JP2014029263A - Indoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of uniformly removing dust of an air filter.SOLUTION: An air filter cleaning device attached to an indoor unit of an air conditioner is an air filter cleaning device including a dust collection unit that removes dust captured by an air filter and that collects the removed dust. The dust collection unit includes a brush removing the dust captured by the air filter by contacting the air filter and making a relative motion to the air filter; and a comb-shaped scrapping part scrapping off the dust adhering to the brush. The comb-shaped scrapping parts are provided at least in two portions away from each other by a predetermined distance within a brush moving range, respectively. Peaks and troughs of one of the comb-shaped scrapping parts are arranged not to overlap with those of the other comb-shaped scrapping part in a brush moving direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning device, and particularly to the shape of a scraping piece for scraping dust from a brush of an air filter cleaning device provided with a brush. The air filter may be simply called a filter.

  Generally, an air conditioner is provided with a filter that removes dust from the air sucked from the room. However, if dust adheres to and accumulates on this filter, ventilation resistance increases, so a filter that automatically cleans the filter. Various air conditioners equipped with a cleaning mechanism have been proposed. The filter cleaning mechanism that automatically cleans these filters can remove the dust from the filter and clean the filter when the brush portion contacts the filter surface. On the other hand, the dust adhering to the brush part is removed from the brush part by a dust dropping piece projecting so as to come into contact with the brush part.

  However, it is difficult to sufficiently remove the dust from the brush portion with the dust drop piece protruding so as to contact the brush portion. When the lost dust is accumulated in the brush portion, The cleaning ability of the filter is reduced.

  Then, in order to provide the filter cleaning mechanism which can suppress the fall of the cleaning capability of a filter, the filter cleaning mechanism of the air conditioner as shown below is proposed. That is, the filter cleaning mechanism of the air conditioner includes a filter that removes dust from permeating air, a brush unit, a brush drive unit, and a brush cleaning unit. The brush portion has a core material and a plurality of wire materials provided on the peripheral surface of the core material, and removes dust from the filter when the wire material contacts the filter. The brush drive unit rotates the brush unit. The brush cleaning unit has a comb-like shape arranged along the rotation axis direction of the brush unit and in contact with the brush unit, and scrapes off dust from the brush unit as the brush unit rotates. In the filter cleaning mechanism of the air conditioner, the comb-shaped brush cleaning unit can easily scrape dust caught between the wires of the brush unit. For this reason, dust can be sufficiently removed from the brush portion, and a decrease in filter cleaning ability can be suppressed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-145056 (FIG. 4) JP 2008-175485 A Japanese Patent No. 4014622 JP 2008-173616 A JP 2000-218770 A

  However, the filter cleaning mechanism of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, in the filter cleaning mechanism of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, the brush cleaning unit is configured such that the bunch of brushes does not concentrate on some valleys in the shape of comb teeth. However, when the brush adheres to the brush with aging such as oil or tobacco, the brush wire gathers in the troughs of the comb teeth shape, and a coarse portion is formed along the comb teeth shape. When the brush has such a rough portion, the rough portion of the comb-shaped peak portion does not contact the filter, and there is a problem that dust cannot be removed from the filter.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can remove dust from an air filter without unevenness.

An indoor unit of an air conditioner according to this invention is
A substantially box-shaped outer shell having a suction port and a blowout port;
A blower fan provided in the outer shell,
An air filter that captures dust in the air sucked from the suction port by the blower fan;
A brush that comes into contact with the air filter to remove dust trapped by the air filter;
A first scraping piece having a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley, and a second scraping piece having a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley, and a pile of the first scraping piece and the second scraping piece. A scraping portion formed by being displaced so that the valleys do not overlap in the moving direction of the brush, and
When the scraping portion comes into contact with the brush, the dust that has moved from the air filter to the brush is scraped off.

  According to this invention, the indoor unit of the air conditioner which can remove the dust of an air filter uniformly is provided. For example, an air filter cleaning device mounted on an indoor unit of an air conditioner is arranged so that the peaks and valleys of each scraping piece are shifted so as not to overlap in the moving direction of the brush. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a point where the brush and the air filter are not in contact with each other by eliminating the crests of the peaks and valleys attached to the brush with one piece and the claws of the peaks and valleys with the other scraping piece.

FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment and is a perspective view of the air conditioner 100. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is an exploded perspective view of the air conditioner 100. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and is a front view of the cleaning unit 3. ZZ sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the front panel 13 is opened in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a perspective view of an air filter cleaning device 50b (right side). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a front perspective view showing an enlarged installation portion of the air filters 40a and 40b and the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a rear perspective view showing an enlarged installation portion of an air filter 40a and an air filter cleaning device 50a. Fig. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a front view of an air filter 40b. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the surface provided with the concave and convex grooves 45b of the air filter 40b perpendicularly to the insertion direction. FIG. 11 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the air filter frame 42b of the air filter 40b (FIG. 11 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. b) is a sectional view of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 11 (c) is a sectional view of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (arc) shown in FIG. d) is a sectional view of the second crosspiece 42b-2 (arc) shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a front perspective view showing a mounting state of the brush mechanism 90a and the air filter drive gears 51a and 52a of the dust collecting unit 70a. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the dust collection unit 70a. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the dust collection unit 70a. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the dust collection unit 70a. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a perspective view of a main body 80a as viewed from below. The top view which looked at the main body 80a from the figure which shows Embodiment 1. FIG. The elements on larger scale of FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 1 (showing a state immediately before the forward path is finished and the return path is completed when the air filter cleaning device 50a is operating).

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 5 are diagrams showing the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the air conditioner 100, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the air conditioner 100, FIG. 3 is a front view of the cleaning unit 3, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the front panel 13 is opened in FIG.

