JP5978390B2 - Air conditioner indoor unit - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a ceiling-suspended indoor unit of an air conditioner.

  In an air conditioner consisting of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, it does not protrude from the wall surface of the room like a so-called wall-mounted indoor unit, but is hung from a beam on the back of the ceiling and attached almost in close contact with the ceiling plate Thus, there is an air conditioner that employs a ceiling-suspended indoor unit that does not cause a feeling of pressure in the room.

  The indoor unit of this air conditioner is configured to receive drain water generated by a heat exchanger with a drain pan and guide it to a drain pump device via a connection hose. Since it is necessary to confirm that the drain pump is operating reliably during maintenance, an observation window is provided in the pump storage case.

JP 2004-317032 A

  The drain pump device has a drain reservoir on the lower side, and a pump storage case is placed on the upper side of the drain reservoir. Since the observation window is provided in the pump housing case, the operator cannot see the observation window unless he puts his head in the main body of the indoor unit, and is very difficult to work because it is high.

  Under such circumstances, there is a demand for an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can easily confirm the state of the drain water led to the drain pump device and that has a relatively simple configuration to minimize costs. .

  The indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present embodiment includes a heat exchanger, a drain pan that receives drain water condensed on the heat exchanger, and a drain pump device that discharges the drain water received by the drain pan to the outside. . The drain pump device includes a drain reservoir, a pump support case, a drain pump, and a lid. The drain reservoir is formed in a two-layer structure with a transparent or semi-transparent synthetic resin material layer on the inside and a heat insulation material layer on the outside. A part of the heat insulation material layer is removed to provide a window for internal confirmation. The drain water led from the drain pan is collected. The pump support case is integrally connected on the drain reservoir. The drain pump is supported by a pump support case, sucks up drain water in the drain reservoir and discharges it to the outside. The lid is formed of a heat insulating material and is detachably attached to the window portion.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indoor unit of FIG. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the indoor unit of FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit when the suction grill of FIG. 1 is opened and viewed from below. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the drain pump device in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the drain pump device of FIG. FIG. 7A is a perspective view looking up at the drain pump device of FIG. 5. FIG. 7B is an enlarged perspective view of the protruding portion of the drain reservoir of the drain pump device of FIG. 7A. FIG. 8 is a perspective view in which main parts of the drain pump device of FIG. 5 are assembled. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the drain pump device of FIG. FIG. 10A is a perspective view of a modification of the drain pump device shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 10B is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the drain pump device shown in FIG. 10A. 10C is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the drain pump device shown in FIG. 10B.

  Hereinafter, the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indoor unit, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the indoor unit as viewed from below with the bottom plate portion of the indoor unit removed. .

  1 in the figure is an indoor unit of an air conditioner. The indoor unit 1 is hooked by a suspension bolt suspended from a beam or the like on the back of the ceiling (not shown), and is installed in a state of being exposed to the room and extremely close to the ceiling surface. The indoor unit 1 is formed to have an extremely large width direction (horizontal direction) dimension as compared with a thickness direction (height direction) dimension.

  The indoor unit 1 includes a pair of left and right plates that connect the bottom plate portion 1a that forms the lower surface, the top plate portion 1b that forms the upper surface close to the ceiling in a suspended state, and the bottom plate portion 1a and the top plate portion 1b. A side plate portion 1c and a back surface portion 1d are provided.

  The bottom plate portion 1a is provided with a suction port 2 that is approximately half the size in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the width direction, and a suction grille 10 and a filter 11 having a bar along the width direction can be opened and closed freely. It is inserted in. The blowout port 3 is provided in the front part of the indoor unit 1, and a horizontal louver 12 and a vertical louver 13 disposed at a deeper part of the horizontal louver 12 are rotatably attached.

  A partition plate 6 is provided inside the indoor unit 1. The partition plate 6 is provided vertically along the front side edge of the suction port 2 into which the suction grill 10 described above is fitted, and extends so as to contact the top plate portion 1 b of the indoor unit 1. The partition plate 6 extends so as to contact the left and right side plate portions 1c, and divides the interior of the indoor unit 1 into two chambers A and B.

  That is, inside the indoor unit 1, the air blowing chamber A in which the air blower S, the electrical component box 9, and the drain pump device D are arranged is separated from the partition plate 6, and the indoor heat exchanger 5 Is formed on the outlet 3 side.

  The blower S disposed in the blower chamber A includes a fan motor 15 having a rotating shaft projecting on both sides, a fan 16 fitted to the left and right rotating shafts of the fan motor 15, and a fan case that houses the fan 16. 17. The electrical component box 9 houses electrical components that drive and control the blower S and the like, and is inserted and fixed in a narrow gap formed between the blower S and the back surface portion 1d of the indoor unit 1.

