JP2024048636A - Handle tightening device for air conditioner inspection door - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To prevent air leakage from a gap in an inspection door of an air conditioner casing. [Solution] A handle tightening device 1 to be attached to an inspection door 8 of a casing 2 of an air conditioner, the handle tightening device 1 having a handle shaft 11 attached to the inspection door 8 with its axial direction facing in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inspection door 8, which rotates about its axis and moves in the axial direction, a handle 12 attached to one axial end of the handle shaft 11, which rotates integrally with the handle shaft 11 and rotates about the handle shaft 11 to open and close the inspection door 8, and a stopper 13 attached to the other axial end of the handle shaft 11, which rotates integrally with the handle shaft 11 and moves axially integrally with the handle shaft 11 to hold the casing 2 on its inner side, the stopper 13 having a stopper portion 132 and a pressing portion 133, and when the handle 12 is rotated about the handle shaft 11 with the inspection door 8 closed, the stopper portion 132 is pressed against the inner side surface of the casing 2 and the pressing portion 133 is pressed against the inner side surface of the inspection door 8. [Selected Figure] Fig. 6

Description

The present invention relates to a handle fastening device for an inspection door of an air conditioner, and in particular to a handle fastening device for an inspection door that maintains a tight seal and prevents air from leaking through gaps in the inspection door regardless of the pressure state inside the casing of the air conditioner.

Inside the casing of the air conditioner, equipment such as coils (heating coil, cooling coil) that act as heat exchangers, a blower, and filters are installed. Specifically, as shown in Figure 7, the casing 2 of the air conditioner has an intake port 3 on one side that is connected to a return air duct or the like to draw in air, and an outlet port 4 on the other side that is connected to an air supply duct to blow out air. In this way, the air conditioner conditions the air sucked in through the intake port 3 by exchanging heat in the heat exchanger while removing dust with a filter installed inside the machine, and then expels this conditioned air from the outlet port 4.

The casing 2 of the air conditioner divides the interior of the machine into three compartments, a first compartment 5, a second compartment 6, and a third compartment 7, by partition plates 9. The first compartment 5 is located on the side where the air intake 3 is provided, and multiple filters (not shown) and other components are installed inside the machine. The second compartment 6 is located in the center of the casing 2, and a heat exchanger coil (heating coil, cooling coil) (not shown) and other components are installed inside the machine. The third compartment 7 is located on the side where the air outlet 4 is provided, and a blower (not shown) and other components are installed inside the machine. In other words, the first compartment 5, second compartment 6, and third compartment 7 are provided in that order from upstream to downstream inside the casing 2. The upstream and downstream sides here refer to the direction in which air flows in along the air flow, and the downstream side refers to the direction in which air flows out along the air flow.

The casing 2 of the air conditioner is provided with inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5, second chamber 6, and third chamber 7 to allow for maintenance such as inspection, repair, and replacement of each device installed inside the machine (heat exchanger, blower, filters, etc.).

In such an air conditioner casing 2, when the blower installed in the third chamber 7 is operated, air is sucked in through the intake port 3 of the first chamber 5, which is upstream of the third chamber 7, flows into the second chamber 6, and is finally expelled from the exhaust port 4 of the third chamber 7. As a result, the inside of the first chamber 5 and second chamber 6, where air is sucked into the third chamber 7, is in a negative pressure state (negative pressure state) where the pressure inside is lower than the pressure outside. Also, in the third chamber 7, a force is applied from the blower to push the air out, so the inside of the chamber is in a positive pressure state (positive pressure state).

In this way, in the air conditioner casing 2, the inside of the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 are under negative pressure, and the inside of the third chamber 7 is under positive pressure. Therefore, a pressure difference occurs between the inside and outside of each inspection door 8, so each inspection door 8 needs to have sealing capabilities.

Figure 7 shows the currently used inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5, second chamber 6, and third chamber 7. As shown in the figure, the inside of the first chamber 5 and second chamber 6 are in a negative pressure state, so by adopting an outward-opening type inspection door 8 for the first chamber 5 and second chamber 6, the inspection door 8 is pressed against the inside of the machine from the outside to maintain airtightness, so a handle tightening device with a lift-up handle mechanism that generally makes it easy to open and close the inspection door 8 with one hand and also easy to maintain is attached, and the inspection door 8 is further tightened to the opening frame of the casing 2.

