JP3627526B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dehumidifier capable of storing condensed water from a dehumidifying mechanism in a water storage tank when the water storage tank is mounted, and continuously draining the condensed water from the hose when a hose is connected to a hose connection port.
[0002]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In general, this type of dehumidifier has an evaporator and a condenser arranged in parallel in the main body, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-77666, and circulates a refrigerant through these evaporators and condensers with a compressor. And constitutes a dehumidifying mechanism of the refrigeration cycle. The evaporator faces the air suction port with an air filter interposed. If an air flow path is formed from the air suction port to the air blowing port through the evaporator and condenser by the operation of the blower fan, the air intake is taken in from the air suction port. The indoor air that has been brought into contact with the evaporator is cooled and dehumidified, and the cooled indoor air is heated by the condenser. The condensed water dehumidified by the dehumidifying mechanism is temporarily received by a drain pan in the main body, and then stored in a water storage tank provided so as to be freely inserted and removed under the drain pan.
[0003]
By the way, in the said structure, when a water storage tank becomes full by dehumidification driving | operation, there exists a problem that it must take out a water storage tank and drain the water in a water storage tank each time, and takes time. In addition, if a small amount of water remains at the drain pan discharge port while the storage tank is removed from the main unit for drainage, or if water attached to the evaporator falls to the drain pan and collects at the drain pan discharge port, It was dripped at the bottom of the wall and caused dirt.
[0004]
In order to solve this, instead of the drain pan discharge port, a hose connection port that can connect a hose is provided, and a stopper that closes the tip of this hose connection port with a spring force is installed, and when a water storage tank is installed, The structure where the water storage tank pushes the stopper against the spring force to open the hose connection port, and the condensed water of the drain pan is dripped into the water storage tank has been put into practical use.When a hose is connected to the hose connection port, By continuously draining the condensed water from the dehumidifying mechanism through the hose, troublesome drainage work of the water storage tank can be omitted.
[0005]
However, in the above structure, when connecting a hose to the hose connection port to perform continuous drainage, it is necessary to disassemble and remove the unnecessary stopper part, which is difficult for ordinary users, It was necessary to bring it to a specialty store such as an electronics store and request a modification. Also, if you want to use the water storage tank again after disassembling the stopper part, you will also need to bring it into a specialized store such as an electronics store and install it, and there will be dissatisfaction that requires time and cost each time. there were.
[0006]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a dehumidifier that can easily change the setting at the time of switching regardless of whether a water storage tank or a hose is used.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the dehumidifier of the present invention has a dehumidifying mechanism for the refrigeration cycle in the main body, and in the dehumidifier for performing dehumidification by cooling the indoor air, the condensed water from the dehumidifying mechanism is temporarily The drain pan that is received by the hose is provided with a drainage hose connection port from which the hose can be attached and detached from the outside, and a detachable water storage tank is provided at the lower part of the hose connection port. In addition to providing a stopper for opening and closing the hose connection port, when performing continuous drainage with the hose without using the water storage tank, the stopper can be moved to a position where the hose can be connected to the hose connection port. It is provided.
[0008]
With the above configuration, the hose connection port is open when the water storage tank is attached to the main body, so if dehumidification is performed by the dehumidifying mechanism, condensed water temporarily collected in the drain pan is transferred from the hose connection port to the water storage tank. Dropped and stored. At this time, even if the water storage tank is removed from the main body, the stopper closes the hose connection port, so that the condensed water does not drip on the lower part of the main body.
[0009]
Moreover, when performing continuous drainage with a hose without using a water storage tank, a hose can be easily connected to a hose connection port only by moving a stopper. Conversely, if you want to use a water tank instead of a hose, simply move the stopper in the opposite direction, and the stopper can open and close the hose connection port according to the attachment and detachment of the water tank. Therefore, there is no need to disassemble or attach the stopper portion one by one as in the prior art, and the setting at the time of switching can be easily changed when either the water storage tank or the hose is used.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a dehumidifier according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 showing the external view of the entire dehumidifier, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a vertically long box-shaped dehumidifier, which covers the front opening of the cabinet 2 with the front panel 3, as well as the cabinet 2 and the front panel 3. An outer shell of the main body 1 is formed by providing the bottom plate 4 at the bottom. Reference numeral 5 denotes a transparent resin water storage tank provided in the lower part of the main body 1, which is detachably provided from the front opening 6 on the lower side of the front panel 3. An operation panel 7 having a display unit and an operation unit is disposed on the upper inclined portion of the front panel 3, and an intake port 8 that is opened in a fin shape is formed. In addition, an exhaust port 9 is formed in an upper inclined portion of the cabinet 2 located at the upper rear portion of the main body 1.