  In the heat exchange chamber B, an indoor heat exchanger 5 and a drain pan 7 disposed below the indoor heat exchanger 5 are stored. Since the indoor unit 1 is formed by shortening the vertical dimension as much as possible, the indoor heat exchanger 5 is arranged in an extremely inclined state.

  The drain pan 7 is made of, for example, a thick synthetic resin material. With the refrigeration cycle operation, the drain pan 7 is formed in a larger area than the bottom surface of the indoor heat exchanger 5 so as to receive all of the drain water that is generated and dripped from the inclined indoor heat exchanger 5. Almost occupies the entire heat exchange chamber B.

  An upper heat insulating material 19 that supports the upper end portion of the indoor heat exchanger 5 is provided in the upper part of the heat exchange chamber B, and heat (warm / cold heat) accompanying the refrigeration cycle operation of the indoor heat exchanger 5 is the indoor unit. In the same way as the drain pan 7, it is formed of a thick heat insulating material so as not to be transmitted to the exterior material forming 1.

  The drain pump device D is connected to the drain pan 7 via a connection hose 14, and a drop is provided so that drain water received by the drain pan 7 naturally flows into the drain pump device D. The drain water levels of the drain pump device D and the drain pan 7 are the same. The drain pump device D can forcibly drain the drain water stored here to the outside.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit 1 as viewed from below with the suction grill 10 opened.
The suction grill 10 is rotatably supported by a suction port 2 provided in the indoor unit 1 with a rear side end portion as a pivotal support, and opens the suction port 2 with the filter 11 placed thereon. In the state shown in FIG. 4, since the air blower S, the electrical component box 9, and the drain pump device D are exposed, these maintenance can be performed. The filter 11 can be removed from the suction grill 10 for maintenance.

Next, the drain pump device D will be described in detail.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing components constituting the drain pump device D. FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the drain pump device D. FIG. 7A is an external perspective view of the drain pump device D as viewed from below, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the protrusion 20D of the drain reservoir 20 of the drain pump device D as viewed from below.

  The drain pump device D has a drain reservoir container 20 on the lower side, and a pump support case 22 is placed on the drain reservoir container 20 and integrated therewith. A connection nozzle 23 projects from a part of the side surface of the drain reservoir 20. One end of the connection hose 14 is fitted into the connection nozzle 23 and communicates with the drain pan 7 as shown in FIG.

  A support bracket 24 is attached to the pump support case 22, and the drain pump 25 and the float switch 26 are supported by the support bracket 24. The suction portion 25 a of the drain pump 25 is directed downward and extends to a position close to the bottom surface of the drain reservoir container 20.

A discharge part 25b protrudes from the side of the drain pump 25, and a discharge hose 27 is connected to the discharge part 25b. The discharge hose 27 extends from the drain reservoir 20 to the upper end of the pump support case 22 and is supported by a hose support 22 a provided at the upper end of the pump support case 22. Further, a drain hose (not shown) extending to the outside of the indoor unit 1 is connected to the discharge hose 27.
The float switch 26 detects the level of drain water collected in the drain reservoir 20. When the float switch 26 sends a detection signal to the control unit when the water level rises to a predetermined water level, the operation of the air conditioner stops.

  The drain reservoir 20 is substantially cup-shaped with only an upper surface opened, and has a two-layer structure in which an inner side is formed by a transparent or translucent synthetic resin material layer g and an outer side is formed by a heat insulating material layer n. A part of the side portion of the drain reservoir 20 is formed in a protruding portion 20 </ b> D whose lateral cross section (horizontal cross section) projects outwardly from the upper end to the lower end. The opening area of the upper end opening excluding the protrusion 20D of the drain reservoir 20 is the same as the opening area of the lower end opening of the pump support case 22. Only the protruding portion 20 </ b> D protrudes outward from the side portion to which the drain reservoir 20 and the pump support case 22 are coupled.

  Both side portions of the protruding portion 20D have a two-layer structure of the synthetic resin material layer g and the heat insulating material layer n, and the upper end of the protruding portion 20D is open. On the front wall (end surface) of the protrusion 20D, the heat insulating material layer n is not formed along the vertical direction, and the synthetic resin material layer g is exposed. As described above, since the synthetic resin material layer g is transparent or translucent, the inside can be seen from the outside. Therefore, this portion is referred to as “front window portion 28a”.

  As shown also in FIG. 7B, the heat insulating material layer n is not partially formed on the bottom surface of the protruding portion 20D, and the inside can be seen through this portion through the synthetic resin material layer g. This portion is referred to as a “lower window portion 28b”. Since the front window portion 28a and the lower window portion 28b are provided continuously, these are collectively referred to as “window portion 28”. A lid 30 formed of a heat insulating material is detachably attached to such a protrusion 20D. As will be described later, the lid 30 can open and close the window 28.

