JP5569695B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner (indoor unit) having a function of automatically cleaning a filter, and more specifically, relates to an air conditioner having a more compact casing by devising a moving path of a filter during cleaning.

  In recent years, an indoor unit of an air conditioner (air conditioner) having a filter cleaning function for automatically removing dust attached to a filter is becoming widespread. In this filter cleaning function, dust attached to the filter is scraped off by a cleaning brush in a dust box provided in the housing, and the dust is collected in the dust box.

  Normally, the filter cleaning is made with the dust box fixed and moving the filter in consideration of the moving space and power, but the filter is moved inside the indoor unit housing without taking it out of the indoor unit housing. In order to clean the entire surface of the filter, it is necessary to fold a part of the filter inside the housing.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a guide path for drawing a part of the filter and making a U-turn on the front side of the filter is provided, and the filter can be moved back and forth in the housing by making the U-turn. I am doing so.

  However, the filter cleaning device of Patent Literature 1 increases the volume of the housing by the amount of provision of a guide path dedicated to U-turns for U-turning the filter in the housing. Therefore, the present applicant has proposed, as Patent Document 2, a technique for performing filter cleaning without increasing the volume of the housing.

  In Patent Document 2, the folded portion of the filter that occurs during filter cleaning is led out to a space formed between the open panel provided on the front side of the indoor unit and the indoor unit.

  According to this, the housing can be made small because the space for exclusive use of the U-turn as described in Patent Document 1 is not required, but the filter is pulled out from the lower end side of the front panel to the open panel side. When the tip of the filter is led upward along the inner surface of the filter, the filter may be folded back and the operation may not be performed smoothly.

  In addition, because of the structure, the dust box is arranged on the lower side of the front surface of the housing, so an extra space is generated on the upper side of the dust box, and it cannot be said that the space efficiency is necessarily good.

JP 2007-93147 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-223452

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable the filter to be reliably cleaned in an air conditioner equipped with a space-saving filter cleaning mechanism. is there.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention has several features described below. The invention according to claim 1 includes an indoor unit housing in which an air suction port is provided from the upper surface to the front surface, the air suction port is provided on the lower surface side, and a filter is disposed on the inner surface of the air suction port. A filter moving passage disposed along the air suction port in the indoor unit casing, and a filter for moving the filter in a forward direction toward one direction and a backward direction toward the other direction along the filter moving passage. A moving unit, a filter cleaning unit disposed at a predetermined position in the moving path of the filter, and a control unit that controls the filter moving unit. In the cleaning mode of the filter, a part of the filter is In the air conditioner that is moved out of the indoor unit housing, the housing is provided with a restricting means for restricting the movement of the filter, and the control unit performs the filter operation in the cleaning mode. While the one end side is regulated by the regulating means, the filter is moved in the forward direction by the filter moving means on the other end side of the filter, so that the filter is bent to create a filter deformation portion, and the filter deformation And a filter locking means for preventing the one end side of the filter from separating from the restricting means by the elastic restoring force accompanying the deformation of the filter. It is characterized by being provided.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned claim 1, the filter locking means locks between the filter deforming portion and the portion restricted by the restriction means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the filter has a grid-like filter frame, and the filter frame has a filter locking hole constituting one of the filter locking means. A deriving guide for guiding the filter deforming portion to be led out toward a space formed between the indoor unit casing and the open panel is provided on the front surface of the indoor unit casing. The surface of the lead-out guide facing the filter is provided with a locking projection as the other locking means for locking the filter locking hole.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the restriction means is provided with a contact sensor that detects whether an end portion of the filter is in contact with the restriction means. It is characterized by being.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the restricting means is provided with a guide groove for guiding the lower end of the filter to the contact sensor and supporting the filter with a part of the filter interposed therebetween. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air conditioner is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the filter is deformed, the filter surface is reliably provided by including the filter locking means for preventing the filter from moving due to the elastic restoring force accompanying the deformation of the filter. Can be cleaned.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the filter locking means engages the portion close to the abutting side of the filter by locking between the filter deformation portion and the portion restricted by the restriction means. By stopping, it can prevent more reliably that the one end side of a filter moves.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the lattice-shaped filter frame is provided with the filter locking hole that constitutes one of the filter locking means, and the filter deformation portion is formed between the indoor unit housing and the open panel. By providing a locking convex portion as the other locking means for locking the filter locking hole on the surface of the derivation guide that guides the derivation toward the open space, the locking convex portion is connected to the filter. Since it engages with the stop hole, it is possible to easily and reliably stop the filter from moving by the elastic restoring force. Furthermore, the filter locking holes can be simultaneously molded when the filter is molded, and the filter locking means can be easily incorporated.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, if the regulating means is provided with the contact sensor for detecting whether or not the end of the filter is in contact with the regulating means, the end of the filter is separated from the regulating means. In this case, the cleaning operation can be stopped by detecting by the contact sensor, and failure can be prevented.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the regulating means is provided with a guide groove for supporting the lower end of the filter to the contact sensor and supporting the filter with a part of the filter interposed therebetween, whereby the filter is brought into contact with the regulating means. Not only can the sensor be brought into contact with certainty, but the filter can be supported with a part of the filter interposed therebetween, and the filter can be more reliably prevented from falling off.