[0011]
A dehumidifying mechanism 10 in which an evaporator and a condenser are arranged in parallel is provided inside the main body 1, and a known refrigeration cycle is configured by circulating a refrigerant through the dehumidifying mechanism 10 by a compressor (not shown). doing. In addition, a blower fan 11 composed of, for example, a sirocco fan is provided at the rear portion of the dehumidifying mechanism 10 in order to form an air flow path from the intake port 8 to the exhaust port 9 inside the main body 1. When the blower fan 11 is in operation, the indoor air taken in from the air inlet 8 is cooled and dehumidified by touching the evaporator constituting the dehumidifying mechanism 10, and the cooled indoor air is heated by the condenser. ing.
[0012]
Reference numeral 15 denotes a bottomed drain pan attached to the lower part of the dehumidifying mechanism 10 inside the main body 1. The drain pan 15 temporarily receives the condensed water dehumidified by the dehumidifying mechanism 10 and forms the upper surface of the front opening 6 to which the water storage tank 5 is attached. As shown in the perspective views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the drain pan 15 is connected to a drainage hose connection port 17 having an L shape with the tip opening 16 facing the rear of the main body 1. . The hose connection port 17 is disposed at the upper portion of the front opening 6, and the tip opening 16 is opposed to the hose insertion port 18 penetrating the rear surface of the main body 1 with a predetermined interval. And when performing continuous drainage with the hose 37 mentioned later, without using the water storage tank 5, the hose 37 is inserted from the hose insertion port 18 in the back surface of the main body 1, and the front-end opening part 16 of the hose connection port 17 is inserted. Can be attached to. Reference numeral 19 denotes a float switch assembly that detects the amount of condensed water stored in the water storage tank 5, and when the water storage tank 5 is attached to the front opening 6, the side wall of the water storage tank 5 is the lever 20 of the float switch assembly 19. The float 21 rotates 90 ° from the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 so that the float 21 moves up and down according to the water surface in the water storage tank 5. Reference numeral 22 denotes a tank partition plate that partitions the inside of the main body 1 from the front opening 6 that is a storage portion of the water storage tank 5. The upper part of the tank partition plate 22 is held between vertical ribs 23 formed on the lower surface of the drain pan 15.
[0013]
A stopper 25 is provided on the upper surface of the front opening 6 to open and close the hose connection port 17 in accordance with the attachment / detachment of the water storage tank 5. Here, the configuration around the stopper 25 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 as well. The stopper 25 is configured independently of, for example, a synthetic resin member, and the long hole-shaped mounting portion 26 is used as a central portion. The one-side tip portion 27 is provided with a rubber drip-proof packing 28 that can be in close contact with the tip opening portion 16 of the hose connection port 17. Further, the mounting portion 26 of the stopper 25 is mounted via a washer 31 with a stopper spring 30 sandwiched in a stepped screwing boss 29 protruding from the lower surface of the drain pan 15. Further, the washer 31 is formed larger in diameter than the screwing boss 29, and is attached and fixed to the end surface of the screwing boss 29 by a screw 32 for preventing the stopper 25 from coming off. The stopper spring 30, which is an elastic member made of a torsion coil spring, constantly biases the anti-drip packing 28 at the one end portion 27 of the stopper 25 in the direction of closing the front end of the main body 1, that is, the tip opening portion 16 of the hose connection port 17. doing.
