JP2012083076A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of reducing the unevenness of the cleaning of an air filter.SOLUTION: A control unit 70 performs control so that the air filter 30 rotates for a rotary brush 51 to scrape dust in air filter cleaning control and that the brush 51 rotates to remove the dust from the rotary brush 51 in brush cleaning control. One cycle is defined here as the cleaning of the whole air filter 30 in the air filter cleaning control. The control unit 70 controls a filter driving unit 40 so that the relative location of the rotary brush 51 to the air filter 30 at the time of switching control from the air filter cleaning control to the brush cleaning control in the previous cycle is made different from the relative location of the rotary brush 51 to the air filter 30 at the time of switching control in the next cycle.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  Conventionally, in an indoor unit of an air conditioner equipped with an air filter at an air suction port, it has been proposed to clean the air filter by periodically removing dust trapped by the air filter.

  For example, in an indoor unit of an air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-192210), a brush for cleaning the air filter is the center of the air filter with respect to the disk-shaped air filter. It is provided so that it may extend in the radial direction. In the cleaning operation of the air filter, the brush scrapes off dust collected by the air filter as the air filter rotates.

  In the indoor unit as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-192210) described above, brush cleaning control is performed to remove dust collected from the air filter from the brush. At that time, the rotation of the air filter is stopped. That is, the brush cleaning control is performed in a state where the rotation of the air filter is stopped, and when the brush cleaning control is completed, the air filter is rotated again to perform the cleaning operation of the air filter.

  For this reason, if the positional relationship between the air filter and the brush when the brush cleaning control is being performed is periodically repeated, cleaning irregularities in the air filter may occur.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the point mentioned above, The objective of this invention is providing the air conditioning apparatus which can reduce the cleaning nonuniformity of an air filter.

  The air conditioning apparatus according to the first aspect includes an air filter, a brush, a relative movement mechanism, and a control unit. Here, the shape of the air filter is arbitrary as long as it is repeatedly cleaned with a brush. For example, not only a circular shape but also a roll type air filter is included. The brush scrapes off the dust collected by the air filter. The relative movement mechanism moves the brush relative to the air filter. The control unit performs air filter cleaning control, brush cleaning control, and switching control. In the air filter cleaning control, the relative movement mechanism is driven, and the dust collected by the air filter is scraped off by the brush. In the brush cleaning control, the dust collected by the brush is removed from the brush. In the switching control, the state for performing the air filter cleaning control and the state for performing the brush cleaning control are switched. The control unit is configured such that the air filter when the switching control is performed in the immediately preceding cycle when the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter is cleaned by performing the air filter cleaning control. The relative movement mechanism is controlled so that there is a difference between the positional relationship of the brush with respect to and the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when switching control is performed in the next cycle.

  As an example of controlling the relative movement mechanism so that a difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter at the time of switching control occurs, for example, the difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter at the time of performing the switching control described above. Is included in every cycle. As another example, for example, after the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter is cleaned a plurality of times without causing a difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when performing the switching control, the switching control described above is performed. The control of causing a difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when performing is also included.

  Further, the operation for causing the difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when performing the switching control is not particularly limited. For example, the area corresponding to the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter is set in one cycle. When cleaning as the target area to be cleaned, the position of the brush relative to the air filter at the start of the next period of cleaning is different from the position of the brush relative to the air filter at the start of the previous period of cleaning. In this period, after the target area of the air filter is cleaned and before the operation of the previous period is finished, an operation of positively shifting the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter is included. In addition, for example, when cleaning is performed with an area corresponding to the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter as a target area to be cleaned in one cycle, before starting cleaning for the target area of the air filter in the next cycle. Before starting cleaning for the target area of the air filter in the next cycle so that the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter at the start of cleaning is different from the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter at the start of cleaning in the previous cycle Also included is an operation of positively shifting the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter. Further, for example, the target area for cleaning the air filter in each cycle is larger than the area corresponding to the entire part to be cleaned of the air filter and is an integral multiple of the area corresponding to the entire part to be cleaned of the air filter. The operation which makes it not is also included.

  The switching control may be performed in the middle of one cycle, that is, at a stage other than the beginning or the end of one cycle.

  In this air conditioner, there is a difference between the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when switching control is performed in the previous cycle and the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when switching control is performed in the next cycle. As described above, the relative movement mechanism controls the air filter and the brush to move relative to each other. For this reason, since there may be a difference in the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when performing the switching control, the frequency with which the switching control is performed with the same positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter can be reduced. Thereby, the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when switching control is performed can be changed, and the cleaning unevenness of the air filter can be reduced.

  An air conditioner according to a second aspect is the air conditioner according to the first aspect, further comprising a rotation mechanism and a brush cleaning unit. The rotating mechanism can switch between a state in which the air filter cleaning control is performed and a state in which the brush cleaning control is performed by rotating the brush. The brush cleaning unit removes dust from the brush. The control unit performs switching control by driving the rotation mechanism. The brush cleaning unit removes dust collection from the brush by rubbing against the brush when the brush rotates by driving the rotation mechanism.

  In this air conditioner, the brush can be cleaned by rotating the brush itself.

  The air conditioner according to a third aspect is the air conditioner according to the second aspect, in which the control unit performs brush cleaning control by driving the rotation mechanism and rotating the brush by reciprocating a plurality of times. When rotating the brush by reciprocating a plurality of times, the brush not only rubs against the brush cleaning unit but also rubs against the air filter.

  In this air conditioner, when the brush itself is cleaned by performing brush cleaning control, the brush adopts an arrangement configuration that also rubs against the air filter. For this reason, by cleaning the brush by reciprocating the brush a plurality of times, cleaning the portion of the air filter that is rubbing when the brush is reciprocating a plurality of times to rotate more thoroughly. Is possible. Moreover, the position of the air filter portion that is cleaned during the brush cleaning control can be changed in the previous cycle and the next cycle. As a result, the effect that the air filter can also be cleaned during the brush cleaning control can be generated without unevenness over the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter.

  In the air conditioner according to the fourth aspect, in any of the air conditioners according to the first aspect to the third aspect, the air filter is circular. The relative movement mechanism causes the brush to move relative to the air filter while keeping the one end side of the brush at the center of the air filter, thereby causing relative movement. The control unit performs air filter partial cleaning control in which the brush is relatively circularly moved by 360 / n degrees (n is a natural number) with respect to the air filter. A control part performs the intermittent process which repeats the process of performing switching control and brush cleaning control n times, whenever it performs air filter partial cleaning control. The control unit moves the brush relative to the air filter by an angle different from 360 / n degrees and 360 × m / n degrees (m is a natural number larger than n) immediately before or after intermittent processing. Make a circular motion.

  In this air conditioner, immediately before or after performing intermittent processing, the control unit circles the brush relative to the air filter by an angle different from the angle at which the air filter partial cleaning control is performed and a natural number multiple of the angle. Processing to exercise. Accordingly, it is possible to easily reduce the unevenness in cleaning of the air filter only by performing such a simple process immediately before or after the intermittent process.

  An air conditioner according to a fifth aspect is the air conditioner according to the fourth aspect, wherein the control unit rotates the air filter during execution of the air filter cleaning control and does not rotate the air filter during execution of the brush cleaning control. .

