JP5304879B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

An impeller (51) is surrounded in a case (20) by inner wall surfaces (S) located on the outside of the impeller (51) in the radial direction. The inner wall surfaces (S) include first inner wall surfaces (S1) and second inner wall surfaces (S2). Heat exchangers (15) are present between the impeller (51) and the first inner wall surfaces (S1). The heat exchangers (15) are not present between the impeller (51) and the second inner wall surfaces (S2). The distance between the impeller (51) and the second inner wall surfaces (S2) is less than the distance between the impeller (51) and the first inner wall surfaces (S1). An air flow guide section (90) has an outer peripheral surface (91). The outer peripheral surface (91) extends along the rotational direction of the impeller (51) at a position between a back plate (26) and a hub (53) and between a motor (49) and at least the second inner wall surfaces (S2). The outer peripheral surface (91) is tilted or curved so that the distance between the outer peripheral surface (91) and a rotation axis (A) decreases toward a front plate (25) in the direction of the rotation axis (A).

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a mixed flow type or centrifugal type impeller.

  Conventionally, a centrifugal blower or a mixed flow blower is used in an air conditioner. The centrifugal blower has a centrifugal impeller, and has a structure in which air sucked into the impeller in the axial direction is blown away in a direction away from the rotation shaft (centrifugal direction). The mixed flow blower has a mixed flow type impeller, and has a structure in which air sucked into the impeller in the axial direction is blown in a direction inclined with respect to the centrifugal direction.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a ceiling-embedded air conditioner having a mixed flow impeller. In this Patent Document 1, the top plate of the housing is formed so as to smoothly introduce the airflow blown from the mixed flow impeller into the guide path, and the ceiling-embedded air with high efficiency and low noise. It is described that a harmony machine can be provided.

  In general, in a ceiling-embedded air conditioner, a heat exchanger is provided so as to surround the entire periphery of the impeller, and the airflow blown from the impeller smoothly flows through the heat exchanger provided around the impeller. Then, the air is supplied into the room through the air outlet of the case.

JP 11-337108 A

  By the way, in the air conditioner in which the heat exchanger is provided not in the entire periphery of the mixed flow type or centrifugal type impeller but in a part of the periphery, when the compaction is promoted, the impeller and the inner surface of the side plate of the case come close to each other. The following problems occur due to the structure.

  That is, in a compact air conditioner, the airflow blown out from the impeller toward the area where the heat exchanger is provided blows through the heat exchanger smoothly and then enters the room through the outlet of the case. On the other hand, the airflow blown from the impeller toward the area where the heat exchanger is not provided is bounced back to the inner surface of the side plate adjacent to the impeller, and then supports the hub and motor of the impeller. It flows into the narrow gap between the back plate.

  The airflow that has vigorously flowed into the gap between the hub and the back plate causes noise by colliding with the motor or a support component that fixes the motor to the back plate within the gap. In addition, when the airflow that has rushed into the gap between the hub and the back plate collides with the outer peripheral surface of the motor or the outer surface of the support part that fixes the motor to the back plate, it is bounced back again and vortex flows in the gap. Become. Such a vortex is likely to stay while swirling in and around the gap, so that it interferes with the air flow (main flow) blown out from the impeller and disturbs the main flow, and the main flow channel (effective flow channel) in the case ) To increase the resistance when the mainstream flows. As a result, the noise of the air conditioner further increases.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress an increase in noise while reducing the size in an air conditioner in which a heat exchanger is provided in a part of the periphery of an impeller.

(1) The air conditioner of the present invention includes a case (20) having a front plate (25) and a back plate (26) facing each other, and a heat exchanger (15) provided in the case (20). A motor (49) supported by the back plate (26) and extending in a direction in which the rotation shaft (A) intersects the back plate (26); and provided in the case (20), and attached to the motor (49). A mixed flow or centrifugal impeller (51) having a hub (53) attached thereto, and a space between the hub (53) and the back plate (26) blown out from the impeller (51). An airflow guide section (90) for guiding the airflow flowing into the airflow. The heat exchanger (51) is located between the impeller (51) and a plurality of inner wall surfaces that are located radially outside the impeller (51) in the case and surround the impeller (51). 15) includes a first inner wall surface and a second inner wall surface between which the heat exchanger (15) is not interposed between the impeller (51). The distance between the second inner wall surface and the impeller (51) is closer than the distance between the first inner wall surface and the impeller (51). The airflow guide section (90) rotates the impeller (51) between the back plate (26) and the hub (53) and between the motor (49) and at least the second inner wall surface. An outer peripheral surface (91) extending along the direction, and the outer peripheral surface (91) is inclined or curved so that the distance from the rotation axis (A) decreases as it goes toward the front plate (25). Yes. The airflow guide section (90) is blown off from the impeller (51) and bounced back to the second inner wall surface before reaching the heat exchanger (15), and the back plate (26) and the hub ( 53), the airflow flowing into the gap between the airflow guide portion and the airflow guide portion (90) is made to reach the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide portion (90) before reaching the motor (49). The flow along the outer peripheral surface (91) is discharged from the gap between the back plate (26) and the hub (53).