[0014]
The height of the stopper 25 in the vertical direction is lower than the step of the screwing boss 29, and the mounting portion 26 of the stopper 25 is formed in a long hole shape along the lateral direction of the stopper 25. In the upper part of the front opening 6, it is provided so as to be rotatable and slidable around the screwing boss 29. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when continuous drainage is performed by the hose 37 without using the water storage tank 5, the stopper 25 is located at a position where the hose 37 can be connected to the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17. It can be moved horizontally.
[0015]
On the other hand, a non-linear groove-shaped guide rib 35 is formed on the lower surface of the drain pan 15 as shown in FIG. 8, and the projection 36 formed on the stopper 25 is guided along the guide rib 35. It has become. Accordingly, in the state of FIG. 5 in which the anti-drip packing 28 closes the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17, the hose is not pushed unless the stopper 25 is pushed backward against the elasticity of the stopper spring 30. The stopper 25 cannot be slid to a position where the hose 37 can be connected to the tip opening 16 of the connection port 17 (FIG. 7). That is, the guide rib 35 and the protrusion 36 constitute a movement restriction mechanism for the stopper 25. In addition, when the water storage tank 5 shown in FIG. 5 or 6 is attached or detached, a pair of convex portions 38 are formed on the inner surface of the mounting portion 26 so that the rotation center of the stopper 25 is not displaced. The convex portion 38 is formed in such a size that the side surface of the screwing boss 29 can be overcome when the stopper 25 is slid by hand.
[0016]
In order to restrict the play of the stopper 25 in the horizontal direction with respect to the main body 1, a first restricting piece 41 that contacts the vertical rib 23 of the drain pan 15 is formed on the stopper 25. Separately from this, a second restricting piece 42 that contacts the lower surface of the drain pan 15 is formed on the stopper 25 in order to restrict the vertical play of the stopper 25 with respect to the main body 1. In front of the stopper 25, a slide knob 43 serving as a protruding knob is formed so that the stopper 25 can be slid by gripping the stopper 25 with a finger. Further, a substantially flat tank contact surface 44 is formed closer to the one end portion 27 of the stopper 25 than the slide knob 43.
[0017]
The upper surface of the water storage tank 5 is opened in order to store condensed water dripping from the hose connection port 17. Further, both end portions of the carrying handle 51 are pivotally supported by vertical ribs 52 formed in the water storage tank 5. The vertical rib 52 abuts against the tank abutment surface 44 of the stopper 25 when the water storage tank 5 is attached to the front opening 6, and resists the urging force of the stopper spring 30, i.e., the hose connection port. The stopper 25 is pushed in a direction to open the 17 end opening 16 (see FIG. 6). On the side surface of the water storage tank 5, a protruding convex portion 53 is formed when it is attached to the front opening 6. In addition, a guide groove 54 is formed on the bottom surface of the water storage tank 5 in order to restrict the direction in which the water storage tank 5 is attached to and detached from the body 1.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When the water storage tank 5 is used, the stopper 25 is slid in advance using the slide knob 43 at a position where the drip prevention packing 28 faces the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17. In a state where the water storage tank 5 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 is not attached to the main body 1, the anti-drip packing 28 presses and closes the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 by the biasing force of the stopper spring 30. The stopper 25 rotates around the screwing boss 29. Thereby, even if a small amount of water remains in the hose connection port 17 or the water adhering to the evaporator constituting the dehumidifying mechanism 10 falls to the drain pan 15 and collects in the hose connection port 17, the water storage tank 5 is not mounted. In the state, it is possible to prevent the dew condensation water from dropping from the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 to the bottom plate 4.
