JP2017067431A - Air conditioner indoor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner indoor unit enabling air to easily flow even in a central portion of a dust box during suction of dust.SOLUTION: An air conditioner indoor unit according to the present embodiment comprises: an air filter capturing dust contained in air passing through an interior of an indoor unit main body; an air filter cleaner removing the dust adhering to the air filter; and a dust box detachably attached to the indoor unit main body and storing the dust removed from the air filter, the dust box comprising a collection port collecting the dust removed from the air filter; a storage part storing the dust collected by the collection port; a suction port drawing in the dust stored in the storage part; a lid member closing the collection port at a time of drawing in the dust by the suction port; and a rib provided in a central portion of the lid member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an air conditioner indoor unit.

  The indoor unit of an air conditioner includes a heat exchanger in the air passage in the indoor unit body, and includes an air filter on the upstream side of the air passage of the heat exchanger. And an indoor unit removes the dust contained in the air suck | inhaled in the ventilation path by an air filter, and guides the purified air to a heat exchanger. When the indoor unit is used for a long time, dust accumulates on the air filter. Therefore, the user needs to remove the air filter from the indoor unit main body at appropriate time intervals to remove dust attached to the air filter surface.

  Since this operation is troublesome and troublesome, the air filter is easily left as it is attached from the indoor unit body. In view of this, an indoor unit including an air filter cleaning device that automatically removes dust adhering to the surface of the air filter in the indoor unit main body without removing the air filter from the indoor unit main body has been considered.

  For example, an air filter cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a dust box that accommodates dust removed from the air filter. The dust box includes an opening for collecting dust removed from the air filter, a dust receiving portion for storing the dust collected from the opening, and a nozzle insertion hole for sucking the dust stored in the dust receiving portion. And a movable lid that closes the opening when dust is sucked from the nozzle insertion hole. According to this dust box, by inserting the nozzle of the cleaner into the nozzle insertion hole, the opening is closed by the movable lid, and the dust in the dust receiving portion can be sucked and removed from the nozzle.

JP 2013-57460 A

  However, in the conventional dust box, the rotating shaft of the movable lid is supported not only at both ends of the dust box but also at the center. For this reason, the shaft in the central portion of the movable lid and the support structure portion that supports the shaft obstruct the air flow when dust is sucked, and the dust in the dust receiving portion cannot be sucked efficiently.

  In view of this, an air conditioner indoor unit is provided in which air can easily flow even at the center of the dust box when dust is sucked.

  The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes an air filter that captures dust contained in air that passes through the interior of the indoor unit body, an air filter cleaning device that removes dust attached to the air filter, and the indoor unit A dust box that is detachably attached to the machine main body and accommodates dust removed from the air filter. The dust box includes a collection port that collects dust removed from the air filter, a storage unit that stores dust collected from the recovery port, a suction port that sucks dust stored in the storage unit, and the suction A lid member that closes the recovery port when dust is sucked from the mouth; and a rib provided at a central portion of the lid member.

The perspective view which shows the structural example of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment Vertical side view of the air filter cleaning device and its surroundings in an enlarged manner Perspective view showing a configuration example of a dust box An exploded perspective view of the dust box The perspective view which shows the structural example of a cover member The perspective view which expands and shows a valve part and its peripheral part The perspective view which expands and shows a suction port and its peripheral part Front view of the indoor unit with no nozzle inserted into the suction port Front view of dust box Perspective view of the upper periphery of the suction port showing a configuration example of a dust box not provided with an opening The perspective view of the suction port upper part periphery which shows the example of composition of a dust box provided with an opening part It is a vertical side view of the dust box along the AA line of FIG. 9, and shows the fully closed state of the suction port It is a vertical side view of the dust box along the AA line of FIG. 9, and shows a half-open state of the suction port FIG. 10 is a vertical side view of the dust box along the line AA in FIG. 9, showing a fully opened state of the suction port. Front view of an indoor unit with a nozzle inserted into the suction port The figure which shows the deformation | transformation structural example of a rib

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an indoor unit of an air conditioner will be described with reference to the drawings. An indoor unit 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is attached, for example, to a high place on an indoor wall, and constitutes an air conditioner together with an outdoor unit (not shown). The indoor unit main body 11 constituting the outer shell of the indoor unit 10 has a long shape in the left-right direction, and includes an air suction port (not shown) in the upper part and an air outlet 12 in the lower front part. The air outlet 12 is provided with a vertical wind direction plate 13 that can be rotated in the vertical direction, and a left and right wind direction plate (not shown) that can be rotated in the horizontal direction.