  The overall configuration of the air conditioner 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. Here, a separate type air conditioner indoor unit (wall-mounted type) including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit is referred to as an air conditioner 100.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 includes a casing 10, an outer case 19, a front panel 13, and the like that form a substantially box-shaped outline. A suction port 11 for sucking indoor air is provided at the upper part (top surface) of the air conditioner 100, and conditioned air (air that has been cooled, heated, dehumidified, etc. by a heat exchanger 30 described later) is blown into the room at the lower part. An air outlet 12 is formed. An infrared sensor 24 for detecting a human body or the like and performing comfortable control of the air conditioner 100 is provided at a substantially central portion of the lower portion of the front surface of the air conditioner 100.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the air conditioner 100. The air conditioner 100 includes at least the following elements.
(1) A housing 10 equipped with a heat exchanger 30 for exchanging heat between indoor air and a refrigerant in a refrigeration cycle, a blower fan 20 (not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 4), and the like;
(2) An air filter cleaning device 50a having a support 18 having an air filter guide 16 (not shown in FIG. 2; see FIG. 4) and dust collecting portions 70a and 70b that enable movement of the air filters 40a and 40b. , 50b;
(3) exterior case 19;
(4) Front panel 13.

  The air filters 40a and 40b are provided separately on the left and right. The air filter 40a is the left side when the air conditioner 100 is viewed from the front, and the air filter 40b is the right side.

  The dust collection unit 70a removes dust from the air filter 40a. Moreover, the dust collection | recovery part 70b removes the dust of the air filter 40b. The dust collection unit 70a is on the left side when the air conditioner 100 is viewed from the front, and the dust collection unit 70b is on the right side.

  The left and right lengths of the dust collection unit 70a (air filter 40a) are longer than the left and right lengths of the dust collection unit 70b (air filter 40b). Except for the length, the dust collection part 70a (air filter 40a) and the dust collection part 70b (air filter 40b) are mirror-symmetric.

  The reason why the lengths of the dust collection unit 70a and the dust collection unit 70b are different is as follows. When the air conditioner 100 is viewed from the front, a space for arranging a refrigerant pipe, a drain pipe, and the like is required on the right side of the heat exchanger 30, so the center of the housing 10 coincides with the center of the heat exchanger 30. Not. Since the infrared sensor 24 (see FIG. 1) is provided at a substantially central portion of the outer case 19, the dust collecting unit 70a and the dust collecting unit 70b are also arranged in accordance with the infrared sensor 24 (see FIG. 1). The boundary between the dust collection unit 70 a and the dust collection unit 70 b substantially coincides with the center of the housing 10. Therefore, the dust collection part 70a becomes longer than the dust collection part 70b. For this reason, when there is no restriction such as the infrared sensor 24 not being provided at the substantially central portion of the exterior case 19, there is no need to change the size on the left and right.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air filter cleaning device 50 includes air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b. In the air filter cleaning devices 50 a and 50 b that automatically clean the air filters 40 a and 40 b, dust collection units 70 a and 70 b are attached to the lower front portion of the support 18.

  The internal configuration of the air conditioner 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. However, in the present embodiment, the air filter cleaning device 50 (particularly, comb-shaped scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 for scraping off dust adhering to brushes 92a and 92b described later of the dust collecting portions 70a and 70b). , 84b-1, 84b-2), the other configuration will be briefly described.

  The air conditioner 100 is installed in the housing 10, the air blower 20 that is installed in the housing 10, sucks indoor air and blows the sucked air into the indoor space, and an air path formed by the blower fan 20. The heat exchanger 30 that harmonizes the sucked air (cooling, heating, dehumidification, etc.) and the air filters 40a and 40b that capture dust contained in the sucked air (only the air filter 40a is shown in FIG. 4). ), An air filter guide 16 that determines the trajectory of the air filters 40a and 40b, and an air filter cleaning device 50 that cleans the air filters 40a and 40b (only the air filter cleaning device 50a is shown in FIG. 4). Have. Hereinafter, each component will be described individually.

  The casing 10 has a cylindrical shape in which both end surfaces (not shown) are closed, a part of the top surface (upper side in the figure) is opened, and the opening portion forms a suction port 11 for sucking air. A part of the bottom surface (lower side in the figure) is opened to form an air outlet 12 for blowing out air sucked from the air inlet 11. The front surface (left side in the figure) is open, and a front panel 13 that opens and closes the opening is provided. The back surface (right side in the figure) is closed.

  The blower fan 20 is disposed at a substantially central portion in a side view of the housing 10 and forms an air path from the suction port 11 to the blower port 12. The blowout air path between the blower fan 20 and the blower outlet 12 is sandwiched between the nozzle 14 and the back guide plate 15. As the blower fan 20, for example, a cross flow fan (cross flow fan) that sucks in from one radial direction of the impeller and blows air from a radial direction of about 90 ° is used. This cross flow blower is suitable for an indoor unit fan of a wall-mounted air conditioner and the like because it cannot easily increase the pressure but can easily increase the length of the outlet.

  The heat exchanger 30 has a substantially inverted V shape when viewed from the side. The heat exchanger 30 includes a front-side lower heat exchanger (referred to as a front-side lower heat exchanger 30a), a front-side upper heat exchanger (referred to as a front-side lower heat exchanger 30b), and a rear side. These are arranged so as to surround the blower fan 20 between the suction port 11 and the blower fan 20 to harmonize the sucked air (cooling). (Cooling operation), heating (heating operation), dehumidification (dehumidification operation), etc.). The heat exchanger at the lower part on the front side is disposed above the nozzle 14.