The principal part sectional view of the air harmony machine concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view of the upper surface panel of the said air conditioner. The principal part sectional drawing of the state which closed the front panel of the said air conditioner. The principal part sectional view in the state where the above-mentioned front panel opened in the normal operation mode. The principal part sectional view in the state where the above-mentioned front panel opened at the time of filter cleaning mode. The perspective view of the filter of the said air conditioner. The partial expansion perspective view of the stopper of the said filter. The partial expanded side view of the filter rack of the said filter. The schematic diagram explaining the relative structure of the said filter and a guide rail. The perspective view of the said filter cleaning unit. The perspective view of the state which attached the dust unit and the derivation | leading-out guide to the filter rack of the said filter cleaning unit. The perspective view of the said filter rack. The perspective view of the state which looked at the derivation | leading-out guide from the front side. The perspective view of the state which looked at the derivation | leading-out guide from the back side. The perspective view of the guide rail of a filter rack. Explanatory drawing explaining the positional relationship of a guide rail and a filter. (A), (b) Explanatory drawing explaining the position of the switch provided in the guide rail. (A) The schematic diagram which shows the initial position of a filter, (b) The schematic diagram of the state which moved the filter to the front side, (c) The schematic diagram of the state which moved the filter to the back side.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor unit 1 of this air conditioner includes a base panel 10 that is held on a wall surface via a back plate 10a that is fixed to a wall surface (not shown).

  The indoor unit 1 has an air inlet on the front surface and an upper surface, and includes an indoor unit housing 1a composed of a front panel 12 and an upper surface panel 11 containing the heat exchanger 2 and the fan 3, and an air inlet on the front side. It consists of an open panel 14 that opens and closes.

  Although not shown, the base panel 10 includes a pair of left and right side plates, and the heat exchanger 2 and the cross flow fan 3 are supported between the side plates in the left and right directions (in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1). Yes.

  In this example, the heat exchanger 2 is a combination of a front side heat exchanger 21 arranged on the front side of the main body and a rear side heat exchanger 22 arranged on the rear side of the main body in a lambda type. It has been. In the present invention, specific configurations of the heat exchanger 2 and the cross flow fan 3 may be arbitrarily selected according to specifications.

  In addition, on the lower surface side of the base panel 10, there are provided an up-and-down air direction plate 17, a left-and-right air direction plate 18, a diffuser 19, etc. of the air outlet. There is no particular limitation.

  The base panel 10 includes an upper panel 11 covering the upper surface of the heat exchanger 2, a front panel 12 disposed on the front surface of the heat exchanger 2, and a side panel (not shown) disposed along the side plate. I have. Each panel consists of a molded product of synthetic resin.

  The upper panel 11 is provided with an air suction grill 13 for taking indoor air into the indoor unit 1. Referring also to FIG. 2, the upper panel 11 is formed so as to cover the entire upper surface of the indoor unit 1, and a cross-shaped air suction grill 13 is formed over the entire surface.

  The front panel 12 is provided with an open panel 14 that forms an air passage on the front side of the front-side heat exchanger 21 by being opened during operation. Referring also to FIG. 3, the open panel 14 is a rectangular panel formed so as to cover the front surface of the indoor unit 1.

