JP5205082B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that discharges drain water stored in a drain pan to the outside with a drain pump.

Some air conditioners discharge drain water stored in a drain pan to the outside with a drain pump (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this type of air conditioner, semi-solid slime (hereinafter referred to as slime) may be generated in the drain water stored in the drain pan, and this slime may clog the drain pump or the drain hose. In order to solve this problem, conventionally, a drain pan provided with a slime generation inhibitor has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent No. 3423045 JP-A-6-159710

However, in the conventional configuration, the chemical is mixed with drain water to chemically suppress the generation of slime, so the effect disappears if the soaked chemical disappears, and if the effect disappears, the slime eventually becomes There is a risk of clogging the drain pump and the like.
Then, the objective of this invention is providing the air conditioning apparatus which eliminates the subject which the prior art mentioned above has, and can prevent clogging of slime permanently.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a heat exchanger, a drain pan that receives drain water generated by the heat exchanger, and a drain pump that pumps the drain water accumulated in the drain pan and drains the drain water to the outside. The air conditioner is characterized in that a laying member having a wall portion surrounding the suction port of the drain pump is disposed in the drain pan, and the wall portion is formed in a mesh shape. According to this invention, when the slime generated in the drain pan flows out to the suction port of the drain pump, the slime is shredded by the mesh-shaped wall portion of the laying member, and slime clogging is permanently prevented.

  In the above configuration, the laying member has a bottom surface cover portion that is supported with a space between the bottom surface of the drain pan, and the bottom surface cover portion has an area corresponding to the suction port of the drain pump. The wall portion may extend downward from the opening end. According to this structure, it is possible to prevent the slime from coming out of the laying member by suppressing the float of the slime by the bottom surface covering portion supported with a space between the bottom surface of the drain pan.

  Moreover, the said structure WHEREIN: You may form the said wall part and bottom face cover part in the mesh shape which has a mesh smaller than the suction inlet of the said drain pump. According to this configuration, when the slime passes through the wall portion and the bottom surface covering portion, the slime can be cut smaller than the suction port of the drain pump, and the slime clogging can be more reliably prevented.

  Moreover, in the said structure, you may arrange | position an antibacterial agent in the space enclosed by the said drain pan and the said laying member. According to this configuration, the antibacterial agent can be disposed in the vicinity of the suction port of the drain pump, and generation of slime from the residual drain water can be surely suppressed, and the situation where the antibacterial agent moves to the suction port of the drain pump is prevented. can do.

Furthermore, the suction port of the drain pump is covered with a mesh-shaped mesh member, and when the slime generated in the drain pan is sucked into the pump by the operation of the drain pump, the slime is subdivided by the mesh-shaped mesh member. Then, it may flow into this drain pump.

  According to the present invention, the drain pan is provided with a laying member having a wall portion surrounding the periphery of the suction port of the drain pump, and the wall portion is formed in a mesh shape, or the suction port of the drain pump is formed in a mesh shape. Since the mesh member covers the slime, the slime is shredded by the wall portion of the laying member or the mesh member, and clogging of the slime can be permanently prevented.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an air conditioner according to the present embodiment. This air conditioner 100 is a ceiling-embedded air conditioner called a so-called two-way cassette having two air outlets, and is connected to the box-shaped indoor unit body 1 and the indoor unit body 1 by piping. And an outdoor unit (not shown).
The indoor unit body 1 accommodates various devices such as a blower 3, a heat exchanger 5, a polystyrene foam drain pan 7, and a drain pump, which will be described later, and a plurality of suspension bolts (not shown) on the ceiling of the conditioned room. The decorative panel 9 is attached to the opening surface facing the lower side of the indoor unit body 1 in a superimposed manner.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit body 1. The indoor unit main body 1 has an outer box (housing) 11 made of sheet metal. The outer box 11 includes an outer box body 11A bent into a substantially U shape, and a pair of end plates 11B attached to both ends of the outer box body 11A. A heat insulating material 13 is arranged inside the outer box 11. This heat insulating material 13 is composed of a pair of polystyrene foam end members (internal foam polystyrene) 13A arranged corresponding to each end plate 11B, and a polyethylene coupling member 13B connecting between the end members 13A. .