  In this air conditioner, the air filter is not rotated while the brush cleaning control is being executed. Therefore, the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when the air filter cleaning control is last performed is switched and brush cleaning controlled. Thus, the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when the air filter cleaning control is to be started again is the same. Here, when the air filter cleaning control is performed last time and the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when the air filter cleaning control is started again becomes the same, cleaning unevenness is likely to occur. Even so, unevenness in cleaning the air filter can be reduced.

  An air conditioner according to a sixth aspect is the air conditioner according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the control unit finishes the air filter cleaning control at a stage before starting the brush cleaning control. Sometimes, the relative movement direction of the air filter with respect to the brush is reversed and moved by a predetermined distance.

  In this air conditioner, when the air filter cleaning control is finished, a part of the dust collected by the brush from the air filter may be present on the rear side in the relative movement direction of the brush.

  Thus, the dust collection existing behind the relative movement direction of the brush is moved relatively by a predetermined distance by inverting the relative movement direction of the air filter with respect to the brush before starting the brush cleaning control. By performing the operation, the brushes can be collected on the front side in the relative movement direction. In this manner, brush cleaning control can be started in a state where dust collection is collected on the front side in the relative movement direction of the brush, and scattering of dust collection can be suppressed.

  In the air conditioner of the first aspect, the positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when switching control is performed can be changed, and the cleaning unevenness of the air filter can be reduced.

  In the air conditioning apparatus according to the second aspect, the brush can be cleaned by rotating the brush itself.

  In the air conditioning apparatus according to the third aspect, the effect that the air filter can be cleaned during the brush cleaning control can be generated without unevenness over the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter.

  In the air conditioner of the fourth aspect, it is possible to easily reduce the unevenness in cleaning of the air filter by simply performing a simple process immediately before or after the intermittent process.

  In the air conditioner of the fifth aspect, cleaning unevenness is caused by the same positional relationship of the brush with respect to the air filter when the air filter cleaning control is last performed and when the air filter cleaning control is started again. Even if it is likely to occur, cleaning unevenness of the air filter can be reduced.

  In the air conditioner of the sixth aspect, it is possible to suppress the scattering of dust collection.

It is a side view schematic block diagram inside the indoor unit concerning embodiment. It is a planar view schematic block diagram inside the indoor unit concerning embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of the air filter concerning embodiment, a dust collection storage container, and a partition plate. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the filter drive part concerning embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view when the dust collection removal part and dust collection storage container concerning embodiment are seen from diagonally upward. It is a schematic perspective view when the dust collection removal part and dust collection storage container concerning embodiment are seen from diagonally downward. It is a schematic cross-sectional view of a dust collection container according to an embodiment. It is the schematic of the arrangement | positioning relationship between the air filter and dust collection removal part concerning embodiment. It is a control block block diagram of the indoor unit concerning embodiment. It is a control flowchart which shows the outline about processes, such as a filter cleaning driving | operation from a normal driving | operation. It is a control flowchart of filter cleaning operation. It is a control flowchart of dust collection processing operation. It is the schematic which shows the state of the air filter at the time of starting partial cleaning control first. Next, it is the schematic which shows the state of the air filter at the time of starting partial cleaning control. It is the schematic which shows the state of the air filter at the time of starting partial cleaning control before returning to the original position. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the air filter at the time of performing switching position shift control. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the air filter concerning other embodiment (C). It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the air filter concerning other embodiment (F). It is a flowchart of the air filter cleaning driving | operation concerning other embodiment (G).

  Hereinafter, an indoor unit 1 in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted will be described with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall configuration The indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment is installed on the ceiling of a room that is an air-conditioning target space, and constitutes a part of an air conditioner. This air conditioner includes an indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit (not shown). The outdoor unit is provided with a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an expansion valve. The indoor unit 1 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 22. The compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion valve, and the indoor heat exchanger 22 are connected to each other through a refrigerant pipe, whereby a refrigerant circuit that performs a vapor compression refrigeration cycle by reversibly flowing the refrigerant. It is composed. In the refrigerant circuit, a cooling operation in which the indoor heat exchanger 22 functions as an evaporator and a heating operation in which the indoor heat exchanger 22 functions as a condenser are performed.

(2) Configuration of Indoor Unit 1 A side view schematic configuration diagram of the indoor unit 1 is shown in FIG. 1, and a top view schematic configuration diagram is shown in FIG.

  The indoor unit 1 includes a casing 10, a decorative panel 11, an indoor heat exchanger 22 disposed in the casing 10, a drain pan 23, an indoor fan 21, an air filter 30, a filter driving unit 40, a dust removing unit 50, dust It has a storage container 60, a dust transport unit 80, a dust collection box 90 and a control unit 70.

(2-1) Details of Indoor Unit The casing 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape whose lower side is opened. The casing 10 is installed in a state where the lower part is inserted through the opening of the ceiling plate.

  The decorative panel 11 is a rectangular plate-like member whose plan view shape is formed to be slightly larger than the plan view shape of the casing 10, and is attached to the casing 10 so as to be exposed indoors.

  The decorative panel 11 has one suction port 13 formed in a rectangular shape at the center of the decorative panel 11 and four air outlets 14 formed in an elongated rectangular shape along each side of the decorative panel 11. Is formed. A suction grill 12 formed in a slit shape is fitted into the suction port 13. A wind direction adjusting plate 15 is disposed at each outlet 14. The wind direction adjusting plate 15 adjusts the blowing direction by rotating.

  The indoor fan 21 is a so-called turbo fan disposed near the center of the casing 10 and above the suction port 13. The indoor fan 21 has a fan motor 21a fixed to the top plate of the casing 10, and an impeller 21b connected to the rotation shaft of the fan motor 21a. A bell mouth 24 communicating with the suction port 13 is provided below the indoor fan 21. The bell mouth 24 divides a space upstream of the indoor heat exchanger 22 into an indoor fan 21 side and a suction grill 12 side in the casing 10. The indoor fan 21 is configured to blow out air sucked from below through the bell mouth 24 in the circumferential direction.

  The indoor heat exchanger 22 is a cross-fin type fin-and-tube heat exchanger disposed in a square shape in plan view and surrounding the indoor fan 21. In the indoor heat exchanger 22, heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant and the air flow sent by the indoor fan 21.

  The drain pan 23 is provided below the indoor heat exchanger 22 in order to receive drain water generated by condensation of moisture in the air in the indoor heat exchanger 22.

  A partition plate 25 is provided below the bell mouth 24. The partition plate 25 partitions the space between the bell mouth 24 and the suction grill 12 up and down. That is, the partition plate 25 divides the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 22 into the indoor heat exchanger 22 side including the bell mouth 24 and the suction grill 12 side.

  In the center of the partition plate 25, a vent hole 26 is formed for the air sucked from the suction port 13 to flow into the bell mouth 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the vent hole 26 is partitioned into a fan shape by four radial members 27 with circular holes extending in the radial direction. The radial members 27 are connected to each other at the center of the circle, and a cylindrical filter rotation shaft 28 protrudes downward at that portion. The filter rotation shaft 28 is a rotation shaft for the air filter 30 to rotate. One radial member 27 is provided with two filter holders 29.

