JP5423420B2 - Indoor unit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit in which a front panel attached to the front surface of a casing rotates.

  Conventionally, an indoor unit of an air conditioner in which a front panel rotates for maintenance such as cleaning of a filter is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the indoor unit disclosed in Patent Document 1, the front panel is pivotally supported by a movable support that moves the front panel forward so that the front panel can be rotated and opened.

JP 2008-261629 A

  When adopting a structure for rotating the front panel as in Patent Document 1, it is usual to design the front panel so that it does not interfere with other members so that the front panel rotates smoothly. . However, in order to design the front panel and other members so as not to interfere with each other, the front panel must be designed so as to rotate largely avoiding the other members. Becomes a position away from the center of the indoor unit. That is, when a structure for rotating the front panel is employed, it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the indoor unit due to design constraints.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an indoor unit that can be thinned even when a structure for rotating a front panel is employed. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an indoor unit according to a first invention includes a casing, a front panel attached to the front surface of the casing, a bearing portion that pivotally supports the front panel, a front panel, and a casing. And at least one support member provided at a portion where the front panel interferes with the front panel when the front panel rotates , and the bearing portion is provided on the front side as the front panel rotates while being supported by the support member. Move to.

In this indoor unit, by providing a support member at a portion where the front panel and the casing interfere with each other, the front panel rotates while being supported by the support member. That is, normally, the front panel and the casing are designed so as not to interfere with each other. However, the indoor unit of the present invention allows a design in which the front panel and the casing interfere with each other. As a result, the center of rotation of the front panel can be arranged on the center side of the indoor unit as compared with the prior art, so that the indoor unit can be made thinner.
In this indoor unit, when the bearing portion moves to the front side, it is possible to prevent a load beyond a certain level from being applied to the interference portion. Thereby, it can suppress that a front panel and a supporting member are damaged.

  An indoor unit according to a second aspect is the indoor unit according to the first aspect, wherein the support member is detachably attached to at least one of the front panel and the casing.

In this indoor unit, by making the support member that is an interference part between the front panel and the casing detachable, only the support member can be replaced even if the support member deteriorates due to interference by both members or aging. Therefore, maintainability is improved.
In addition, when the support member is formed of an expensive material that can withstand interference, only the support member needs to be replaced, so that an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  An indoor unit according to a third aspect is the indoor unit according to the first or second aspect, wherein the support member is formed of a material having a smaller frictional resistance than the casing.

  In this indoor unit, the front panel can be smoothly rotated.

An indoor unit according to a fourth invention is the indoor unit according to any one of the first to third inventions, further comprising a panel support arm provided with a bearing portion and movable from the inside of the casing to the front side. The support arm is pulled out from the inside of the casing to the front side as the front panel rotates while being supported by the support member, and moves the bearing portion to the front side.

  In this indoor unit, when the panel support arm is pulled out to the front side, the bearing portion moves to the front side, so that it is possible to prevent a load from being applied to the interference portion beyond a certain level. Thereby, it can suppress that a front panel and a supporting member are damaged.

An indoor unit according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the indoor unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, wherein the front panel includes a front panel unit disposed on the front surface of the casing and an end in the width direction of the front panel unit. A side panel portion continuously formed rearward from the portion, the side panel portion is a curved surface curved in a convex shape toward the outer side, and the support member includes an upper end portion of the side panel portion and a casing. It is provided in at least one of the portions facing the upper end.

  In the design, when the side panel portion is designed to be a curved surface that is convexly convex toward the outside, the upper end portion of the side panel portion and the casing are likely to interfere with each other on the trajectory of the front panel. Therefore, in this indoor unit, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the indoor unit without being restricted by providing a support member at a portion where the interference easily occurs.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

In the first invention, by allowing the design in which the front panel and the casing interfere with each other, the center of rotation of the front panel can be arranged closer to the center of the indoor unit than in the past. Can be made thinner.
Moreover, in 1st invention, it can prevent that a load more than fixed is added to an interference part, and can suppress that a front panel and a supporting member are damaged.

  In the second aspect of the invention, even if the support member is deteriorated due to interference between the two members, aging, or the like, only the support member needs to be replaced, so that the maintainability is improved and the increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In the third invention, the front panel can be smoothly rotated.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent a load from being applied to the interference part more than a certain level and to prevent the front panel and the support member from being damaged.