  Each heat exchanger 30 (front side lower heat exchanger 30a, front side lower heat exchanger 30b, rear side heat exchanger 30c) has a heat transfer pipe 31 (usually, a refrigerant (for example, R410A refrigerant) flows therein. A copper pipe) and radiation fins 32 (usually laminated aluminum thin plates at a predetermined interval) that promote heat exchange between the refrigerant and the air. Although FIG. 4 shows the heat transfer tubes 31 and the radiation fins 32 of the front side lower heat exchanger 30b, the same applies to the other front side lower heat exchangers 30a and the rear side heat exchangers 30c.

  In addition, although the heat exchanger 30 is arrange | positioned so that the top | upper surface side and front surface side of the ventilation fan 20 may be surrounded in the figure, the air conditioner 100 which concerns on this embodiment is limited to this arrangement | positioning form. is not.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the air filters 40a and 40b (only the air filter 40a is visible in FIG. 4) are formed with the suction port 11 formed by opening a part of the top surface of the housing 10 and the heat. It arrange | positions so that the whole surface of the suction inlet 11 may be covered along the air filter guide 16 provided in the suction inlet 11 side between the exchangers 30. FIG. The air filters 40a and 40b are inserted into the air filter guide 16 of the support 18 and are normally located at positions facing the suction port 11 (FIG. 4 is a normal position). When automatic cleaning by the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b) starts, the air filters 40a and 40b reciprocate along the air filter guide 16 of the support 18. Since the air filters 40a and 40b remove dust from the air sucked from the room, it is possible to suppress the dust in the room air from entering the air conditioner 100.

  A conditioned air (heat) blown into the room from the blowout port 12 is formed in the blowout port 12 (long side shape, substantially rectangular shape) formed by opening a part of the bottom surface (lower side in the figure) of the housing 10. An up / down air direction control plate 17 and a left / right air direction control plate 25 are provided for controlling the air direction of air that has been cooled, heated, dehumidified, etc. by the exchanger 30. The vertical air direction control plate 17 controls the vertical air direction of the conditioned air blown into the room. The left / right air direction control plate 25 controls the left / right air direction of the conditioned air blown into the room. FIG. 4 shows a state where the up / down air direction control plate 17 is closed. The left / right air direction control plate 25 is provided inside the housing 10 more than the up / down air direction control plate 17. The up / down air direction control plate 17 and the left / right air direction control plate 25 are driven by, for example, a driving device such as a stepping motor, but the illustration of the driving devices is also omitted.

  Further, the housing 10 has condensed water (drain water, generated in the heat exchanger 30 below the heat exchanger 30, moisture in the air when the indoor air is cooled by the heat exchanger 30. Drain pans 28a and 28b for receiving the surface of 30 (mainly attached to the heat radiation fins 32) are formed. Specifically, the drain pan 28a is formed below the front side lower heat exchanger 30b. Moreover, the drain pan 28b is formed under the back side heat exchanger 30c. The drain water temporarily stored in the drain pans 28a and 28b is eventually discharged from the air conditioner 100 to the outside through a drain hose (not shown) disposed outside the room. Since it is comprised in this way, it can suppress that the dew condensation water (drain water) which generate | occur | produces with the heat exchanger 30 leaks indoors from the air conditioner 100. FIG. The back side (the lower side in FIG. 4) of the drain pan 28 a is a nozzle 14 that is a constituent member of the blowing side air passage between the blower fan 20 and the outlet 12.

  The air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50 a and 50 b) is installed between the heat exchanger 30 at the lower part on the front side and the front panel 13. In FIG. 4, the dust collection | recovery part 70a of the air filter cleaning apparatus 50 is visible.

  The role of the protrusion 27 formed in the air filter cleaning device 50a shown in FIG. 5 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, it is assumed that the dust collection unit 70 a is attached to the support 18 in a state where the front panel 13 is open. However, there is a case where the attachment is insufficient and the dust collecting part 70a is not completely fixed to the support 18. Even in such a case, the front panel 13 pushes the protrusion 27 by closing the front panel 13, so that the dust collection part 70 a can be securely fixed to the support 18.

  6 to 8 are diagrams showing the first embodiment, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the air filter cleaning device 50b (right side), and FIG. 7 is an air filter 40a, 40b and an air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning device 50a). 50b) is an enlarged perspective view of the installation part of FIG. 8, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the installation part of the air filter 40a and the air filter cleaning device 50a.

  In FIG. 6, only the right side portion (air filter cleaning device 50b) of the air filter cleaning device 50 is shown. Accordingly, in FIG. 6, an air filter 40 b (located on the air filter guide 16 of the support 18) disposed on the right side of the rotation output device 60, a dust collection unit 70 b including a main body 80 b and a dust collection chamber 81 b are provided. Show.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the air filters 40a and 40b are arranged one by one on the left and right sides of the rotary output device 60 when viewed from the front panel 13 (see FIG. 3) side along the heat exchanger 30 (see FIG. 4). Is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (showing the air filter 40b in FIG. 9), the air filters 40a and 40b have a substantially rectangular shape having a longer depth than the left and right sides, and the air filter vents 41a and 41b (reticulated bodies). ) And air filter frames 42a and 42b on which air filter vents 41a and 41b are installed. The air filter frames 42a and 42b are formed of a flexible material, and air filter driven teeth 43a and 43b, which are concave and convex patterns arranged at equal intervals, are formed on the back surfaces of both ends. In FIG. 7, the air filter driven teeth 43a and 43b are shown, but they are not visible because they are on the back surface. In FIG. 8, only the air filter follower teeth 43a are visible.