In contrast, because the inside of the third chamber 7 is under positive pressure, the inspection door 8 for the third chamber 7 is an externally attached inspection door 8 with a screw, in which the door panel is abutted so as to cover the third chamber 7 from the outside of the casing 2 and sealed by tightening the screws 81 from the outside, or an inward-opening inspection door 8 which is pressed against the outside from the inside of the machine to maintain sealing.
The reason why the inspection door 8 for the third chamber 7 has a different mounting structure from the inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 is that in the third chamber 7, the air pressure inside the aircraft generates a force that tries to push the inspection door 8 to the outside of the aircraft, and the handle tightening device with the lift-up handle mechanism used for the inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 does not provide sufficient sealing performance, so cannot be used for the inspection door 8 for the third chamber 7.

However, the external screw-fastened inspection door 8 used in the third chamber 7 not only cannot be opened or closed with one hand like the operating handle described above, but also requires, when closing the door, the inspection door 8 to be pressed against the casing 2 by hand while tightening the screw 81, and when opening the door, it is necessary to consider where to store the inspection door 8 removed from the casing 2 together with the screw 81, which are complicated tasks and inconvenient.
Furthermore, if an inward-opening inspection door 8 is employed for the third chamber 7, a handle tightening device similar to that for the inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 can be used, and such problems are eliminated, but in order to prevent the inward-opening inspection door 8 from colliding with the equipment installed inside the machine, a space for opening and closing the inspection door 8 must be provided inside the third chamber 7, which results in a problem of a larger air conditioner casing 2. In addition, there is also the problem that when performing maintenance on the equipment inside the machine, the inspection door 8 gets in the way because it is located on the inside of the machine, making maintenance difficult.

In this invention, therefore, the handle fastening device with the above-mentioned lift-up handle mechanism has been improved so that it can be used to seal the inspection door 8 of the third chamber 7. Here, however, we will first explain the conventional handle fastening device with a lift-up handle mechanism that is the premise of this invention.

As shown in Figure 8, the conventional handle tightening device has a handle shaft 11 that is attached to the inspection door 8 with its axial direction (indicated by X in Figure 8) facing perpendicular to the surface of the inspection door 8, a handle 12 that is attached to one axial end of the handle shaft 11 (the part located on the outside of the machine) so as to rotate together with the handle shaft 11 and opens and closes the inspection door 8, and a fastener 13 that is attached to the other axial end of the handle shaft 11 (the part located on the inside of the machine) and is pressed against the inside of the casing 2 when the inspection door 8 is closed.

The handle shaft 11 is a round bar and is attached to the inspection door 8 so that it can rotate and move axially in unison with the inspection door 8 via a cylindrical socket 15 that is fitted from the inside of the machine into a hole 14 provided in the inspection door 8, and a hole 161 in a mounting plate 16 that is fixed to the outside of the inspection door 8.

The handle shaft 11 has a threaded portion 111 at one axial end on the inside of the casing 2 and a ring-shaped member 112 in the middle of the axial direction. A compression spring 17 is arranged on the outer periphery of the handle shaft 11 between the ring-shaped member 112 and the mounting plate 16, and this compression spring 17 urges the handle shaft 11 toward the inside of the casing 2, pressing the handle 12 attached to the end of the handle shaft against the door to hold it in position. In addition, to prevent air from leaking from around the handle shaft 11, a rubber packing 18 is provided between the inspection door 8 and the socket 15 on the inside of the inspection door 8, and a rubber packing 19 is provided between the inspection door 8 and the mounting plate 16 on the outside of the inspection door 8.

As shown in FIG. 9, the handle 12 is pivotally attached to the handle shaft 11 by a pin 21 provided in a direction perpendicular to its axial direction (indicated by X in FIG. 9). This allows the handle 12 to rotate integrally with the handle shaft 11 and also with respect to the handle shaft 11. The handle 12 has a grip 121 for opening and closing the inspection door 8, and a cam portion 122 on the outside of the grip 121, which is a cam surface with a shape that gradually changes distance from the center of the pin 21, i.e., an elliptical or parabolic contour, and a plate-shaped support member 162 that serves as a support for the cam portion 122 is attached to the side of the handle 12 that abuts against the cam portion 122 (the mounting plate 16 side).

A stopper 13 is attached to the part of the handle shaft 11 located on the inside of the machine. As shown in FIG. 10, the stopper 13 is made by bending a thin rectangular plate material into a crank shape, and includes a mounting part 131 that is attached to the handle shaft 11, a stopper part 132 that is in close contact with the inside surface of the casing 2 to prevent the inspection door 8 from moving to the outside of the machine due to the pressure from the inside of the casing 2, and a connecting part 135 that connects the two. The mounting part 131 is provided with a square hole 134 into which the handle shaft 11 is inserted. The stopper 13 is attached to the threaded part 111 of the handle shaft 12 with the handle shaft 12 inserted into the square hole 134 and clamped by two nuts 22, and the stopper 13 rotates together with the handle shaft 11 when the handle is operated and moves in the axial direction together with the handle shaft 11.

