JP4639911B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a heat exchanger and a blower in a casing.

  Conventionally, as this type of air conditioner, for example, an indoor unit of an air conditioner as described in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter referred to as “first conventional air conditioner”) is known. In the first conventional air conditioner, a heat exchanger is disposed in the box-shaped casing so as to face the suction port on the front surface of the casing, and a centrifugal blower is disposed on the back side of the heat exchanger. The air sucked into the casing through the suction port as the centrifugal blower is driven is adjusted in temperature through the heat exchanger, and then provided on the upper surface and the left and right surfaces of the casing. The air is blown out of the casing from the air outlet.

In addition to the first conventional air conditioner that uses a centrifugal blower as the blower, as described in, for example, Patent Document 2, an indoor unit for air conditioning that uses a crossflow blower as a blower (hereinafter referred to as “second conventional air conditioner”). Also known as “air conditioner”. In this second conventional air conditioner, a cross flow blower is arranged at the upper part in a box-shaped casing, and a heat exchanger is arranged at a position in the casing below the blower. And after the air sucked into the casing from the intake grill provided at the front upper portion of the casing in accordance with the rotational drive of the cross flow blower passes through the heat exchanger, the temperature of the casing is adjusted. The air is blown out of the casing from a blow grill provided at the lower part of the front surface.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-122589 (Claim 1, paragraph number [0026], FIG. 2) JP-A-9-217942 (Claim 1, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)

  By the way, recent air conditioners are required to be compact in the depth direction, that is, to be thin and compact from the viewpoint of reducing the installation space. In particular, when the air conditioner is configured as a wall-mounted indoor unit installed on an indoor wall surface or the like, there is a high demand for such a thin and compact design in order to improve indoor interior characteristics.

  In this regard, in the case of the first conventional air conditioner, since the heat exchanger and the centrifugal blower are arranged in the depth direction in the casing, they are sufficiently responding to the demand for thin and compact design. It was hard to say. On the other hand, in the case of the second conventional air conditioner, the heat exchanger and the cross-flow blower are arranged in the casing so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction. To meet the needs. However, in order to reduce the thickness and size of the second conventional air conditioner, it is conceivable to reduce the fan diameter of the crossflow blower. However, in such a case, the air volume decreases and the performance as an air conditioner is reduced. Therefore, it is not easy to reduce the thickness and size while maintaining the performance.

  An object of the present invention is an air conditioner in which a heat exchanger and an air blower are arranged in a casing, and the depth direction is made compact (thin and compact) without reducing the performance as an air conditioner. An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can sufficiently meet the demand.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a centrifugal blower is disposed in a casing provided with an air inlet and an outlet, respectively, such that the rotational axis of the centrifugal blower is along the depth direction of the casing, and a heat exchanger. Is arranged so as to at least partially overlap the centrifugal blower in a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the centrifugal blower, and the air blown from the centrifugal blower is diverted to the surface inside the casing. Providing a substantially chevron-shaped guide member having a pair of guide surfaces that are guided in parallel to the surface, and forming irregularities along the height direction of the blades of the centrifugal blower at the tip of the guide member , The air conditioner is characterized in that the leading end portion of the guide member is provided so as to collide with an air flow flowing in a vertical direction toward the surface of the air blown from the centrifugal blower .

  In the present invention, the centrifugal blower and the heat exchanger are not arranged in the casing in the depth direction of the casing, but are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the casing. It is possible to suitably meet the demand for compactness, that is, thinning.

  Further, since the blown air from the centrifugal blower blows in the radial direction, the blown air flow collides with the surface in the casing until the blown air passes through the heat exchanger and reaches the blower outlet, and the traveling direction thereof is It has been changed to be guided to the outlet. At this time, with respect to the air flow in the oblique direction inclined with respect to the surface in the casing, when the air flow collides with the surface, the traveling direction of the air flow is relatively easily changed to a direction parallel to the surface. Is done. However, in the case of a substantially vertical air flow that is substantially perpendicular to the surface inside the casing, even if the air flow collides with the surface, the traveling direction of the air flow is hardly changed, and the vicinity of the collision site is changed. Turbulence will occur. In the present invention, since the substantially mountain-shaped guide member is provided on the surface in the casing, the blown air flow from the centrifugal blower (particularly, the blown air flow flowing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface) is smoothly guided to the blowout port. be able to.