  In this configuration, the air conditioner (90) having the outer peripheral surface (91) as described above is provided, so in the air conditioner in which the heat exchanger (15) is provided in a part of the periphery of the impeller (51), Increase in noise can be suppressed while downsizing. Specifically, in this configuration, the airflow blown from the impeller (51) toward the region on the second inner wall surface side where the heat exchanger (15) is not provided is the impeller (51). After being bounced back to the second inner wall surface with a short distance, the air flows vigorously into a narrow gap between the hub (53) of the impeller (51) and the back plate (26) supporting the motor (49). A part of the airflow flowing into the gap reaches the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide (90) before reaching the motor (49), and is guided to the outer peripheral surface (91). Since the flow is substantially along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface (91), it is smoothly discharged from the gap. That is, since the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide section (90) is inclined or curved so that the distance from the rotation axis (A) becomes smaller toward the front plate (25) side, this outer peripheral surface. The airflow that has reached (91) does not rebound to the outer peripheral surface (91), but easily flows in the circumferential direction along the inclined shape or curved shape of the outer peripheral surface (91). That is, in the gap, since the air flow in the rotational direction is formed by the rotation of the impeller (51), the airflow that has reached the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide (90) is impeller (51). ) Is influenced by the flow of air due to the rotation of the air flow) and flows along the substantially circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide (90), and then is smoothly discharged from the gap. Therefore, since generation | occurrence | production of a vortex | eddy_current is suppressed in the clearance gap between a hub (53) and a backplate (26), the increase in noise can be suppressed.

  (2) In the air conditioner, the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide section (90) preferably has a ring shape continuous in the rotation direction, and in this case, the outer peripheral surface (91) is As compared with the case where the rotation direction is discontinuous and has discontinuities or steps, the turbulence of the airflow is further suppressed, so that the noise can be further reduced.

  (3) In the air conditioner, it is preferable that an end portion on the radially outer side of the airflow guide portion (90) is located on a radially inner side than an end portion on the radially outer side of the hub (53). In this case, it is possible to further suppress the narrowing of the width of the main flow path (effective flow path) in the case (20). Thereby, it can further suppress that resistance when a mainstream flows increases.

  (4) In the air conditioner, the motor (49) is an outer rotor type motor (49), and the airflow guide portion (90) is more radial than the rotor (45) of the motor (49). It is preferable that it is located outside, and in this case, contact between the rotor (45) and the airflow guide (90) can be reliably prevented.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the air conditioner in which a heat exchanger is provided in a part of the circumference | surroundings of an impeller, the increase in a noise can be suppressed, making it compact.

It is a perspective view which shows the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the said air conditioner. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is an axial sectional view showing a blower in the air conditioner. (A) is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the case in the said air conditioner, a motor, and an airflow guide part, (B) is a perspective view which shows the said airflow guide part. (A) is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the hub of the impeller in the said air conditioner, a motor, and an airflow guide part, The cross section cut | disconnected to the axial direction is drawn by this perspective view. (B) is an axial sectional view showing a part of the airflow guide and the back plate. (A) is an axial sectional view showing Modification 1 of the airflow guide section, (B) is an axial sectional view showing Modification 2 of the airflow guide section, and (C) It is a front view which shows the modification 3 of an airflow guide part roughly, (D) is a front view which shows the modification 4 of the said airflow guide part schematically. (A) is the perspective view which shows roughly the flow of the air which blows off from an impeller and flows in into the space between a hub and a back board in the said air conditioner, (B) is the flow of the said air (C) is an axial sectional view schematically showing the air flow. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the hub of the impeller, the motor, and fixing member in the air conditioner of the modification 5. The cross section cut | disconnected to the axial direction is drawn on this perspective view. (A) is a top view which shows roughly the positional relationship of the motor and fixing member in the air conditioner which concerns on the modification 5, (B) is the air conditioner which concerns on the modification 5, from an impeller. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the flow of the air which blows off and flows in into the space between a hub and a backplate. (A) is the perspective view which shows schematically the flow of the air which blows off from an impeller and flows in into the space between a hub and a back board in the air conditioner of a reference example, (B) is the said air FIG. 2C is an axial cross-sectional view schematically showing the air flow.

  Hereinafter, an indoor unit 11 of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Overall structure of indoor unit>
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the indoor unit 11 of the present embodiment is arranged on a mixed flow or centrifugal impeller 51, a motor 49 that rotates the impeller 51, and both sides of the impeller 51. A pair of heat exchangers 15 and 15, a drain pan 30 that stores condensed water generated in these heat exchangers 15 and 15, an airflow guide unit 90, and a case 20 that stores them are provided. The impeller 51 and the motor 49 constitute the blower 13. The airflow guide 90 is for guiding the airflow that is blown out from the impeller 51 and flows into a space between the hub 53 and the back plate 26 described later. The structure of the airflow guide 90 will be described later. In the following description, the upper U, lower D, right R, left L, front F, and rear B of the indoor unit 11 are directions indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The case 20 of the indoor unit 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a small thickness in the front-rear direction and a larger width in the left-right direction than the height in the vertical direction. The indoor unit 11 has a blower 13 (a mixed flow blower or a centrifugal blower) disposed in the case 20 in a posture in which the axial direction of the rotation axis A of the motor 49 is directed in the front-rear direction, compared with a case where a cross flow fan is used. And thinned in the front-rear direction. Moreover, the indoor unit 11 is thinned in the front-rear direction by inclining the heat exchanger 15 with respect to the front-rear direction and placing it in the case 20. Furthermore, the indoor unit 11 is downsized in the vertical direction by disposing the heat exchanger 15 on both sides of the blower 13.