When the handle is operated, the handle 12 is rotated to rotate the stopper portion 132 of the stopper metal fitting 13 to an abutting position facing the inner surface of the casing 2. Next, as shown in Fig. 9, when the handle 12 is rotated around the pin 21, the cam surface of the cam portion 122 moves while sliding against the support member 162, and the handle shaft 11 moves in the axial direction against the compressive force of the compression spring 17. In other words, when the handle 12 is rotated downward around the pin 21, the handle 12 moves from the inner side of the inspection door 8 to the outer side thereof following the cam surface, and the handle shaft 11 also moves in the outer side of the inspection door 8. At the same time, the stopper portion 132 at the abutting position is pressed against the inner surface of the casing 2, stopping the inspection door 8 that is about to move in the opening direction due to the pressure on the inner side, thereby maintaining the door in an airtight closed state.
9, the movement of the pin 21, handle shaft 11, and fastening metal 13 when the handle 12 is rotated upward in the reverse direction is indicated by arrow S, and the state after the movement of the pin 21, handle shaft 11, and fastening metal 13 is indicated by dashed lines. In this case, the stopper portion 132 of the fastening metal 13 rotates and moves away from the surface of the casing 2 on the inside of the machine.

However, when the handle fastening device having the lift-up handle mechanism of the conventional inspection door described above is adopted for the inspection door 8 provided in the third chamber 7, the following problems arise.
In the third chamber 7, when the blower installed in the machine is operated, the pressure inside the machine becomes higher than the pressure outside the machine, resulting in a positive pressure state (plus pressure state), and as the rotation speed of the blower increases, the difference (pressure difference) between the pressure inside the machine and the pressure outside the machine increases. Therefore, the force that tries to push the inspection door 8 to the outside of the machine also increases. In other words, as the force that the inspection door 8 receives increases, the moment around the hinge of the inspection door 8 acting on the fastener 13 increases. In that case, in the conventional fastener 13, only the fastener portion 132 abuts against the surface on the inside of the casing 2, that is, the crank-shaped fastener 13 is only supported in a cantilever manner by the handle shaft 11, so the fastener 13 may tilt. In other words, the mounting portion 131 of the fastening bracket 13 is parallel to the interior surfaces of the inspection door 8 and the casing 2, but when a force is applied to push the inspection door 8 toward the outside of the machine, the mounting portion 131 becomes misaligned at an angle rather than being parallel to the interior surfaces of the inspection door 8 and the casing 2, causing the fastening bracket 13 to tilt.

When the stopper 13 tilts, as shown in FIG. 11, the handle shaft 11 to which the stopper 13 is attached tilts from a perpendicular position (normal position) to the inspection door 8. When the handle shaft 11 tilts, a gap is created between the handle shaft 11 and the socket 15, and air may leak from this gap. Furthermore, if the handle shaft 11 tilts further, the inspection door 8 shifts toward the outside of the machine, and a gap is created between the periphery of the inspection door 8 and the casing 2, from which air also leaks. In this way, the inspection door 8 provided in the third chamber 7 has the problem of air leaking from the gap in the inspection door 8.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to prevent the handle shaft from tilting by using a simple fastening metal structure in the handle tightening device, and to prevent air from leaking through the gap in the inspection door installed in the casing of the air conditioner.

The present invention is a handle fastening device for mounting to an inspection door of an air conditioner's casing, which is attached to the inspection door with its axial direction facing perpendicular to the surface of the inspection door, and which rotates about its axis and moves in the axial direction; a handle attached to one axial end of the handle shaft, which rotates integrally with the handle shaft and rotates about the handle shaft to open and close the inspection door; and a fastener attached to the other axial end of the handle shaft, which rotates integrally with the handle shaft and moves axially integrally with the handle shaft to hold the inspection door against the interior surface of the casing when the inspection door is closed, and the fastener has a stopper portion and a pressing portion, and when the handle is rotated about the handle shaft with the inspection door closed, the fastener moves axially integrally with the handle shaft, pressing the stopper portion against the interior surface of the casing and pressing the pressing portion against the interior surface of the inspection door.