In addition, in the fifth invention, even if the front panel and the widthwise end of the casing are designed to be curved curved in a convex shape toward the outside, the indoor unit can be made thinner without any design restrictions. Can be achieved.

It is the perspective view which showed the state at the time of the operation stop of the indoor unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the state which the front panel of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1 began to interfere. It is the perspective view which showed the state at the time of the maintenance of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is the front view which showed the state at the time of the (a) stop of operation | movement of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1, (b) At the time of the interference start of a front panel, (c) Maintenance. It is sectional drawing which showed the internal structure of the right side part of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is a plane schematic diagram of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is the side view which showed the state at the time of (a) stop of operation | movement of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is the side view which showed the state at the time of the (a) operation stop of the indoor unit which abbreviate | omitted the front panel, (b) the start of interference of a front panel, and (c) maintenance. It is the perspective view which showed the state after (a) attachment of a support member, and (b) after attachment. It is an expansion perspective view of a supporting member. It is a side view of a moving mechanism. It is the side view which showed the state in which the panel support arm of the moving mechanism was (a) accommodated, (b) the state pulled out.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an indoor unit according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

<Outline of air conditioner>
An indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to an outdoor unit installed outside a room via a refrigerant pipe, and devices and valves stored in the indoor unit 1 and in the outdoor unit. And a refrigerant pipe are connected to constitute a refrigerant circuit.

<Indoor unit 1>
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the indoor unit 1 is a wall-hanging indoor unit, and mainly contains a heat exchanger (not shown), a fan (not shown), a heat exchanger and a fan inside. A casing 10, a front panel 20 attached to the front surface of the casing 10, and a moving mechanism 30 (see FIG. 5) configured to move the front panel 20 are provided. The indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment can be rotated such that the front panel 20 has the upper part as a rotation axis and the lower part is separated from the casing 10, and when the operation is stopped, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A. It arrange | positions in the position which covers the blower outlet 2, and rotates to the position which exposes the blower outlet 2 at the time of driving | operation operation | movement. Further, in the indoor unit 1, when the filter 5 is maintained, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4C, the front panel 20 is pivoted upward to expose the front part 13 of the casing 10.

<Case 10>
As shown in FIG. 4, the casing 10 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction (X direction) in a front view. The casing 10 includes a top surface portion 11, a bottom surface portion 12, a front surface portion 13, and a side surface portion (right side surface portion, left side surface portion) 14. The top surface portion 11 is provided with a top surface suction port 3a, and the front surface portion 13 is provided with a front surface suction port 3b (see FIG. 4C). A blower outlet 2 is provided in a portion from the lower side of the front surface portion 13 to the front of the bottom surface portion 12. The top surface suction port 3a and the front surface suction port 3b are openings for taking indoor air into the casing 10, and the blower outlet 2 is an opening for blowing out conditioned air into the room. As shown in FIG. 5, a side panel 15 is attached to each of the right side surface portion 14 and the left side surface portion 14.

<Side panel 15>
As shown in FIG. 5, a storage space S for storing a moving mechanism 30 described later is formed between the side surface portion 14 of the casing 10 and the side panel 15. The side panel 15 includes a first bending portion 15a and a second bending portion 15b formed continuously with the first bending portion 15a. The first bending portion 15 a is arranged so as to cover the back side portion of the side surface portion 14, and the second bending portion 15 b is arranged so as to cover the front side portion of the side surface portion 14. The first curved portion 15a has a shape in which the horizontal cross section is curved in a substantially S shape, and the second curved portion 15b is curved in a convex arc shape with the horizontal cross section outward. It has a curved surface. And the decorative panel 16 is provided in the outer peripheral surface of the 1st curved part 15a.

<Makeup panel 16>
As shown in FIG. 6, the decorative panel 16 is a panel that constitutes the exterior of the indoor unit 1 together with the front panel 20, and has an outer peripheral surface that is continuous with an outer peripheral surface of the front panel 20 (side panel portion 22) described later. It is configured to form. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the decorative panel 16 covers the outer peripheral surface of the first curved portion 15a described above, and the shape thereof is substantially the same S-shaped horizontal cross section as the first curved portion 15a. Shape.