  Further, when the centrifugal blower blows air, a discharge vortex (pressure field) is generated from the rear edge of the blade toward the rear side in the rotation direction, and this discharge vortex collides with the tip of the guide member so-called NZ. Sound is generated. Here, N is the rotation frequency, and Z is the number of blades. In the present invention, since the irregularities are formed along the height direction of the blades at the front end portion of the guide member, the timing at which the discharge vortex collides with the front end portion is shifted between the concave portion and the convex portion. NZ sound can be reduced. As a result, the noise of the air conditioner can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the heat exchangers are arranged on both sides in the left-right direction of the centrifugal blower, and the guide members are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the casing, respectively.
In the present invention, heat exchangers are arranged on both sides of the centrifugal blower in the left-right direction, and the conditioned air that has passed through the heat exchanger is configured to blow out from the outlet, so that guide members are provided on the upper and lower surfaces in the casing, The blown air flow blown out upward and downward from the centrifugal blower is smoothly guided in the left-right direction. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly guide the air blown from the centrifugal blower to the air outlet and to reduce noise.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1 and 2, since it becomes the arrangement | positioning aspect which a centrifugal blower and a heat exchanger overlap in the direction orthogonal to the depth direction of a casing within a casing, compactization of the depth direction of an air conditioner, That is, it is possible to respond appropriately to the demand for thinning. Further, it is possible to smoothly guide the air blown from the centrifugal blower to the air outlet and to reduce noise.
The invention which concerns on Claim 3 arrange | positions the said heat exchanger in each of the both sides of the left-right direction of the said centrifugal blower, A pair of guide surface which guides the blowing air from the said centrifugal blower to each of the said heat exchanger is said It is characterized by being formed on a guide member.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an indoor unit of an air conditioner will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner 10 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioner 10, (a) shows a state during an air conditioning operation, and (b) shows an air conditioner. It shows a state where operation is stopped. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner 10 as viewed from the cutting plane line c3-c3 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the air conditioner 10 as viewed from the cutting plane line c4-c4 in FIG. FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line c1-c1 in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the air conditioner 10 of the present embodiment includes a horizontally long box-shaped casing 11, and the back surface (rear surface) of the casing 11 is shaped like a horizontal beam near the ceiling (for example, close to the ceiling). It is configured as a wall-mounted thin indoor unit that is installed in a state of being opposed to a narrow vertical wall surface portion.

  The casing 11 includes a casing main body 12 having an open front side and a front panel 13 that closes the front side of the casing main body 12. Suction ports 14 in which a plurality of long flaps 9 are arranged in the vertical direction are provided at two positions separated in the left-right direction on the front surface side (front side) of the front panel 13. In addition, air outlets 15F, 15R, and 15L in which a plurality of short flaps 8 are arranged in the vertical direction are provided between the two air inlets 14 and on the outside (right side and left side) of each air inlet 14 respectively. Yes. In FIG. 2A, the long flap 9 and an air filter 17 described later are omitted for the right inlet 14, and the short flap 8 is omitted for the outlets 15F and 15R.

  Next, the member arrangement configuration in the casing 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the casing body 12 is divided into an upper storage portion 2 and a lower storage portion 3 by a horizontal partition plate 1. An electrical component box 4, a refrigerant pipe 5, a drain pipe 6, and the like are arranged in the lower storage portion 3 in the casing 11.

  On the other hand, in the upper storage part 2 in the casing body 12, a plurality (a pair of left and right) centrifugal blowers 18 are arranged in the state where the rotation axis P is along the front-rear direction, that is, the depth direction of the casing 11. It arrange | positions so that it may oppose separately. Between each of the suction ports 14 and the centrifugal blowers 18 facing each other, a bell mouth 19 that is an air guide having an annular shape when viewed from the front is arranged so as to be coaxial with the centrifugal blowers 18.

  Each bell mouth 19 is formed so as to form a divergent shape from the rear side on the centrifugal blower 18 side to the front side on the suction port 14 side, that is, the front side in the depth direction of the casing 11. Each bell mouth 19 is attached by supporting a front end edge of the bell mouth 19 with respect to the front panel 13 by a support member 28 formed on the back side of the suction port 14. Further, each bell mouth 19 has a rear end edge formed to have a smaller diameter than the front end edge thereof and extends to the vicinity of the front end of the centrifugal blower 18, and directs the air flowing into the casing 11 from the suction port 14 toward the centrifugal blower 18. It is designed to guide you smoothly. A filter frame 16 is integrally formed on the front edge of the bell mouth 19, and an air filter 17 is detachably held on the filter frame 16. The long flap 9 described above is arranged on the front side of the air filter 17.

