JP3408440B2 - Ceiling mounted air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner mounted on a ceiling supported by a house, an office or a building space other than these. More specifically, the invention relates to the treatment of air through the above-mentioned device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been known so far to mount an air conditioner on a ceiling supported in a room or space for air conditioning. Devices mounted in this manner are typically adapted to draw air through an inlet mounted to the device. The air thus sucked in is circulated through suitable heat exchange elements before being discharged from at least one outlet arranged in the device.

Ceiling mounted equipment typically includes a fan device for drawing in the air to be treated and expelled. This fan device can generate a large suction pressure at the air inlet. This suction pressure again sucks the discharge air discharged from the device mounted on the ceiling. By thus recirculating the discharged air to the heat exchanger, the heating or cooling efficiency of the device is reduced. Also this is
This affects the long-term integrity of the heat exchanger elements that are exposed to this circulated and air that does not need to be heated or cooled further.

The possibility of recirculating this exhaled air to a ceiling mounted air intake has previously been addressed by directing the air away from the air outlet. However, it has been found that such directed discharge air cannot be provided when the air outlet is relatively close to the air inlet.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to mount on a supported ceiling constructed so that properly heated or cooled air does not adversely affect the air intake of the device. An object is to provide an air conditioner.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling and heating system mounted on a supported ceiling, wherein the conditioned air discharged from the system is
The heated or cooled air from the ceiling mounted device is configured to create two different air streams configured for optimal air flow.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other objects of the invention include a ceiling that draws air into an inlet from above and treats the drawn air through a heat exchanger prior to discharging it downwards. Achieved by providing an air conditioner mounted to the. This air is preferably configured to be discharged downward by an air discharge structure surrounding the heat exchanger element. This air is eventually discharged through one or more air discharge ducts positioned proximate to the air inlet. A rotatable louver is attached to each discharge duct so as to guide air in the duct.

The rotatable louver in each air discharge duct is adapted to rotate between any two positions depending on whether warmed air or cooled air is discharged. Is preferred. When warmed air is expelled, the position of the louvers is such that it produces a substantially downward air flow from the duct. When the cooled air is expelled, the position of the louver is such that it forms a substantially lateral air flow with the air flow of the expelled air.

This air is discharged from the ceiling at a minimum distance, but it is preferable that the ceiling is not polluted. This is accomplished by making the walls of each air duct a gentle curve that extends laterally outwards to minimize the portion of the air exiting the duct from the ceiling. The distance is.

It is preferable that the separate wall of each discharge duct is of an arc shape that is smoothly bent at a predetermined angle so that the air discharged from the air inlet of the apparatus is separated.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIG.
The ceiling mounted device 10 is shown in a mounted position on the ceiling 12. The device is shown to include a centrally located air intake grille 14, which is adapted to suck in air in the space to be cooled and heated. The device for cooling and heating the air also has four air discharge slots 16,
It is provided with 18, 20, and 22. Each of these air discharge slots forms part of a respective air discharge duct, which duct discharges the treated air from the device back into the cooling and heating space. Each discharge slot is arranged relatively close to the grill 14 arranged in the center.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cooling / heating device 10 before being installed on the ceiling 12 is shown. The air conditioner 10
It is shown to include various devices for treating the air drawn into the device through the air inlet grille 14.

Referring to FIG. 3, an exploded view of the cooling and heating apparatus 10 is shown in FIG. The bottom portion of the cooling and heating device 10 is provided with a frame 26, and four air discharge ducts 28 are formed in the frame 26. Each discharge duct corresponds to each discharge slot 1 of the frame 26.
It defines one of 6, 18, 20, 22. A rotatable louver 30 is arranged in each air discharge duct. The rotatable louver 30 is shown to extend the length of the duct 28.

The air filter 32 and the intake grill 14 are
It is preferably configured to fit in a central opening in the frame 26 and properly secured to the frame 26. It is preferable that the intake grill 14 has a rectangular shape and is slightly curved upward from the four corners to the center thereof.

The centrifugal fan 34 sucks air upward through the air intake grill 14 and the air filter 32. The fan 34 is configured to disperse the sucked air to the heat exchange element 36 radially outward. The heat exchange element 36 preferably comprises coils in series arranged around this centrifugal fan. The coils are adapted to transport a heat exchange medium to exchange heat with, or from, the rows of heat exchange fins in heat transfer contact with the coils.