  The air filters 40a and 40b are formed in a flat plate shape at the time of molding. However, since they are flexible when mounted on the air conditioner 100, the air filters 40a and 40b are substantially reversed along the air filter guide 16 as shown in FIG. It is held in a curved shape having a U-shaped longitudinal section.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b) incorporates a motor (not shown), and in the lateral direction of the two air filters 40a and 40b. And a rotation output device 60 provided so as to be positioned between the air filters 40a and 40b, and dust collecting sections 70a and 70b for collecting the dust.

  Since the dust collection units 70a and 70b will be described later, the details of the main bodies 80a and 80b and the dust collection chambers 81a and 81b shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are omitted here. However, as shown in FIG. 8, a dust collection chamber locking hole 86a having a polished shape is formed in the main body 80a at the end of the dust collection unit 70a opposite to the rotation output device 60. The substantially rectangular protrusion 87a of the dust collection chamber 81a engages with the polished dust collection chamber locking hole 86a. In a state in which the dust collection chamber 81a is attached to the main body 80a, the protrusion 87a has an upper hole portion (which is smaller than the lower hole and is substantially rectangular in shape). It is located at a position slightly larger than the short side dimension) and is fixed here. By sliding the dust collection chamber 81a to the lower part, the projection 87a is a lower hole part (larger than the upper hole part, substantially rectangular projection part 87a) positioned at the lower part of the polished dust collection chamber locking hole 86a. The main body 80a has a lower portion of the dust collection chamber engaging hole 86a. The main body 80a is positioned below the dust collection chamber engaging hole 86a. The fulcrum can be rotated and opened. Thereby, the dust collected in the dust collection chamber 81a can be discarded. To put it on again after throwing away the trash, you can proceed in the reverse order.

  FIG. 9 shows the first embodiment and is a front view of the air filter 40b. The air filter 40a and the air filter 40b have substantially the same configuration, and the air filter 40a is only longer in the left-right direction than the air filter 40b. Therefore, the air filter 40b will be described as a representative.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the contact surface 44b (formed in the depth direction at both ends in the left-right direction) that contacts the air filter guide 16 (see FIG. 4) is parallel to the insertion direction of the air filter. An uneven groove 45b is provided. Further, the concave / convex groove 45b is formed in a continuous shape without being interrupted in the middle of the insertion direction and without being reversed.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view in which a surface provided with the concave and convex grooves 45b of the air filter 40b is cut perpendicular to the insertion direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the cross-sectional shape of the concave and convex grooves 45b provided continuously is, for example, a trapezoid (or arc shape).

  The number of the concavo-convex grooves 45b provided on the contact surface 44b in contact with the air filter guide 16 and the size of the contact surface in each contact portion must be selected in consideration of the durability of the contact portion and contact friction. Don't be. For this reason, it is basically preferable to provide a plurality of concave and convex grooves 45 having a trapezoidal shape (or an arc shape having a large curvature radius) shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, the number of the concave and convex grooves 45 provided on the contact surface 44 b that contacts the air filter guide 16 is three on one side. This is an example, and the number of the concave and convex grooves 45b may be plural. The trapezoidal shape is preferably a shape having a height h (see FIG. 10) of about 5 to 30% of the trapezoid width b (see FIG. 10). This also applies to the arc shape.

  FIG. 11 shows the first embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the air filter frame 42b of the air filter 40b (FIG. 11 (a) is a cross-section of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11C is a cross-section of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (arc) shown in FIG. FIG. 11D is a cross-sectional view of the second horizontal rail 42b-2 (arc) shown in FIG.

  When air filter vents 41a, 41b (mesh) made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fiber are disposed on the surfaces of the crosspieces (horizontal crosspieces, vertical crosspieces) of the air filter frames 42a, 42b of the air filters 40a, 40b. In some cases, the air filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies) can be easily peeled off from the crosspiece. As countermeasures for this, the air filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies) are arranged so as to be sandwiched between the bars and are insert-molded, and the cross sections of the bars of the air filter frames 42a and 42b are trapezoidal or arcuate. Thus, it is possible to maintain good dust removal performance at the cleaning portion of the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning device 50a, 50b) while improving the peeling of the air filter vents 41a, 41b (mesh). it can.

  FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view of the first horizontal crosspiece 42b-1 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 9, but the first horizontal crosspiece 42b-1 (trapezoid) is a mutual cross section excluding both ends in the depth direction. It is a crosspiece with a wide space. Since the distance between the adjacent first horizontal bars 42b-1 (trapezoid) is wider than the second horizontal bars 42b-2 (trapezoid) at both ends, the thickness d1 of the first horizontal bars 42b-1 (trapezoid) Even if the thickness is larger than the thickness d2 of the second horizontal rail 42b-2 (trapezoid), the flexibility of the air filter 40 can be maintained. The thickness d1 of the first horizontal crosspiece 42b-1 (trapezoid) is, for example, about several millimeters.

  FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 9, but the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (trapezoid) has a mutual distance between both ends in the depth direction. It is a narrow crosspiece. For example, two second horizontal bars 42b-2 (trapezoid) shown in FIG. 9 are formed on one side. However, the number of each of the second horizontal bars 42b-2 (trapezoid) may be arbitrary. The thickness d2 of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (trapezoid) is smaller than the thickness d1 of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (trapezoid) in order to keep the flexibility of the air filter 40b. The thickness d2 of the second horizontal rail 42b-2 (trapezoid) is, for example, smaller than 1 mm.

  FIG. 11C is a cross-sectional view of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (arc) shown in FIG. 9, but the first horizontal beam 42b-1 may have an arc shape in cross section. The thickness d1 of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (arc) is larger than the thickness d2 of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (arc), and is about several millimeters, for example.