  In the indoor unit 11, the air sucked from the front part of the case 20 flows in a direction inclined backward B (back plate 26 side) with respect to the centrifugal direction or the centrifugal direction of the impeller 51, and the right side R or the left side. After heat exchange in the L heat exchanger 15, the air is blown into the room from both front sides of the case 20 (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the case 20 includes a bottom plate 21, a top plate 22, a right side plate 23, a left side plate 24, a front plate (front plate) 25, a back plate 26, and a bell mouth 28. doing. The front plate 25 includes a suction port opening / closing plate 251 and a pair of outlet opening / closing plates 252 and 252 arranged on both sides of the suction port opening / closing plate 251.

  The inlet opening / closing plate 251 is disposed in front F of the impeller 51 and has a rectangular shape that occupies most of the area of the front plate 25. The right outlet opening / closing plate 252 is disposed in front F of the right heat exchanger 15 and has a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction. The left outlet opening / closing plate 252 is disposed in front F of the left heat exchanger 15 and has a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction. The case 20 is provided with a pair of air outlets 25b for blowing the air in the case 20 into the room. The pair of air outlets 25b are provided on the right side R and the left side L of the air inlet 25a in a front view, and are located immediately behind the air outlet opening / closing plates 252 and 252.

  The suction opening / closing plate 251 is supported by the bottom plate 21 and the top plate 22 via a support member (not shown) so as to be movable back and forth in the front-rear direction with respect to the bottom plate 21 and the top plate 22. When the indoor unit 11 is not used, the suction opening / closing plate 251 is in a closed state in which the suction opening 25a is closed as shown by a solid line in FIG. On the other hand, when the indoor unit 11 is used, the suction port opening / closing plate 251 moves forward F as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and the upper edge portion 251a, the lower edge portion 251b, and the side edge portions of the suction port opening / closing plate 251 are moved. A gap is formed between the front edge portion 21a of the bottom plate 21, the front edge portion 22a of the top plate 22, and the side edge portions of the air outlet opening / closing plates 252 and 252, and air flows into the case 20 from these gaps. To do.

  The right outlet opening / closing plate 252 is supported by the front edge portion 21a of the bottom plate 21 and the front edge portion 22a of the top plate 22 so as to be rotatable around the left edge portion 252a. When the indoor unit 11 is not used, the air outlet 25b is closed by the air outlet opening / closing plate 252 as shown by a solid line in FIG. On the other hand, when the indoor unit 11 is used, the air outlet opening / closing plate 252 rotates forward F around the left edge 252a, and the right edge 252b of the air outlet opening / closing plate 252 and the right edge 252b of the air outlet opening / closing plate 252 as shown in FIG. A gap is formed between the front edge portion 23a of the right side plate 23, and the air in the case 20 flows into the room from this gap. The operation of the left outlet opening / closing plate 252 is the same as this.

  On the right side of the back plate 26, an inclined wall 26R (see FIG. 4) is provided so as to be positioned forward F toward the right R. The right side of the heat exchanger 15 has a side portion. It arrange | positions so that the inclined wall 26R may be adjoined. An inclined wall 26L (see FIG. 4) is provided on the left side of the back plate 26 so as to be positioned forward F toward the left L. The left side of the heat exchanger 15 has a side portion. It arrange | positions so that the inclined wall 26L may be adjoined.

  The bell mouth 28 has a suction port 25 a that opens circularly in the front-rear direction, is disposed between the front plate 25 and the impeller 51, and guides air to the impeller 51.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the indoor unit 11 further includes a plate-shaped partition member 41 that partitions the air flow path from the impeller 51 to each heat exchanger 15 and the water storage space of the drain pan 30. The partition member 41 is disposed below the impeller 51 in a posture parallel to the bottom plate 21. The partition member 41 is bridged between the front wall 30F and the rear wall 30B of the drain pan 30.

  The impeller 51 is surrounded by a plurality of inner wall surfaces S located on the radially outer side. The plurality of inner wall surfaces S include a first inner wall surface S1 (right first inner wall surface S1) that is an inner surface of the right side plate 23, and a first inner wall surface S1 (left first inner wall surface S1) that is an inner surface of the left side plate 24. The second inner wall surface S2 (upper second inner wall surface S2) that is the lower surface of the top plate 22 and the second inner wall surface S2 (lower second inner wall surface S2) that is the upper surface of the partition member 41 are included.

