JP2020020485A - Indoor unit for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an indoor unit for an air conditioner that can block a foreign matter such as dusts from entering the inside thereof from an opening part that is formed in part of a region covered by a front panel of a wall part of a housing, and leads to a space in which a network repeater is stored.SOLUTION: An indoor unit 1 for an air conditioner is formed with an opening part 53 leading to a space 52 in which a network repeater 70 formed inside a housing 6 is stored, in part of a region R covered by a front panel 7 of a wall part 51 provided on a front side of the housing 6 for storing a blower fan 3. A cover member 60 for opening and closing the opening part 53 is fitted to the wall part 51 of the housing 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner.

In recent years, with the spread of HEMS (Home Energy Management System), smart grids, and the like, the demand for energy management of air conditioners has increased. In addition, demand for centralized control for managing the air conditioner together with other devices, remote control for operating the air conditioner from a remote place such as outside the house, and the like are increasing.
In order to meet these demands, there has been proposed an air conditioner indoor unit including a network repeater for wirelessly communicating with a network. The network repeater is connected to a control board built in the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and signals used for energy management, remote control, and the like of the air conditioner are transmitted to and received from the network via the network repeater.

Here, improving the interior property by incorporating the network repeater in the indoor unit of the air conditioner, removing the network repeater built in the indoor unit from the indoor unit as necessary, and visually recognizing, operating, etc. For the purpose of making it possible to perform the operation, for example, an indoor unit of an air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been conventionally proposed.
An indoor unit of an air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a housing having a wall extending in the left-right direction, and a front panel that covers a front side of at least a part of the wall, and is covered by a front panel of the wall. An opening is formed in the cut area, leading to a front end of a space in which a network repeater for wirelessly communicating with the network is housed, and the opening is in a state where all or a part of the front panel is removed or opened. Is exposed.

  According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an opening communicating with a front end of a space in which a network repeater that wirelessly communicates with a network is housed is formed in a region covered by a front panel of a wall. Therefore, the network repeater can be built into the indoor unit through the opening to improve the interior. According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner, the opening is exposed when all or a part of the front panel is removed or opened, so that the network built in the indoor unit of the air conditioner is provided. The repeater can be taken out from the opening of the indoor unit as needed, and can be visually recognized and operated.

Japanese Patent No. 6270658

However, the conventional air conditioner indoor unit disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
That is, the opening formed in the area covered by the front panel of the wall and leading to the space in which the network repeater is stored is exposed to the inside of the housing even when the front panel is closed. ing. For this reason, after the network repeater is built in the indoor unit, foreign matter such as dust may enter the interior of the indoor unit from the opening, and the foreign matter such as dust may be transferred to the control board provided inside the indoor unit. If it accumulates in the vicinity of the connection part between the network repeater and the like, it may cause a poor connection of the network repeater built in the indoor unit.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve this conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a network repeater formed in a part of an area covered by a front panel of a wall of a housing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can prevent foreign substances such as dust from entering an inside through an opening communicating with a stored space.

  In order to achieve the above object, an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a part of an area covered by a front panel of a wall provided on a front side of a housing in which a blower fan is housed. An indoor unit of an air conditioner, wherein an opening communicating with a space where a network repeater formed inside the housing is housed is formed, wherein the opening is opened and closed on a wall of the housing. The gist is that a cover member to be attached is attached.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this invention, dust etc. are formed from the opening part which was formed in a part of area | region covered with the front panel of the wall part of the housing and which leads to the space where a network repeater is accommodated. Foreign matter can be prevented from entering the inside.

It is a front view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1 with a front panel removed. FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the indoor unit in a state where a network repeater and a cover member are removed from the state illustrated in FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the indoor unit in a state where a network repeater and a cover member are removed from the state illustrated in FIG. 3 when viewed from a direction different from FIG. 4. It is a perspective view of a network repeater. It is a perspective view of a cover member. It is a front view of a cover member. It is a right view of a cover member. It is a top view of a cover member. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the network repeater is housed in a network repeater housing recess and connected to a connector with a front panel removed. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the cover member is attached from the state illustrated in FIG. 11 and the cover member is being rotated. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the rotation of the cover member has been completed from the state illustrated in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The embodiments described below exemplify an apparatus and a method for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention describes the material, shape, structure, arrangement, and the like of the component parts. It is not specified in the following embodiment. Also, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, it should be noted that the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimension, the ratio, and the like are different from the actual ones, and the drawings include portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner includes a base 2, a blower fan 3, a heat exchanger 4, a drain pan assembly 5, a housing 6, and a front panel 7. Have. An outlet 5a is formed in the drain pan assembly 5, and a vertical wind direction adjusting plate 5b is provided in the outlet 5a.
A blower fan 3, a heat exchanger 4, and a drain pan assembly 5 are attached to the base 2. Further, a housing 6 that houses the blower fan 3, the heat exchanger 4, and the drain pan assembly 5 is attached to the base 2. On the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the housing 6, a wall portion 51 extending in the left-right direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) is provided. The wall 51 can be removed from the housing 6. The front panel 7 is rotatably mounted near the upper end (the upper end in FIG. 2) of the wall portion 51 and covers the front side of the wall portion 51. The user can attach and detach the front panel 7.