[0019]
In this state, when the water storage tank 5 is inserted from the front direction of the front opening 6 along the guide groove 54, the vertical rib 52 of the water storage tank 5 contacts the tank contact surface 44 of the stopper 25, as shown in FIG. In addition, the stopper 25 is pushed about the screw boss 29 so that the drip-proof packing 28 gradually moves away from the distal end opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 against the urging force of the stopper spring 30. Rotate. And the water storage tank 5 is mounted | worn in the front opening part 6 because the convex part 53 of the water storage tank 5 is fittingly locked by the inner surface fitting part (not shown) of the front opening part 6 of the main body 1. FIG. . At this time, since the weight of the water storage tank 5 and the fitting force with the main body 1 are large with respect to the biasing force of the stopper spring 29 applied to the stopper 25, the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 remains open. Therefore, the condensed water collected in the drain pan 15 at the time of dehumidification is dropped and stored from the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 to the water storage tank 5 below. When the dew condensation water stored in the water storage tank 5 exceeds a predetermined water level, the float 21 of the float switch assembly 19 rises and is detected, and a full water state is displayed on the display unit (LED) of the operation panel 7. At the same time, the dehumidifying operation by the dehumidifying mechanism 10 is stopped in order to reliably prevent the overflow of water.
[0020]
As described above, when the water storage tank 5 is attached and detached, the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 is opened and closed by the anti-drip packing 28 while the protrusion 36 of the stopper 25 moves along the guide rib 35. To do. The protrusion 36 and the guide rib 35 restrict the movement of the stopper 25, particularly in the sliding direction, so that the stopper 25 does not move in the sliding direction along the mounting hole 26 just by attaching and detaching the water storage tank 5 to the main body 1. It has become. Accordingly, when the water storage tank 5 is removed from the main body 1, it is difficult for the position prevention gap between the drip prevention packing 28 and the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 to be generated. 16 is securely closed.
[0021]
Further, since the convex portion 38 is formed on the inner side surface of the attachment portion 26, the rotation center of the stopper 25 is difficult to shift when the water storage tank 5 is attached / detached, and the tip opening portion 16 of the hose connection port 17 by the anti-drip packing 28. The opening and closing of the is more reliable. In addition, the contact portion with the main body 1 formed on the stopper 25, that is, the first restricting piece 41 and the second restricting piece 42 come into contact with the side surface and the upper surface of the front opening 6, respectively, and the stopper 25 is rattled. Therefore, the dripping prevention packing 28 can open and close the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 without causing a positional shift not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction.
[0022]
On the other hand, when performing continuous drainage using the hose 37, the slide knob 43 is grasped with a finger and the stopper 25 is pushed rearward of the main body 1 with the water storage tank 5 removed from the front opening 6 of the main body 1. Later, the stopper 25 is moved laterally so that the screwing boss 29 gets over the convex portion 38 of the mounting portion 26 along the guide rib 35 engaged with the projection 36. Then, the anti-drip packing 28 moves away from the position facing the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 7, when the stopper 25 is slid to a position where the screwing boss 29 abuts against the opposite end surface of the mounting portion 26, the hose 37 is attached to and detached from the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17. The drip-proof packing 28 moves to a position where there is no hindrance. Therefore, if the hose 37 is inserted into the hose insertion port 18 and the tip thereof is connected to the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17, the condensed water collected in the drain pan 15 is continuously drained through the hose 37 thereafter. Can do.
[0023]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, in the dehumidifier that has the dehumidifying mechanism 10 of the refrigeration cycle in the main body 1 and dehumidifies by cooling the indoor air, the condensed water from the dehumidifying mechanism 10 is temporarily removed. The drain pan 15 is provided with a hose connection port 17 for drainage from which the hose 37 can be attached and detached from the outside. A water storage tank 5 that is detachably attached to the main body 1 is provided below the hose connection port 17. The stopper 25 is provided to open and close the hose connection port 17 according to the conditions, and when continuous drainage is performed by the hose 37 without using the water storage tank 5, the stopper 25 is located at a position where the hose 37 can be connected to the hose connection port 17. Is provided to be movable.
[0024]
In this case, when the water storage tank 5 is attached to the main body 1, the hose connection port 17 is open. Therefore, when dehumidification is performed by the dehumidifying mechanism 10, the condensed water temporarily collected in the drain pan 15 is removed from the hose connection port. It is dripped and stored in the water storage tank 5 from 17. At this time, even if the water storage tank 5 is removed from the main body 1, the stopper 25 closes the hose connection port 17, so that the condensed water does not drip on the lower part of the main body 1.