  A heat exchanger 15 is interposed between the right first inner wall surface S1 and the impeller 51 and between the left first inner wall surface S1 and the impeller 51. On the other hand, the heat exchanger 15 is not interposed between the upper second inner wall surface S2 and the impeller 51 and between the lower second inner wall surface S2 and the impeller 51. The distance between the upper second inner wall surface S2 and the impeller 51 and the distance between the lower second inner wall surface S2 and the impeller 51 are the distance between the right first inner wall surface S1 and the impeller 51 and the left first inner wall surface S1. And closer to the impeller 51.

<Blower structure>
As shown in FIG. 5, the blower 13 is a mixed flow blower including a mixed flow impeller 51. The impeller 51 includes a circular hub 53 fixed to the motor 49 in front view, a shroud 54 having an opening into which the rear end of the bell mouth 28 is inserted (see FIG. 3), the shroud 54 and the hub 53. And a plurality of blades 55 arranged along the circumferential direction.

  The motor 49 is an outer rotor type motor having a stator 43, a rotor 45, and a non-rotating shaft 80. The motor 49 is fixed to the inner surface of the back plate 26 of the case 20, and as described above, the impeller 51 and the motor 49 have the axial direction of the rotation axis A in the front-rear direction (in this embodiment, the back plate 26 It is arranged in the case 20 in a posture facing in the direction perpendicular to the direction.

  The stator 43 has a flat, generally cylindrical shape whose thickness in the front-rear direction is smaller than the diameter. The stator 43 is disposed such that the back surface thereof faces the inner surface of the back plate 26 of the case 20. A flange portion 48 extending outward in the radial direction is provided at the rear end portion of the stator 43. The motor 49 is fixed to the back plate 26 by an airflow guide portion 90 to be described later attached to the flange portion 48. A coil 44 is disposed inside the stator 43. A through hole 46 penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed at the center of the stator 43.

  The non-rotating shaft 80 is a columnar member extending in the direction of the rotating shaft A. The non-rotating shaft 80 is supported by the stator 43 by arranging the rear B side portion (rear shaft portion) of the non-rotating shaft 80 in the through hole 46 of the stator 43. A portion (front shaft portion) on the front F side of the non-rotating shaft 80 projects forward F from the stator 43. The non-rotating shaft 80 is fixed to the stator 43 by a bolt B1.

  The rotor 45 includes an annular fixing portion 45a having a through hole penetrating in the front-rear direction at the center, and a rotor main body 45b extending in a cylindrical shape from the periphery of the fixing portion 45a to the rear B. The rotor 45 is fixed to the hub 53 in a state where the front surface of the fixing portion 45 a is in contact with the back surface of the hub 53 of the impeller 51. The front shaft portion of the non-rotating shaft 80 is inserted through the insertion hole of the fixed portion 45a. The rotor main body 45 b is arranged on the outer side in the radial direction of the stator 43 so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the stator 43. A predetermined gap is provided between the rotor 45 and the stator 43 so that they do not come into contact with each other when the rotor 45 rotates.

  The hub 53 includes a front end surface 53F positioned at the front end in the direction of the rotation axis A, a rear edge 53B positioned at the rear end, an inclined surface 53K positioned between the front end surface 53F and the rear edge 53B, and a front end surface 53F. And the above-described back surface to which the fixing portion 45a of the rotor 45 is fixed. The rear edge 53B of the hub 53 is also the rear end of the inclined surface 53K. The inclined surface 53K has an outer diameter that increases toward the rear B. The rear end portion of each blade 55 is joined to the inclined surface 53K. The trailing edge 53B is located on the radially outer side of the stator 43 and the rotor body 45b.

  The hub 53 has a through-hole penetrating in the front-rear direction at the center. A front shaft portion of the non-rotating shaft 80 and a bearing portion 60 are disposed in the through hole. The bearing portion 60 is provided between the front shaft portion of the non-rotating shaft 80 and the impeller 51, and supports the impeller 51 so that the impeller 51 can rotate around the non-rotating shaft 80. .

  The right heat exchanger 15 is disposed on the right side R of the impeller 51, and the left heat exchanger 15 is disposed on the left side L of the impeller 51. Each heat exchanger 15 is located downstream of the impeller 51 in the air flow direction. Each heat exchanger 15 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, a lower end portion thereof is positioned in a drain pan 30 described later, and an upper end portion thereof is close to or in contact with the top plate 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the right heat exchanger 15 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the front-rear direction so that the front surface portion 15F is located on the left side L with respect to the rear surface portion 15B. Similarly, the left heat exchanger 15 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the front-rear direction so that the front surface portion 15F is positioned on the right side R with respect to the rear surface portion 15B.

  Each heat exchanger 15 includes a plurality of metal tubes having a flat shape and a plurality of heat transfer fins. The heat exchanger 15 of the present embodiment is a micro-channel heat exchanger (for example, an aluminum laminated heat exchanger) that is small and has high heat exchange efficiency. As the metal tube, for example, a multi-hole tube in which a plurality of refrigerant channels are formed can be used, and as the heat transfer fin, for example, a corrugated fin can be used.