  On the back surface of the open panel 14, a swing arm 14a as an open / close panel driving means for opening and closing the open panel 14, a pinion gear 14b connected to a drive motor (not shown), and a lower side of the open panel 14 are supported. A driven arm 14d that is driven in accordance with the moving operation is provided.

  One end of the swing arm 14a is rotatably attached to the back surface of the open / close panel 14, and the other end is provided with a sector gear 14c that meshes with the pinion gear 14b. The swing arm 14 a and the sector gear 14 c are provided at both ends of the open / close panel 14.

  In the present invention, the sector gear 14c has a fan-shaped gear portion, and the opening degree of the open / close panel 14 can be adjusted in three stages of closed, half open, and full open according to the meshing position with the pinion gear 14b. .

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, in a state where one end side of the sector gear 14c is engaged with the pinion gear 14b, the open / close panel 14 is in a closed state. When the pinion gear 14b is rotated a predetermined angle counterclockwise from this state, the sector gear 14c is rotated clockwise, so that the open / close panel 14 attached to the tip of the swing arm 14a is moved to the front as shown in FIG. It is opened to project to the side.

  By further rotating the pinion gear 14b counterclockwise and meshing the other end side of the sector gear 14c with the pinion gear 14b, as shown in FIG. 5, the open / close panel 14 is further pushed forward to the front side. It becomes a state.

  A filter 4 is provided along the air suction grille 13 inside the housing 1a. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the filter 4 has a grid-like filter frame 41 and a mesh sheet 42 stretched along the filter frame 41. In this example, the filter frame 41 is made of polypropylene. The mesh sheet 42 is molded from polyethylene terephthalate.

  The filter frame 41 is formed in a lattice shape having four beams along the sliding direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) and six beams including the outer frame along the width direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 6). They are integrally molded.

  When the filter 4 is deformed at the time of cleaning the filter, the beam in the sliding direction of the filter frame 41 is engaged with a locking convex portion 244 described later, so that the filter 4 is elastically restored by the elastic restoring force generated by the filter 4 being curved. 4 is provided with a locking hole 45 as a filter position shift prevention means for preventing the end portion in contact with a stopper 250 (described later) from shifting.

  The locking holes 45 are through-holes formed in the thickness direction of the filter 4, and are provided in two places (two places in total). When the filter 4 is bent at the time of filter cleaning, the locking hole 45 is inserted into a locking projection 244 provided on the inner side of a second guide surface 243 of a derivation guide 240, which will be described later. The movement in the direction is restricted.

  According to this, when the filter 4 is bent out of the indoor unit casing, the end of the filter 4 is prevented from being separated from the stopper 250 by the elastic restoring force, and the end of the filter 3 is detected. A malfunction of the limit switch 320 can be reliably prevented.

  At both ends in the width direction of the filter frame 41, rack gears 43, 43 are provided that are engaged with gears (not shown) connected to the driving means when the filter 4 is slid in the vertical direction. The rack gears 43 and 43 are formed continuously along the sliding direction of the filter 4 (the vertical direction in FIG. 6), and are formed integrally with the filter frame 41.

  In this example, in the filter frame 41, rack gears 43 and 43 are integrally formed on one surface 41a (lower surface in FIG. 8), and the other surface 41b (upper surface in FIG. 8) is formed on a smooth surface. According to this, even if the filter 4 is slid in a state where the other surface 41b of the portion where the rack gears 43 and 43 are formed is in contact with the inner surface of the housing, it is possible to prevent the generation of abnormal noise.

  The rack gear 43 is preferably hollowed inside. That is, since the inside of the rack gear 33 is thinned, the filter 4 can be easily bent and deformed when the filter 4 is cleaned. Furthermore, deformation due to thermal shrinkage during molding can be suppressed.

  Specifically, since the surface 41b side is formed smoothly and the rack gear 43 is formed on the surface 41a side, the rack gear 43 is thick, but a side surface of the rack gear 43 (in FIG. Remove the meat from the direction.

  In this example, the rack gears 43 and 43 are integrally formed with the filter frame 41, but the rack gears 43 and 43 may be formed separately and bonded to the filter frame 41.