  The indoor unit 10 is provided with an air passage (not shown) between the air inlet and the air outlet 12. The air passage 14 is provided with an air filter 14, a heat exchanger (not shown), and a blower fan (not shown) in this order from the upstream side, which is the air suction port side. The indoor unit 10 drives the blower fan, sucks room air from the air suction port, and blows it out from the air blowing port 12 through the air blowing path. The air sucked from the air suction port is heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger in the process of passing through the air passage, and is blown out from the air blowing port 12 as cold air or hot air.

  The air filter 14 captures foreign matters such as dust contained in the air sucked from the air suction port and passing through the air blowing path. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the indoor unit 10 includes an air filter cleaning device 20 for automatically removing dust accumulated on the air filter 14. Next, the air filter cleaning device 20 will be described.

  The air filter cleaning device 20 includes an air filter feed mechanism unit 21, a brush unit 22, and a dust box 23. The air filter feed mechanism unit 21 is fixed in the indoor unit 10 and includes an air filter feed gear 21a and a drive mechanism unit (not shown). A plurality of air filter feed gears 21 a are provided along the left-right direction of the indoor unit body 11, and mesh with a tooth portion 14 a provided on the back surface of the air filter 14. The drive mechanism is connected to the rotation shaft of the air filter feed gear 21a. The drive mechanism rotates the air filter feed gear 21a. At this time, since the air filter feed gear 21a meshes with the tooth portion 14a of the air filter 14, the air filter 14 moves in the vertical direction as the air filter feed gear 21a rotates.

  The brush unit 22 includes a dust lifting brush (not shown). The dust lifting brush shares its rotating shaft with the rotating shaft of the air filter feed gear 21a, and is provided between the air filter feed gear 21a. The air filter feed gear 21 a faces the tooth portion 14 a provided on the back surface of the vertical cross section of the air filter 14. On the other hand, the dust lifting brush corresponds to and touches the back surface of the sheet portion formed between the vertical rail portions of the air filter 14. The dust lifting brush has a configuration in which brush hairs are planted on the peripheral surface of a cylindrical body.

  The brush unit 22 further includes a dust removing blade 22a. The dust removing blade 22a includes a plurality of blade pieces 22c having a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 22b. The blade piece 22c is made of a thin elastic member such as a rubber plate, for example, and is spirally bent along the axial direction of the rotary shaft 22b. The brush unit 22 is located on the surface side of the air filter 14.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the dust box 23 is a long component along the longitudinal direction of the indoor unit body 11, and is detachably attached to the indoor unit body 11. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the dust box 23 includes a case member 31, a cover member 32, a lid member 33, a lock member 34, and the like.

  The case member 31 is a member mainly constituting a base portion of the dust box 23. In this case, the case member 31 has a length substantially equal to that when the two air filters 14 are arranged in the left-right direction of the indoor unit body 11. It is a long member. The case member 31 has a part of the accommodating part 35 illustrated in FIG. 2, in this case, an accommodating concave part 31a that constitutes the rear part. The case member 31 has shaft holes 31b at both ends. In addition, a rib support base portion 31 c is provided in the center portion of the housing recess 31 a of the case member 31. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rib support base portion 31 c includes two peak portions that slightly protrude from the inner surface of the housing recess portion 31 a, and a smooth valley portion provided between these peak portions. In addition, a suction port 36 that opens in a substantially rectangular shape is provided at one end of the case member 31.

  The cover member 32 is a member that mainly constitutes the front side of the dust box 23, and, like the case member 31, has a length that is substantially the same as when two air filters 14 are arranged along the left-right direction of the indoor unit body 11. It is a long member having a thickness. The cover member 32 has a part of the accommodating part 35 illustrated in FIG. 2, in this case, an accommodating wall part 32 a constituting the front part. Moreover, the cover member 32 has the extended wall part 32b extended upwards continuously from the accommodation wall part 32a.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the accommodating portion 35 is formed by combining the accommodating concave portion 31 a of the case member 31 and the accommodating wall portion 32 a of the cover member 32. A recovery port 37 is formed between the housing recess 31 a of the case member 31 and the housing wall 32 a of the cover member 32. The collection port 37 is an opening for collecting dust removed from the air filter 14 by the air filter cleaning device 20. The collection port 37 is a long rectangular opening along the longitudinal direction of the dust box 23. The storage unit 35 stores and collects the dust collected from the collection port 37. The accommodating portion 35 has a box shape along the longitudinal direction of the dust box 23.