In the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner configured as described above, when the blower fan 3 rotates, the indoor air is sucked into the indoor unit 1 via a filter (not shown), and exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 4. Then, the air becomes cold air, warm air, etc., and the cold air, warm air, etc., are blown into the room through the air outlet 5a.
Here, a network repeater 70 as shown in FIG. 6 is mounted on the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner. The network repeater 70 is connected to a control board 56 described later via a connector 57 (see FIGS. 11 to 13), and wirelessly communicates with a communication device such as a wireless router connected to a network such as a LAN or a WAN. Things. The network repeater 70 performs Wi-Fi communication with a communication device such as a wireless router connected to a network such as a LAN and a WAN. As shown in FIG. 6, the network repeater 70 includes a connector 72 at a front end (left end in FIG. 6) of a quadrangular prism-shaped repeater main body 71. Further, U-shaped ribs 73 are formed on the rear edge and the left and right side edges of the upper surface of the repeater body 71 so as to protrude from the repeater body 71. Although not shown, a plurality of indicator lights for displaying a communication state, an error state, and the like are provided on the surface of the repeater main body 71, and a label on which an ID and the like are described is attached.

Next, mounting of the network repeater 70 on the indoor unit 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 shows a front view of the indoor unit 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the front panel 7 removed, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the network repeater 70 and the cover member 60 are removed from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the indoor unit 1 is viewed obliquely from the lower front, and FIG. 5 shows the indoor unit with the network repeater 70 and the cover member 60 removed from the state shown in FIG. Is shown. 7 is a perspective view of the cover member 60, FIG. 8 is a front view of the cover member 60, FIG. 9 is a right side view of the cover member 60, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the cover member 60. . Further, FIG. 11 shows a cross section in a state where the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 with the front panel 7 removed. FIG. 12 shows a cross section in the middle of attaching the cover member 60 from the state shown in FIG. 11 and rotating the cover member 60. FIG. 13 shows a cross section in a state in which the rotation of the cover member 60 has been completed from the state shown in FIG. 12 and locked on the wall, and the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 has been closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a part of a region R (a hatched region in FIG. 3) of the wall portion 51 covered by the front panel 7, specifically, near a lower right end portion of the wall portion 51. Is formed with a network repeater accommodating recess 54 that is recessed rearward and opened forward. The network repeater accommodating recess 54 accommodates the network repeater 70, has a vertical width capable of accommodating the network repeater 70, and has a depth in the front-rear direction larger than the height of the network repeater 70. Have. As shown in FIG. 11, the network repeater accommodating recess 54 has a length in the left-right direction that allows the network repeater 70 to slide in the left-right direction.

  An opening 53 communicating with a space 52 formed inside the housing 6 and accommodating the network repeater 70 is formed in the left end wall 54c of the network repeater accommodating recess 54, as shown in FIGS. The space 52 and the network repeater accommodating recess 54 communicate with each other via the opening 53. The opening 53 cuts the repeater body 71 along the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) so that the front end side (front end side) of the repeater body 71 of the network repeater 70 can pass in the left-right direction. It is formed in a rectangular shape slightly larger than the cross-sectional shape. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 12, a support shaft portion 64 of a cover member 60 described later is provided at an upper wall 54e and a lower wall 54f of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 at the opening 53 side (left side). A pair of recesses 54a that enter (only the recesses 54a on the upper wall 54e side are shown) are formed. A locking hole 54b into which a locking claw 66a of the cover member 60 described later is inserted is formed in the right end wall 54d of the network repeater housing recess 54.

As shown in FIG. 11, a control board storage case 55 is provided in the space 52 in which the network repeater 70 is stored, and a control board 56 to which a connector 57 is connected is provided in the control board storage case 55. Is stored.
When mounting the network repeater 70 on the indoor unit 1, first, as shown in FIG. 11, the network repeater 70 is connected with the front panel 7 removed or opened with respect to the front panel 7. The portion 72 is accommodated in the network repeater accommodating recess 54 so as to face the opening 53 (left side).

