JP4247435B2 - Air conditioner with drainage device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a drain drainage device that receives and drains dew generated mainly in a heat exchanger of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner, and is particularly suitable for hygiene maintenance management of a drain drainage system.

  In recent years, air conditioners installed in offices and the like are often installed on the ceiling. Therefore, inspection and cleaning maintenance of drain pans and drain pumps are difficult work because they are high places using stepladders. Also, in order to check the level of dirt on the drain pan or drain pump, it is necessary to actually remove the drain pan from the air conditioner. Specifically, it is an operation of removing the air suction grille, then removing the decorative panel screwed to the air conditioner body, and then removing the drain pan that is also screwed, and the inspection is thereafter.

  In addition, a great deal of labor and specialized knowledge are required to check the level of dirt on the drain pan and drain pump. In addition, the interval at which dirt is deposited and accumulated by drain pans and drain pumps such as air conditioners and cleaning maintenance is required is the difference in the amount of microorganisms and organic matter floating in the place where the air conditioner is installed, the amount of dust, It is difficult to set the interval between inspections and maintenance uniformly, depending on the operating conditions such as the set temperature of the air conditioner and the like.

On the other hand, in order to facilitate inspection and cleaning maintenance, for example, it is described in Patent Document 1 that an inspection hole and a plug are provided on the drain pan surface immediately below the drain pump. Patent Document 2 describes that the method is adopted.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-4870

JP 2003-214645 A

In any of the above prior arts, it is necessary to perform a work at a high place climbing to a stepladder or the like, and it is difficult to say that the work of inspection and cleaning maintenance is easy.
An object of the present invention is to facilitate a great amount of labor for the inspection work of the dirt adhesion level of a drain pan or a drain pump as sanitary maintenance management of an air conditioner.
Another purpose is to reliably notify the manager of the air conditioner, etc. of the drainage drainage system, and to prevent water leakage accidents due to clogging of the drainage drainage system without any specialized knowledge. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heat exchanger and a blower inside a case body, a drain pan that receives drain dripping from the heat exchanger, and a drain water collected in the drain pan. In an air conditioner with a drainage device that discharges to the outside by a pump, the current value or rotation speed of the drain motor that drives the drain pump is detected, and the current value of the drain motor is equal to or greater than a predetermined set current value, or When the rotational speed of the drain motor becomes equal to or lower than a preset rotational speed, the dirt level of the drain pump is determined to be a dirt level requiring maintenance .

Further, in the one above reporting, it is desirable to perform display related to contamination levels the determination to the remote control that controls the operation of the above air conditioner.
Further, in the above-described apparatus, a chemical injection pump for sucking and discharging a chemical solution bottle and a chemical solution contained in the chemical solution bottle is provided, and the current value of the drain motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined set current value, or the drain motor When the rotational speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined rotational speed, it is preferable to drive the chemical injection pump to inject the chemical liquid onto the drain pan surface to remove dirt related to the drain water.

  Furthermore, in the above, it is preferable that the dirt level can be browsed as a web page from a terminal device registered in advance via the Internet.

According to the present invention, since the dirt of the drain pump is electrically detected and diagnosed, the manager does not need complicated work such as disassembling the air conditioner. In addition, since the administrator can be surely informed of the dirt condition of the drain pump , the air conditioner itself can be maintained cleanly without the need for specialized knowledge, and a water leak accident due to clogging of the drain pump can be prevented. Can be prevented.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heat exchanger section of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner, and shows the configuration of a system for detecting the state of dirt in a drain drainage system. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the correlation between the level of dirt in the drain water distribution system and the current value of the drain pump built-in motor, and FIG. 4 is the level of dirt in the drain drainage system and the built-in drain pump. It is a figure which shows the correlation with the rotation speed of a motor.

  A heat exchanger 6, a drain pan 9, a fan motor 8, a fan 7, and a bell mouth 2 are built in a case body 10 that is embedded in the ceiling 1, and is exposed to the ceiling surface at the bottom of the case body 10. A decorative panel 5 is attached. A drain pan 9 that receives drain dripped from the heat exchanger 6 is disposed below the heat exchanger 6, and a bell mouth 2 is disposed below the drain pan 9. A suction port is formed in the central portion of the decorative panel 5, and an air outlet is formed outside the suction port adjacent to the suction port. A suction grill 4 and a filter 3 are installed above the suction grill 4 at the suction port.