The air flow flowing outward from the centrifugal fan 32 is directed downward by the air channel structure 38 shown in FIG. This air channel structure 38
Is preferably molded from polystyrene as a single lightweight insulating member that fits into the housing 24.
The air channel structure 38 is provided in the top portion 4 of the heating and cooling device.
It is shown extending along 0 to the inner perimeter of the fins of the heat exchange element. The air channel structure 38 also extends downwardly along the inner wall of the housing 24. This air channel structure 38
Are also tilted toward the inner wall of the housing 24 and are configured to increase radial separation from the heat exchange element 36. The air channel 38 extends downward to the drain pan 42 while keeping this inclination. This drain pan 42 is shown in more detail in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the bottoms of the fins of heat exchange element 36 are housed in drain pan 42 to collect condensate from the coils of the heat exchange element and in slot 44. It is designed to be discharged to. Opening 45 with slot for drain pan
Are aligned with the air channel structure 38 and form a continuous air channel down to an air duct 28 formed in the frame 26. Similar slotted openings in the drain pan form continuous air channels down to separate air discharge ducts in frame 26.

The cross section of the frame of FIG. 4 shows that the frame is constructed of two different structures. The frame has an outer portion 46, preferably made of hard plastic. This frame is
Further on top of this outer portion 46 is a lightweight molded polystyrene structure 47.

Referring again to the air channel structure 38, this structure comprises a continuous, smooth inner wall surface for directing air downwardly. It is preferable that the upper portion of the continuous smooth inner wall surface has an arc shape with a constant curvature. It is preferable that the inclined portion of the inner wall has an angle of 3 ° to 5 ° with respect to the vertical. This smooth, continuous inner wall ensures that all airflow smoothly descends into the slotted opening 46 in the drain pan and into the air passage duct 28 formed in the frame 26. It is configured to go down to.

With reference to heat exchange elements 36, these elements either impart heat to or remove heat from the air as it passes through the fins depending on the state of the heat exchange medium flowing through the coils of heat exchange element 36. To do. By such a method, the heating device or the cooling device supplies either the heated air or the cooled air to the air discharge duct of the frame 26. Referring to the air discharge duct 28 of FIG. 4, the louver 30 includes a rotatable member 4 at each end.
8 is mounted and the rotatable member 48 is configured to rotate within the bracket 50. As will be described in more detail below, the louver 30 is in one of two positions depending on whether the air flowing through the air discharge duct 28 is warm or cooled. The louver 30 is rotated by a motor or manual adjustment. It will be appreciated that similar louvers may be provided in the frame 26 which are rotatably mounted on each of the separate air discharge ducts and driven in their respective positions.

Referring to FIG. 5, the discharge duct 28 in the frame 26 is shown in a further enlarged cross-section.
The air discharge duct 28 is shown to have two consecutive walls, shown as an inner wall 52 and an outer wall 54. The inner wall surface 52 is relatively close to the intake grill 54, and the outer wall surface 54 is further spaced from the grill. The outer wall surface 54 is a part of the frame 26, and the wall surface 54 extends laterally outward from the portion of the frame 26 that is adjacent to the ceiling in the upward direction. This portion of the frame forms a lip 56 which is generally configured to abut the ceiling when the heating and cooling system is mounted on the ceiling. The outer wall 54 extends outwardly below the top of the lip 56 to a distance h. This distance h is 15 to 20 m
It is preferably m. This height prevents the ceiling from being soiled even when air flows outward along the smoothly curved wall 54. The starting point of the outer wall surface 54 is substantially vertical before sharply turning to the point where the lip 56 begins. This point is vertically below the point where the frame 26 is adjacent to the ceiling. The outer wall faces the lip 5 of the frame 26 laterally from this point with a substantially large radius of curvature substantially laterally.
It continues until the discharge point at the point of the lower distance h of the top of 6 is reached.

Referring to the inner wall 52, this inner wall 52
Starts from within the upstream frame 26 at the position where the louver 30 is rotatably mounted in the duct 28. The wall is slightly inclined from the vertical to a point vertically below the horizontal plane including the rotation axis of the rotating member 48.
The inner wall 52 has a substantially arcuate portion which is in contact with a slightly inclined wall surface immediately upstream of the position where the air from the duct 28 is discharged thereafter and which is substantially curved.

Inner wall 52 from the first sloping portion of this wall 52 where the duct 28 is formed in the frame 26 to the second sloping straight wall terminating at the location where air is exhausted from the duct 28. Note that the total angular change in is denoted by the angle α. This angle is determined by the inner wall 5 where the first and second inclined walls of the inner wall are connected.
Determined by two curved arc sections. The change in the angle of the inner wall 52 is preferably in the range of 110 ° to 130 °. Although it has been found that the angle α is preferably greater than 130 °, it creates the possibility of recirculation of the air back to the intake grill 14. Further, it has been found that when α is smaller than 110 °, the discharge of the heated air is adversely affected.

Referring to the louver 30 rotatably retained, the louver 30 is shown to include two leg portions connected by curved arc portions. This curved arc is at an angle β between the two straight leg portions of the louver. The curved arc portion preferably has a constant curvature such that the angle β corresponds to the full angle of the arc defined by this curvature. This angle β is preferably in the range of 110 ° to 120 °.