Next, the network repeater 70 is pressed toward the space 52 (to the left) and slid, and the distal end side of the repeater main body 71 of the network repeater 70 is inserted into the space 52 through the opening 53. Then, the connector section 72 is connected to the connector 57. Thereby, the network repeater 70 is connected to the control board 56.
Here, at the opening 53 communicating with the space 52 in which the network repeater 70 is stored, a gap is formed between the network repeater 70 and the repeater main body 71. Since the front panel 7 is removed, the gap is exposed to the outside of the housing 6. For this reason, foreign matter such as dust may enter the interior of the indoor unit 1 from the gap, and the foreign matter such as dust may be located near the connection portion between the connector 57 and the connector portion 72 of the network repeater 70 or near the control board 56. It may accumulate and cause a connection failure or the like of the control board 56 or the like built in the indoor unit 1.

Therefore, in the indoor unit 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the cover member 60 that opens and closes the opening 53 is attached to the wall 51 of the housing 6.
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the cover member 60 includes a rectangular flat plate portion 61 extending in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 7) and the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7), and a left edge of the flat plate portion 61. And a pair of side plate portions 62 extending downward from each of the right edges.
The flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60 has a shape that closes the front side (the upper side in FIG. 13) of the network repeater housing recess 54.

  Further, a pair of support plate portions 63 extend downward from a position on the front side (left side in FIG. 7) of the left side edge and the right side edge side plate portion 62 of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60. A support shaft portion 64 protruding outward in the left-right direction is provided. Each support shaft portion 64 enters each of the recesses 54a formed in the network repeater accommodating recess 54, whereby the cover member 60 is positioned on the opening 53 side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54, as shown in FIG. It is supported rotatably with the left end as a rotation axis. The cover member 60 is between an open state with respect to the network repeater accommodating recess 54 as shown in FIG. 12 and a state with which the cover member 60 is closed with respect to the network repeater accommodating recess 54 as shown in FIG. Is rotated.

  Further, a rectangular notch 61a is formed at the center in the left-right direction of the rear end (the right end in FIG. 7) 61b of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60, and the front edge of the notch 61a has a downward notch. A locking piece 66 having an elastic portion 65 curved in a convex shape is provided. A locking claw 66a is formed on a rear surface 66b of the locking piece 66 so as to protrude. When the cover member 60 rotates and closes the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54, the engaging claw 66a enters the engaging hole 54b formed in the network repeater accommodating recess 54 and engages the cover member 60. Stop. Then, the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 to prevent the gap between the opening 53 and the repeater main body 71 from being exposed to the outside of the housing 6.

  On the lower surface of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60, a pair of pressing portions 67 capable of pressing the network repeater 70 in the direction of insertion into the space 52 during the rotation for closing the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 is provided. Is provided. Each pressing portion 67 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, one pressing portion 67 is disposed inside the left side plate portion 62 of the flat plate portion 61, and the other pressing portion 67 is formed on the right side plate portion 62 of the flat plate portion 61. It is arranged inside. When the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 in an incompletely fitted state, each of the pressing portions 67 contacts the rear end of the network repeater 70 during the rotation and disconnects the network repeater 70. Pressing in the direction of insertion into the space 52 eliminates the incompletely fitted state of the network repeater 70 to the connector 57. Thereby, the connection failure between the network repeater 70 and the connector 57 can be eliminated. On the other hand, when the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 in a completely fitted state, each pressing portion 67 has a shape that does not contact the rear end of the network repeater 70 during rotation. Dimensions are set.

  The cover member 60 is formed by molding a transparent resin material. When the cover member 60 is colored, if the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54, the network repeater 70 cannot be visually recognized from the outside. On the other hand, when the cover member 60 is transparent, the network repeater 70 can be visually recognized from the outside even if the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network The indicator light provided on the surface of the device and the label on which the ID and the like are described can be visually recognized.

After connecting the network repeater 70 to the connector 57 as shown in FIG. 11, the support shaft 64 of the cover member 60 is inserted into each of the recesses 54a formed in the network repeater housing recess 54 as shown in FIG. I do. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the cover member 60 is rotatably supported around the left end of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 on the opening 53 side as a rotation axis.
Next, the cover member 60 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 12, and the locking claws 66a of the cover member 60 are inserted into the locking holes 54b formed in the network relay device accommodating recess 54, as shown in FIG. At this time, since the locking piece 66 has the elastic portion 65, the locking piece 66 comes into contact with the right end wall 54d of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 and is once displaced to the left, and the locking claw 66a enters the locking hole 54b. Sometimes it returns to its original position. As a result, the cover member 60 is locked, the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54, and the gap between the opening 53 and the repeater main body 71 is exposed outside the housing 6. Work around.