(2-2) Air filter 30
As shown in FIG. 3, the air filter 30 is disposed below the partition plate 25 and is formed in a disk shape having a size that covers the entrance of the bell mouth 24. The air filter 30 includes an annular filter body 31 and a mesh member 37. A gear portion 32 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the filter body 31. A cylindrical shaft insertion portion 33 supported by six radial ribs 34 is provided at the annular center portion of the filter body 31. That is, each radial rib 34 extends radially from the shaft insertion portion 33. Further, an inner circumferential rib 35 formed concentrically with the filter body 31 and an outer circumferential rib 36 formed larger in diameter than the inner circumferential rib 35 are provided on the inner circle portion of the filter body 31. It has been. The mesh member 37 is stretched over the entire inner circle portion of the filter body 31. The air sucked from the suction port 13 passes through the mesh member 37 of the air filter 30 and flows into the bell mouth 24. At that time, dust in the air is captured by the mesh member 37. Further, the air filter 30 is biased downward when the above-described filter retainer 29 comes into contact with the circumferential ribs 35 and 36. Thereby, the air filter 30 is pressed against the rotating brush 51 of the dust removing unit 50 described later, and the removal efficiency of the dust removing unit 50 is improved.

  The air filter 30 is rotatable about the filter rotation shaft 28 by attaching the shaft insertion portion 33 to the filter rotation shaft 28 of the partition plate 25. A dust container 60 is disposed below the air filter 30. Then, in a state where the air filter 30 is fitted into the shaft insertion portion 33, the filter mounting portion 68 of the dust container 60 is fixed to the shaft insertion portion 33 of the partition plate 25 with a set screw 28 a. As a result, the air filter 30 is held between the partition plate 25 and the dust container 60.

(2-3) Filter drive unit 40
As shown in FIG. 2, a filter drive unit 40 is provided in the vicinity of the air filter 30 for rotationally driving the air filter 30 in contact with a rotary brush 51 (described later). That is, the filter driving unit 40 constitutes a relative movement mechanism that moves the air filter 30 relative to the rotating brush 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the filter drive unit 40 includes a filter drive motor 41 and a limit switch 44. A drive gear 42 is provided on the drive shaft of the filter drive motor 41, and the drive gear 42 meshes with the gear portion 32 of the filter main body 31. On one end face of the drive gear 42, a switch operating portion 43 that is a projecting piece is provided. The switch operating portion 43 is adapted to act on the lever 44 a of the limit switch 44 by the rotation of the drive gear 42. When the switch operating portion 43 acts on the lever 44a, the limit switch 44 detects. That is, the switch operating unit 43 and the limit switch 44 are for detecting the rotational position of the drive gear 42.

  And the filter drive part 40 performs the operation | movement which rotates the air filter 30 by predetermined angle intermittently in the state which contacted the rotating brush 51, and removes dust with the rotating brush 51 of the contacted state.

(2-4) Dust removing unit 50
The dust removing unit 50 is disposed below the partition plate 25 and the air filter 30 and is for removing dust trapped by the air filter 30. The dust removing unit 50 includes a rotating brush 51 (brush), a cleaning brush 52 (brush cleaning unit), and a brush driving unit 53 (rotating mechanism).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating brush 51 and the cleaning brush 52 are provided in a brush opening 63 of a dust container 60 described later.

  The rotating brush 51 has an elongated columnar shaft 51a and a brush 51b provided in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 51a in a part of the circumferential direction of the shaft 51a (a range of about 90 degrees in the circumferential direction). The other parts are non-brush surfaces. The brush 51b is a hair fiber formed by weaving hair (pile yarn) into a base fabric, and is configured by a so-called pile fabric having relatively short hairs. This pile fabric is an inclined pile configured such that the fur is inclined in a certain direction. Specifically, the brush 51b is inclined so as to extend toward the cleaning brush 52 as it moves away from the axis of the rotating brush 51. Therefore, the air filter 30 is configured to face the rotation direction (movement direction). Thus, when the air filter 30 rotates so as to face the fur of the brush 51b, dust on the mesh member 37 is scraped out efficiently. On the other hand, when the air filter 30 rotates in the inclination direction with respect to the bristles of the brush 51b, the dust on the mesh member 37 is not scraped, and conversely, the dust captured by the brush 51b is removed.

  The cleaning brush 52 includes a main body portion 52a, a brush 52b, and a spring portion 52c. The main body 52a is a plate-like member and is formed to have a length substantially the same as the diameter of the shaft 51a of the rotating brush 51. The main body portion 52 a is provided with its plate surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotating brush 51. Further, the upper portion of the main body portion 52 a is an arc portion corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 51 a of the rotating brush 51. A brush 52b is provided on the arc portion of the main body 52a so as to be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shaft 51a. The spring part 52 c is provided at the lower end of the main body part 52 a and is attached to the inner wall of the dust container 60. That is, the main body portion 52a is supported by the spring portion 52c.

  The rotating brush 51 and the cleaning brush 52 are formed to have a length equal to or greater than the radius of the air filter 30. The rotating brush 51 and the cleaning brush 52 are arranged so as to extend radially outward from the center of the circle of the air filter 30.

  The rotating brush 51 is configured so that the brush 51b contacts the mesh member 37 of the rotating air filter 30, and the air filter 30 is cleaned by the brush 51b scraping off the dust collected by the mesh member 37. Yes. The rotating brush 51 is reversibly rotated by the brush driving unit 53. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the brush drive unit 53 includes a brush drive motor 54, a drive gear 55 and a driven gear 56 that mesh with each other. The drive gear 55 is provided on the drive shaft of the brush drive motor 54, and the driven gear 56 is provided on the end of the shaft 51 a of the rotating brush 51. With this configuration, the rotating brush 51 is rotationally driven around the axis of the shaft 51a. And the brush drive part 53 is comprised so that the rotating brush 51 may be rotated and the brush 51b may switch to the state which contacts the air filter 30, and the state separated from the air filter 30. FIG.

  The brush 52b of the cleaning brush 52, like the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51, is a so-called pile fabric that is a hair fiber in which hair (pile yarn) is woven into a base fabric and has relatively short hairs. Has been. This pile fabric is also an inclined pile configured such that the fur is inclined in a certain direction. Specifically, the brush 52b is configured to be inclined so as to be positioned downward toward the hair tip. That is, the bristles of the brush 52b are inclined so as to face the rotation direction when the rotating brush 51 rotates clockwise in FIG. When the rotating brush 51 is rotated by the brush drive unit 53, the rotating brush 51 is configured to come into contact with the brush 51 b of the rotating brush 51. The dust collected by the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 is scraped by the brush 52b of the cleaning brush 52 by the opposed inclined shape and contact, whereby the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 is cleaned.

(2-5) Dust storage container 60
The dust container 60 is disposed below the partition plate 25 and the air filter 30 and stores dust removed from the rotating brush 51 by the cleaning brush 52, that is, dust removed by the dust removing unit 50. Is to be stored. In the dust container 60, the upper part is a removing part 61 from which dust of the air filter 30 is removed, and the lower part is a storing part 62 in which dust removed from the air filter 30 is stored.