According to the present invention, in a handle fastening device attached to an inspection door of an air conditioner casing, a simple configuration using fasteners prevents the handle shaft from tilting, and prevents air from leaking through the gap of the inspection door installed in the air conditioner casing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a casing of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a handle tightening device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fastener of the handle fastening device. 1 is a top view of the handle tightening device with an inspection door closed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the handle fastening device when the inspection door is closed, as viewed from the inside of the machine. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a force is applied to the inspection door to which the above-mentioned handle fastening device is attached, the force pushing the inspection door toward the outside of the aircraft. FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a casing of a conventional air conditioner. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional handle fastening device. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the operation of a conventional handle tightening device. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fastener of a conventional handle fastening device. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which air leaks through a gap in an inspection door of a third chamber to which a conventional handle tightening device is attached. FIG.

An embodiment of a handle fastening device for an inspection door of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The handle tightening device for an inspection door of an air conditioner of the present invention is attached to the inspection door of the casing of an air conditioner, and can maintain the airtightness of the inspection door and prevent air from leaking through gaps regardless of the pressure state on the inside of the casing (a negative pressure state in which the pressure on the inside is lower than the pressure on the outside, or a positive pressure state in which the pressure on the inside is higher than the pressure on the outside).

As shown in Fig. 1, the inside of the casing of the air conditioner is divided into three compartments, a first compartment 5, a second compartment 6, and a third compartment 7, by partition plates 9, and each device (heat exchanger, blower, filter, etc.) is installed in each compartment. Up to this point, the configuration is the same as that described in the conventional art.
However, it differs from the conventional one in the following respect: The inspection doors 8 for the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 are made the same size as the side portions of the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 in the casing 2, as in the conventional case, and are attached so as to cover the entire side portions, but the inspection door 8 for the third chamber 7 is attached so that the inspection door 8 fits into the central opening in the side portion of the third chamber 7 in the casing 2, with a frame portion 10 provided around the opening. As a result, the inspection door 8 for the third chamber 7 only needs to be fitted into the central opening, and adjustments can be easily made when attaching the inspection door 8.

Next, a handle tightening device according to an embodiment of the present invention that is attached to the inspection door 8 of the casing of the air conditioner will be described.
The handle clamping device is similar in configuration and operation to the conventional one (handle clamping device having a lift-up handle mechanism) already described, except for the metal fastener 13. Therefore, the description will be omitted here and the metal fastener 13 according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is different, will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are used in the embodiment of the present invention to refer to parts that are common to the conventional one.

As with conventional locking fittings, as shown in Figure 2, the locking fitting 13 is attached by being clamped between two nuts 22 at the threaded portion 111 on the other axial end (inside the machine) of the handle shaft 11, and can rotate around its axis together with the handle shaft 11, holding the inspection door 8 in the closed position.

As shown in Figure 3, the fastening fitting 13 comprises an attachment portion 131 which is attached to the handle shaft 11, a fastening portion 132 which is in close contact with the interior surface of the casing 2 to prevent the inspection door 8 from moving to the outside due to pressure from the inside of the aircraft, a connecting portion 135 which connects the attachment portion 131 and the fastening portion 132, and a pressing portion 133 which is in close contact with the interior surface of the inspection door 8, and is formed by bending a long, narrow rectangular plate material into a crank shape.
The fastening fitting 13 is attached to the handle shaft 11 by providing a mounting portion 131 with a square hole 134 into which the handle shaft 11 is inserted. One side of the mounting portion 131 is bent at a right angle to form a connecting portion 135, and the tip of the connecting portion 135 is bent in the opposite direction to form a fastening portion 132, which abuts against the interior surface of the casing 2. The other side of the mounting portion 131 is bent at a right angle to form a pressing portion 133, the tip of which abuts against the interior surface of the inspection door 8.

When the stopper 13 rotates the handle 12 around the axis of the handle shaft 11, the stopper 132 hooks onto the interior surface of the casing 2, closing the inspection door 8. Next, with the inspection door 8 closed, the handle 12 is rotated downward. As a result, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the stopper 13 moves axially together with the handle shaft 11 (here, toward the exterior of the inspection door 8), firmly pressing the stopper 132 against the interior surface of the casing 2. At the same time, the pressing portion 133 is firmly pressed against the interior surface of the inspection door 8. This makes it possible to tightly seal the inspection door 8 against the casing 2 and maintain the airtightness of the inspection door 8.

When the stopper 132 and the retainer 133 of the fastening fitting 13 are pressed against the interior surface of the casing 2 and the interior surface of the inspection door 8, respectively, the stopper 132 and the retainer 133 are pressed against the interior surface of the casing 2 and the interior surface of the inspection door 8 with a strong pressing force from the cam surface of the cam portion 122 of the handle 12 at positions symmetrical about the handle shaft 11. In other words, the stopper 132 and the retainer 133 support the handle shaft 11 with a strong pressing force from both sides.