A heat exchanger 5 formed in a substantially U shape is disposed in the space surrounded by the heat insulating material 13, and below the heat exchanger 5 (upward in FIG. 2), the heat exchanger 5 A drain pan 7 made of styrene foam that receives the generated drain water is disposed. The drain pan 7 is fitted into the opening on the lower surface of the outer box 11, and a large suction opening 7A is formed at the center of the drain pan 7, and a pair of elongated blowout openings 7B are formed on both sides of the opening 7A. The
Reference numeral 17 denotes a sheet metal reinforcing bracket, which is directed to the side edge of the suction opening 7A of the drain pan 7, and both ends of the reinforcing bracket 17 are connected to the end of the outer box 11 via screws (not shown). It is fixed to the upper edge portion 11C of the plate 11B. The sheet metal outer box 11 is deformed and easily bent. Therefore, a center metal fitting 21 is provided in a substantially central portion of the outer box 11 and is spanned between the outer wall of the outer box 11 and the reinforcing metal fitting 17 of the drain pan 7. And the opening of the central portion of the outer box 11 is prevented.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the indoor unit body 1 together with the blower 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the blower 3 is incorporated into the space between the substantially U-shaped heat exchangers 5 through the suction opening 7 </ b> A of the drain pan 7. The blower 3 is fixed to a partition plate 41 made of sheet metal formed in a box shape, and the partition plate 41 is fixed to the reinforcing bracket 17 of the indoor unit body 1 through a plurality of screws. Specifically, the blower 3 includes a motor 31 at the center, and includes an impeller 32 on output shafts on both sides of the motor 31. The impeller 32 is surrounded by a fan case 33, and the fan case 33 is divided into an upper case 33A and a lower case 33B.

  A flange 36 is integrally formed on both sides of the upper case 33A. The upper case 33A is attached to the opening of the partition plate 41 with a portion 33C protruding outside the partition plate 41. 36 is fixed to the partition plate 41 through screws through the flange 36. As shown in FIG. 1, the partition plate 41 partitions the inside of the outer box 11 above and below, a primary space 41 </ b> A is formed below the partition plate 41, and a secondary space is formed above the partition plate 41. A space 41B is formed. Since the upper case 33A is fixed to the partition plate 41 via the flange 36, the strength of the partition plate 41 is increased, and the sealing performance between the primary space 41A and the secondary space 41B can be improved.

  The blower 3 has the air inlet facing the primary space 41A below the partition plate 41, the air outlet facing the secondary space 41B above the partition plate 41, and above the flange 36 of the upper case 33A. A portion 33 </ b> C of the located fan case 33 faces the secondary space 41 </ b> B above the partition plate 41. For this reason, by the operation of the blower 3, the indoor air is sucked into the primary space 41A through the suction opening 7A (see FIG. 2) of the drain pan 7, and then blown out into the secondary space 41B. Since the heat exchanger 5 disposed inside the outer box 11 is located in the secondary space 41 </ b> B, the indoor air is heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 5, and the heat-exchanged conditioned air is supplied to the drain pan 7. The air is blown into the room through a pair of elongate air outlets 7B formed on both sides of the suction opening 7A, and indoor air conditioning is performed.