<Front panel 20>
The front panel 20 is a panel arranged on the foremost side of the indoor unit 1 and can be rotated according to the usage state of the indoor unit 1 as described above (see FIGS. 1 to 4). ). The front panel 20 has a surface (design surface) made of metal, and its weight is larger than that of the conventional panel. The front panel 20 includes a front panel portion 21 having a substantially flat shape, and a side panel portion 22 formed continuously from both ends in the width direction (X direction) of the front panel portion 21 to the rear (back side). Have. The front panel portion 21 covers substantially the entire front portion 13 of the casing 10, and the side panel portion 22 covers the second curved portion 15b described above. Similar to the second bending portion 15b, the side panel portion 22 has a curved surface with a horizontal section curved in a convex shape toward the outside. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 6, the side panel portion 22 and the decorative panel 16 described above have a rear end portion of the side panel portion 22 and the decorative panel 16 so that their outer peripheral surfaces form a continuous surface. The front end matches with the step. Further, on the inner surface of the front panel 20 (surface facing the front surface portion 13 of the casing 10), a shaft portion 23 rotatably supported in a bearing hole 33b (see FIGS. 11 and 12) of a panel support arm 33 described later. (See FIG. 7). In the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, the front panel 20 is disposed close to the casing 10 from the viewpoint of reducing the thickness of the indoor unit, and when the operation is stopped (see FIG. 1), the upper end portion of the front panel 20 The clearance between 20a and the front side end of the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10 is very small (see FIG. 6).

<Supporting member 50>
As described above, when the rotatable front panel 20 is disposed close to the casing 10, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rotation center P1 (position of the shaft portion 23) of the front panel 20 is It approaches the center side (installation surface side) of the indoor unit 1. Then, when the front panel 20 rotates, the upper end portion 20a of the front panel 20 and the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10 interfere with each other as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the support member 50 that supports the rotation of the front panel 20 is provided in a portion where the upper end portion 20a of the front panel 20 and the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10 interfere. That is, in the present embodiment, the front panel 20 is not designed so as not to interfere with the casing 10, but the front panel 20 is allowed to be designed to interfere with the casing 10, and the support member 50 is provided in the interference portion. The front panel 20 is rotated while being supported by the support member 50. In the present embodiment, the support member 50 is molded with (POM) having a smaller frictional resistance than the casing 10 molded with (HIPS), thereby smoothly rotating the front panel 20 supported by the support member 50. The front panel 20 and the support member 50 are prevented from being damaged. In the present embodiment, the example in which the support member 50 is formed of POM resin has been described. However, the support member 50 includes PP resin, PE resin, PET resin, PBT resin, ABS resin, PA resin, PVC resin, Various materials such as PC resin, other various synthetic resins, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, other various metals, and ceramics can be applied.

  In the present embodiment, the support member 50 is provided only in a portion where the front panel 20 and the casing 10 interfere with each other in the rotation trajectory of the front panel 20. As described above, in the present embodiment, the side panel portion 22 of the front panel 20 has a curved surface that is curved outwardly, and faces the upper end portion 22 a of the side panel portion 22 of the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10. Since the portion 11a (see FIGS. 2 and 9A) to be formed is shaped along the upper end portion 22a, and the clearance between the upper end portion 20a of the front panel 20 and the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10 is designed to be small. When the front panel 20 is rotated, the front panel 20 interferes with the portion 11 a facing the upper end portion 22 a of the side panel portion 22 of the top surface portion 11. Therefore, when the curved front panel 20 is employed as in the present embodiment, the support member 50 has a portion 11a on the top surface 11 that faces the upper end 22a of the side panel 22 (FIGS. 2 and 9). (See (a)).

  Moreover, the support member 50 is comprised so that the support member 50 can be attached or detached with respect to the top | upper surface part 11, and is exhibiting the substantially sector shape. As shown in FIGS. 2, 9, and 10, the support member 50 includes an insertion portion 51 that is disposed on the lower surface of the top surface portion 11 and a curved portion 52 that is a portion that contacts the front panel 20. Yes. The curved portion 52 is formed so as to follow the curvature of the side panel portion 22 described above, and is curved in a convex shape toward the outside. Actually, the portion that contacts the front panel 20 is a curved portion 52.