  FIG. 11D is a cross-sectional view of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (arc) shown in FIG. 9, but the second horizontal beam 42b-2 may have a circular arc as described above. The thickness d2 of the second horizontal beam 42b-2 (arc) is smaller than the thickness d1 of the first horizontal beam 42b-1 (arc) in order to maintain the flexibility of the air filter 40b. A thickness d2 of the second horizontal rail 42b-2 (arc) is smaller than 1 mm, for example.

  FIG. 12 shows the first embodiment, and is a front perspective view showing the attachment state of the brush mechanism 90a and the air filter drive gears 51a and 52a of the dust collecting unit 70a. As shown in FIG. 12, air filter drive gears 52 a and 52 b and brush swing shafts 61 a and 61 b protrude from the left and right side surfaces of the rotation output device 60. However, in FIG. 12, only one side (left side, air filter drive gear 52a, brush swing shaft 61a) is visible because of a perspective view. The left side of the rotation output device 60 will be described below, but the right side has the same configuration.

  In the air filter drive gear 52a, the drive shaft 53a extends coaxially ahead of the air filter drive gear 52a, and the air filter drive gear 51a is coaxially installed at the tip (left end in FIG. 12) of the drive shaft 53a. Further, the air filter drive gear 51a and the air filter drive gear 52a mesh with air filter driven teeth 43a (for example, see FIG. 8) formed on the back surfaces of both ends of the air filter 40a.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the brush mechanism 90a has a strip-like brush 92a extending in the lateral direction on a rod-shaped aluminum brush locking shaft 91a, and is inserted and fixed to the brush locking shaft 91a. Yes. Then, both ends of the brush locking shaft 91a are fixed by sleeves 93a and 94a so that the brush 92a does not come out. A sleeve 93a is inserted into the brush swing shaft 61a. Further, the sleeve 94a engages with the opposite end of the rotation output device 60 of the main body 80a (see FIG. 8).

  FIGS. 13 to 15 show the first embodiment and are cross-sectional views of the dust collecting unit 70a. FIG. 13 shows the dust collection unit 70a of the dust collection units 70a and 70b, but FIG. 8 showing the dust collection unit 70a is also used in the following description. The configuration of the dust collection unit 70b is the same as that of the dust collection unit 70a. The dust collection unit 70b is different from the dust collection unit 70a in the length in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 13, an air filter drive gear 51a and an air filter drive gear 52a connected to the drive shaft 53a are disposed obliquely above the air filter guide 82a, and the air filter guide 82a and the air filter drive gear 51a, The air filter 40a is guided to the air filter 40a, and the air filter driven gears 43a formed on both right and left ends of the back surface of the air filter 40a are pressed against the air filter driving gears 51a and 52a, so that the air filter 40a is driven by the air filter. It is pivoted about the rotation axis of the gears 51a, 52a.

  Further, in FIG. 13, the brush locking shaft 91a has a hollow cross-sectional square shape and is provided with a convex portion 91a-1 for fixing the brush 92a inside, but the shape is not limited to this, Any shape may be used as long as the brush 92a can be inserted from the side surface in the longitudinal direction and the brush 92a can be fixed by the convex portion 91a-1 provided inside.

  Both ends of the brush locking shaft 91a are inserted into brush locking holes 85a (not shown, but the brush locking holes 85a of the dust collecting portion 70a are visible in FIG. 8) on the side plate of the main body 80a. 13, the tip of the strip-shaped brush 92 a is disposed so as to protrude upward from the elongated opening hole 83 a of the main body 80 a.

  As shown in FIG. 12, one of the left and right end faces (sleeve 93a) of the brush locking shaft 91a is coaxially connected to the brush swinging shaft 61a of the rotation output device 60.

  In addition, the rotation output device 60 includes air filter drive gears 52a and 52b (see FIG. 12 for the air filter drive gear 52a, and the air filter drive gear 52b is shown) by a transmission mechanism such as a motor (not shown) and a gear. A mechanism that reciprocally swings 180 degrees in conjunction with the rotation (for example, forward movement by connecting the forward rotation gear and disconnecting the reverse gear, and reverse movement by disconnecting the forward rotation gear and connecting the reverse gear) A repetitive mechanism, or a mechanism that repeats the forward movement by connecting the forward gear and the disengagement of this gear and the reverse movement using the reverse force of the flywheel provided in advance, etc. 61b (Refer to FIG. 12 for the brush swing shaft 61a, the brush swing shaft 61b is not shown, however, the brush swing shaft 61b is the brush swing shaft. 1a, the air conditioner 100 is installed on the right side of the rotation output device 60 when the air conditioner 100 is viewed from the front, and the brush swinging shaft 61a has the air conditioner 100 as shown in FIG. When viewed from the front, the rotation output device 60 (installed on the left side) is configured to reciprocate 180 degrees.

  At this time, the swing speed of the brush swing shafts 61a and 61b is selected so that the moving speed of the air filters 40a and 40b is slower than the moving speed of the brushes 92a and 92b. That is, the relationship is set such that the moving speed of the air filters 40a and 40b <the moving speed of the brushes 92a and 92b.

  The rotation output device 60, the air filter drive gears 51a and 51b, the air filter drive gears 52a and 52b, and the drive shafts 53a and 53b are fixed to the air conditioner 100, but the air filters 40a and 40b and the dust collection unit 70a. , 70b are detachably fixed to the air conditioner 100.

  In addition, when the dust collection part 70a is fixed, the sleeve 93a and the brush swing shaft 61a shown in FIG. Although not shown, the dust collecting portion 70b is also in a state where the shaft is fixed because the shape of the sleeve 93b and the brush swing shaft 61b are fixed by being engaged with each other.