  A brush opening 63 extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in the upper plate of the removal portion 61, and a rotating brush 51 and a cleaning brush 52 are provided in the brush opening 63 as shown in FIG. A filter attaching portion 68 for determining the positional relationship with the air filter 30 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the removing portion 61. Further, the edge portion 61a on the rear side of the brush opening 63 (that is, the side opposite to the cleaning brush 52 side) has a shape in which the opening becomes narrower toward the air filter 30 side in the axial direction view of the rotary brush 51. The end surface is formed in an arc shape so as to follow the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51. Thereby, the clearance gap between the edge part 61a and the rotating brush 51 becomes small as much as possible. Therefore, the dust of the air filter 30 that has passed through the rotating brush 51 without being removed by the rotating brush 51 is guided in the moving direction of the air filter 30 along the edge portion 61a. That is, the dust that has passed through the rotating brush 51 moves smoothly while being attached to the air filter 30 without being blocked by the upper plate of the removing unit 61. By devising the edge portion 61a in this way, it is possible to prevent the dust from stagnating in the gap between the rotating brush 51 and the upper plate of the removing portion 61. When the stagnation occurs, the dust gradually grows and becomes a large mass, which may eventually be ejected from the gap and fall into the room or the like. However, according to the present embodiment, this problem can be improved. . Furthermore, since the gap between the edge portion 61a and the rotating brush 51 is reduced, the airtightness (sealability) of the dust container 60 is enhanced.

  The storage portion 62 has a lower end side (bottom side) that bulges in an arc shape. Then, dust removed from the rotating brush 51 by the cleaning brush 52 is dropped and stored in the arc portion of the storage portion 62. The storage part 62 is open at both ends 66 and 67 in the longitudinal direction. A damper box 81 of a dust transfer unit 80 described later is connected to the first end 66 of the storage unit 62, and a transfer duct 88 of a dust transfer unit 80 described later is connected to the second end 67. Yes.

  In addition, the dust storage container 60 is provided with a storage amount detection unit 62 a that detects the amount of dust (dust storage amount) in the storage unit 62. For example, when the storage amount detection unit 62a detects that the light intensity is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the storage amount detection unit 62a determines that the storage amount of the storage unit 62 is full and starts an operation for discharging the stored dust collection. It is possible to do.

(2-6) Dust transfer unit 80
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6, and 7, the dust transport unit 80 is disposed below the partition plate 25 and the air filter 30, and includes the above-described damper box 81 and transport duct 88. A duct 86 for suction and a duct 87 for suction.

  The damper box 81 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the storage portion 62 of the dust storage container 60. A first end 66 of the reservoir 62 is connected to one end of the damper box 81 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 1, one damper 82 as a passage opening / closing means is provided in the damper box 81. When the damper 82 is closed, the internal space of the damper box 81 is partitioned into a radially outer end portion of the air filter 30 and an inner portion thereof. The first end 66 of the reservoir 62 is connected to the inner portion of the damper box 81 as described above.

  The introduction duct 86 communicates with a portion of the upper surface of the damper box 81 at the radially outer end of the air filter 30. The introduction duct 86 extends vertically upward from the damper box 81 and penetrates the partition plate 25 and the bell mouth 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the introduction duct 86 is configured to communicate with the space on the indoor fan 21 side, and the air blown from the indoor fan 21 can be introduced into the damper box 81. ing. The introduction duct 86 is configured to be integrated with the damper box 81 and the dust container 60 so as to be rotatable about the axis of the introduction duct 86.

  The suction duct 87 is a flexible tube having one end communicating with the lower surface of the damper box 81, and conveys dust collection out of the damper box 81. More specifically, the suction duct 87 communicates with a space on the radially inner side of the air filter 30 partitioned by the damper 82 in the damper box 81. The transport destination end of the suction duct 87 is connected to a cleaner insertion port (not shown) formed in the decorative panel 11. This vacuum cleaner insertion opening is an opening through which a hose or the like of a vacuum cleaner is inserted and sucked.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one end of the transfer duct 88 is connected to the second end 67 (the end near the center of the air filter 30) of the storage 62 in the dust container 60, and the other end. It is connected to a dust collection box 90 described later. The transfer duct 88 is formed of a flexible tube.

(2-7) Dust collection box 90
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dust collection box 90 is disposed below the partition plate 25 in the same manner as the dust storage container 60, and is formed in a slightly elongated substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Dust is transported and stored. The dust collection box 90 has an air filter 30 side plate formed in an arc shape corresponding to the outer periphery of the air filter 30 so as not to cover the air filter 30 in plan view. Are arranged along. The dust collection box 90 is provided with an exhaust port 91 at the end opposite to the side to which the transfer duct 88 is connected, and the area of the exhaust port 91 is smaller than other parts. Yes. Since the portion of the exhaust port 91 penetrates the casing 10 and communicates with the room, the air sucked from the suction grill 12 is discharged into the room from the exhaust port 91 of the dust collection box 90. A filter 92 is provided in the dust collection box 90 near the exhaust port 91. For this reason, even when dust is transported from the dust container 60, the dust does not flow out into the room. Note that a seal member 93 is provided in a through portion of the exhaust port 91.

  In addition, since the above-mentioned dust collection container 60 is arrange | positioned under the air filter 30, the volume of the dust container 60 is made as small as possible so that it may become difficult to become resistance (disturbance) of air circulation. For this reason, a large amount of dust cannot be stored in the dust container 60. However, in the present embodiment, the dust collection box 90 having a larger volume than the dust storage container 60 is provided in a place where air circulation resistance is not provided, and the dust is transferred from the dust storage container 60 to the dust collection box 90. It is composed.

(2-8) Configuration of Control Unit 70 etc. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 70 is arranged in the casing 10 of the indoor unit 1, and based on signals from various sensors and detection means, Control the operation of the components.

  Specifically, as shown in the block configuration diagram centering on the control unit 70 in FIG. 9, the control unit 70 includes a filter drive motor 41, a limit switch 44, a brush drive unit 53 that rotationally drives the rotary brush 51, and storage. The amount detector 62a, the damper 82 in the damper box 81, the indoor fan 21 (fan motor 21a), a compressor (not shown), an outdoor fan, and the like are connected.

  The control unit 70 is connected to a remote controller (not shown), and starts operation, stops operation, changes the set temperature, selects various operation modes, and executes “dust discharge control” to be described later by user operation. Etc. are received.

(3) Operation of normal operation and filter cleaning operation The indoor unit 1 switches between a normal operation for air conditioning and heating, a filter cleaning operation for cleaning the air filter 30, and a dust collection processing operation for discharging collected dust. It is configured to be possible.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of processing from normal operation to filter cleaning operation in the present embodiment.

  In this embodiment, first, normal operation is performed in step S10.

  When this normal operation is completed, a filter cleaning operation is then performed in step S20.

  When this filter cleaning operation ends, in step S30, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the light intensity detected by the storage amount detection unit 62a is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If it is less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the storage amount of the storage unit 62 is full, and the process proceeds to step S40. If it is not less than the predetermined value, the operation is stopped and normal operation is resumed. Wait for it.

  In step S40, a dust collection operation is performed. Thereafter, these operations are repeated.

  Hereinafter, the normal operation in step S10, the filter cleaning operation in step S20, and the dust collection operation in step S40 will be described in detail.

(3-1) Normal Operation In a normal operation in which air conditioning is performed, the air filter 30 is stationary while being in contact with the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51, and the damper 82 of the damper box 81 is closed.