  The filter 4 is slidable because both ends in the width direction are supported by the filter moving passage. In this example, the filter moving passage 500 is composed of a first filter moving passage 211 formed on the filter rack 200 side and a second filter moving passage 310 formed in a part of a guide frame 300 described later. A filter moving passage 500 for moving the filter from the front side to the upper side is formed.

  On the side surface of the first filter movement passage 211 of the filter rack 200, a notch 44 is provided to prevent the filter 4 from interfering with a first filter movement passage 211 described later when the filter 4 is bent.

  The cutout portion 44 is formed so as to leave a remaining portion 44 a on the upper end side and the lower end side of the side surface of the filter frame 41. Referring to FIG. 9 together, the filter 4 has a width in the width direction W1, a width in the notch 44 in the width direction W2, and a length between the first filter moving passages 211 and 211 is W3. When formed, W1> W3> W2.

  According to this, when the filter 4 is pushed and curved in the sliding direction, a portion corresponding to the notch 44 of the filter 4 passes through the first filter moving passage 211 and bulges outward. it can. Further, even when the filter 4 is curved, the remaining portion 44 a is sandwiched between the first filter movement passages 211, so that the filter 4 does not fall out of the first filter movement passages 211. The remaining portion 44 a is formed so as to protrude outward from the rack gear 43.

  The mesh sheet 42 is made of a fine mesh-like sheet material, and is formed of polyethylene terephthalate in this example. As long as the mesh sheet 42 is a mesh that does not allow relatively coarse dust in the air to enter the indoor unit 1, the shape and material thereof may be arbitrarily selected, and antibacterial materials, fungicides, etc. are blended. May be.

  Further, in this example, the mesh sheet 42 is formed by heat sealing with the filter frame 41. However, the filter frame 41 and the mesh sheet 42 may be integrally formed, and the shape of the mesh sheet 42 also depends on the specifications. Can be arbitrarily selected.

  The indoor unit 1 is further provided with a filter cleaning unit 5 for cleaning the filter 4. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11 together, the filter cleaning unit 5 holds the dust box 100 that collects dust attached to the filter 4, the dust box 100 and the filter 4 in a detachable manner, and itself has a housing 1 a. A filter rack 200 that is detachable from the housing, a lead-out guide 240 that pulls the filter 4 out of the housing 1a in a predetermined direction when the filter 4 is bent, and the filter rack 200 supported by the indoor unit 1. And a guide frame 300 for guiding the slide of the filter 4.

  Here, the open panel 14 opens so that the upper side is farther away from the housing than the lower side, and the derivation guide 240 puts the filter 4 into the widely opened space on the upper side. ing.

  In this example, the dust box 100 and the filter rack 200 are provided in a state of being arranged in the horizontal direction of the indoor unit 1. Since each dust box 100 and filter rack 200 have the same configuration, only one will be described below.

  Referring also to FIG. 1, the dust box 100 cleans the upper dust box 110 that cleans one side of the filter 4 (windward side in FIG. 1) and the other side of the filter 4 (leeward side in FIG. 1). It has a lower dust box 120 and is arranged so as to face each other with the filter 4 interposed therebetween.

  Inside the upper dust box 110, a cleaning brush 111 that cleans dust attached to the filter and a dust storage portion 112 that stores the dust collected by the cleaning brush 111 are provided.

  In this example, the cleaning brush 111 is rotatably provided via a rotating means (not shown), and the cleaning brush 4 is moved only when the filter 4 is slid to the opposite front side (10a side in FIG. 1). The cleaning brush 111 is not in contact with the filter 4 when moving to the front side (the open panel 14 side in FIG. 1) in contact with the filter 4.

  The lower dust box 120 is arranged along the lower surface of the filter 4 and functions as a filter receiver for preventing the filter 4 from bending when the filter 4 is brought into contact with the cleaning brush 111 of the upper dust box 110. At the same time, dust spilled on the back of the filter 4 is collected.

  In the present invention, the specific configuration of the dust box 100 may be an arbitrary matter, and the configuration may be arbitrarily changed according to specifications.

  Referring to FIG. 11 in which the dust box 100 and the filter rack 200 are combined, and FIG. 12 in which the filter rack 200 is in a single state, the filter rack 200 is arranged on the left and right sides arranged at almost the same interval as the width of the filter 4. A pair of side frames 210, 210, for example, two reinforcing frames 220 horizontally spanned between the side frames 210, 210 with a predetermined interval, and a vertical interval with a predetermined interval between the side frames 210, 210. For example, two guide frames 230 are provided.