  As described above, the rotation output device 60 is disposed at the center in the left-right direction of the air conditioner 100, and the description so far has mainly focused on the arrangement of only one of the rotation output devices 60 (left side in the figure). (Except for FIG. 6), the other air filter cleaning device 50b (right side in the figure) has the same configuration, and one rotation output device 60 uses both the left and right air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b. Is driving.

  16 to 18 show the first embodiment, FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the main body 80a as seen from below, FIG. 17 is a plan view of the main body 80a as seen from below, and FIG. 18 is a portion of FIG. It is an enlarged view.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, the comb-shaped scraping pieces 84 a-1 and 84 a-2 (scraping portion) of the dust collecting unit 70 a have a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley. And it is provided in the both ends (front-back direction of the air conditioner 100) of the opening hole 83a, scrapes off dust from the brush 92a, and accumulates dust in the dust collection chamber 81a. Although not shown, the same applies to the dust collection unit 70b. That is, the comb-shaped scraping pieces 84b-1 and 84b-2 (scraping portions) of the dust collection unit 70b have a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley. And it is provided in the both ends (front-back direction of the air conditioner 100) of the opening hole 83b, scrapes dust from the brush 92b, and accumulates dust in the dust collection chamber 81b.

  The comb-shaped scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 (scraping portions) of the dust collecting unit 70a are arranged at a predetermined distance (separated) within a range of swinging (moving) of the brush 92a. . In the example of FIG. 13, the brush 92a is disposed on both sides of the position where the brush 92a contacts the air filter 40a with a predetermined distance within the range of swinging (moving) of the brush 92a.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the comb-shaped scraping piece 84 a-1 and the scraping piece 84 a-2 are displaced so that their peaks and valleys do not overlap in the swinging direction (movement direction) of the brush 92 a. Arranged. In FIG. 18, the peak of the scraping piece 84a-1 corresponds to the valley of the scraping piece 84a-2, and the valley of the scraping piece 84a-1 corresponds to the peak of the scraping piece 84a-2. However, this is an ideal case, and the peaks and valleys do not necessarily correspond to each other. It suffices that at least the mountains and valleys are shifted from each other.

  The blower fan 20 constitutes a blower, and the air filter drive gears 51a and 51b, the air filter drive gears 52a and 52b, the rotation output device 60, and the drive shafts 53a and 53b constitute an air filter moving unit.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
When the user turns on the power switch of the air conditioner 100, the operation of the air conditioner 100 starts. Thereafter, when the user turns off the power switch and issues a stop command, if the preset operation time of the air conditioner 100 is exceeded, the operation of the air conditioner 100 is stopped and the air filter is cleaned. The apparatus 50 (air filter cleaning apparatus 50a, 50b) operates.

  In the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b) configured as described above, first, the moving operation of the air filters 40a and 40b will be described. The air filter 40a of the air filters 40a and 40b will be described as an example, but the operation of the air filter 40b is the same.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the air filters 40 a and 40 b are, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an air filter driving gear 51 a, an air filter driving gear 52 a and a front air filter connected by a convex driving shaft 53 a. The air filter driven gear 43a (see FIG. 8) is engaged with the air filter driving gear 51a and the air filter driving gear 52a by being sandwiched between the guides 82a (formed on the main body 80a).

  The drive shaft 53a is provided with a convex shape, thereby preventing left and right tooth position shifts that occur when the number of teeth of the air filter drive gears 51a and 52a is an odd number of teeth. In FIG. 13, the drive shaft 53a has a convex shape, but the right and left gears have the same positional relationship between the concave and convex shapes (for example, if the gear has odd teeth, a triangle or a trapezoid, and the gear has even teeth) Shape or square).

  When the user turns off the power switch of the air conditioner 100 in this state, the rotation output device 60 is energized, and the air filter drive gear 51a and the air filter drive gear 52a are rotated by a transmission mechanism such as a motor and a gear (not shown). . As a result, the air filter 40a starts to move along the front air filter guide 82a, and moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 along the air filter guide 16 while rotating about the rotation axis of the air filter drive gear 51a, 52a. As shown in FIG. 19, the end of the air filter 40a that was in the vicinity of the front air filter guide 82a at the time of start-up finally moves to a position above the rear heat exchanger 30c. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 1 (showing a state immediately before the forward pass is finished and the return pass is reached when the air filter cleaning device 50a is operating).

  At this time, the side surfaces of the air filters 40 a and 40 b move while contacting the air filter guide 16. Since the air filter guide 16 moves the air filters 40a and 40b in a limited space of the air conditioner 100 (indoor unit), a portion having a small radius of curvature is generated. For this reason, the air filters 40a and 40b need to be flexible so as to be easily bent. In order to provide flexibility, there is a method of reducing the thickness of the air filters 40a and 40b, but in this case, there is a problem that if the curvature radius is reduced, the resin is whitened or the breaking strength is weakened. A thermoplastic elastomer resin is used as the material. However, this inexpensive thermoplastic elastomer resin is mainly used in which a small amount of rubber component is dispersed in order to give flexibility, and therefore, the surface friction resistance is different from that of a general ABS resin (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene). Since it becomes larger in comparison, a large force is required to move the air filters 40a and 40b. Therefore, the air filters 40a and 40b have concave and convex grooves 45a and 45b (see FIG. 10, but not concave and convex) parallel to the insertion direction on the contact surfaces 44a and 44b (see FIG. 10, but only the contact surface 44b) that contact the air filter guide 16. By providing the groove 45b only), the contact area can be reduced, and the air filters 40a and 40b can be moved with a small force.