  The centrifugal blower 18 includes a blade portion 22 including a hub 20 having a substantially disk shape, and a plurality of arc-shaped blades 21 projecting forward from the front surface of the outer peripheral portion of the hub 20, and the blade A motor 23 for rotating the portion 22 and a shroud 24 disposed on the front end side of the blade portion 22 are provided. The centrifugal blower 18 has a centrifugal blower function that blows air out of the centrifugal blower 18 in a centrifugal direction (radial direction) perpendicular to the rotation axis P by a centrifugal force generated based on the rotational drive of the blade portion 22. It is. Each centrifugal blower 18 has a motor 23 fixed to the rear side wall surface of the casing 11 and a support shaft 23a projecting from the motor 23 forward so as to coincide with the axis of rotation P. The blade portion 22 of each centrifugal blower 18 is rotatably supported at the front end portion of the centrifugal fan 18.

  Further, in the casing body 12, a pair of left and right heat exchangers 25 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the centrifugal blower 18 so as to sandwich the centrifugal blower 18 from both the left and right sides. Each heat exchanger 25 is configured by stacking a plurality of heat transfer plates and arranging a plurality of fins between the heat transfer plates in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the heat transfer plates. In the present embodiment, in each heat exchanger 25, the stacking direction of the heat transfer plates is parallel to the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18, and the fin arrangement direction is parallel to the vertical plane including the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18. It is arranged to be.

  That is, each heat exchanger 25 is arranged so that the center of each heat exchanger 25 is located at a position with an angular interval of 180 degrees with respect to the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18. The heat exchangers 25 that are paired with each other are arranged in an arrangement manner that is plane-symmetric when the vertical plane including the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18 is a symmetry plane. And by setting it as such an arrangement | positioning aspect, each heat exchanger 25 overlaps with this centrifugal blower 18 partially in the direction orthogonal to the rotating shaft P of the centrifugal blower 18, respectively. In the present embodiment, when the direction along the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18 is the depth direction, the entire length in the depth direction of the centrifugal blower 18 overlaps a part of the length in the depth direction of the heat exchanger 25. Has been.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of guide members 30 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the centrifugal blower 18 in the casing body 12. The guide member 30 is provided on the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2 (collectively referred to as “surface S”) in the casing body 12, and the air blown from the centrifugal blower 18 is divided to be parallel to the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2. It is a substantially mountain-shaped member having a pair of guide surfaces 31a and 31b for guiding in the direction. The guide member 30 is provided on the front side of the air flow that flows in a substantially vertical direction toward the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2 in the air flow from the centrifugal blower 18. And as shown in FIG. 5, the front-end | tip part 30a of the guide member 30 is uneven | corrugated along the height direction H of the blade | wing 21 of the centrifugal blower 18. As shown in FIG.

  In the casing body 12, a guide block 26 having an arcuate guide surface 26 a on the surface facing the heat exchanger 25 on the back side of the heat exchanger 25 when viewed from the centrifugal blower 18. Each is arranged. And between each guide block 26 and each heat exchanger 25, the air blowing flow paths 27F, 27R, and 27L each connected to the blower outlets 15F, 15R, and 15L are provided. Therefore, after the air blown in the radial direction from the centrifugal blower 18 passes between the fins of the heat exchanger 25, the air blowing flow is along the guide surface 26a in the air blowing channels 27F, 27R, 27L. It will be guided smoothly in the direction of the outlets 15F, 15R, 15L.

  Next, the operation in the air conditioner 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. When the air conditioning operation is instructed, the long flap 9 disposed on the front side of the suction port 14 is opened, and the short flap 8 disposed on the front side of the outlets 15F, 15R, and 15L is opened. Thereafter, when the blade portion 22 of the centrifugal blower 18 is rotationally driven based on the driving force of the motor 23, air is sucked into the casing 11 from the suction port 14, as indicated by an arrow A1 in FIG. The sucked air passes through the air filter 17 and is then smoothly guided to the centrifugal blower 18 along the inner surface of the bell mouth 19. The air flowing into the centrifugal blower 18 is blown out in the radial direction orthogonal to the rotation axis P by the centrifugal blower function of the centrifugal blower 18.