  The side frames 210 and 210 are formed in a dogleg shape that is attached so as to cover the front surface of the front-side heat exchanger 21, and the first filter moving passages 211 and 211 in which the inner filter 4 moves slidably. Is formed.

  The first filter moving passages 211 and 211 are connected to a filter moving passage 310 formed in a part of the guide frame 300 described later by attaching the filter rack 200 to the guide frame 300.

  Filter derivation sections 212 and 212 are provided on the front side (front side in FIG. 12) of the side frame 210. The filter lead-out portions 212 and 212 are guide portions that are provided to define the start and end points of lead-out of the curved portion when the filter 4 is bent. As described with reference to FIG. Is formed so that the distance between them is W3.

  Guide plates 213a and 213b for smooth derivation of the filter 4 are provided at both ends of the opening edges of the filter derivation portions 212 and 212, respectively. The guide plates 213a and 213b protrude so as to protrude inward from the side surface of the first filter moving passage 211, and the edges thereof are curved so that the filter 4 is not caught.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the filter 4 is held between one end (the lower end in FIG. 9) of the filter moving passage 211 and the guide plate 213a, so that the filter 4 is provided between the guide plates 213a and 213b. Curved from the filter lead-out portion 212 and exits from the filter movement path 211. By changing the length between the guide plates 213a and 213b from one end side of the filter moving passage 211 in the filter moving passage 211, the position where the filter 4 is bent can be changed.

  A feed gear 214 that meshes with the rack gear 43 of the filter 4 is provided inside the side frame 210. Referring also to FIG. 1, the feed gear 214 is driven by a drive gear 121 connected to a drive motor (not shown) as a filter moving means. A part of the feed gear 214 is exposed in the first filter moving passage 211. The filter 4 is arranged so that the smooth portion is on the windward side and the side on which the rack gear 43 is formed is on the leeward side. It meshes with the rack gear 43 of the filter 4 inside the first filter moving passage 211.

  The filter rack 200 is further provided with a derivation guide 240 that guides the filter 4 so that it goes out of the filter movement passage 211 in the correct direction when the filter 4 is bent. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, derivation guide 240 is formed in an arch shape having pivot arms 241 and 241 that are pivotably attached to one end side of filter rack 200.

  The lead-out guide 240 has a first guide surface 242 that holds the filter 4 in a vertical state, one end connected to the upper end of the first guide surface 242 and the other end inclined toward the front side of the housing 1a. 2 guide surfaces 243.

  Referring also to FIG. 1, the derivation guide 240 is pivotally supported via a rotation shaft 214 a, but in a state where it is fixed to the filter rack 200 (state of FIG. 11), The guide surface 242 supports the filter 4 in a substantially vertical state along the front surface of the housing 1a.

  The second guide surface 243 is extended obliquely upward from the upper end of the first guide surface 242, and the curved filter 4 is guided along the second guide surface 243 during filter cleaning. A deformed portion 4a of the filter 4 to be described later is led obliquely upward.

  Two locking protrusions 244 that are inserted into the locking holes 45 of the filter 4 described above are provided at the upper end (see FIG. 14) on the inner side of the second guide surface 243. The locking convex portion 244 is formed by a convex rib extending from the second guide surface 243 toward the heat exchanger 2 side, and the tip thereof is chamfered so that it can easily enter the locking hole 45 of the filter 4.

  The derivation guide 240 also serves as a release lever when removing the filter rack 200 from the housing 1a. The derivation guide 240 is attached to the main frame 110 so that the lower end side thereof can be opened and closed with the rotation shaft 241 a being pivotally supported in a bearing hole (not shown) of the filter rack 200.

  In this example, the rotating shaft 241a is provided with a coil spring (not shown), and the derivation guide 240 is always spring-biased via the coil spring.

  The derivation guide 240 is provided with a slide type locking claw and a driving mechanism (both not shown) for fixing the derivation guide 240 to the filter rack 200 in a closed state. In the present invention, the locking claw and its driving mechanism are optional items, and a specific description thereof will be omitted.