As a result, for example, in the third chamber 7 of the casing 2 of the air conditioner, as shown in Figure 6, when the pressure inside the casing 2 becomes higher than the pressure outside the casing 2, a positive pressure state (plus pressure state) occurs, and a moment acts on the inspection door 8 around its hinge due to the pressure difference in a direction pushing the inspection door 8 toward the outside of the casing 2, and this moment acts on the stopper 13, but the stopper 132 of the stopper 13 abuts against the inside surface of the casing 2 and the pressing portion 133 abuts against the inside surface of the inspection door 8. Therefore, even if the stopper 13 tries to tilt due to the moment pushing the inspection door 8 toward the outside of the casing 2 around the hinge, the pressing portion 133 of the stopper 13 abuts against the inside surface of the inspection door 8, and this pressing portion 133 prevents the stopper 13 from tilting. In other words, the stop metal fitting 13 is supported on both sides of the handle shaft 11 with the stopper portion 132 and the retainer portion 133 on either side. This prevents the stop metal fitting 13 from tilting, and the handle shaft 11 to which the stop metal fitting 13 is attached can be maintained perpendicular to the inspection door 8 (normal position).

Therefore, by preventing the tilt of the stopper 13 and the handle shaft 11 in the handle fastening device 1, the inspection door 8 will not shift towards the outside of the machine, which prevents the gap between the handle shaft 11 and the socket 15 from becoming larger and prevents air from leaking through this gap. In other words, the simple configuration of the stopper 13 in the handle fastening device 1 prevents the handle shaft 11 from tilting, maintains the airtightness of the inspection door 8 provided in the casing 2 of the air conditioner, and prevents air from leaking through the gap.

As described above, the handle tightening device 1 can prevent air from leaking through the gaps in the inspection door 8 regardless of the pressure state inside the casing (negative pressure state where the pressure inside is lower than the pressure outside the casing, or positive pressure state where the pressure inside is higher than the pressure outside the casing), so it can be attached to all inspection doors 8 of the casing 2 of air conditioners.

In other words, in the casing 2 of an air conditioner, in the location (third chamber 7) where the pressure inside the machine is in a positive pressure state higher than the pressure outside the machine, there was a risk of air leaking through the gaps in the inspection door 8, so an external inspection door 8 that is attached by tightening a screw 81 from the outside of the machine was used, and the opening and closing operation was different from the inspection doors 8 in other locations (first chamber 5 and second chamber 6). However, with this handle tightening device 1, air can be prevented from leaking even when the pressure inside the casing 2 is in a positive pressure state higher than the pressure outside the machine, so by attaching it to all inspection doors 8 of the casing 2 of the air conditioner, the opening and closing operations can be unified.

In other words, by attaching the same handle fastening device 1 to all of the inspection doors 8 of the air conditioner's casing 2, when carrying out maintenance such as inspection, repair, or replacement of each piece of equipment installed inside the air conditioner's casing 2, workers can open and close all of the inspection doors 8 using the same operation. Moreover, the inspection doors 8 can be opened and closed simply by operating the handle 12, making the operation simple and improving workability.

1...tightening handle device, 2...casing, 3...suction port, 4...blowout port, 5...first chamber, 6...second chamber, 7...third chamber, 8...inspection door, 81...screw, 9...partition plate, 10...frame, 11...handle shaft, 111...screw portion, 112...projection portion, 12...handle, 121...grip portion, 122...cam portion, 13...fastening metal fitting, 131...mounting portion, 132...fastening portion, 133...holding portion, 134...square hole, 135...connecting portion, 14...hole, 15...socket, 151...disconnecting portion, 16...mounting plate, 161...hole, 162...receiving member, 17...compression spring, 18...rubber packing, 19...rubber packing, 21...pin, 22...nut.

Claims (1)

A handle tightening device to be attached to an inspection door of an air conditioner casing,
a handle shaft that is attached to the inspection door with its axial direction oriented in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inspection door and that rotates around its axis and moves in the axial direction;
a handle attached to one end of the handle shaft in the axial direction and rotating integrally with the handle shaft and also rotating about the handle shaft to open and close the inspection door;
a fastener attached to the other axial end of the handle shaft, rotating integrally with the handle shaft and moving axially integrally with the handle shaft, and holding the access door on the inner surface of the casing (2) when the access door is closed;
This handle tightening device for an inspection door of an air conditioner is characterized in that the stopper has a stop portion and a pressing portion, and when the handle is rotated around the handle shaft with the inspection door closed, the stopper moves axially together with the handle shaft, pressing the stop portion against the interior surface of the casing and pressing the pressing portion against the interior surface of the inspection door.

Images