During this air conditioning operation, drain water is generated in the heat exchanger 5, and this drain water is on the upper surface side of the drain pan 7 (downward direction in FIG. 2), and has a concave groove portion formed along the heat exchanger 5 ( It flows down to 7G (see FIG. 1). The drain pan 7 of this configuration is provided with a drain receiving portion 7C (see FIG. 2) in which a bottom portion (hereinafter, drain collecting portion 7H (see FIG. 4)) having the lowest drain reservoir is formed on one end side of the suction opening 7A. All drain water is collected in the drain receiving part 7C.
A drain pump 71 (see FIG. 4) for pumping up drain water collected in the drain receiving portion 7C and draining it to the outside is disposed above the drain receiving portion 7C (downward in FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the drain pump 71 together with the peripheral configuration.
The drain pump 71 is fixed to the outer box 11 of the indoor unit main body 1 via the mounting stay 72 so that the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 faces the drain collecting portion 7H of the drain receiving portion 7C. For this reason, when the drain pump 71 is driven, the drain water of the drain collecting unit 7H is sucked into the drain pump 71 and is connected to a discharge port 71B (see FIG. 2) of the drain pump 71 (not shown). ) Is discharged to the outside through.
A plurality of anti-vibration rubbers 73 are inserted between the drain pump 71 and the mounting stay 72, and these anti-vibration rubbers 73 block vibrations from being transmitted to the outer box 11 when the drain pump 71 is driven. To do.
The drain collecting part 7H is provided with a through hole 74 for draining. The through hole 74 is normally sealed with a plug 75, and the plug 75 is removed during maintenance such as cleaning. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 76 denotes a float switch, and this float switch 76 detects an increase in the level of drain water caused by a failure of the drain pump 71 or a clogging of the drain hose.

A mesh-like laying member 80 is laid in the drain collecting portion 7H. FIG. 5 is a top view of the laying member 80, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the laying member 80 together with the peripheral configuration.
The laying member 80 is formed of a mesh member in which a wire such as a metal wire (for example, stainless steel wire) having corrosion resistance is assembled in a mesh shape, and has a weight that does not move with the suction force of the drain pump 71. . The laying member 80 has a flat bottom covering portion 81 that substantially covers the entire bottom surface of the drain collecting portion 7H, and a surplus portion (substantially four corner portions) provided in advance on the outer peripheral side from the bottom covering portion 81. And a plurality of support portions 82 formed by bending. For this reason, this laying member 80 is supported in a state where the bottom surface covering portion 81 is floated from the bottom surface of the drain collection portion 7H (that is, floating support) by placing the support portion 82 on the bottom surface of the drain collection portion 7H. It has become so.

The bottom surface covering portion 81 has a substantially rectangular opening 85 in a region corresponding to the drain hole through-hole 74, that is, a region corresponding to the suction port 71 </ b> A of the drain pump 71. From the edges of the four sides of the opening 85, an inner surplus portion provided in advance in the bottom surface cover 81 is bent downward to form a wall 83 extending in the vertical direction. ) Wall part 83 is formed so as to surround the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 and rise from the bottom surface of the drain recovery part 7H.
That is, the laying member 80 cuts a mesh-like flat plate member (for example, a single wire net) into a predetermined shape (a shape in which the bottom surface covering portion 81, the support portion 82, and the wall portion 83 are developed in a planar shape), Is bent downward to form the support portion 82, and the inner portion is partially cut and bent downward to form the wall portion 83, and the laying member 80 can be easily produced. The laying member 80 is not limited to being formed as a single component, and may be formed by joining a number of members.