  During the operation of the air conditioner, refrigerant from an outdoor unit (not shown) circulates in the heat exchanger 6, the fan 7 is driven by the fan motor 8, and the indoor air passes through the suction grill 4 and the filter 3 from the suction port, Guided by bell mouth 2 and inhaled. And it is cooled or heated in the process of flowing through the heat exchanger 6 to become conditioned air and blown out into the room from the outlet.

When the room air is cooled by the heat exchanger 6 during the cooling operation of the air conditioner, moisture in the room air is condensed on the surface of the heat exchanger 6 and is drained and dropped into the drain pan 9. The drain is collected in a drain reservoir, sucked up by a drain pump 11, and discharged to the outside through a drain pipe.
Condensation generated by the cooling of the heat exchanger 6 during the cooling operation is transferred to the drain pan 9 along the surface of the heat exchanger 6. The water that has fallen on the drain pan 9 is discharged to the outside by the drain pump 11 when a certain amount of water has accumulated. In the indoor air in which the indoor unit of the air conditioner is installed, various kinds of garbage such as organic matter, dust and microorganisms are floating, and these dusts sucked together with the air into the indoor unit are drain pan 9 and drain pump 11. Accumulated and contaminated in indoor units.
In addition, the interior of the indoor unit is humid, and the drain pan 9 and drain pump 11 are particularly wet with drain water, making it a good environment for the growth of microorganisms. It breeds and forms slimy slime on the surface of the drain pan 9 or drain pump 11. If the level of contamination due to accumulated dust, slime, or the like becomes high, the drainage part such as the drain pump 11 may become clogged, leading to an accident such as water leakage into the room due to drain water overflowing the drain pan 9. Therefore, the drain pan 9 and the drain pump 11 are regularly inspected as maintenance items for the air conditioner, and cleaning is required as necessary.

  As the operation time of the air conditioner elapses, the drain pan 9 and the drain pump 11 are clogged in the drain pump 11 and the drain pipe 14 due to dust that has entered the apparatus and slime resulting from the propagation of microorganisms and the like. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the level of clogging into the drainage drainage system increases, that is, the dirt level increases from the initial value to the right side on the horizontal axis, and the current value of the drain motor 12 that drives the drain pump 11 increases. To do. Similarly, the rotational speed of the drain motor 12 decreases as the dirt level increases. This is more conspicuous if the drain motor 12 is a DC motor, for example.

  The operation state of the current value and the rotational speed of the drain motor 12 built in the drain pump 11 is detected by the detection determination device 13. The detection determination device 13 has a function of detecting either or both of the current value and the rotational speed of the drain motor 12. Then, a set current value or a set rotation speed is determined in advance for the dirt level requiring maintenance. Therefore, by detecting the current current value and the rotational speed and determining whether it is larger than the set current value or smaller than the set rotational speed, it is found that the dirt level has exceeded the allowable range. Further, since the qualitative and difficult-to-determine matter such as the level of dirt in the drainage system is replaced with a physical value such as a current value or a rotational speed, a clearer and more accurate determination is possible.

  Contamination level diagnosis method for drainage drainage system is a drain pan 9 that receives drain water by an air conditioner or the like, and a drain pump 11 that discharges to the outside when a certain amount of drain water accumulates on the drain pan 9, and is built into the drain pump 11 The detection / determination device 13 detects the current value of the motor 12 that is used. As shown in FIG. 3, the current value of the drain motor 12 increases the pressure loss when dust or slime adheres to the drain pump 11 or the piping 14, etc., and the flow path is narrowed. In particular, the motor rotation speed is self-corrected. In a motor having a function to perform this, the current value increases. In addition to the function of detecting the current value of the drain motor 12, the detection / determination device 13 previously has a current value in an initial state in which the drain drainage system is not contaminated with dust and slime, and accumulation of dust and slime in the drain drainage system. Set the current value at a level that requires a certain level of clogging and maintenance such as cleaning. After the start of the air conditioner operation, the current value of the drain motor 12 is measured by the detection determination device 13 every time the drain pump 11 is operated or at an arbitrary timing, at least once / month, and maintenance such as cleaning set in advance is performed. By determining whether or not the current value is at a necessary level, the presence or absence of the necessity of cleaning maintenance of the drain pump 11 and the drain pan 9 is diagnosed.