  On the lower end side of the filter rack 200, a stopper 250 is provided as a restricting means for restricting the movement of the filter 4 by bringing the lower end of the filter 4 into contact therewith. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 17 together, the stopper 250 is bridged between filter guides 300 and 300, which will be described later, along the lower end of the filter rack 200, and the lower end of the filter 4 abuts a part thereof. This prevents the filter 4 from sliding below the stopper 250.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17, the guide frame 300 is formed in an L shape that is arranged from the front surface to the upper surface of the housing 1 a. The guide frame 300 is provided with a second filter moving passage 310 through which the filter 4 is guided.

  The second filter moving passage 310 extends substantially horizontally from the side surface 301 of the guide frame 300, and is bent at a substantially right angle from one end of the bottom wall 311 and a bottom wall 311 that supports the lower surface of the rack gear 43 of the filter 4. It is formed in an L-shaped cross section having a side wall 312 parallel to 301.

  According to this, since the side surface of the rack gear 43 is supported by the side wall 312 in the filter 4, it is possible to prevent the filter 4 from being distorted during sliding and being prevented from moving.

  Since the guide frame 300 shown in FIG. 15 is disposed in the center of the indoor unit 1, second filter moving passages 310 are formed on both sides of the guide frame 300 to support the filters 4 and 4 on both sides. However, the guide frames 300 disposed on both ends of the indoor unit 1 are disposed only on the side surfaces in the direction in which the one filter 4 is disposed.

  The top panel 10 is attached to the top surface of the bottom wall 311, whereby the second filter moving passage 310 is formed. Here, one end side of the second filter movement passage 310 is formed so as to communicate with one outlet of the first filter movement passage 211 described above via the filter cleaning unit 5, and the first filter of the filter rack 200 is formed. The moving path 211 is smoothly guided to the second filter moving path 310 of the filter guide 300.

  The other end side of the second filter moving passage 310 is opened between the base panel 10 of the indoor unit 1 and the rear heat exchanger 22 so that the filter 4 can be introduced into the space therebetween. ing.

  A filter detection unit 320 that detects the lower end position of the filter 4 is provided on the side surface of the lower end of the guide frame 300. As shown in FIG. 17, the filter detection unit 320 includes a limit switch 321 that protrudes movably from the side surface of the guide frame, and a guide unit 322 that guides the lower end of the filter 4 toward the limit switch 321. And.

  Since the detection unit 320 is provided in the vicinity of the stopper 250, the filter detection unit 320 can detect when the filter 4 is separated from the stopper 250 during the filter cleaning operation. If the filter 4 is operated while being separated from the stopper 250, there is a possibility that the filter 4 may cause a failure such as being caught in the filter moving path 211. When the filter 4 moves away from the stopper 250 during the filter cleaning operation, the failure can be prevented by stopping the filter cleaning operation.

  The limit switch 320 is disposed so that one end side thereof is rotatably connected and the free end side is rotated from the bottom side to the upper side of the guide frame 300. According to this, since the limit switch 320 is pressed on the side surface of the filter 4, detection errors can be reduced. Furthermore, the generation of sound can be suppressed as compared with the case where the limit switch 320 is pressed on the rack surface.

  The guide portion 322 is provided so as to surround the limit switch 320, and a guide groove 323 for guiding the lower end of the filter 4 is provided in a part of the guide portion 322. The guide groove 323 is formed so as to communicate with the outlet of the first filter moving passage 211 described above.

  In this example, the filter detection unit 320 is provided at one place for one filter 4, but may be provided at two places so as to detect both ends of the filter 4, for example.

  Next, an example of the filter cleaning procedure of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Prior to describing the procedure for cleaning the filter, in this example, the direction in which the filter 4 is moved toward the stopper 250 is referred to as “forward direction”, and the direction in which the filter 4 is moved toward the back side of the indoor unit 1 is referred to as “reverse direction”. ".

  When filter cleaning is started, a control unit (not shown) first initializes the filter cleaning unit 5. In the initialization, the limit switch 320 confirms whether the tip of the filter 4 is in contact with the stopper 250, and further confirms whether the cleaning brush 111 in the dust box 100 is disposed in non-contact with the filter 4. (See FIG. 18A).

  In addition, the control unit issues a fully open command to the drive means of the open panel 14, and in response to this, the swing arm 14a rotates via a drive motor (not shown), and the open panel 14 is fully opened.