  Similarly to the case member 31 and the cover member 32, the lid member 33 is a long member along the left-right direction of the indoor unit body 11. The lid member 33 has an arc shape in cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The lid member 33 includes pivot shafts 33a at both ends. The lid member 33 is rotatably provided inside the housing portion 35 by inserting the rotation shaft 33 a into the shaft hole 31 b of the case member 31. The lid member 33 provided inside the housing part 35 is pressed while its outer surface comes into contact with the inner surface around the collection port 37 of the housing part 35.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the lid member 33 includes a rib 40 at the center in the longitudinal direction on the inner surface side. The rib 40 protrudes in a plate shape from the inner surface of the lid member 33. The rib 40 has a tapered shape, and its tip is formed in an arc shape. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tip end portion of the rib 40 abuts on the rib support base portion 31 c of the case member 31 so as to be rotatable. That is, the tip portion of the rib 40 abuts against the trough portion in a state of being sandwiched between the crest portions of the rib support base portion 31c. One end of the lid member 33 is provided with an intake hole 33b that opens in a rectangular shape. The lid member 33 has a plurality of, in this case, two intake holes 33b.

  A valve portion 50 is integrally provided at the other end portion of the lid member 33. That is, the valve unit 50 rotates integrally with the lid member 33. The valve portion 50 is provided in a plate shape and is urged by a coil spring 51 in a direction to close the suction port 36 as illustrated in FIG. 6. The coil spring 51 is assembled to the case member 31 via the fixing member 52. When the lid member 33 is rotated to the position where the collection port 37 is opened, the valve unit 50 is rotated to the position where the suction port 36 is closed. Further, when the lid member 33 is rotated to a position where the recovery port 37 is closed, the valve unit 50 is rotated to a position where the suction port 36 is opened. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the valve portion 50 includes a convex portion 50 a on the outer surface thereof. In this case, the convex portion 50 a is a line extending in the longitudinal direction of the dust box 23.

  Two locking members 34 are provided separately on the left and right sides of the dust box 23 and are slidable along the longitudinal direction of the dust box 23. The lock member 34 is a member for locking or releasing the fixed state of the dust box 23 with respect to the indoor unit main body 11.

  When an operation such as a cooling operation or a heating operation is performed by the indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner configured as described above, when the air sucked into the indoor unit body 11 passes through the air filter 14, the air The dust contained in the is captured by the air filter 14. However, when the indoor unit 10 is used for a long time, dust accumulates on the air filter 14 and the ventilation resistance increases. If this is left unattended, the heat exchange efficiency is lowered, the cooling capacity and the heating capacity are affected, and the power consumption is increased.

  Therefore, according to the indoor unit 10, the air filter automatic cleaning operation can be executed. The air filter automatic cleaning operation can be periodically executed according to a preset operation mode after completion of various air conditioning operations or after a predetermined period of time, for example, and compulsory based on a remote control operation by the user. It is also possible to execute it automatically.

  According to the automatic air filter cleaning operation, a control device (not shown) that controls the overall operation of the indoor unit 10 inputs a drive signal to the air filter feeding mechanism 21 of the air filter cleaning device 20 and moves the air filter 14. Then, the dust lifting brush and the dust removing blade 22a of the brush unit 22 are rotated. Thereby, the dust adhering to the surface of the air filter 14 is pushed up by the brush bristles of the dust lifting brush and scraped off by the dust removing blade 22a. As a result, dust is removed from the surface of the air filter 14 and dropped, collected through the collection hole 37 of the dust box 23, and stored in the accommodating portion 35. In this way, while reciprocating the air filter 14, the dust adhering to the air filter 14 is pushed up by the dust lifting brush and scraped off by the dust removing blade 22a.

  The dust accumulated in the storage part 35 of the dust box 23 can be sucked and removed while the dust box 23 is attached to the indoor unit main body 11. That is, with the dust box 23 attached to the indoor unit body 11, the nozzle N of the cleaner is inserted into the suction port 36. Then, the valve portion 50 is pushed in against the urging force of the coil spring 51 by the tip portion of the nozzle N, and accordingly, the suction port 36 is opened, and the lid member 33 is rotated to a position where the recovery port 37 is closed. . As a result, the accommodating portion 35 is closed by the lid member 33, and an air flow path that communicates from the intake hole 33 b of the lid member 33 to the suction port 36 is established in the accommodating portion 35. When the cleaner is driven in this state, an air flow from the suction hole 33 b toward the suction port 36 is formed in the housing portion 35. Due to this air flow, the dust in the accommodating portion 35 is sucked toward the suction port 36 and is sucked into the cleaner through the nozzle N.