FIG. 5 shows that the determination result of the detection determination device 13 is displayed on the remote controller 15 that controls the operation of the air conditioner. That is, when the current value of the drain motor 12 is larger than the set current value, Shows the like lighting or flashing the "abnormal" or "drain dirty" to the remote control 15, drain drainage system cleaning maintenance air conditioner administrator is required Tell them that there is. Similarly, when the rotational speed of the drain motor 12 is detected, “abnormal” or “drain contamination” is lit or blinked on the remote controller 15 when the rotational speed is smaller than the set rotational speed. Furthermore, the level requiring maintenance may be determined by combining the current value of the drain motor 12 and the rotation speed.

  When it is determined by the current value or the rotational speed of the drain motor 12 that the drainage drainage system is required to be cleaned or the like, the detection determination device 13 transmits the information as a signal. For example, it is preferable to notify the manager by displaying on the remote controller 15 or lighting a lamp attached to the front surface of the air conditioner. As a means of informing information, cleaning maintenance is required via the Internet for managers who manage remote locations away from the location of the air conditioner, for example, operators specializing in maintenance. Is preferably transmitted to a previously registered terminal device, personal computer or mobile phone by e-mail, or can be viewed as a web page.

FIG. 6 shows that a chemical solution having a dirt removing effect such as the drain pan 9 or the drain pump 11 is automatically injected when it is determined that the cleaning maintenance is necessary based on the result of the dirt level determination.
If a chemical bottle 16 containing a drug having a dirt removing effect and a chemical injection pump 17 are arranged on the top of the drain pan 9 and the detection determination device 13 determines that a cleaning maintenance or the like is necessary, the chemical injection pump 17 is Operate and inject a chemical into the surface of the drain pan 9 through the chemical pipe 18 to reduce dirt such as slime adhering to the drain drainage system. In addition, for removing dirt, it is possible to automatically inject chemicals that have an effect of sterilization, etc., or to heat and dry the inside of the air conditioner by means such as a coil or heater to reduce dirt such as drain drainage slime. Also good.

The fragmentary sectional view of the drain part which shows one embodiment of this invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner air conditioner according to an embodiment. The graph which shows the relationship between the dirt level of the drain drainage system by one Embodiment, and a motor electric current value. The graph which shows the relationship between the dirt level of the drain drainage system by one Embodiment, and a motor rotation speed. The fragmentary sectional view which shows the display of the stain | pollution | contamination level by one Embodiment. The fragmentary sectional view which shows inject | pouring a chemical | medical solution automatically by the dirt level by one embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ceiling surface, 2 ... Bellmouth, 3 ... Filter, 4 ... Suction grill, 5 ... Makeup panel, 6 ... Heat exchanger, 7 ... Fan, 8 ... Fan motor, 9 ... Drain pan, 10 ... Case body, 11 ... Drain pump, 12 ... Drain motor, 13 ... Detection / determination device, 14 ... Drain pipe, 15 ... Remote control, 16 ... Chemical liquid bottle, 17 ... Chemical injection pump, 18 ... Chemical liquid pipe.

Claims (3)

A heat exchanger and a blower are installed inside the case body, a drain pan that receives drain dripped from the heat exchanger is provided, and air with a drain drainage device that drains the drain water collected in the drain pan to the outside by a drain pump In the harmony machine,
The current value or the rotational speed of the drain motor that drives the drain pump is detected, and the current value of the drain motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined set current value, or the rotational speed of the drain motor is equal to or lower than a predetermined set rotational speed. In the case, the air conditioner with a drain drainage device is characterized in that the contamination level of the drain pump is determined to be a contamination level requiring maintenance.   2. The air conditioner with a drain drainage device according to claim 1, wherein a display related to the determined dirt level is displayed on a remote controller that controls the operation of the air conditioner.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a chemical injection pump for inhaling and discharging a chemical liquid bottle and a chemical liquid contained in the chemical liquid bottle, wherein a current value of the drain motor is equal to or greater than a predetermined set current value, or the drain When the rotational speed of the motor is equal to or lower than a preset rotational speed, the chemical injection pump is driven to inject the chemical liquid onto the drain pan surface to remove dirt related to the drain water. Air conditioner with drainage device.

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