  In this state, when the indoor fan 21 is driven, in the indoor unit 1, the indoor air sucked from the suction port 13 passes through the air filter 30 and flows into the bell mouth 24. When the air passes through the air filter 30, dust in the air is captured by the mesh member 37 of the air filter 30. The air flowing into the bell mouth 24 is blown out from the indoor fan 21. This blown air is cooled or heated by exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 22 and then supplied into the room from each outlet 14. Thereby, indoor cooling or heating is performed.

  In normal operation, since the damper 82 of the damper box 81 is closed, the air blown from the indoor fan 21 is not introduced into the damper box 81, and an air flow from the damper box 81 toward the dust container 60 is also generated. Absent.

  The normal operation ends when the user sends an operation stop command using a remote controller or the like, or when the set time elapses or the set time is reached when the timer setting operation is performed.

(3-2) Filter cleaning operation The filter cleaning operation is performed immediately after the end of normal operation. In the refrigerant circuit, the compressor is stopped and the refrigerant is not circulated. In this filter cleaning operation, “air filter cleaning control”, “brush cleaning control”, and “switching position shift control” can be switched.

  “Air filter cleaning control” is control performed by the control unit 70 to remove dust from the air filter 30 with the rotating brush 51, as shown in FIG.

  “Brush cleaning control” is control performed by the control unit 70 in order to remove dust trapped by the rotating brush 51 with the cleaning brush 52.

  The “switching position shifting control” is performed by repeatedly performing a set of “air filter cleaning control” and “brush cleaning control” to rotate the air filter 30 360 degrees to clean the entire air filter 30, and then the filter driving unit. This is control performed by the control unit 70 to rotate the air filter 30 by a predetermined angle by 40.

  FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the filter cleaning operation.

  In step S <b> 21, the control unit 70 performs “air filter cleaning control” by drivingly controlling the filter driving unit 40. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the control unit 70 is in a stationary state so that the rotary brush 51 does not rotate or move while the air filter 30 is in contact with the rotary brush 51. Partial cleaning control (air filter partial cleaning control) is performed in which the air filter 30 is rotated counterclockwise by a predetermined angle of 120 degrees while being maintained. 13 is a start state, the air filter 30 is rotated by 120 degrees so that the area of the air filter 30 (here, the area A1) is cleaned by the rotating brush 51 (see FIG. 14). .

  Since the air filter 30 is rotationally moved so as to face the bristles of the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 (inclined to the left), dust on the air filter 30 is easily captured by the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51.

  Here, the control unit 70 grasps whether or not the air filter 30 has been rotated by a predetermined angle of 120 degrees based on the number of actuations of the lever 44a of the limit switch 44 of the filter drive unit 40, and stops the filter drive motor 41. The rotation of the air filter 30 is stopped. Thereby, the dust of the area | region which passed the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 in the air filter 30 is removed.

  Here, the control unit 70 keeps the indoor fan 21 stationary.

  The control in step S21 is once completed, and the process proceeds to “brush cleaning control” in step S22.

  In step S22, the control unit 70 performs switching control for switching from “air filter cleaning control” to “brush cleaning control”. In “brush cleaning control”, the rotating brush 51 rotates counterclockwise (counterclockwise) in FIG. 7 with the indoor fan 21 and the air filter 30 being stationary. At that time, the rotating brush 51 rotates while dust is captured by the brush 51b. Here, the rotating brush 51 rotates counterclockwise (counterclockwise) while the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 and the brush 52b of the cleaning brush 52 are in contact with each other. The rotating brush 51 stops when it rotates by a predetermined rotation angle.

  Next, the rotating brush 51 rotates clockwise (clockwise) which is the reverse of the above. Then, the dust adhering to the brush 51 b of the rotating brush 51 is captured by the brush 52 b of the cleaning brush 52. This is because the bristles of the brush 52 b of the cleaning brush 52 are inclined downward, that is, the bristles are inclined in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotary brush 51.

  Moreover, the main-body part 52a is the state urged | biased by the spring part 52c to the rotating brush 51 side. For this reason, in the state which both brushes 51b and 52b are contacting, the main-body part 52a of the brush 52 for cleaning will be pushed back, but the brushes 51b and 52b isolate | separate by the function of the spring part 52c. The cleaning brush 52 is appropriately pressed against the rotating brush 51. In this way, dust is more reliably removed from the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51. Thus, dust is captured by the brush 52b of the cleaning brush 52. The rotating brush 51 rotates to the original state (the state when step S22 is started) and stops.

  Subsequently, the control unit 70 rotates the rotary brush 51 again counterclockwise (counterclockwise) by a predetermined rotation angle. Then, the dust captured by the brush 52 b of the cleaning brush 52 is scraped off by the brush 51 b of the rotating brush 51 and falls to the storage portion 62 of the dust storage container 60. This is because the bristles of the brush 51b of the rotary brush 51 are inclined toward the rotation direction. At this time, similarly to the above, since the cleaning brush 52 is appropriately pressed against the rotating brush 51 by the spring portion 52c, dust is more reliably removed from the cleaning brush 52. As described above, the dust captured by the rotating brush 51 is removed and stored in the storage unit 62 of the dust storage container 60. Thereafter, the rotating brush 51 is rotated clockwise again (clockwise) to perform the switching control to return to the original state (the state when step S22 is started), and the “brush cleaning control” is once ended.

  As described above, in step S22, the rotation brush 51 is controlled to reciprocate a plurality of times (here, two reciprocations are given as an example, but may be repeated three or more times). When the rotating brush 51 rotates counterclockwise (counterclockwise) in FIG. 7, the rotating brush 51 not only contacts the brush 52 b of the cleaning brush 52 but also contacts the air filter 30. . For this reason, every time the rotating brush 51 rotates in the control of step S22, the part in contact with the air filter 30 is further cleaned.

  Step S22 is completed above and it shifts to Step S23.

  In step S23, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the total angle that the air filter 30 has rotated after starting the filter cleaning operation has reached 360 degrees. If the controller 70 determines that the angle has not reached 360 degrees, the process returns to step S21 and the above-described partial cleaning control and the like are repeated again. If the controller 70 determines that the angle has reached 360 degrees, the process proceeds to step S24.

  That is, the control unit 70 switches between “air filter cleaning control”, “brush cleaning control”, and “air filter cleaning control” and “brush cleaning control” until the air filter 30 is rotated 360 degrees. The control is repeated to remove dust for each predetermined area (see areas A1, B1, and C1 in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15). Specifically, the region A1 is cleaned when the state shown in FIG. 13 is changed to the state shown in FIG. 14, the region B1 is cleaned when the state shown in FIG. 14 is changed to the state shown in FIG. When the state 13 is reached, the area C1 is cleaned. And when it will be in the state of this FIG. 13 again, the control part 70 will judge that the air filter 30 made one rotation, and will transfer to step S24.

  In step S24, the control unit 70 performs “switching position shift control” by further rotating the air filter 30 by a predetermined angle from the state shown in FIG. 13 by the filter driving unit 40, and ends the filter cleaning operation.