  Since the blown air from the centrifugal blower 18 blows in the radial direction, the air flow blown in the direction of the heat exchanger 25 until the blown air reaches the pair of heat exchangers 25 arranged on the left and right sides of the centrifugal blower 18. The other air flow collides with the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2 in the casing main body 12 and the direction of travel thereof is changed to be guided to the heat exchanger 25. At this time, regarding the air flow in the oblique direction inclined with respect to the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, when the air flow collides with the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, the traveling direction of the air flow is relatively easy. The direction is changed in parallel to S2. However, with respect to the substantially vertical air flow that is substantially orthogonal to the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the air flow collides with the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, the direction of travel of the air flow The turbulence is generated near the collision site with almost no change. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, since the substantially mountain-shaped guide members 30 are provided on the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, the air flow from the centrifugal blower 18, particularly the upper surface S1 and the lower surface S2, is almost the same. The air flow in the vertical direction can be smoothly guided to the heat exchanger 25.

  Further, when the centrifugal blower 18 is blowing air, a discharge vortex (pressure field) 35 is generated from the rear edge of the blade 21 toward the rear side in the rotation direction (see FIG. 4). A so-called NZ sound is generated by colliding with the tip 30a of 30. Here, N is the rotation frequency, and Z is the number of blades. In the present embodiment, unevenness is formed along the height direction H of the blade 21 at the distal end portion 30 a of the guide member 30. The guide member 30 is provided at a position where the discharge vortex 35 collides in a substantially vertical direction from the tip 30a of the guide member 30 toward the surface S as indicated by an arrow F1 in FIG. Therefore, the timing at which the discharge vortex 35 collides with the tip portion 30a is shifted between the concave portion and the convex portion, and as a result, the NZ sound can be reduced. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the guide member 40 having a substantially flat tip 40a is used, the discharge vortex 35 collides with the tip 40a almost simultaneously, so that a relatively large NZ sound is generated. Although this occurs, in the present embodiment, the collision timing is shifted as described above, so that the NZ sound is reduced. Thereby, noise reduction of the air conditioner 10 can be achieved.

  The air blown out from the centrifugal blower 18 passes between the fins of the heat exchangers 25 arranged upright in parallel on both the left and right sides of the centrifugal blower 18, and at that time, heat exchange is performed via the heat transfer plate. The temperature is adjusted (heated or cooled) by heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing in the vessel 25. Here, the heat exchangers 25 arranged on the left and right sides of the centrifugal blower 18 are arranged in plane symmetry when the vertical plane including the rotation axis P of the centrifugal blower 18 is a symmetrical plane. Therefore, the air volume distribution of the air that passes through each heat exchanger 25 and is blown out from the back surface of each heat exchanger 25 is substantially uniform on the left and right.

  Thereafter, the air blown out from the back surface of each heat exchanger 25 flows into the air blowing channels 27F, 27R, 27L formed between the heat exchangers 25 and the guide block 26. In the air blowing flow path 27F, as shown by an arrow A2 in FIG. 1, the air is blown out by a guide surface 26a having an arcuate surface formed on the inner surface side of the guide block 26 in the direction of the air blowing flow. It is guided smoothly toward 15F. Therefore, the pressure loss of the air blowing flow in the air blowing flow path 27F is suitably reduced. Further, in the air blowing channels 27R and 27L, as shown by an arrow A3 in FIG. 1, the air has a guide surface 26a in which the direction of the air blowing flow forms an arcuate surface formed on the inner surface side of the guide block 26. Are smoothly guided toward the outlets 15R and 15L. Therefore, the pressure loss of the air blowing flow in the air blowing flow paths 27R and 27L is suitably reduced.

  The air guided to the air outlets 15F, 15R, 15L through the air outlet channels 27F, 27R, 27L is blown out of the casing 11 from the air outlets 15F, 15R, 15L. That is, in the air conditioner 10 of the present embodiment, indoor air is sucked from the front side of the casing 11 and air whose temperature is adjusted is blown out from the front side of the casing 11 into the room. At that time, the temperature-adjusted air is supplied from the air outlet 15F provided between the two air inlets 14 and the air outlets 15R and 15L provided on the right outer side and the left outer side of the air inlet 14 respectively. Since it is blown out, it is blown over a wide range in the left-right direction.