The wall 83 formed in the mesh opening is dried during the heating operation and the slime remaining in the drain receiving portion 7C is dried and stuck in a thin film, and the drain receiving portion 7C is formed by the drain water generated during the next cooling operation. The thin-film slime sticking to the vicinity floats up, blocks the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71, and prevents the drain pump 71 from being unable to suck. That is, the wall portion 83 suppresses the lift of the thin film slime and prevents the drain pump 71 from being inhaled by the thin film slime.
The laying member 80 is configured so that drain water can easily flow inside and outside the laying member 80 by the mesh of the member 80, and this mesh is formed in a mesh smaller than the suction port 71 </ b> A of the drain pump 71.
In addition, an antibacterial agent 90 that chemically suppresses generation of slime is disposed in the space between the bottom surface covering portion 81 of the laying member 80 and the drain collecting portion 7H, as shown in FIGS. . As this antibacterial agent 90, for example, a granular silver ion antibacterial agent sealed in a mesh bag is applied. For this reason, generation of slime in the drain water stored in the drain pan 7 by the antibacterial agent 90 can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the antibacterial agent 90 is disposed in the space between the laying member 80 and the drain collection part 7H, the antibacterial agent 90 is located in the vicinity of the drain pump suction port 71A, which is the lowest part of the drain collection part 7H. Even if the antibacterial agent 90 is not fixed, the wall part 83 of the laying member 80 moves the antibacterial agent 90 to the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 and clogs the drain pump 71. The situation can be avoided. Furthermore, since the bottom surface cover 81 of the laying member 80 prevents the antibacterial agent 90 from floating, the antibacterial agent 90 can be sufficiently immersed in the drain water to function. Moreover, since the laying member 80 is merely placed on the drain pan 7, the laying member 80 can be easily attached and detached, and the antibacterial agent 90 can be easily replaced.

Next, the height and function of the laying member 80 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the laying member 80 together with the peripheral configuration. In this figure, for easy understanding, the antibacterial agent 90 is not shown and the effect of the antibacterial agent 90 is lost and slime S is generated in the drain water.
In the air conditioner 100, the drain pump 71 is driven during the air conditioning operation, and when the air conditioning operation is stopped, the driving of the drain pump 71 is also stopped. For this reason, when drain water is generated in the heat exchanger 5 during the air-conditioning operation (during cooling operation), the drain water level is in a normal state where the drain pump 71 is not broken or the drain hose is clogged. Up to the height H1 (see FIG. 7) of the suction port 71A.
On the other hand, if the air-conditioning operation is stopped in this situation, the drain water in the drain pump 71 and the drain hose flows back to the drain pan 7 (drain recovery unit 7H) by gravity, so the level of the drain water by the volume of this return water. Rises to a height H2 shown in FIG.

In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 7, the height h of the laying member 80 (that is, the height of the bottom cover 81) is higher than the drain water level H1 during the air conditioning operation, and the drain water when the air conditioning operation is stopped. Is set at a position lower than the water level H2. For this reason, not only can the antimicrobial agent 90 be prevented from floating due to its own weight, but also the slime S generated in the drain water can be prevented from floating upward. By suppressing the float of the slime S by the bottom surface covering portion 81 of the laying member 80, the slime S can be made difficult to come out of the laying member 80.
The reason why the height h of the laying member 80 is set higher than the water level H1 is to secure a sufficient space for the antibacterial agent 90.

  In addition, since the laying member 80 is formed in a mesh shape, when the slime S present in the laying member 80 flows out of the laying member 80 due to the suction force of the drain pump 71, the laying member 80 causes the slime to flow. S is shredded and the shredded slime (symbol SA in the figure) is sucked into the drain pump 71. In this case, since the drain water containing the slime S flows toward the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71, most of the slime S is shredded by the wall portion 83 of the laying member 80. Since the slime SA shredded in this way is sucked into the drain pump 71, the slime SA can smoothly flow through the drain pump 71 and the drainage hose, and can prevent clogging of the slime permanently.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the mesh-like laying member 80 including the wall portion 83 surrounding the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 is disposed, the slime S in the laying member 80 is laid. When the liquid flows out of the member 80, the slime S is shredded. For this reason, it is possible to reliably prevent a situation in which the slime S that has grown greatly clogs the drain pump 71 or the drainage hose.
Further, since the laying member 80 has the bottom surface covering portion 81 that is floatingly supported on the bottom surface of the drain pan 7, the bottom surface covering portion 81 can suppress the slime S from being floated and make it difficult for the slime S to go out. Moreover, since the bottom surface covering portion 81 is also formed in a mesh shape, when the slime S passes through the bottom surface covering portion 81, the slime S is shredded, thereby preventing clogging of the slime. Can do. Further, since the mesh of the laying member 80 is smaller than the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71, slime clogging is reliably prevented.