<Movement mechanism 30>
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the moving mechanism 30 includes a motor 31 as a driving source, an intermediate gear 32 that transmits the driving force of the motor 31, and a panel support arm that moves by receiving the driving force from the gear 32. 33, a case 34 in which the panel support arm 33 is accommodated, and a position detection switch 35 that detects the position of the panel support arm 33. The motor 31 is attached to the surface of the case 34 opposite to the panel support arm 33, and a shaft gear 31a is attached to the motor shaft. The intermediate gear 32 meshes with the shaft gear 31 a described above, and transmits the driving force of the motor 31 to the panel support arm 33. The panel support arm 33 is provided with a rack gear 33a that meshes with the intermediate gear 32 described above. The panel support arm 33 is a plate-like component similar to a triangular ruler whose width decreases toward the top, and a bearing hole 33b for pivotally supporting the front panel 20 is formed in the vicinity of the uppermost portion thereof. Has been. Further, the panel support arm 33 is formed with a first sliding opening 33c and a second sliding opening 33d each having a long hole shape formed substantially parallel to the extending direction of the rack gear 33a. Each of the first sliding opening 33c and the second sliding opening 33d is provided with rollers 36a and 36b for smoothly moving the panel support arm 33. A roller 36 c is attached to the rear end of the movement direction D of the panel support arm 33. A guide portion 34c is provided in a portion of the case 34 that faces the roller 36c.

<About the movement of the rotation center of the front panel 20>
When the operation is stopped (see FIGS. 1, 4A, 7A, and 8A), the rotation center P1 of the front panel 20 is set to the center of the indoor unit 1 (the indoor unit 1 is It is arranged so that it is close to the mounting surface side to be attached. As a result, the shaft portion 23 of the front panel 20 and the bearing hole 33b that pivotally supports the shaft portion 23 are disposed at a position close to the center of the indoor unit 1, and the indoor unit 1 can be thinned. Yes. When the operation is stopped, the front panel 20 does not rotate, and members other than the front panel 20 are not exposed in front view. Thereby, the occupant is prevented from feeling a sense of pressure due to the presence of the indoor unit 1.
Then, in order to perform maintenance of the indoor unit 1, when the front panel 20 is rotated from the state when the operation is stopped as described above, FIG. 2, FIG. 4 (b), FIG. 7 (b) and FIG. ), The front panel 20 starts to interfere with the support member 50 at a position rotated by about 20 ° from the position at the time of operation stop.
When the front panel 20 is further rotated from the state in which the front panel 20 starts to interfere with the support member 50, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 (c), 7 (c), and 8 (c). Further, the panel support arm 33 is pulled out, and the rotation center P3 of the front panel 20 moves to the front side and upward as compared with the above-described operation stop time and front panel interference start time. At the time of maintenance, the front panel 20 is largely rotated in order to expose the filter 5, but the front panel 20 is rotated at the rotation centers P1 and P2 (the rotation centers at the start of interference of the front panel 20). If it does, the front panel 20 and the casing 10 will interfere. In this embodiment, since the support member 50 is provided in the interfering portion, the front panel 20 continues to rotate while being supported by the support member 50. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the panel support arm 33 rotates from the inside of the casing 10 to the front side with the support member 50 as an axis as the front panel 20 rotates while being supported by the support member 50. The bearing hole 33b is moved to the front side and upward. As a result, the front panel 20 can be rotated without being recessed into the casing 10, and the center of rotation is moved. As described above, the center of rotation moves with the rotation of the front panel 20, whereby it is possible to prevent the load on the front panel 20, the casing 10, and the support member 50 from being applied to a predetermined level or more.
[Features of indoor unit of this embodiment]
The indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment has the following characteristics.

  In the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, the front panel 20 rotates while being supported by the support member 50 by providing the support member 50 at a portion where the front panel 20 and the casing 10 interfere. That is, normally, the front panel 20 and the casing 10 are designed so as not to interfere with each other. However, in the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, a design in which the front panel 20 and the casing 10 interfere with each other is allowed. Thereby, since it becomes possible to arrange | position the rotation centers P1-P3 of the front panel 20 in the center side (installation surface side) of the indoor unit 1 compared with before, the thickness reduction of the indoor unit 1 can be achieved. it can.