The two straight leg portions of the louver 30 are
It is preferred to define A and B with a linear distance. These linear dimensions are defined by extending the centerline of the leg portions until they intersect at a point adjacent the curved arc portion of the leg portions. This dimension A is the distance from the tip of the upper leg portion of the louver to the point where the above-mentioned center lines cross each other along the center line.
The dimension B is the distance from the tip of the lower leg portion of the louver to the point where the above-mentioned center lines cross each other along the center line. The ratio A / B of these dimensions is preferably in the range of 0.4 to 0.6. If the ratio A / B is less than 0.4, the air is not discharged well and the air intake grill 1
This is because there is a possibility of causing a recirculation problem with respect to No. 4. This is because if the ratio A / B is larger than 0.6, the louver becomes too sensitive to rotational positioning.

The louver 30 shown in FIG. 5 is shown in the normal position for cooled air within the air discharge duct 28. In this case, the louver size A
It is preferred that the points of B and B cross each other are laterally separated by a distance F from the point where the curved arcuate portion of the inner wall 52 begins. Also, the distance A of the louver 30
The point where B and B cross each other is preferably a lateral distance G from the top of the outer wall 54. This ratio F / G is preferably 0.8 to 1.2.

The lower leg of the louver 30 during cooling is preferably set at an angle γ of 60 ° to 75 ° from the vertical. This is because by setting this angle, it is possible to substantially flow air on both sides of the louver. In this way, the arranged louvers make it possible to directionally expel air from the duct 28 defined by the angle δ. This angle δ is measured with respect to the horizontal and is such that it is between 5 ° and 20 ° when the lower leg of the louver is at an angle γ.

Referring to FIG. 6, the louver 30 is shown in the heating mode position. In this case,
The louver 30 is preferably rotated 25 ° clockwise from the cooling position so that the lower leg portion moves towards the inner wall 52 and the upper leg portion moves to the outer wall 54. Exercise towards. At this time, the lower leg portion of the louver 30 has an angle κ of 35 ° to 50 ° from the vertical.
It is said that. The louver in this position causes the air to be deflected from the above-mentioned outward flow at this time, instead of the normal outward flow defined by the inclination of the inner wall at the air discharge position from the duct 28. . At this time, the lower leg of the louver 30 deflects the heated air downward with less lateral components than when the louver 30 is in the cooling mode position. The ejection angle θ is preferably 40 ° to 55 ° from the horizontal. It will be appreciated that this angle is a lateral component that is substantially smaller than the lateral component of the angle δ in the cooling mode.

In particular, the angle gradient of the wall of the inner wall 52 near the air discharge portion from the duct 28 will be described. This angular gradient is shown as φ in FIG. This angle is measured from the vertical direction and is preferably in the middle of the angles given as κ and γ for the designed duct. This is usually done by setting the angle φ in the range of 55 ° to 65 °. By doing so, it is possible to provide a substantial lateral component in the heating and cooling of the air flow closest to the inner wall 52, without any recirculation to the air intake grill 14. Become.

With reference to angles α and β, these angles represent arcuate curvatures with the angles of inner wall 52 and louver 30. The arc having these angles enables the air to substantially flow along the inner wall 52 of the air duct 28 in both the heating mode and the cooling mode. The arc of the inner wall angle α is 110 °
Angle of the discharge slope of this wall if smaller than
Increase, resulting in excessive pressure loss at the inner wall of the louver during the heating mode. On the other hand, the angle α is 130
Above 0 °, the φ of the discharge slope decreases, which can lead to air recirculation to the grill.

By combining the louver 30 having the above-mentioned shape and the air duct passage 28 having the above-mentioned shape, two separate air passages are formed on both sides of the louver. These passages provide a first air discharge direction during cooling and a second air discharge direction during heating.
During cooling, this air discharge passage moves the airflow substantially laterally outward from the device to prevent direct exposure of cold air to people in the room to be cooled by the ceiling mounted device. By contrast, the exhaust in heating forces the air downwards so that the heated air rises upwards and not to the people in the room.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments, modifications and improvements can be made to the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the above detailed description is merely illustrative and not limiting.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a heating and cooling device with ceiling-mounted air discharge slots arranged around the periphery of a centrally located air intake grill.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an air conditioner before being attached to the ceiling of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the cooling and heating device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the air conditioner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 processes air from the intake grill to the outlet of the air discharge duct.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an air discharge passage formed in the bottommost member of the cooling and heating device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the air discharge passage shown in FIG. 5 when the rotating louver inside discharges warmed air.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Air conditioner 12 ... Ceiling 14 ... Air intake grill 16, 18, 20, 22 ... Air discharge slot 24 ... Housing 26 ... Frame 28 ... duct 30 ... Louver 32 ... Air filter 36 ... Heat exchange element 38 ... Air channel structure 40 ... Top part of air conditioner