  An antibacterial agent case 32 in which an antibacterial agent is exchanged is inserted from the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D of the drain reservoir 20 and is housed inside the protrusion 20D. In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, the gap a from the lower end of the antibacterial agent case 32 to the synthetic resin material layer g that becomes the bottom surface of the drain reservoir 20 is a synthesis that becomes the bottom of the drain reservoir 20 from the suction portion 25 a of the drain pump. It is set to be slightly larger than the gap b to the resin material layer g.

  During the cooling operation of the air conditioner, the drain pump 25 is driven, and the drain water in the drain reservoir 20 is always discharged. Therefore, the antibacterial function by the antibacterial agent is unnecessary, and considering the waste of the antibacterial agent, it is desirable that the antibacterial agent is not immersed in the drain water during cooling operation.

  When the cooling operation is finished, the drain pump 25 is also stopped, and the drain hose 27 and the drain water in the drain hose return to the drain reservoir 20. The drain water that has returned will remain in the drain reservoir 20 until the next cooling operation. In order to suppress the proliferation of germs in the drain water due to the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent, it is desirable that the antibacterial agent is immersed in the drain water during the cooling operation stop.

  For the above reasons, the gap b is smaller than the gap a so that the antibacterial agent put in the antibacterial agent case 32 is not always immersed in the drain water in the drain reservoir 20 while the drain pump 25 is in operation. Is set as follows.

  FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of the drain reservoir container 20 that is the main part of the drain pump device D, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the drain reservoir container 20 that is the main part of the drain pump device D. At the upper end of the antibacterial agent case 32, a flange 32a for closing the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D of the drain reservoir 20 is integrally provided. On both the left and right sides of the antibacterial agent case 32, guide recesses 33 are provided in the vertical direction. On the other hand, positioning rails 34 are provided in the vertical direction on both sides of the protrusion 20D of the drain reservoir 20 and a positioning protrusion 35 is provided on the bottom of the protrusion 20D.

  The antibacterial agent case 32 is inserted into the protrusion 20D from the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D. At this time, the guide concave portion 33 of the antibacterial agent case 32 is made to correspond to the positioning rail 34 of the protruding portion 20D, and is fitted and dropped. The guide recess 33 of the antibacterial agent case 32 is guided along the positioning rail 34 of the protrusion 20D.

  Eventually, when the flange 32a at the upper end of the antibacterial agent case 32 comes into contact with the upper end of the protrusion 20D, further dropping is restricted, and the lower end of the antibacterial agent case 32 is positioned by the positioning protrusion 35. . In this state, the flange 32a of the antibacterial agent case 32 closes the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D, and the lower end of the antibacterial agent case 32 is held at a position where a predetermined gap a exists with the bottom surface of the drain reservoir container 20. The

  The front window portion 28a and the lower window portion 28b exposed to the outside of the protrusion 20D are covered with a detachable lid 30. The lid 30 is made of a heat insulating material, and is provided at the front end 30a that directly covers the front window portion 28a, the lower portion 30b that covers the lower surface window portion 28b by a thickness of the heat insulating material layer n, and the upper end of the antimicrobial agent case 32. An upper part 30c for pressing the flange 32a from above is integrally formed.

  The upper portion 30c of the lid 30 extends further upward, and the end thereof becomes a hooking piece 30d that is bent horizontally. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7A, the pump support case 22 is provided with a hooking hole f into which the hooking piece 30d is inserted.

  The pump support case 22 is mounted on the upper part of the drain reservoir 20, and the hooking piece 30 d of the lid 30 is engaged with the hole f for latching of the pump support case 22 with the window 28 covered with the lid 30. By doing so, the lid 30 can be reliably fixed. The lid 30 can be easily removed from the window portion 28 by extracting the hooking piece 30d of the lid 30 from the hole f for latching.

  The drain water generated and dripped by the indoor heat exchanger 5 is received by the drain pan 7. The drain water naturally flows into the drain reservoir 20 constituting the drain pump device D through the connection hose 14 with the setting of the head.

  When the cooling operation of the air conditioner is started, a drive signal is sent to the drain pump 25. The drain pump 25 is activated to suck up the drain water in the drain reservoir 20 and send it to the drain hose. Eventually, the drain water dripped onto the drain pan 7 is discharged from the drain hose to the outside.