Moreover, in this structure, since the antibacterial agent 90 is arrange | positioned in the space enclosed by the drain pan 7 and the laying member 80, this antibacterial agent 90 is the drain pump suction inlet 71A which is the lowest part in the drain collection | recovery part 7H. It can arrange | position in the vicinity, ie, it can arrange | position in the vicinity of the location where drain water remains at the end. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the slime from residual drain water can be suppressed reliably. In addition, even if the antibacterial agent 90 is moved by the suction force of the drain pump 71, the movement of the antibacterial agent 90 is restricted by the wall portion 83 of the laying member 80, and the situation of moving to the suction port 71A can be prevented.
Therefore, in this structure, generation | occurrence | production of slime can be suppressed with the antibacterial agent 90, and even when the effect of this antibacterial agent is lost and slime is generated, slime can be shredded and slime clogging can be permanently suppressed.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the entire laying member 80 is mesh-shaped has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is considered that the slime S sucked into the drain pump 71 mainly passes through the wall portion 83 of the laying member 80. Therefore, only the wall portion 83 may be formed in a mesh shape capable of shredding the slime. In this case, in order to facilitate the passage of drain water, the other part may have a mesh shape with a large mesh, or a part of which an opening is partially formed in a range that allows the drain water to pass sufficiently. Good.
In addition, the mesh shape of the present invention is not limited to a substantially rectangular opening, and other rectangular shapes such as a rhombus shape, a polygonal shape, or an arbitrary opening shape such as a round shape can be widely applied. .

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the height h of the laying member 80 is higher than the drain water level H1 during the air-conditioning operation and lower than the return drain water level H2 when the air-conditioning operation is stopped is described. Not limited to this. For example, when a larger antibacterial agent 90 is disposed, the layout space of the antibacterial agent 90 is secured by making the height h of the laying member 80 higher than the water level H2 of the return drain water. Good.
Furthermore, although the case where only one bag-shaped antibacterial agent 90 is disposed has been described in the above-described embodiment, a plurality may be disposed. In the case of arranging a plurality, it is preferable to arrange them uniformly around the suction port 71A around the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 from the viewpoint of uniformly suppressing the generation of slime. Moreover, a weight may be put in the bag of the antibacterial agent 90 to prevent the antibacterial agent 90 from being lifted, or the bag itself may be formed of a material having a weight (such as a metal material). You may make it prevent floating.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the laying member 80 includes the bottom surface covering portion 81 has been described. However, since the slime S mainly passes through the wall portion 83 as described above, as shown in FIG. Only the wall portion 83 may be configured as the laying member 80. In this case, the laying member 80 can be formed of a simple cylindrical member having a cylindrical shape or a polygonal shape. Also in this case, the slime S toward the drain pump 71 can be shredded and the movement of the antibacterial agent 90 toward the drain pump 71 can be restricted. Further, in this configuration, since the laying member 80 can be reduced in size, the laying member 80 can be arranged even when the layout space (drain collecting portion 7H) of the laying member 80 is narrow as shown in FIG. .
In the example of FIG. 8, the slime S existing on the outer peripheral side of the laying member 80 can be reliably shredded by the laying member 80 by making the height h of the laying member 80 higher than the drain water level H2. ing.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the laying member 80 may be provided with a mesh-like proximity bottom portion 87 that is close to the bottom surface of the drain receiving portion 7 </ b> C. According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the floating of the thin-film slime (shown with the symbol SB in FIG. 9) attached to the bottom surface by the proximity bottom portion 87. In the example of FIG. 9, the proximity bottom portion 87 is attached to the lower end of the wall portion 83 so as to cover the space surrounded by the wall portion 83. In this case, since the bottom surface exposed below the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 is covered with the proximity bottom portion 87, it is possible to intensively suppress the thin film slime SB that is most likely to be lifted by the suction force of the drain pump 71. In addition, since the suction force of the drain pump 71 is large, even when the thin film slime is peeled off, the thin film slime can be shredded at the proximity bottom portion 87. Thus, when the proximity bottom part 87 which suppresses the floating of the thin film slime sticking to the bottom face of the drain receiving part 7C is arranged, the amount of slime sucked into the drain pump 71 can be reduced, and the inside of the drain pump 71 and the drain hose can be reduced. It can be made harder to clog.
In addition, in this configuration, since the periphery of the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 is surrounded by the mesh-like wall portion 83 and the lower side of the suction port 71A of the drain pump 71 is covered by the mesh-like proximity bottom portion 87, the suction port 71 Is completely surrounded by the mesh member, and a situation where slime larger than the opening of the mesh is sucked into the drain pump 71 can be reliably prevented, and suction failure can be prevented more reliably.