  In this “switching position shifting control”, as shown in FIG. 16, when the air filter 30 rotates 360 degrees, switching control between “air filter cleaning control” and “brush cleaning control” is performed at the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. In addition, the “brush cleaning control” has been performed. Further, by rotating the air filter 30 by a predetermined angle and moving it to the position of the solid line, the “air filter cleaning control” and “brush cleaning” on and after the next time are performed. The position at which switching control with “control” and “brush cleaning control” are performed is shifted. That is, a portion to be cleaned when the air filter 30 is rotated 120 degrees and partial cleaning control is performed in step S21 after the next time is a region A2 indicated by two-dot chain hatching in FIG. Thereafter, the region B2 and the region C2 are cleaned in order.

  The predetermined angle at which the air filter 30 is rotated when performing the “switching position shift control” is an angle different from 120 degrees at which the air filter 30 is rotated by the partial cleaning control in step S21. Further, the predetermined angle when performing the “switching position shift control” is an angle different from the angle that is a natural number multiple of 120 degrees. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the predetermined angle when performing the “switching position shift control” is an angle corresponding to the contact width of the rotary brush 51 at the radially outer end of the air filter 30. It is set twice.

  In this way, by shifting the positional relationship between the air filter 30 and the rotary brush 51 by an angle irrelevant to the rotation angle in the partial cleaning control, the normal operation is performed again next time and the filter cleaning operation is performed again. In such a case, it is possible to change the positional relationship between the air filter 30 and the rotating brush 51 when the switching control between the “air filter cleaning control” and the “brush cleaning control” and the “brush cleaning control” are performed. In addition, the position of the rotary brush 51 on the air filter 30 when the “air filter cleaning control” is performed can be changed. Thereby, the air filter 30 can be cleaned more uniformly, and cleaning unevenness can be reduced.

(3-3) Dust Collection Processing Operation In the dust collection processing operation, as described above, after the filter cleaning operation ends, the light intensity detected by the storage amount detection unit 62a by the control unit 70 is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Thus, the operation is performed when it is determined that the storage amount of the storage unit 62 is full.

  In the dust collection processing operation, “dust transport control” and “dust discharge control” are performed.

  “Dust transfer control” is control in which the control unit 70 performs an operation of transferring dust from the dust container 60 to the dust collection box 90.

  “Dust discharge control” is control in which the control unit 70 executes an operation of discharging dust from the dust collection box 90 to the outside of the casing 10.

  FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the dust collection processing operation.

  In step S41, the control unit 70 performs “dust transport control”. In “dust transfer control”, the control unit 70 keeps the rotary brush 51 and the air filter 30 in a stationary state while the brush 51b of the rotary brush 51 is in contact with the air filter 30, and as shown in FIG. The damper 82 of the box 81 is opened, and the indoor fan 21 is driven.

  As a result, the air flow generated by the indoor fan 21 is directed to the dust storage container 60 through the introduction duct 86 and the damper box 81, and directed indoors through the transport duct 88 and the exhaust port 91 of the dust collection box 90. leak. As a result, the dust in the dust storage container 60 is transferred to the dust collection box 90 through the transfer duct 88 together with the air flow, and is collected in the dust collection box 90. In this way, the amount of dust stored in the dust container 60 decreases.

  As described above, in the “dust transfer control”, the dust in the dust storage container 60 is easily moved to a predetermined place where the dust can be easily discarded simply by driving the indoor fan 21 without separately providing a transfer unit such as a suction fan. Is able to.

  In step S <b> 42, the control unit 70 ends the conveyance of the dust collection when the amount of dust stored in the dust storage container 60 decreases and the detection light intensity of the storage amount detection unit 62 a exceeds the set value (upper limit value). Determine whether or not. If the conveyance of the dust collection has not been completed, the process returns to step S41 and is repeated. If it is determined that the dust collection transfer has been completed, the “dust transfer control” is ended, and the process proceeds to step S43.

  In step S <b> 43, the control unit 70 determines whether or not an instruction to perform “dust control” is received from the user via a remote controller or the like. If an instruction to perform “dust control” is received, the process proceeds to step S44. If an instruction to perform “dust discharge control” has not been received, the dust collection processing operation ends.

  In step S44, the control unit 70 performs “dust discharge control”. In the “dust discharge control”, the control unit 70 causes the damper 82 of the damper box 81 to be closed while the rotary brush 51 and the air filter 30 are stationary, as in the “dust transfer control” described above. When the user is in such a state, the user inserts the hose of the cleaner into the cleaner insertion slot of the decorative panel 11. When a hose or the like of a vacuum cleaner is connected to a vacuum cleaner suction port (not shown) and sucked, room air flows into the dust collection box 90 through the exhaust port 91, and the transfer duct 88 and the damper box 81. Then, an air flow passing through the suction duct 87 is generated. Due to this air flow, the dust collected in the dust collection box 90 is sucked into the cleaner through the transport duct 88, the damper box 81 and the suction duct 87. As a result, the dust in the dust collection box 90 and the dust container 60 is reduced. Thus, the dust collection operation is finished.

(4) Features In the present embodiment, each time the partial cleaning control of the air filter 30 (control for performing “air filter cleaning control” 120 degrees) is performed, the switching control is performed, and the “brush cleaning control” is performed to perform rotation. Since the brush 51 is frequently cleaned, it is possible to avoid rotating the air filter 30 while dust collection is excessively attached to the rotating brush 51, and the rotating brush 51 collects dust from the air filter 30. It is possible to continue scraping efficiently.

  Here, when the rotary brush 51 is reciprocally rotated by the “brush cleaning control”, not only the dust collected by the rotary brush 51 is removed by the cleaning brush 52 but also a part of the rotary brush 51 is removed. The air filter 30 is simultaneously cleaned by being in contact with the air filter 30. For this reason, the cleaning effect of the portion of the air filter 30 where the rotary brush 51 is located when the “brush cleaning control” is performed is more significant than the other portions.

  As described above, in the air filter 30, there is a difference in the cleaning effect between the portion where the rotary brush 51 is located when the “brush cleaning control” is performed and the portion where the rotary brush 51 is not positioned. Then, by performing the “switching position shift control” at the end of the filter cleaning operation, cleaning unevenness of the air filter 30 can be reduced. That is, the position of the rotating brush 51 when the “brush cleaning control” is performed in the next filter cleaning operation is different from the position of the rotating brush 51 when the “brush cleaning control” is performed in the previous filter cleaning operation. It becomes like this. Thereby, the cleaning unevenness of the air filter 30 can be reduced and the cleaning of the air filter 30 can be made uniform.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the brush 51b is provided only in a part in the circumferential direction of the rotating brush 51, dust on the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 can be removed by the cleaning brush 52. The material cost of the rotating brush 51 can be reduced while maintaining the above.

(5) Other Embodiments One embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention. included.

(A)
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the “switching position shift control” is performed when it is determined that the total angle that the air filter 30 has rotated after starting the filter cleaning operation has reached 360 degrees has been described as an example. .

  However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, “switching position shift control” may be performed when it is determined that the total angle of rotation of the air filter 30 after the start of the filter cleaning operation has reached a predetermined angle that is a natural number multiple of 360 degrees. Good.

  That is, in the filter cleaning operation, in the filter cleaning operation of the air filter 30 before the “switching position shift control” is performed, the entire air filter 30 is cleaned a plurality of times instead of cleaning the entire air filter 30 only once. You may do it. Here, while the entire air filter 30 is cleaned a plurality of times, the portion of the air filter 30 where the rotary brush 51 was located when the “brush cleaning control” is performed may overlap. In addition, the position of the rotating brush 51 relative to the air filter 30 when the “brush cleaning control” is performed before and after the “switching position shift control” is performed can be changed.