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mourizio Rabit, Viare Espinasse, Milan, Italy 158 (72) Inventor Gigio Lucigolo, Vedano al Rambro, Via Ai. Villa 8 (72) Inventor Lisi. Tetu United States, New York, Bald Winsville, Village Bowl Vaude South 601 (56) Reference JP-A-8-94160 (JP, A) JP-A-3-225152 (JP, A) JP-A-7-324802 (JP, A) ) JP-A-7-167487 (JP, A) JP-A-7-49135 (JP, A) JP-A-8-313041 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 13/14

Claims (15)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device mounted on a ceiling for heating or cooling air, the device comprising: an outer housing; an air inlet; a frame fitted to the outer housing; and the air inlet of the frame. Through which air is sucked upward, and subsequently, the sucked air is discharged to the outside in the radial direction, so that the fan is disposed inside the outer housing, and is discharged to the outside in the radial direction from the fan. A plurality of heat exchange elements arranged radially outside the fan for heating or cooling the air, and arranged in the outer housing with respect to the fan and discharged radially from the fan. The inner wall from vertical to the outside to deflect the air downward and outward.
Orientation and increased radial separation from the heat exchange element
And an air channel structure that is inclined to be disposed on the frame including the air inlet,
A first wall disposed adjacent to one end of the air inlet, and an outer side of the first wall that is spaced apart from the end of the air inlet, and faces the first wall. A second wall and at least one air discharge duct, wherein the first wall and the second wall form a smooth continuous wall in the frame; The first wall includes a first straight wall portion that is slightly inclined outward, a curved wall portion that smoothly curves outward, and a second straight wall portion that follows. The cooling / heating apparatus, wherein the second straight wall portion extends to a position where air is discharged from the discharge duct. 2. The curved wall portion of the first wall is between 110 ° and 110 ° between the first and second straight walls of the first wall.
The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device is an arc having an angle of 130 °. 3. The second straight wall portion extending to a position where air is discharged from the air discharge duct is at an angle of 55 ° to 65 ° with respect to the vertical. The apparatus according to 2 . 4. Installed in the air discharge duct,
3. The device of claim 2 , comprising a rotatable louver having a first straight leg and a second straight leg connected by a curved arc portion. Curved arc portion between the wherein said second straight leg portion and the first straight leg, claim 4, characterized in that it is a circular arc in the range of 110 ° to 120 ° The device according to. 6. The first center line and the second center line of the first straight leg portion and the second straight leg portion, respectively, of the first leg portion from the intersection position of the center lines of each other. The first to the tip
A first straight line distance A along the center line of the second straight line and a second straight line distance B along the second center line from the intersecting position to the tip of the second leg portion, and the ratio A 6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein / B is in the range 0.4 to 0.6. 7. The rotatable louver is rotated to a first position when the air is cooled by the heat exchange element, and the first and second centerlines are: Horizontal from the position F at a horizontal distance from the point of the first wall where the first wall portion ends and the curved wall portion begins and the top position of the second wall formed in the frame They intersect at a distance G and the ratio F / G is 0.8 to 1.
7. The device according to claim 6 , characterized in that the number is 2. 8. The second linear leg position of the rotatable louver is at an angle of 60 ° to 75 ° from vertical when the rotatable louver is in the first position. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the device comprises: 9. The rotatable louver is rotated to a second position when the air is being heated by the heat exchange element, and the second straight leg of the rotatable louver is Device according to claim 8 , characterized in that it is at an angle of 35 ° to 50 ° to the vertical. 10. The rotatable louver is in a first position when air is being cooled by the heat exchange element, and the second straight leg portion is 60 ° from vertical.
Device according to claim 5 , characterized in that it is angled at 75 °. 11. The rotatable louver is rotated to a second position when the air is being heated by the heat exchange element and the second straight leg of the rotatable louver is The device according to claim 10 , wherein the angle is 35 ° to 50 ° with respect to the vertical. 12. The second wall of the air discharge duct extends laterally outward toward the outer end of the frame and is closest to the ceiling surface when the device is mounted on the ceiling. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device has a continuous curved portion that serves as an air discharge point. Wherein said air discharge point closest to the ceiling, the device according to claim 12, characterized in that provided at a distance of 20mm from 15 from the ceiling surface. 14. The air channel structure disposed within the outer housing surrounds the heat exchange element and points above the heat exchange element such that a radial distance from the heat exchange element increases. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a continuous structure that is continuous from a point below the heat exchange element. 15. The continuous structure is further bent radially inward on the upper side of the heat exchange element so as to form a smooth curved air channel starting from above the heat exchange element. 15. The device according to claim 14 , wherein