  According to the indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment, the lid member 33 that opens and closes the recovery port 37 is supported only at both ends by the rotation shaft 33a, and no rotation shaft is provided at the center portion. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a complicated support structure portion for supporting the rotation shaft of the lid member 33 in the central portion in the accommodating portion 35 that accumulates dust. Accordingly, air can easily flow at the center of the dust box 23 when dust is sucked from the suction port 36, and the dust in the dust box 23 can be sucked efficiently.

  Further, according to the indoor unit 10, the rib 40 is provided at the center of the lid member 33. Thereby, the center part of the cover member 33 which is not pivotally supported can also be fully supported. In particular, at the time of sucking dust from the suction port 36, the inside of the collection unit 35 becomes negative pressure, so there is a concern that the lid member 33 may drop. According to the indoor unit 10, the rib 40 can prevent the lid member 33 from falling. If the drop of the lid member 33 can be prevented, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the airtightness in the collection unit 35 when dust is sucked from the suction port 36. Therefore, the dust in the dust box 23 can be sucked efficiently.

  In addition, according to the configuration that does not include a complicated support structure part for supporting the rotation shaft of the lid member 33, the mold structure for manufacturing the component parts, particularly the case member 31, can be simplified. Manufacturability can be improved. Further, it is not necessary to assemble a complicated support structure, and the assemblability of the dust box 23 can be improved.

  Further, according to the indoor unit 10, the lid member 33 is provided inside the housing portion 35, and the outer surface of the lid member 33 is pressed against the inner surface of the housing portion 35. According to this configuration, the lid member 33 rotates while always in contact with the inner surface of the accommodating portion 35, and therefore the airtightness when the collection port 37 is closed can be further improved.

Further, the valve portion 50 is provided integrally with the lid member 33. Therefore, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed, and the dust box 23 can be easily assembled.
Moreover, the valve part 50 equips the outer surface with the convex part 50a. According to this configuration, when the valve portion 50 is pushed by the nozzle N, a gap can be secured between the tip end portion of the nozzle N and the outer surface of the valve portion 50. Thereby, it can prevent that the front-end | tip part of the nozzle N adheres to the outer surface of the valve part 50, and it can avoid that suction force is insufficient.

  By the way, as illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, according to the dust box 23 in which the suction port 36 is disposed below the air filter 14, the suction port protrudes from the position below the air filter, for example, the side of the dust box. The width dimension in the left-right direction can be suppressed as compared with the configuration provided in the part, and the dust box 23 can be made compact, and thus the whole indoor unit 10 can be made compact.

  On the other hand, for example, in the configuration example of the dust box illustrated in FIG. 10, in order to increase the airtightness of the peripheral portion of the suction port 36 in a state where the suction port 36 is opened, that is, in a state of sucking dust in the housing portion 35, It is considered to provide a blocking wall portion 100 that closes the upper portion of the suction port 36.

  Therefore, in the configuration in which the suction port 36 is disposed below the air filter 14 and the blocking wall portion 100 is provided, the blocking wall portion 100 exists below the air filter 14. Therefore, dust removed from the air filter 14 by the air filter cleaning device 20 is accumulated on the upper portion of the blocking wall portion 100. And the suction force from the suction port 36 does not easily act on the closed wall portion 100. Therefore, once dust accumulates on the closed wall portion 100, it is difficult to suck and remove the dust. .

  Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 11, when the dust box 23 is provided below the air filter 14, the dust box 23 includes an opening 60 at a position below the air filter 14 and above the suction port 36. It is good to do. In other words, the dust box 23 may have a configuration in which the blocking wall portion 100 is removed from the configuration illustrated in FIG.

  According to this configuration, dust does not collect in the closed wall portion, and it is possible to avoid the dust removed from the air filter 14 remaining in the dust box 23.

  However, if the blocking wall portion 100 is removed, the airtightness of the peripheral portion of the suction port 36 in the state of sucking dust in the housing portion 35 is lowered, and the suction force from the suction port 36 is effectively applied. It becomes difficult.

  Therefore, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 to 14, the dust box 23 may further include a closing portion 70. In this case, the closing portion 70 is configured by extending the tip portion of the valve portion 50 and is provided integrally with the valve portion 50. The state illustrated in FIG. 12 is a fully closed state in which the valve unit 50 fully closes the suction port 36. In the fully closed state, the blocking portion 70 contacts the upper surface of the front end portion of the suction port 36. In this fully closed state, when dust is removed from the air filter 14 by the air filter cleaning device 20 above the suction port 36, the dust falls and accumulates on the upper portion of the valve unit 50 through the opening 60. Become.