  Further, the concave and convex grooves 45a and 45b (see FIG. 10, but only the concave and convex grooves 45b) are reversed in the middle of the contact surfaces 44a and 44b (see FIG. 10, but only the contact surface 44b) contacting the air filter guide 16. By providing it as a continuous line, it is possible to move the air filter guide 16 smoothly without catching even slight protrusions such as burrs generated when the air filter guide 16 is molded.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the concave and convex grooves 45a and 45b (see FIG. 10, but only the concave and convex grooves 45b) have a trapezoidal shape, not a 90-degree apex angle as the grooves are rectangular. Thus, it is configured as a convex section cross-sectional shape having an obtuse apex angle. As a result, not only the hook in the insertion direction but also the movement perpendicular to the insertion direction (the movement in the lateral direction) eliminates the hooks caused by slight protrusions such as burrs generated when the air filter guide 16 is formed. It becomes possible to move smoothly. In FIG. 10, the concave and convex groove 45 b has a trapezoidal shape.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11 (however, only air filter vent 41b is shown in FIG. 11), when air filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies) of PET fibers are provided on the surface of the crosspiece, air easily Since the filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies) are peeled off from the crosspieces, the air filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies) are arranged so as to be sandwiched between the crosspieces and insert-molded, and the air filter frame bodies 42a and 42b. The cross-section of the crosspieces is trapezoidal or arcuate to improve the peeling of the air filter vents 41a and 41b (net-like bodies), and the air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b pass through the air filter. The dust removal performance at the boundary between the gases 41a and 41b and the air filter frames 42a and 42b can be maintained well.

  Next, the operation of the dust collection units 70a and 70b will be described. The dust collection part 70a of the dust collection parts 70a and 70b will be described. The operation of the dust collecting unit 70b is the same.

  Simultaneously with the movement of the air filter 40a, the brush mechanism 90a (see FIG. 12) is also operated by the reciprocating swing of the brush swing shaft 61a. The brush mechanism 90a swings 90 degrees forward and backward (front-rear direction of the air conditioner 100, left and right in the drawing) around the state where the tip of the brush 92a in FIG. 13 faces upward. That is, reciprocating rocking is performed in the state shown in FIGS. Since the brush 92a is configured with its tip slightly protruding from the opening hole 83a, the brush 92a swings back and forth in a state of being wrapped with the air filter vent 41a (mesh) and scrapes off dust. The dust moved from the air filter vent 41a (net-like body) to the brush 92a comes into contact with a pair of comb-shaped scraping pieces installed on the main body 80a of the brush mechanism 90a, and the scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2. And is collected and stored in the dust collection chamber 81a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, by providing scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 on both sides of the reciprocatingly swinging brush 92a, the brush 92a is scraped off for each one-way process of reciprocating swinging. , 84a-2, the dust that has moved from the air filter vent 41a is scraped off. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the dust that has moved to the brush 92a on the forward path of the reciprocating swing returns to the air filter vent 41a again on the return path, and reliable dust collection is achieved.

  Further, the comb-like scraping attached to the brush 92a is obtained by changing the positional relationship between the peaks and valleys of the comb-like scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 provided on both sides of the brush 92a according to the moving direction of the brush 92a. The coarse and dense habit of the brush 92a generated by one of the peaks and valleys of the drop pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 can be returned to the original by the other of the scrap pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2. As a result, it is possible to prevent the air filter 40a and the brush 92a from coming into contact with each other due to the coarse and dense habit of the brush 92a, and the occurrence of a portion where dust cannot be removed can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the comb-shaped scraping pieces 84a-1 and 84a-2 provided on both sides of the brush 92a are composed of a comb-shaped scraping piece 84a-1 and a scraping piece 84a-2, respectively. Are arranged so as not to overlap in the swinging direction (moving direction) of the brush 92a.

  The brush 92a has a strip shape facing upward, and reciprocally swings by 180 degrees, so that the mounting space for the brush mechanism 90a can be reduced, so that the brush faces downward like a conventional 360-degree rotating brush. Therefore, even if the dust collection chamber 81a is shallow, the volume necessary for the dust collection chamber 81a, that is, the same volume as the conventional one can be secured.

  Further, by swinging the brush 92a in the state shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, when dust accumulates up to the upper part of the dust collecting chamber 81a, the dust is compressed downward by the swinging motion of the brush mechanism 90a. A large amount of dust can be stored in the small dust collection chamber 81a.

  The air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b) can be downsized compared to a conventional air filter cleaning device having a 360-degree rotating brush as a whole, and the air filter cleaning device 50 in the air conditioner 100 can be reduced. The mounting space for the (air filter cleaning devices 50a, 50b) can be reduced. In addition, since the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a and 50b) can be reduced in size, the main body of the air conditioner 100 can also be reduced in size.

  Further, since the operation of the brushes 92a and 92b is only in the range of 180 degrees upward, the dust stored in the dust collecting chambers 81a and 81b, that is, the dust already collected from the air filters 40a and 40b by the brushes 92a and 92b is removed. 92a and 92b do not soar up. The dust once collected can be reliably stored in the dust collection chambers 81a and 81b, and the dust once collected in the dust collection chambers 81a and 81b is returned again to the air filters 40a and 40b by the brushes 92a and 92b. Such a situation can be avoided.

  When the air filter 40a moves to the position of FIG. 19, it returns to the original position (FIG. 4) again (the same applies to the air filter 40b). At this time, since the brush mechanism 90a also reciprocally swings, the air filter 40a is cleaned as described above, and is always cleaned when the air filter 40a is moved. If the moving direction of the brush 92 is opposite to the moving direction of the air filter 40a, naturally the dust can be removed without any problem, and the speed of the brush 92a is set faster even when the moving direction is the same. Can be removed without problems. Note that the air filter may rotate in one direction instead of reciprocating.