FIG. 10 shows a reference embodiment, in which 200 is a mesh member, and its upper part 201 is attached to the outside of the suction port 202 of the drain pump 71 with a metal fitting (not shown). That is, the mesh member 200 covers the suction port 202 of the drain pump 71.
With such a configuration, the slime 203 is generated by spreading on the bottom surface of the drain pan 7. When the spreading slime 203 is sucked into the drain pump 71 by the operation of the drain pump 71, It is considered that the slime 203 becomes a subdivided slime 204 as shown in the figure by the mesh member 200, and the subdivided slime 204 flows into the drain pump 71.

Conventionally, since such a mesh member was not provided in the suction port 202 of the drain pump 71, when the drain pump 71 is operated, the spread slime 203 is sucked into the suction port 202 of the drain pump 71 and is sucked into the drain pump 71. Although it was considered that clogged with slime, since the mesh member 200 is provided in the present plan, the slime 204 that has been subdivided flows into the drain pump 71, so that the possibility of clogging the drain pump 71 with the slime 204 is reduced.

In particular, if the mesh size L1 of the mesh-shaped mesh member 200 is a mesh size L2 smaller than the suction port 202 of the drain pump 71, further slimming of the slime 203 proceeds. It is considered that the clogging in the drain pump 71 due to is further reduced. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the same member as the member in drawings other than FIG. 10, The description was abbreviate | omitted.

It is a figure which shows the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of an indoor unit main body. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an indoor unit main body together with a blower. It is sectional drawing which shows a drain pump with a periphery structure. It is a top view of a laying member. It is a perspective view which shows a laying member with a periphery structure. It is a schematic diagram which shows a laying member with a periphery structure. It is a schematic diagram which shows the laying member which concerns on a modification with a periphery structure. It is a schematic diagram which shows the laying member which concerns on a modification with a periphery structure. It is a schematic diagram which shows a reference Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit body 3 Blower 5 Heat exchanger 7 Drain pan 7H Drain collection | recovery part 71 Drain pump 71A Suction port 71B Discharge port 80 Laying member 81 Bottom surface cover part 82 Support part 83 Wall part 85 Opening part 87 Proximity bottom part 90 Antibacterial agent 100 Air conditioning Equipment S, SA Slime 200 Mesh member

Claims (4)

In an air conditioner including a heat exchanger, a drain pan that receives drain water generated by the heat exchanger, and a drain pump that pumps drain water accumulated in the drain pan and drains the drain water to the outside, the drain pan includes: It comprises a bottom surface covering portion that is supported with a space between the wall portion surrounding the suction port of the drain pump and the bottom surface of the drain pan, and at least the wall portion is provided with a mesh-like laying member, An air conditioner characterized in that the slime on the drain pan is hardly lifted by a laying member . 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an area corresponding to the suction port of the drain pump is opened in the bottom surface covering portion , and the wall portion extends downward from the opening end.   The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the wall portion and the bottom surface covering portion are formed in a mesh shape having a mesh smaller than a suction port of the drain pump.   The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an antibacterial agent is disposed in a space surrounded by the drain pan and the laying member.