  The drain pan 30 is disposed below the impeller 51 and the pair of heat exchangers 15 and 15. The drain pan 30 is open at the top and has a water storage space for storing water. The water storage space is provided in a range that spans the right heat exchanger 15 and the left heat exchanger 15. The drain pan 30 has a bottom portion that faces the lower ends of the pair of heat exchangers 15 and 15 and a wall portion that rises upward from the peripheral edge of the bottom portion. The water accommodation space is a space partitioned by a bottom portion and a wall portion.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drain pan 30 is disposed at a position higher than the bottom plate 21 of the case 20, and an accommodation space 58 is formed between the lower surface of the drain pan 30 and the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 of the case 20. Yes. The housing space 58 houses the electrical component case 100, the drain hose 56, and the like.

<Structure of airflow guide member>
The airflow guide unit 90 is for guiding the airflow that is blown out from the impeller 51 and flows into the space between the hub 53 and the back plate 26. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the airflow guide portion 90 is provided between the back plate 26 and the hub 53. Further, the airflow guide unit 90 is disposed around the stator 43 of the motor 49. In other words, the airflow guide portion 90 is provided between the stator 43 of the motor 49 and the plurality of inner wall surfaces S1, S2.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the airflow guide portion 90 is an annular member that surrounds the rotation axis A. The airflow guide section 90 is configured by a plurality of arc-shaped members 93 (four arc-shaped members 93 in the present embodiment) having substantially the same shape, and these arc-shaped members 93 are continuous around the rotation axis A. It arrange | positions so that it may become one ring. Thus, by forming the airflow guide portion 90 by the plurality of arc-shaped members 93, it is possible to improve moldability and assemblability (workability).

  The airflow guide section 90 includes an outer peripheral surface 91 that extends along the rotation direction of the impeller 51, and a front surface 94 that is located closer to the hub 53 than the outer peripheral surface 91 and extends along the rotation direction. The outer peripheral surface 91 and the front surface 94 have a ring shape (circular shape) that is continuous in the rotation direction and surrounds the rotation axis A. The front surface 94 is a surface that is smoothly continuous with the outer peripheral surface 91. The front surface 94 is a surface facing the hub 53 and is a flat surface parallel to the back plate 26 or a convex curved surface convex toward the hub 53 side. In the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 91 is a straight portion inclined at an angle θ1 with respect to the inner surface of the back plate 26 in the axial sectional view of the airflow guide portion 90 shown in FIG.

  An end portion (a radially outer end portion) on the back plate 26 side of the outer peripheral surface 91 is provided at a position close to the back plate 26. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, a chamfered portion 98 is provided at an end portion (corner portion) on the radially outer side of the airflow guide portion 90. The chamfered portion 98 is interposed between the outer peripheral surface 91 and the inner surface of the back plate 26.

  The outer peripheral surface 91 is inclined so that the distance from the rotation axis A becomes smaller toward the front plate 25 side. As shown in FIG. 7B, the angle θ1 formed by the outer peripheral surface 91 and the inner surface of the back plate 26 is an obtuse angle. The inclination angle θ1 of the outer peripheral surface 91 may be appropriately set in consideration of the airflow guiding effect that changes depending on the positional relationship with the impeller 51, the motor 49, and the like, and is not particularly limited.

  The airflow guide section 90 further includes an inner peripheral surface 95 (see FIG. 6B) extending downward from a radially inner edge of the front surface 94, and a plurality of recesses 92 recessed from the inner peripheral surface 95 radially outward. It has a back surface 97 (see FIG. 7B). The inner peripheral surface 95 is located on the radially outer side than the stator 43 and the rotor 45 of the motor 49.

  The plurality of recesses 92 (four recesses 92 in this embodiment) are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In each recess 92, a substantially C-shaped elastic member 96 formed of synthetic rubber or the like and a flange portion 48 of the stator 43 are fitted. With the flange portion 48 fitted in the recess 92 as described above, a bolt (not shown) is inserted into the through hole 26 a provided in the back plate 26 and screwed into the screw hole 90 a provided in the back surface 97. . As a result, the motor 49 is fixed to the back plate 26. Therefore, the airflow guide section 90 also has a function as a fixing member for fixing the motor 49 to the back plate 26. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a fixing member separately, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts and save space.

  An end portion on the radially outer side of the airflow guide portion 90 (an end portion on the radially outer side of the outer peripheral surface 91) is located on the radially inner side with respect to the end portion on the radially outer side of the hub 53. Moreover, the airflow guide part 90 is located in the radial direction outer side than the rotor main body 45b. The front plate 25 side end of the airflow guide portion 90 is located closer to the back plate 26 than the hub 53, but may be located closer to the front plate 25 than the hub 53.

  8A and 8B, the outer peripheral surface 91 is curved in a concave shape or a convex shape so that the distance from the rotation axis A becomes smaller toward the front plate 25 side. It may be in the form. In Modification 1 shown in FIG. 8A, the outer peripheral surface 91 is a convex curved surface, and in Modification 2 shown in FIG. 8B, the outer peripheral surface 91 is a concave curved surface.

  When the outer peripheral surface 91 is a convex curved surface as in Modification 1, the airflow that has reached the outer peripheral surface 91 is less likely to be rebounded by the outer peripheral surface 91 than in the case of a concave curved surface (Modification 2).