  In the above example, the case where the brush 92a is reciprocally swung by 180 degrees (reciprocating by 90 degrees in the front-rear direction of the air conditioner 100) has been described. It may be moved. In this case, the force to fly the dust stored in the dust collection chamber 81a is further weakened, and can be prevented from returning to the air filter 40a.

  In consideration of so-called variations such as the shape tolerance of each part and the assembly tolerance thereof, the reciprocating swing range of the brush mechanisms 90a and 90b is 180 degrees, in other words, surely 180 degrees. The reciprocating swing range by the rotation output device 60 may be set larger than 180 degrees so as to reciprocate within the range so as to absorb the variation. For example, an allowance for a swing angle by the rotation output device 60 for absorbing variation by 5 degrees in the front and rear is provided, and the rotation output device 60 is swung in a range of 190 degrees.

  In the above example, the air filters 40a and 40b are cleaned immediately after the power switch is turned off. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a switch dedicated for air filter cleaning is separately provided. When this switch is pressed, the operation of the air conditioner 100 is temporarily stopped, and air filter cleaning by the air filter cleaning device 50 (air filter cleaning devices 50a, 50b) is performed. It may be configured to do.

  Moreover, although the example which formed the suction inlet 11 in the top | upper surface side was demonstrated in said example, not only this but the suction inlet 11 may be formed in the front side.

  In the above example, the air filter cleaning device removes dust from the air filters 40a and 40b by making the U-turns (reciprocating motion) of the air filters 40a and 40b and swinging them using the strip-shaped brushes 92a and 92b. 50 (air filter cleaning device 50a, 50b) has been described, but also about a mechanism that removes dust from the air filter by rotating the brush and providing the brush in a circumferential shape (roll shape) instead of a strip shape, Even when two or more comb-shaped scraping pieces are provided at a predetermined distance (separated) and the positions of the peaks and valleys are shifted so as not to overlap in the direction of movement of the brush, The same effect of suppressing the habit is obtained.

  In the above example, the mechanism for moving the air filters 40a and 40b and removing dust has been described. However, the air filter is fixed (not necessarily fixed), the brush is provided in a strip shape, Even in the mechanism that removes dust by sliding the brush on the surface of the air filter, two or more comb-shaped scraping pieces are provided at a predetermined distance within the range of the brush slide, and the positions of the peaks and valleys The same effect is obtained even when the brushes are arranged so as not to overlap with each other in the sliding direction (moving direction) of the brush.

To summarize the operation of the air filter and brush, first about the air filter,
(1) Round trip;
(2) rotation;
(3) Stillness.
For brushes,
(1) rocking;
(2) rotation;
(3) Slide.
An air filter and a brush operate | move by these combination. At this time, the air filter may be stationary, but the brush always moves (swings, rotates, slides). Therefore, the motion of the brush at this time is defined as “relative motion”.

  As described above, in the limited space of the air conditioner 100 (indoor unit), the comb-shaped scraping pieces 84a and 84b for removing dust from the brushes 92a and 92b are within the range of movement of the brushes 92a and 92b. In addition to providing two or more places at a predetermined distance, the positions of the peaks and valleys are shifted so that they do not overlap in the direction of movement of the brushes 92a and 92b, so that the brushes 92a and 92b are comb-like. And dust in the air filters 40a and 40b can be uniformly removed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Case, 11 Air inlet, 12 Air outlet, 13 Front panel, 14 Nozzle, 15 Back guide plate, 16 Air filter guide, 17 Vertical air direction control plate, 18 Support body, 19 Exterior case, 20 Blower, 24 Infrared sensor 25, left and right wind direction control plate, 30 heat exchanger, 30a front side lower heat exchanger, 30b front side lower heat exchanger, 30c back side heat exchanger, 40a air filter, 40b air filter, 41a air filter vent, 41b Air filter vent, 42a Air filter frame, 42b Air filter frame, 43a Air filter driven tooth, 43b Air filter driven tooth, 44a Contact surface, 44b Contact surface, 45a Concave groove, 45b Concave groove, 50 Air filter cleaning device 50a Air filter cleaning device, 50b Air filter cleaning device, 51a Air filter drive gear, 51b Air filter drive gear, 52a Air filter drive gear, 52b Air filter drive gear, 53a Drive shaft, 53b Drive shaft, 60 Rotation output device, 61a Brush swing shaft, 61b Brush Oscillating shaft, 70a dust collecting part, 70b dust collecting part, 80a main body, 80b main body, 81a dust collecting chamber, 81b dust collecting chamber, 82a air filter guide, 83a opening hole, 83b opening hole, 84a-1 scraping piece, 84a-2 scraping piece, 84b-1 scraping piece, 84b-2 scraping piece, 85a brush locking hole, 86a dust collecting chamber locking hole, 87a protrusion, 90a brush mechanism, 90b brush mechanism, 91a brush mechanism Stop shaft, 92a brush, 92b brush, 3a sleeve, 93 b the sleeve, 94a sleeve, 100 the air conditioner.

Claims (2)

A substantially box-shaped outer shell having a suction port and a blowout port;
A blower fan provided in the outer shell,
An air filter that captures dust in the air sucked from the suction port by the blower fan;
A brush that comes into contact with the air filter to remove dust trapped by the air filter;
A first scraping piece having a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley, and a second scraping piece having a shape that repeats a mountain and a valley, and a pile of the first scraping piece and the second scraping piece. A scraping portion formed by being displaced so that the valleys do not overlap in the moving direction of the brush, and
An indoor unit of an air conditioner, wherein the dust moved from the air filter to the brush is scraped off when the scraping portion comes into contact with the brush.   The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a dust collection chamber for storing dust scraped off from the brush by contact with the scraping portion below the brush.

Images