  In this case, the uniformity of the cleaning effect of the air filter 30 is slightly lower than that of the above embodiment, but it is possible to ensure sufficient uniformity under the usage conditions and the like.

(B)
In the above embodiment, when the control unit 70 determines that the total angle of rotation of the air filter 30 after the start of the filter cleaning operation has reached 360 degrees, the “switching position shift control” is performed to perform the filter cleaning. The case of finishing driving has been described as an example.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, “switching position shift control” is not performed at the end of the filter cleaning operation, but “switching position shift control” is performed at the beginning of the filter cleaning operation. Also good.

  Even in this case, the air filter 30 can be uniformly cleaned as in the above embodiment.

(C)
In the above embodiment, as an example of the partial cleaning control, the case where “air filter cleaning control” is performed 120 degrees has been described as an example.

  However, in the present invention, the angle at which the air filter 30 is rotated during the partial cleaning control is not limited to a divisor of 360 degrees (such as 120 degrees).

  For example, as shown by “X” in FIG. 17, for example, the angle at which “air filter cleaning control” is performed in the partial cleaning control is an angle other than a divisor of 360 degrees (the original position when one round is performed). It may be an angle that does not return to (for example, 170 degrees). In this case, as in the “switching position shift control” in the above embodiment, it is not necessary to perform control to positively shift the positional relationship between the air filter 30 and the rotating brush 51, and a part of the air filter 30 may be used. (In the example of rotating by 170 degrees, in the example of 150 degrees), the cleaning may be repeated to end the filter cleaning operation, and the next control may be performed.

  As described above, in the example in which “air filter cleaning control” is performed 170 degrees each as partial cleaning control, “brush cleaning control” is performed when “air filter cleaning control” is performed 36 times by partial cleaning control. In this case, the portion where the rotating brush 51 is located overlaps for the first time. However, while the entire air filter 30 is repeatedly cleaned 17 times, the portion where the rotating brush 51 is positioned when the “brush cleaning control” is performed is a different position each time. 30 uneven cleaning can be sufficiently reduced.

  In addition to the above example of 170 degrees, as an example of an angle at which “air filter cleaning control” is performed in the partial cleaning control, an angle exceeding 360 degrees such as 365 degrees may be used.

(D)
In the above embodiment, the case where the air filter 30 has a disk shape has been described as an example.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, a rectangular air filter may be used as long as the air filter is repeatedly cleaned at a constant cycle.

  For example, for an air filter provided inside a wall-hanging indoor unit that is repeatedly cleaned by a hoisting mechanism or the like, the control for reducing cleaning unevenness of the air filter is performed as in the above embodiment. It can be performed.

(E)
In the above embodiment, the case where the air filter 30 is rotated has been described as an example in the air filter cleaning control of the filter cleaning operation.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, the dust container 60 (including the rotating brush 51 and the cleaning brush 52) may be rotated with respect to the air filter 30. In this case, the dust container 60 may revolve around the shaft insertion part 33 of the air filter 30.

(F)
In the above embodiment, the case where the air filter 30 is not rotated until the “brush cleaning control” is performed after the “air filter cleaning control” is described as an example.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 18, after the “air filter cleaning control” is finished, before the “brush cleaning control” is performed (before the switching control is performed), the rotary brush 51 is kept in the air while the indoor fan 21 is kept stationary. The air filter 30 may be reversed by a predetermined angle (rotation direction opposite to the rotation direction when performing “air filter cleaning control”) while maintaining a stationary state while being in contact with the filter 30. Good. That is, from the state of FIG. 13 in the above embodiment, the control unit 70 filters the air filter 30 so that the air filter 30 is rotated slightly larger and then reversed by a predetermined angle as shown by a dotted line in the air filter 30 in FIG. You may make it control the drive part 40 (refer the arrow of FIG. 18).

  As a result, in the brush 51b of the rotary brush 51, dust removed from the air filter 30 may be drawn to the rotation direction side of the “air filter cleaning control” of the air filter 30, and dust collection may be unevenly distributed. However, the dust can be uniformly attached to the left side of the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 in FIG. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the dust removed from the air filter 30 from solidifying and falling into the room or the like. Furthermore, dust can be easily scraped (removed) from the rotating brush 51 by the cleaning brush 52. Here, the brush 51b of the rotating brush 51 uses an inclined pile whose fur faces oppose the direction of rotation of the air filter 30, so that the above effect can be easily obtained by rotating the air filter 30 in the reverse direction. .

  Note that as the partial cleaning control in the above embodiment when the reversal control of the air filter 30 is performed, the air filter is set so that the angle after the reversal control is a predetermined angle (120 degrees in the above embodiment). 30 may be rotationally controlled. That is, if the angle of reversal control is 5 degrees, the air filter 30 is once rotated by an angle obtained by adding 5 degrees to a predetermined angle (120 degrees), and then reversed by 5 degrees as the reversal angle. In addition, it may be controlled so that it is rotated by a predetermined angle (120 degrees). Even if it does in this way, the cleaning nonuniformity of the air filter 30 can be reduced similarly to the said embodiment.

  Further, at the time of the reversal control here, the control may be performed so that the rotary brush 51 is reversed relative to at least the air filter 30 without being completely fixed.

  In addition, simultaneously with reversing the air filter 30, the rotating brush 51 may be rotated to the right in FIG. 7 to reduce the uneven distribution of the dust collection of the rotating brush 51 more effectively.

  Furthermore, the timing for performing the reversal control of the rotating brush 51 is not after the “air filter cleaning control” but after the “air filter cleaning control” but after the “air filter cleaning control”. After the switching control is performed, the rotary brush 51 may be rotated once counterclockwise in FIG.

(G)
In the above-described embodiment, the air filter 30 is not rotated until the “brush cleaning control” is performed after the “air filter cleaning control” is completed, and the switching position is shifted after the air filter 30 is rotated 360 degrees. The case where it is performed has been described as an example.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in the flowchart of the air filter cleaning operation of FIG. 19, every time the “air filter cleaning control” is performed by a predetermined angle of less than 360 degrees, the “switching position shift control” and the air filter 30 are reversed by a predetermined angle. It is also possible to perform four types of control: control for switching, switching control, and “brush cleaning control”. That is, while controlling the rotation angle of the air filter 30 after finishing the brush cleaning control to be a rotation angle other than a divisor of 360 degrees as described in the other embodiment (C), As described in the embodiment (F), the control for inverting the air filter 30 may be performed before performing the “brush cleaning control”. Specifically, processing is performed according to the following flow.

  In step S <b> 221, the control unit 70 performs “air filter cleaning control” by drivingly controlling the filter driving unit 40, as in the above embodiment. Here, only the rotation angle is different from the above embodiment, and the air filter 30 is rotated relative to the rotating brush 51 by a predetermined angle (for example, 40 degrees in the other embodiment (G)). Thereby, the target part of the air filter 30 can be cleaned.