  When the outer peripheral surface 91 is a concave curved surface as in Modification 2, it is preferable that the tangent line L1 at the end of the outer peripheral surface 91 on the hub 53 side is inclined toward the rotation axis A side. Thereby, the airflow that has reached the outer peripheral surface 91 is less likely to be rebounded by the outer peripheral surface 91, and as a result, the airflow easily flows in the circumferential direction along the curved shape of the outer peripheral surface 91.

  FIG. 8C is a front view schematically showing Modification 3 of the airflow guide section 90. As shown in FIG. 8C, in the third modification, the airflow guide portion 90 includes a plurality of arcuate members 93 (two arcuate members in the present embodiment) arranged in a part around the rotation axis A. 93). Each arcuate member 93 is disposed between the second inner wall surface S <b> 2 and the impeller 51. In the third modification, the case where the central angle θ2 of each arc-shaped member 93 is 90 degrees is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  The central angle θ2 of the arcuate member 93 is, for example, the length when the arcuate member 93 is viewed in plan (the length in the left-right direction when the arcuate member 93 is viewed from the top plate 22 side), for example, It can be set to be equal to or larger than the diameter. As a result, the arc-shaped member 93 can cover a large proportion of the path of the airflow that bounces back to the second inner wall surface S2 and flows into the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26. Thus, if a large proportion of the airflow path flowing into the gap is covered, there are the following merits. That is, since more airflows of the airflow flowing into the gap can be guided more smoothly in the direction of the heat exchanger 15, the airflow quickly flows out from the gap, and interference with the mainstream is reduced. The mainstream turbulence can be reduced. In addition, since the airflow quickly flows out from the gap, the flow path (effective flow path) of the airflow in the case 20 is suppressed, so that the airflow is blown from the impeller 51 and reaches the heat exchanger 15. The resistance of the flow when viewed with the entire airflow is reduced. As described above, since the disturbance of the main flow is suppressed and the effective flow path of the air flow is suppressed from being narrowed, noise can be greatly reduced.

  FIG. 8D is a front view schematically showing Modification 4 of the airflow guide section 90. The fourth modification is the same as the third modification in that the two arc-shaped members 93 are point-symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis A, but differs from the third modification in the following points. In other words, the fourth modification is not a form in which the two arc-shaped members 93 are provided in the vertically symmetrical positions as shown in FIG. 8C, but two circles as shown in FIG. 8D. An arc-shaped member 93 is provided at a position shifted in the rotation direction C of the impeller 51 around the rotation axis A.

  In the modified example 4, each arcuate member 93 is provided at a position where it intersects with a vertical line V passing through the rotation axis A. In each arc-shaped member 93, the circumferential length in the region on the rotation direction C side from the straight line V is larger than the circumferential length in the region on the opposite side of the rotation direction C from the straight line V.

  In addition, it is preferable that the central angle of each arc-shaped member 93 in the modified example 4 is adjusted to be in the same range as the central angle θ2 of the modified example 3.

  This modification 4 is effective when the path of the airflow that bounces back to the second inner wall surface S2 and flows into the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26 is shifted in the rotation direction C. In this case, since each arc-shaped member 93 is also arranged at a position shifted in the rotation direction C, each arc-shaped member 93 is bounced back to the second inner wall surface S2 and a gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26. A large proportion of the airflow path flowing into the can be covered.

<Air flow>
Next, the flow of air in the indoor unit 11 will be described. When the impeller 51 is rotated by the motor 49, the air sucked into the case 20 from the suction port 25a flows into the impeller 51 toward the rear B as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. And then flow out from the impeller 51 in the centrifugal direction or in a direction inclined backward B with respect to the centrifugal direction. The outflowed air passes through the right heat exchanger 15 or the left heat exchanger 15 and is blown into the room from the right outlet 25b or the left outlet 25b.

  The velocity of the air that has flowed out of the impeller 51 tends to be larger in the airflow that flows in the region closer to the rear B. In particular, when the blower 13 is a mixed flow blower, the air flows out obliquely backward from the impeller 51, so that the velocity of the airflow passing through the heat exchanger 15 is closer to the rear B than the airflow F3 closer to the front F. The air flow F1 becomes larger. That is, when the speeds of the airflow F1, the airflow F2, and the airflow F3 are compared, the speed of the airflow F1 is the highest and the speed of the airflow F3 is the lowest. Therefore, when there is an inner wall surface close to the impeller 51, the air flow blown out from the impeller 51 easily flows into the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26, which causes noise.

  In the present embodiment, since the airflow guide portion 90 described above is provided, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the second inner wall surface S2 side, which is a region where the heat exchanger 15 is not provided. The airflow blown out from the impeller 51 toward the region is bounced back to the second inner wall surface S2, and then flows into the narrow gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26 vigorously. A part of the airflow that has flowed into the gap vigorously reaches the outer peripheral surface 91 of the airflow guide portion 90 before reaching the motor 49, and is guided by the outer peripheral surface 91 to be substantially in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 91. Therefore, the liquid is smoothly discharged from the gap (see FIG. 9B).