  After the open panel 14 is fully opened, the control unit starts cleaning the filter. The control unit first drives the driving means (not shown) in the filter feed direction to feed out the filter 4. In this example, the cleaning brush 111 is brought into contact with the filter 4 only when moved in the filter return direction. It has become.

  The control unit sends out the filter 4 by a predetermined length at a time (in this example, the minimum movement amount 60 mm to the maximum movement amount 130 mm) and removes the dust adhered to the filter 4 evenly, and the same length in the filter return direction. By performing the reciprocating operation of returning each step in a plurality of steps, dust adhering to the cleaning brush 111 is frequently transferred into the dust box 110.

  With one end of the filter 4 abutting against the stopper 250, the control unit moves the filter 4 in the filter feed direction. Thereby, a part of the filter 4 is bent and deformed, and the deformed portion 4 a is led to the space formed in the front surface of the indoor unit 1 and the open panel 14.

  As shown in FIG. 18B, when the dust box 100 moves to the rear end of the filter 4, the deformation amount of the filter deformation portion 4 a becomes the maximum value, and the filter deformation portion 4 includes the front surface of the indoor unit 1 and the open panel 14. It is put out in the space formed between the back of the.

  At that time, the filter 4 is guided by the second guide surface 242 of the derivation guide 240 so as to be ejected obliquely upward. According to this, since the filter deformation part 4a is projected obliquely upward between the front surface of the indoor unit 1 and the back surface of the open panel 14, the open panel 14 can be opened and closed by contacting the open panel 14 or the like. Can be prevented.

  Conversely, when the front end side (butting side) of the filter 4 is cleaned by the dust box 100, the rear end side of the filter 4 is formed on the back side of the indoor unit 1 as shown in FIG. Into the confined space.

  As described above, when the series of cleaning steps is completed, the control unit returns to the state where the limit switch 320 is activated again, and then enters a standby state. In this embodiment, the method for attaching and detaching the filter 4 and the filter rack 200 and the initialization of the filter 4 at the time of attachment and detachment may be arbitrary, and the description thereof is omitted.

1 Air conditioner (indoor unit)
14 Open Panel 2 Heat Exchanger 3 Cross Flow Fan 4 Filter 41 Filter Frame 42 Mesh Sheet 43 Rack Gear 44 Notch 45 Locking Hole 5 Filter Cleaning Unit 100 Dust Box 200 Filter Rack 300 Filter Guide

Claims (5)

An air suction port is provided from the upper surface to the front surface, the air suction port is provided on the lower surface side, and an indoor unit housing in which a filter is disposed on the inner surface of the air suction port,
A filter moving passage disposed along the air suction port in the indoor unit casing, and a filter for moving the filter in a forward direction toward one direction and a backward direction toward the other direction along the filter moving passage. A moving unit, a filter cleaning unit disposed at a predetermined position in the moving path of the filter, and a control unit for controlling the filter moving unit,
In the cleaning mode of the filter, in the air conditioner in which a part of the filter is taken out of the indoor unit housing,
The housing is provided with restricting means for restricting movement of the filter, and the control unit is configured so that the other end of the filter is in a state where one end side of the filter is restricted by the restricting means during the cleaning mode. By moving the filter in the forward direction by the filter moving means on the side, the filter is bent to create a filter deformation part, and the filter deformation part is taken out of the indoor unit housing,
The air conditioner is characterized in that the housing is provided with filter locking means for preventing one end side of the filter from separating from the regulating means by elastic restoring force accompanying deformation of the filter. Machine.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the filter locking means locks between the filter deforming portion and a portion restricted by the restriction means.   The filter has a grid-like filter frame, and the filter frame is provided with a filter locking hole that constitutes one of the filter locking means. A derivation guide is provided for guiding the filter deforming portion so as to be led out toward a space formed between the indoor unit housing and the open panel, and a surface of the derivation guide facing the filter is provided on the surface. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a locking projection is provided as the other locking means for locking the filter locking hole.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the regulating means is provided with a contact sensor for detecting whether one end side of the filter is in contact with the regulating means.   5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the regulating means is provided with a guide groove that guides the lower end of the filter to the contact sensor and supports the filter with a part of the filter interposed therebetween. Machine.

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