  The state illustrated in FIG. 13 is a state in which the valve unit 50 half-opens the suction port 36, that is, a half-open state in which the valve unit 50 rotates in the middle between the suction port 36 and the opening port 60. In this half-opened state, the blocking portion 70 is separated from the upper surface of the front end portion of the suction port 36 and is also separated from the lower surface of the front end portion of the opening 60. In this intermediate state, an air flow path is formed from the lower portion of the air filter 14 to the suction port 36 through the open port 60. Therefore, the suction force from the suction port 36 also acts on the upper part of the valve part 50, and the dust collected on the upper part of the valve part 50 in the fully closed state described above and falls through the open part 60 in this half-open state. Dust can be sucked.

  The state illustrated in FIG. 14 is a fully open state in which the valve unit 50 fully opens the suction port 36. In the fully open state, the closing portion 70 contacts the lower surface of the front end portion of the opening 60. When the distal end portion of the valve portion 50, that is, the closing portion 70 contacts the lower surface of the front end portion of the opening 60, the airtightness around the suction port 36 is improved. Therefore, the suction force from the suction port 36 effectively acts in the housing portion 35, and the dust in the housing portion 35 can be sucked efficiently. That is, the closing part 70 exhibits the function of ensuring the airtightness of the peripheral part of the suction port 36 instead of the closing wall part 100 described above.

  The switching between the fully closed state illustrated in FIG. 12, the half open state illustrated in FIG. 13, and the fully open state illustrated in FIG. 14 is performed by adjusting the insertion amount S of the nozzle N with respect to the suction port 36 as illustrated in FIG. Can be switched. That is, when the nozzle N is not inserted into the suction port 36, the suction port 36 is fully closed, and when the nozzle 36 is inserted into the suction port 36, the suction port 36 is half open, and the nozzle N is further connected to the suction port 36. When inserted to the back, the suction port 36 is fully opened. By repeatedly inserting and removing the nozzle N with respect to the suction port 36, switching between the fully closed state, the half open state, and the fully open state is repeated, so that the dust accumulated in the upper portion of the valve portion 50 and the dust accumulated in the accommodating portion 35 are further increased. Efficient suction is possible.

  As described above, even when the dust box 23 is provided below the air filter 14, the dust box 23 is provided with the open port 60 at a position below the air filter 14 and above the suction port 36. In the fully opened state in which 36 is fully opened, by providing a closing portion 70 that closes the space between the suction port 36 and the opening port 60, it is possible to prevent dust from remaining in the dust box 23, while sucking dust. The airtightness around the suction port 36 can be secured. Accordingly, it is possible to realize a configuration in which dust collected in the dust box 23 can be easily sucked to the outside while the dust box 23 and thus the entire indoor unit 10 are made compact.

In addition, this embodiment is not limited to one embodiment mentioned above, For example, it can expand or deform | transform as follows.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the rib 40 may have a configuration in which a cylindrical protrusion 40 a is provided at the tip. Various shapes can be adopted as the shape of the rib 40 as long as the shape does not hinder the flow of air when dust is sucked from the suction port 36.

As the shape of the convex portion 50a provided on the valve portion 50, various shapes such as a cross shape can be adopted. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which provides the some convex part 50a in the outer surface of the valve part 50. FIG.
This embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 10 is an indoor unit of an air conditioner, 11 is an indoor unit main body, 14 is an air filter, 20 is an air filter cleaning device, 23 is a dust box, 33 is a lid member, 35 is a storage portion, 36 is a suction port, 37 Is a recovery port, 40 is a rib, 50 is a valve portion, 50a is a convex portion, 60 is an open port, and 70 is a closed portion.

Claims (6)

An air filter that captures dust contained in the air passing through the indoor unit body;
An air filter cleaning device for removing dust adhering to the air filter;
A dust box that is detachably attached to the indoor unit main body and contains the dust removed from the air filter,
The dust box is
A recovery port for recovering dust removed from the air filter;
A storage section for storing dust recovered from the recovery port;
A suction port for sucking dust stored in the storage unit;
A lid member that closes the recovery port when dust is sucked from the suction port;
A rib provided at the center of the lid member;
An air conditioner indoor unit.   The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is provided inside the housing portion, and an outer surface of the lid member is pressed in contact with an inner surface of the housing portion. A valve portion that closes the suction port when the lid member opens the recovery port;
The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the valve portion is provided integrally with the lid member.   The said valve part is an indoor unit of the air conditioner of Claim 3 provided with a convex part on the outer surface.   The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the dust box further includes an opening at a position below the air filter and above the suction port.   The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the dust box further includes a closing portion that closes a space between the suction port and the open port when the suction port is opened.

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