along the filter movement paths 19, 27, and 29 can be used as a filter driving roller. It can also function as a filter presser that is pushed into the 24 side.

  As a result, when the filter is cleaned, the air filter 14 is smoothly moved along the filter movement paths 19, 27, and 29, and troubles due to the air filter 14 being caught on the movement paths 19, 27, and 29 are eliminated. The movement can be stabilized and automatic cleaning can be reliably performed, and the reliability of the filter cleaning mechanism 23 can be improved.

  Further, the filter guide member 22 is integrally locked by fitting the fitting portions 35 and 36 into the locking portions 33 and 34 provided at a plurality of positions on the back surface of the front panel 4. Therefore, the filter guide member 22 can be easily locked to the front panel 4 simply by fitting the fitting portions 35 and 36 on the filter guide member 22 side into the locking portions 33 and 34 on the front panel 4 side. . Therefore, the front panel 4 and the filter guide member 22 can be integrated without using extra coupling means and parts, and assembly can be facilitated.

  Further, since the front panel 4 can be opened and closed with respect to the front cover 3 with the upper portions at the left and right ends as fulcrums, the air filter 14 can be opened by opening the front panel 4 with the upper portions as fulcrums. However, direct access from the front side of the front cover 3 is possible. Therefore, the air filter 14 set in the first filter moving path 19 can be easily attached and detached and easily maintained by pulling downward from the state shown in FIG. Detachability equivalent to that of an air conditioner not equipped with can be secured.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the invention concerning the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can change suitably. For example, in the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the wall-mounted air conditioner 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other types of air conditioners as well. The filter cleaning mechanism 23 may have any configuration as long as the air filter 14 is moved. For example, the filter cleaning mechanism 23 does not need to be a rotary brush type, and uses a fixed scraping brush. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Base main body 3 Front cover 4 Front panel 8 Air inlet 14 Air filter 15 Indoor heat exchanger (heat exchanger)
16 Blower 19 First filter moving path 22 Filter guide member 23 Filter cleaning mechanism 24 Filter drive roller 27 Second filter moving path 29 Third filter moving path 30 Support arm 31 Shaft 32 Hook claw 33, 34 Locking parts 35, 36 Fitting part 37 Filter holding part

Claims (4)

A front panel is provided on the front surface of the front cover that covers the front side of the base body on which a heat exchanger, a blower, and the like are installed. The front panel can be freely opened and closed. In an air conditioner in which an air filter covering the entire surface of the air suction port is attached to be movable along the filter moving path via a filter cleaning mechanism.
An air conditioner, wherein a filter guide member that forms a part of the filter movement path is fixedly installed on the rear surface of the front panel.   The filter cleaning mechanism is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the front cover, is configured to be able to move the air filter along the filter movement path by a filter driving roller, and is provided on the back surface of the front panel. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the filter guide member is formed with a filter pressing portion that pushes the air filter toward the filter driving roller.   The said filter guide member is integrally latched by engaging a fitting part in the latching | locking part provided in the multiple places of the back surface of the said front panel. Air conditioner. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front panel can be opened and closed vertically with respect to the front cover with upper left and right ends as fulcrums.

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