  Further, when the air conditioner 10 is installed on the indoor wall surface, the rear surface of the casing 11 (casing body 12) is fixed in a state of facing the indoor wall surface. Here, in the air conditioner 10, in the casing 11, the centrifugal blower 18 and the heat exchanger 25 are not arranged in the front-rear direction, which is the depth direction of the air conditioner 10, but in the left-right direction orthogonal to the depth direction. It is set as the arrangement | positioning aspect which overlaps partially. Further, the centrifugal blower 18 and the heat exchanger 25 are not arranged in the casing 11 so as to overlap in the vertical direction. Therefore, the size of the air conditioner 10 in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction is compact. It becomes possible to install without impairing the property.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the above embodiment, the centrifugal blower 18 and the heat exchanger 25 are not arranged in the casing 11 so as to overlap in the front-rear direction of the casing 11 (the depth direction of the air conditioner 10). The arrangement is overlapped in the left-right direction orthogonal to P. Therefore, it is possible to suitably cope with a request for downsizing of the air conditioner 10 to improve indoor interior properties, that is, downsizing. Moreover, when setting it as such an arrangement | positioning aspect, since the centrifugal blower 18 is not reduced in size, a required and sufficient air volume can be ensured and the performance as the air conditioner 10 does not fall.

  (2) In the above embodiment, since the substantially mountain-shaped guide member 30 is provided on the surface S (upper surface S1 and lower surface S2) in the casing body 12, the air flow from the centrifugal blower 18, especially the surface S Thus, the air flow in the substantially vertical direction can be smoothly guided to the heat exchanger 25.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, since the unevenness is formed along the height direction H of the blade 21 at the tip portion 30a of the guide member 30, the timing at which the discharge vortex 35 collides with the tip portion 30a is convex. As a result, the NZ sound can be reduced. Thereby, noise reduction of the air conditioner 10 can be achieved.

The cross-sectional view of the air conditioner which is one Embodiment of this invention. (A) (b) is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of an air conditioner. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioner seen from the cut surface line c3-c3 of FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioner seen from the cut surface line c4-c4 of FIG. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of a guide member. The perspective view which shows a comparative example. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

  8 ... Short flap, 9 ... Long flap, 10 ... Air conditioner, 11 ... Casing, 12 ... Casing body, 13 ... Front panel, 14 ... Suction port, 15F, 15R, 15L ... Air outlet, 16 ... Filter frame, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Air filter, 18 ... Centrifugal blower, 19 ... Bell mouth, 20 ... Hub, 21 ... Blade, 22 ... Blade part, 23 ... Motor, 23a ... Support shaft, 24 ... Shroud, 25 ... Heat exchanger, 26 ... Guide Block, 26a ... Guide surface, 27F, 27R, 27L ... Air blowing flow path, 28 ... Guide member, 30 ... Guide member, 31a ... Tip, 31a, 31b ... Guide surface, 35 ... Ejection vortex, H ... Height direction , P: rotation axis, S1: upper surface, S2: lower surface.

Claims (3)

A centrifugal blower is disposed in a casing provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, respectively, such that the rotational axis of the centrifugal blower is along the depth direction of the casing, and the heat exchanger is disposed on the rotational axis of the centrifugal blower. An air conditioner arranged to at least partially overlap with the centrifugal blower in a direction orthogonal to
Provided on the surface in the casing is a substantially chevron-shaped guide member having a pair of guide surfaces for diverting the blown air from the centrifugal blower and guiding the air in a direction parallel to the surface. Form irregularities along the height direction of the centrifugal fan blades ,
The air conditioner characterized in that the leading end portion of the guide member is provided so as to collide with an air flow flowing in a vertical direction toward the surface of the air blown from the centrifugal blower . 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed on each of both sides of the centrifugal blower in the left-right direction, and the guide members are provided on an upper surface and a lower surface in the casing.   The heat exchanger is disposed on each of the left and right sides of the centrifugal blower, and a pair of guide surfaces for guiding the air blown from the centrifugal blower to each of the heat exchangers is formed on the guide member. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2.

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