  In step S <b> 222, the control unit 70 performs “switching position shift control” by further rotating the air filter 30 by the “shift angle” by the filter driving unit 40. The “shift angle” here is adjusted by the control unit 70 so as to change every time the filter cleaning operation is started. Specifically, the control unit 70 sets the “shift angle” to 4 degrees when the filter cleaning operation is the first time, and sets the “shift angle” to 8 degrees when the filter cleaning operation is the second time. , (Number of times n of filter cleaning operations) × 4 degrees is set as the “shift angle”. Further, the “shift angle” is set to be less than a predetermined angle (40 degrees in the present embodiment (G)) when performing “air filter cleaning control” in step S221. When the predetermined angle (40 degrees in this embodiment (G)) is exceeded or exceeded, the "shift angle" is returned to 0 degrees again, and the number of filter cleaning operations is changed. Repeat the process of increasing by 4 degrees.

  In step S223, after the “switching position shift control” is completed, the control unit 70 sets the rotary brush 51 to the air filter 30 while keeping the indoor fan 21 stationary before performing the switching control and “brush cleaning control”. Relative rotation when performing the “air filter cleaning control” by rotating the air filter 30 by a predetermined angle (in this embodiment, for example, 1.5 degrees) while maintaining a stationary state while being kept in contact. Rotate in the opposite direction of rotation). Thereby, it is possible to prevent the dust removed from the air filter 30 from solidifying and falling into the room or the like, and the cleaning brush 52 can easily scrape (remove) the dust from the rotating brush 51.

  In step S224, the control unit 70 performs switching control from reversal control in which reversal operation is performed while the rotating brush 51 is in contact with the air filter 30 to “brush cleaning control”. "Brush cleaning control" is executed. Thereby, the dust captured by the rotating brush 51 is removed and stored in the storage unit 62 of the dust storage container 60. Then, switching control for returning the rotating brush 51 to the original state (the state when step S224 is started) is performed, and the “brush cleaning control” is once ended.

  In step S225, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the total angle that the air filter 30 has rotated after starting the filter cleaning operation is equal to or greater than 360 degrees. If the control unit 70 determines that the angle is not 360 degrees or more, the process returns to step S221 to repeat the above-described partial cleaning control and the like again. In addition, when it is judged that the control part 70 is rotating 360 degrees or more, a filter cleaning driving | operation is once complete | finished.

  Specifically, according to the above flowchart, the process proceeds as follows. That is, when the relative rotation with respect to the rotating brush 51 is in the first week, the air filter 30 rotates by +40 degrees in step S221, +4 degrees in step S222, and -1.5 degrees in step S223. The “brush cleaning control” in step S224 is performed in a state where the rotation is performed by +42.5 degrees in total. If it is determined in step S225 that the angle has not reached 360 degrees, steps S221 to S224 are repeated, and the total rotation angle increases to +85.0 degrees, +127.5 degrees,... +340.0 degrees. When the rotation angle is further rotated by +42.5 degrees and the total rotation angle becomes +382.5 degrees and becomes 360 degrees or more, the filter cleaning operation is temporarily ended. Thereafter, after the normal operation referred to in the above embodiment is performed, the filter cleaning operation of the other embodiment (G) is performed again. In this case, the total of the previous filter cleaning operation is performed. The rotation angle of +382.5 degrees is reset to 0 degrees, and the filter cleaning operation is performed for the second time. Therefore, the “shift angle” in step S222 is set to 2 × 4 = 8 degrees, and the operations in steps S221 to S224 are performed. The process is advanced by setting the rotation amount of the air filter 30 to +40 degrees + 8 degrees−1.5 degrees = 46.5 degrees. As described above, since the rotation amount of the air filter 30 in the operations of steps S221 to S224 is set not to be a divisor of 360 degrees, the rotating brush when the “brush cleaning control” of step S224 is performed. The relative position between 51 and the air filter 30 can be changed each time the filter cleaning operation is performed. Thereby, the air filter 30 can be more uniformly cleaned.

  Here, the “shift angle” may not be changed every time the filter cleaning operation is performed, but may be changed every time the filter cleaning operation is performed a plurality of times. Further, the “shift angle” may be changed every time the air filter 30 rotates 360 degrees relative to the rotating brush 51.

  The air conditioner of the present invention is particularly useful, for example, when used in an air conditioner that employs a configuration in which dust collected by an air filter is periodically scraped using a brush.

1 Indoor unit (air conditioner)
40 Filter drive unit (relative movement mechanism)
51 Rotating brush (brush)
52 Cleaning brush (Brush cleaning part)
53 Brush drive (rotation mechanism)
70 Control unit

JP 2009-192210 A

Claims (6)

An air filter (30);
A brush (51) for scraping off dust collected by the air filter (30);
A relative movement mechanism (40) for moving the brush (51) relative to the air filter (30);
Air filter cleaning control for driving the relative movement mechanism (40) to cause the brush (51) to scrape dust collected by the air filter (30); and the brush (51) scrapes off. A control unit (70) for performing brush cleaning control for removing collected dust from the brush (51), and switching control for switching between a state of performing the air filter cleaning control and a state of performing the brush cleaning control,
With
The control unit (70) is configured to perform the air filter cleaning control in one cycle when the entire cleaning target portion of the air filter (30) is cleaned as one cycle. The positional relationship of the brush (51) with respect to the air filter (30) when switching control is performed, and the position of the brush (51) with respect to the air filter (30) when performing switching control in the next cycle Controlling the relative movement mechanism (40) so as to make a difference between the relationship and
Air conditioner (1). A rotation mechanism (53) capable of switching between a state of performing the air filter cleaning control and a state of performing the brush cleaning control by rotating the brush (51);
A brush cleaning section (52) for removing the dust from the brush (51);
Further comprising
The controller (70) performs the switching control by driving the rotating mechanism (53),
The brush cleaning unit (52) rubs against the brush (51) when the brush (51) is rotated by driving the rotation mechanism (53), thereby collecting the dust from the brush (51). Remove
The air conditioner (1) according to claim 1. The controller (70) performs the brush cleaning control by driving the rotating mechanism (40) to reciprocate the brush (51) a plurality of times to rotate.
When rotating the brush (51) by reciprocating a plurality of times, the brush (51) not only rubs against the brush cleaning part (52) but also rubs against the air filter (30).
The air conditioner (1) according to claim 2. The air filter (30) is circular,
The relative movement mechanism (40) moves the brush (51) relative to the air filter (30) while holding one end of the brush (51) at the center of the air filter (30). Perform the relative movement by circular movement,
The control unit (70)
An air filter partial cleaning control is performed in which the brush (51) is circularly moved by 360 / n degrees (n is a natural number) relative to the air filter (30),
An intermittent process of repeating the switching control and the brush cleaning control each time the air filter partial cleaning control is performed n times,
Immediately before or immediately after the intermittent processing, the brush (51) is moved to the air filter (30) by an angle different from 360 / n degrees and 360 × m / n degrees (m is a natural number larger than n). Circular movement relative to
The air conditioner (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The controller (70) rotates the air filter (30) during execution of the air filter cleaning control, and does not rotate the air filter (30) during execution of the brush cleaning control.
The air conditioner (1) according to claim 4. The controller (70) reverses the direction of relative movement of the air filter (30) with respect to the brush (51) when the air filter cleaning control is finished at the stage before starting the brush cleaning control. Move it a certain distance,
The air conditioner (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images