  Further, in the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, since the front panel 20 can be rotated while being supported by the support member 50, the heavy metal front panel 20 is employed as in the present embodiment. Even in this case, it is possible to suppress a load from being applied to the motor that is a driving source for rotating the front panel 20 by the amount of support of the front panel 10 by the support member 50. For this reason, even if it does not employ | adopt the high output motor for rotating the heavy front panel 20, it becomes possible to rotate the front panel 20, and also leads to the suppression of a cost increase.

  Further, in the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, the support member 50 is detachably attached to the top surface portion 11 of the casing 10, so that the support member 50 supports the rotation of the front panel 20, thereby causing deterioration or damage. Even when it is necessary to replace the support member 50, it is sufficient to replace only the support member 50, so that maintainability is improved.

  In the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, in order to rotatably support the front panel 20, it is necessary to select a material having a low frictional resistance and a low strength. Selecting such a material may lead to an increase in cost, but even if the support member 50 needs to be replaced due to deterioration or damage, the cost needs to be increased because only the support member 50 needs to be replaced. Can be suppressed.

  In the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, the front panel 20 can be smoothly rotated by molding the support member 50 with a material having a smaller frictional resistance than the casing 10.

  Further, in the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, as the front panel 20 rotates while being supported by the support member 50, the panel support arm 33 is pulled out to the front side, and the bearing hole 33b is located on the front side and above. Move to. Thereby, since it is possible to prevent a load from being applied to the interference portion (the support member 50 and the front panel 20) more than a certain level, the front panel 20 and the support member 50 can be prevented from being damaged.

  In design, when the side panel portion 22 of the front panel 20 is designed to have a curved surface that is convexly convex toward the outside, the upper end portion 22a of the side panel portion 22 and the casing 10 are on the trajectory of the front panel 20. It becomes easy to interfere with the top | upper surface part 11 of. Therefore, in the indoor unit 1 of the present embodiment, by providing the support member 50 at the portion where the interference easily occurs, the indoor unit 1 can be thinned without being restricted by design.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described based on drawing, it should be thought that a specific structure is not limited to these embodiment. The scope of the present invention is shown not only by the above description of the embodiments but also by the scope of claims for patent, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the support member 50 is attached to the casing 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the support member 50 may be attached to the front panel as long as the casing 10 and the front panel 20 interfere with each other. 20 may be attached.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the supporting member 50 was provided in the part 11a facing the side panel part 22 curved convexly toward the outer side, this invention is not only a part which interferes with the side panel part 22, If the substantially flat front panel portion 21 interferes with the casing 10 (the top surface portion 11), a support member may be provided at the interference portion. That is, a support member may be provided on at least one of the upper end portion of the front panel portion 21 and the portion of the casing 10 that faces the upper end portion of the front panel portion 21.

  By using the present invention, it is possible to obtain an indoor unit that can be thinned even when a structure for rotating the front panel is employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 10 Casing 20 Front panel 21 Front panel part 22 Side panel part 33 Panel support arm 33b Bearing hole (bearing part)
50 Support members

Claims (5)

A casing,
A front panel attached to the front of the casing;
A bearing that pivotally supports the front panel;
In at least one of the front panel and the casing, a support member provided at a portion where both interfere when the front panel rotates ,
The indoor unit is characterized in that the bearing portion moves to the front side as the front panel rotates while being supported by the support member .   The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the support member is detachably attached to at least one of the front panel and the casing.   The indoor unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the support member is formed of a material having a smaller frictional resistance than the casing. The bearing portion is provided, further comprising a panel support arm movable from the inside of the casing to the front side,
The panel support arm is pulled out from the inside of the casing to the front side as the front panel rotates while being supported by the support member, and moves the bearing portion to the front side. The indoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The front panel includes a front panel portion disposed on the front surface of the casing, and a side panel portion continuously formed rearward from an end portion in the width direction of the front panel portion. Is a curved surface convexly convex toward the outside,
The said support member is provided in at least one of the part which opposes the upper end part of the said side panel part, and the said upper end part of the said casing, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Indoor unit.

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