  That is, since the outer peripheral surface 91 of the airflow guide section 90 is inclined so that the distance from the rotation axis A decreases toward the hub 53 side (front plate 25 side), the airflow that has reached the outer peripheral surface 91 Thus, the air flows easily in the circumferential direction along the inclined shape of the outer peripheral surface 91 without being bounced back to the outer peripheral surface 91 (the collision of the airflow on the outer peripheral surface 91 is mitigated, and the outer peripheral surface 91 receives the airflow). That is, in the gap, since the air flow in the rotation direction is formed by the rotation of the impeller 51, the air flow that has reached the outer peripheral surface 91 of the air flow guide unit 90 is the flow of air due to the rotation of the impeller 51. Under the influence, it becomes a flow along the substantially circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 91 of the airflow guide portion 90, and then is smoothly discharged from the gap. Accordingly, since the generation of vortex is suppressed in the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26, an increase in noise can be suppressed.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship among the hub 53 of the impeller 51, the motor 49, and the airflow guide section 90 in the air conditioner according to the fifth modification, and this perspective view has a cross section cut in the axial direction. It is drawn. FIG. 11A is a plan view schematically showing the positional relationship between the motor 49 and the airflow guide section 90 in the air conditioner according to Modification Example 5, and FIG. 11B shows the air according to Modification Example 5. In a conditioner, it is sectional drawing which shows roughly the flow of the air which blows off from the impeller 51 and flows in into the space between a hub and a backplate.

  In the fifth modified example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the outer peripheral surface 91 of the airflow guide section 90 has a curved surface (concave curved surface) 911 positioned on the inner surface side of the back plate 26, and the curved surface 911. And a vertical surface (surface parallel to the rotation axis A) 912 located on the front plate 25 side (hub 53 side).

  In the fifth modified example, since the area occupied by the vertical surface 912 in the outer peripheral surface 91 is very small, an effect of guiding the airflow that has reached the outer peripheral surface 91 in the substantially circumferential direction along the shape of the curved surface 911 can be obtained. Therefore, noise can be reduced as compared with a reference example described later in which the entire outer peripheral surface is a vertical surface.

  Moreover, in this modification 5, the airflow guide part 90 is comprised by the several member 99 (this embodiment four members 99) of substantially the same shape. These members 99 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In the fifth modification, the region where the member 99 is provided around the motor 49 is smaller than the region where the member 99 is not provided. In terms of enhancing the airflow guiding effect, it is preferable that the area where the member 99 is provided around the motor 49 is larger than the area where the member 99 is not provided. Note that the airflow guide section 90 of the modification 5 also has a function of fixing the motor 49.

  As described above, the airflow guide section 90 of the modified example 5 has the vertical surface 912 in a part of the outer peripheral surface 91, and the area where the member 99 is provided around the motor 49 is less than the area where the member 99 is not provided. . Therefore, the airflow guiding effect is higher in the airflow guiding portion 90 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B and FIGS. 8A and 8B than in the fifth modification.

  FIG. 12 (A) is a perspective view schematically showing the flow of air blown out from the impeller and flowing into the space between the hub and the back plate in the air conditioner of the reference example, and FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan view schematically showing the air flow, and FIG. 12C is an axial sectional view schematically showing the air flow.

  As shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, in the air conditioner of the reference example, the outer peripheral surface 191 of the motor mounting member 190 is a surface parallel to the rotation axis A as a whole. Therefore, in this reference example, the airflow flowing into the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26 vigorously flows into the outer peripheral surface 191 of the fixing member (support component) 190 and the rotor that fix the motor to the back plate within the gap. When it collides with the outer peripheral surface of the main body 45b, it bounces back and becomes a vortex in the gap. Since such vortex flows are likely to stay while swirling in the gap and the vicinity thereof, the main flow is disturbed by interfering with the air flow (main flow) blown out from the impeller 51, and the main flow path (effective) in the case 20 Narrowing the width of the flow path) increases the resistance when the main flow flows. As a result, the noise of the air conditioner further increases.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the airflow guide portion 90 having the outer peripheral surface 91 as described above is provided, in the air conditioner in which the heat exchanger 15 is provided in a part of the periphery of the impeller 51, the compactness is achieved. It is possible to suppress an increase in noise.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the outer peripheral surface 91 of the airflow guide part 90 has an annular shape that is continuous in the rotation direction, the airflow is compared with the case where the outer peripheral surface 91 is discontinuous in the rotation direction and has cuts and steps. Since the disturbance of the noise is further suppressed, noise can be further reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the radially outer end of the airflow guide portion 90 is positioned radially inward of the radially outer end of the hub 53, so that the main flow channel (effective It is possible to further suppress the narrowing of the width of the flow path). Thereby, it can further suppress that resistance when a mainstream flows increases.

  In the present embodiment, the motor 49 is an outer rotor type motor 49. Since an outer rotor type motor generally has a large diameter, when used in combination with a mixed flow blower or a centrifugal blower, the airflow flowing into the gap between the hub 53 and the back plate 26 is the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 45 (the outer periphery of the rotor main body 45b). Surface). When the airflow reaches this outer peripheral surface, eddy currents are likely to occur in the gap and the vicinity thereof. When a vortex is generated in the gap and the vicinity thereof, interference with the mainstream is likely to occur. Therefore, when using in combination with an outer rotor type motor and a mixed flow blower or a centrifugal blower, the provision of the air flow guide unit 90 is particularly effective in terms of noise reduction.