By closing the opening 53, a gap between the opening 53 and the repeater main body 71 of the network repeater 70 is exposed to the outside of the housing 6 even when the front panel 7 is removed. This prevents foreign matter such as dust from entering the interior of the indoor unit 1 through the gap, and the foreign matter such as dust is formed near the connection portion between the connector 57 and the connector portion 72 of the network repeater 70 or near the control board 56. It is possible to avoid poor connection of the control board 56 or the like that is deposited and built in the indoor unit 1.
On the other hand, when taking out the network repeater 70, the locking piece 66 of the cover member 60 is displaced to the left to remove the locking claw 66a from the locking hole 54b. Rotate in the opposite direction. Then, the support shaft portion 64 of the cover member 60 is removed from each of the recesses 54 a formed in the network relay device housing recess 54, and the cover member 60 is removed from the wall 51. Thereafter, the network repeater 70 may be slid in the direction opposite to the direction of insertion into the space 52 and pulled out, and the connector portion 72 may be removed from the connector 57. When pulling out the network repeater 70, the operator can hook the rib 73 and pull it out.

  When the network repeater 70 is mounted on the indoor unit 1, the network repeater 70 is housed in the network repeater housing recess 54, and before the network repeater 70 is slid and connected to the connector 57, the cover member 60 is closed. After being attached to the wall portion 51, the locked state of the locking claws 66a is released and the cover member 60 is opened. Then, the network repeater 70 is housed in the network repeater housing recess 54, and the network repeater 70 is slid. To connect to the connector 57. Thereafter, the cover member 60 is rotated to lock the locking claw 66a in the locking hole 54b, close the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 with the cover member 60, and connect the opening 53 with the repeater main body 71. The gap between them may be prevented from being exposed to the outside of the housing 6.

At this time, the cover member 60 is rotatably supported around the left end of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 on the opening 53 side as a rotation axis, and the cover member 60 opens and closes along the insertion direction of the network repeater 70. The network repeater 70 can be easily slid and connected to the connector 57 with the cover member 60 attached.
When removing the network repeater 70, the locking piece 66 of the cover member 60 is displaced to the left to remove the locking claw 66a from the locking hole 54b. The cover member 70 is opened by rotating in the direction opposite to the direction. In this state, without removing the cover member 60 from the wall portion 51, the network repeater 70 may be slid out in the direction opposite to the direction of insertion into the space 52 and pulled out, and the connector portion 72 may be removed from the connector 57. .

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes and improvements can be made.
For example, as long as the cover member 60 has a structure that opens and closes the opening 53, the cover 60 does not necessarily need to be rotatably supported on the left end of the network repeater housing recess 54 on the opening 53 side as a rotation axis.
Further, the cover member 60 does not necessarily have to include the pressing portion 67.
Further, the cover member 60 does not necessarily need to be formed of a transparent member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit of an air conditioner 2 Base 3 Blow fan 4 Heat exchanger 5 Drain pan assembly 5a Blow-out port 5b Vertical wind direction adjustment plate 6 Housing 7 Front panel 51 Wall 52 Space 53 Opening 54 Network relay receiving recess 54a Concave portion 54b Lock hole 54c Left end wall 54d Right end wall 54e Upper wall 54f Lower wall 55 Control board storage case 56 Control board 57 Connector 60 Cover member 61 Flat plate 61a Notch 61b Rear end 62 Side plate 63 Support plate 64 Support shaft Portion 65 Elastic portion 66 Locking piece 66a Locking claw 66b Rear surface 67 Pressing portion 70 Network repeater 71 Repeater main body 72 Connector portion 73 Rib R Area covered by front panel of wall

Claims (5)

In a part of the area covered by the front panel of the wall provided on the front side of the housing accommodating the blower fan, an opening communicating with the space where the network repeater formed inside the housing is housed is provided. An indoor unit of the formed air conditioner,
An indoor unit for an air conditioner, wherein a cover member for opening and closing the opening is attached to a wall of the housing. On the wall of the housing, a network repeater housing recess is formed that is recessed rearward and is open at the front, and the opening is formed on a left end wall of the network repeater housing recess, and the opening is formed through the opening. The space communicates with the network repeater housing recess,
The network repeater is housed in the network repeater housing recess, and a front end of the network repeater is inserted into the space via the opening and connected to a connector arranged in the space. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein:   The cover member is rotatably supported around a left end on the opening side of the network repeater housing recess as a rotation axis, and closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess to close the opening and the network relay. The indoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein a gap between the air conditioner and the repeater body is prevented from being exposed to the outside of the housing.   The said cover member is provided with the press part which can press the said network repeater in the insertion direction to the said space in the middle of the rotation which closes the front side of the said network repeater accommodating recess, The claim of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Indoor unit of air conditioner.   The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cover member is formed of a transparent member.

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