[0025]
Further, when continuous drainage is performed using the hose 37 without using the water storage tank 5, the hose 37 can be easily connected to the hose connection port 17 only by moving the stopper 25. Conversely, when it is desired to use the water storage tank 5 instead of the hose 37, the stopper 25 can open and close the hose connection port 17 according to the attachment / detachment of the water storage tank 5 only by moving the stopper 25 in the opposite direction. Therefore, it is not necessary to disassemble or attach the stopper 25 one by one as in the prior art, and the setting at the time of switching can be easily changed when either the water storage tank 5 or the hose 37 is used.
[0026]
Further, in this embodiment, a movement restricting mechanism (guide rib 35 and protrusion 36) is provided that can move the stopper 25 to a position where the hose 37 can be connected to the hose connection port 17 only when the stopper 25 is pushed once. Thereby, when the water storage tank 5 is attached to and detached from the main body 1, the concern that the stopper 25 moves can be cleared, and the hose connection port 17 can be reliably opened and closed by the stopper 25.
[0027]
In this embodiment, in this embodiment, the stopper 25 is provided with a long hole-like attachment portion 26, and the shaft portion provided on the main body 1, that is, the screwing boss 29 is inserted into the attachment portion 26. Is provided on the mounting portion 26 so as to restrict movement of the stopper 25 along the mounting portion 26 when the stopper 25 is in a position facing the hose connection port 17. ing. Thus, when the water storage tank 5 is attached / detached, when the stopper 25 rotates around the screw boss 29 to open and close the hose connection port 17, the center position becomes difficult to shift, and the hose using the stopper 25 Opening and closing of the tip opening 16 of the connection port 17 is further ensured. Further, since the convex portion 38 is formed to a size that allows the screwing boss 29 to get over when the stopper 25 is slid by hand, it does not hinder the sliding of the stopper 25. Moreover, since the first restriction piece 41 and the second restriction piece 42 formed on the stopper 25 are in contact with the side surface and the upper surface of the concave front opening 6 on which the water storage tank 5 is mounted, Not only in the direction but also in the vertical direction, the stopper 25 can reliably open and close the tip opening 16 of the hose connection port 17 without causing a positional shift.
[0028]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible in the range of the summary of this invention. For example, in this embodiment, the stopper 25 is moved manually, but when the hose 37 is inserted into the hose insertion port 18 with the water storage tank 5 removed from the main body 1, this is detected by the detection means. It may be detected and the stopper 25 may be moved automatically.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
The dehumidifier of the present invention has a dehumidifying mechanism for the refrigeration cycle in the main body, and in the dehumidifier that performs dehumidification by cooling the indoor air, a drain pan that temporarily receives the dew condensation water from the dehumidifying mechanism, A stopper for opening and closing the hose connection port in accordance with the attachment / detachment of the water storage tank. When the continuous drainage is performed by the hose without using the water storage tank, the stopper is movably provided at a position where the hose can be connected to the hose connection port. In either case of using a hose, the setting at the time of switching can be easily changed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a dehumidifier showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an overall side view of the dehumidifier.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state in which the water storage tank is removed when the water storage tank is used.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main part showing a state where the hose is not inserted when the hose is used.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the main part showing a state in which the water storage tank is removed when the water storage tank is used.
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the main part showing a state in which the water storage tank is mounted when the water storage tank is used.
FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the main part showing a state where the hose is inserted when the hose is used.
FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the main part of the same drain pan.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 5 Water storage tank 10 Dehumidification mechanism 15 Drain pan 17 Hose connection port 25 Stopper 37 Hose

Claims (1)

In a dehumidifier that has a dehumidifying mechanism for a refrigeration cycle in the body and dehumidifies by cooling indoor air, a drain hose that can be attached and detached from the outside to a drain pan that temporarily receives dew condensation from the dehumidifying mechanism Provided with a connection port, located at the lower part of the hose connection port, provided with a detachable water storage tank on the main body, provided with a stopper for opening and closing the hose connection port according to the attachment and detachment of the water storage tank, and the water storage tank In the case where continuous drainage is performed using the hose without using the hose, the stopper is movably provided at a position where the hose can be connected to the hose connection port.

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