  In the present embodiment, the airflow guide unit 90 is located on the radially outer side of the rotor 45 of the motor 49, so that contact between the rotor 45 and the airflow guide unit 90 can be reliably prevented.

<Other embodiments>
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various change, improvement, etc. are possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the airflow guide unit 90 is a separate member from the case 20 is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the airflow guide unit 90 may be formed integrally with the back plate 26 to form a part of the case 20.

  In the embodiment, the case where an outer rotor type motor is used as the motor 49 is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. As the motor 49, a motor of a type in which the rotor is disposed inside the stator can also be used.

  In the said embodiment, although the case where the airflow guide part 90 was ring-shaped was illustrated, it is not limited to this. The airflow guide portion 90 may be provided only between the motor 49 and the second inner wall surface S2. In addition, the airflow guide unit 90 may be non-circular such as an elliptical shape or a polygonal shape.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the radially outer end portion of the airflow guide portion 90 is located on the radially inner side with respect to the radially outer end portion of the hub 53 is illustrated. The end portion may be located on the radially outer side than the radially outer end portion of the hub 53.

  In the said embodiment, although the case where one 2nd inner wall surface S2 was the upper surface of the partition member 41 was illustrated, in the case of the indoor unit which is not equipped with the partition member 41, for example, even if it is the upper surface of the bottom plate 21, etc. Good.

  In the embodiment, a pair of heat exchangers 15 and 15 are provided, and a pair of first inner wall surfaces S1 facing each other and a pair of second inner wall surfaces S2 facing each other are provided outside the impeller 51 in the radial direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the heat exchanger 15 may be arranged in a substantially U shape around the impeller 51. In the case of this form, for example, the heat exchanger 15 is interposed between the three first inner wall surfaces S1 in which the heat exchanger 15 is interposed between the plurality of inner wall surfaces S and the impeller 51, and the impeller 51. The structure which consists of one 2nd inner wall surface S2 which is not performed is mentioned.

  In addition, a plurality of second inner walls S between which the heat exchanger 15 is not interposed between the first inner wall surface S <b> 1 where the heat exchanger 15 is interposed between the plurality of inner wall surfaces S and the impeller 51. The structure which consists of inner wall surface S2 may be sufficient.

  Moreover, although the case where the airflow guide part 90 also has the function to fix the motor 49 was illustrated in the said embodiment, it is not limited to this. The fixing member that fixes the motor 49 may be provided separately from the airflow guide section 90.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Indoor unit 13 Blower 15 Heat exchanger 20 Case 21 Bottom plate 22 Top plate 23 Right side plate 24 Left side plate 25 Front plate (makeup front plate)
25a Suction port 25b Outlet 26 Back plate 30 Drain pan 43 Stator 45 Rotor 49 Motor 51 Impeller 53 Hub 54 Shroud 55 Blade 80 Non-rotating shaft 90 Airflow guide portion 91 Outer peripheral surface 93 Arc-shaped member 94 Front surface A Motor rotating shaft B Rear D Lower F Front L Left R Right U Upper S Inner wall S1 First inner wall S2 Second inner wall

Claims (4)

A case (20) having a front plate (25) and a back plate (26) facing each other;
A heat exchanger (15) provided in the case (20);
A motor (49) supported by the back plate (26) and extending in a direction in which the rotation axis (A) intersects the back plate (26);
A mixed flow or centrifugal impeller (51) provided in the case (20) and having a hub (53) attached to the motor (49);
An airflow guide (90) for guiding the airflow blown out from the impeller (51) and flowing into the space between the hub (53) and the back plate (26),
A plurality of inner wall surfaces that are located radially outside the impeller (51) in the case and surround the impeller (51) are provided between the heat exchanger and the impeller (51). (15) includes a first inner wall surface that interposes, and a second inner wall surface that does not include the heat exchanger (15) between the impeller (51), and the second inner wall surface and the The distance to the impeller (51) is closer than the distance between the first inner wall surface and the impeller (51),
The airflow guide section (90) rotates the impeller (51) between the back plate (26) and the hub (53) and between the motor (49) and at least the second inner wall surface. An outer peripheral surface (91) extending along the direction, and the outer peripheral surface (91) is inclined or curved so that the distance from the rotation axis (A) decreases as it goes toward the front plate (25). And
The airflow guide section (90) is blown off from the impeller (51) and bounced back to the second inner wall surface before reaching the heat exchanger (15), and the back plate (26) and the hub ( 53), the airflow flowing into the gap between the airflow guide portion and the airflow guide portion (90) is made to reach the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide portion (90) before reaching the motor (49). An air conditioner that discharges along the outer peripheral surface (91) from the gap between the back plate (26) and the hub (53) .
  The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral surface (91) of the airflow guide section (90) has an annular shape continuous in the rotation direction.   The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an end portion on the radially outer side of the airflow guide portion (90) is located on a radially inner side than an end portion on the radially outer side of the hub (53). . The motor (49) is an outer rotor type motor (49),
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the airflow guide section (90) is located radially outside the rotor (45) of the motor (49).

Images