  Normally, in the drain pump device D, the lid 30 covers the front window portion 28a and the lower window portion 28b, which are the window portions 28, so that no condensation occurs on the window portion 28. Further, since the lid 30 itself is also formed of a heat insulating material, no condensation occurs.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the drain pump device D is maintained in a state where the suction grill 10 is rotated to expose the interior of the indoor unit 1. Specifically, it is checked that the drain pump 25 is operating normally, the drain water level in the drain reservoir 20 does not exceed a predetermined level, and the drain water is not extremely turbid. And confirmed.

  This maintenance may be performed at regular maintenance inspections or at other times. For example, when the float switch 26 detects an abnormal water level of the drain water, the control unit may determine that the drain pump 25 is not operating normally and display the drain pump abnormality on the display unit or the like of the remote controller. .

  In maintenance, the lid 30 is removed from the protruding portion 20D and the window portion 28 is looked into. Since the protruding portion 20D and the window portion 28 are all provided in the drain reservoir container 20 constituting the lower portion of the drain pump device D, the inside of the drain reservoir container 20 can be easily confirmed without taking an excessive posture.

  The drain pan 7 needs to have a large area in order to receive all of the drain water dripped from the indoor heat exchanger 5. However, the drain reservoir container 20 of the drain pump device D communicating with the drain pan 7 via the connection hose 14 may have a small area that can accommodate the drain pump 25. Therefore, the drain reservoir 20 can be manufactured relatively easily including the protrusion 20D, and the window 28 can be easily formed here.

  The window portion 28 provided in the protruding portion 20D includes a front window portion 28a and a lower surface window portion 28b, and the window portion 28 is a transparent or translucent synthetic resin material layer g. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the state of the internal drain pump 25, confirm the level of the drain water, and confirm the quality of the drain water. Since the state of the antibacterial agent placed in the antibacterial agent case 32 loaded in the protrusion 20D can be confirmed at the same time, it is easy to determine when to replace the antibacterial agent.

  The projecting portion 20 </ b> D is formed by projecting a part of the side surface of the drain reservoir 20 and also projects from the pump support case 22. Therefore, the antibacterial agent case 32 can be easily put in and out from the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D into the protrusion 20D. The protruding portion 20D for providing the window portion 28 is inevitably an installation place of the antibacterial agent case 32, and the space can be effectively used.

  The lid 30 covers the front window portion 28a and the lower window portion 28b and presses the antibacterial agent case 32 loaded in the protruding portion 20D. Specifically, a flange 32a is provided at the upper end of the antibacterial agent case 32, and the flange 32a is brought into contact with the upper end of the protrusion 20D to close the upper end opening of the protrusion 20D. The flange 32a is pressed and fixed from above by the lid 30. Therefore, the lid 30 not only covers the window portion 28 but also serves as a fixture for the antibacterial agent case 32.

  Since the positioning rail 34 is provided on the inner surface of the protrusion 20D and the guide recess 33 guided by the rail 34 is provided in the antibacterial case 32, the antibacterial case 32 can be easily put in and out, and the protrusion 20D. Positioning inside can be easily performed.

  The drain pump device D may be further configured as described below. FIG. 10A is an external perspective view of a drain pump device Da according to a modification, FIG. 10B is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the drain pump device Da, and FIG. 10C is an exploded perspective view of a part of the drain pump device Da.

  The drain pump device Da according to this modified example has the front window portion covered with the lid 30A in the protruding portion 20D of the drain reservoir container 20, but does not have the lower surface window portion described above. A fixed piece 30z is provided at the lower end of the lid 30A. The fixed piece 30z is fixed to a non-penetrating screw hole provided at the bottom of the drain reservoir 20 via a mounting screw e.

  This drain pump device Da is provided with a lower surface window 40 at the bottom of the drain reservoir 20. The drain reservoir 20 is formed in a two-layer structure having a transparent or translucent synthetic resin material layer g on the inner side and a heat insulating material layer n on the outer side, the same as the drain pump device D described above. It is. However, a circular hole is provided at the bottom of the heat insulating material layer n, and a part of the synthetic resin material layer g exposed here is used as the lower surface window 40.

  A screw hole portion 42 that does not penetrate is provided at a symmetrical position around the lower surface window 40, and a cover 43 that covers the lower surface window 40 so as to be freely opened and closed by a screw h is held. The cover 43 has a plug 44 made of a heat insulating material having the same diameter as the lower surface window 40 and the same thickness as the heat insulating material layer n on the back surface (inside) of the handle plate 45. The handle plate 45 may be a sheet metal processed product, and is provided with a handle portion 45a that is cut and raised at a substantially central portion, and a screw fixing portion 45b is provided at a symmetrical position on the outer peripheral portion.

  A protective cover 46 made of a heat insulating material is attached to the surface of the handle plate 45. The protective cover 46 has a notch in a substantially central portion, and a handle portion 45a of the handle plate 45 projects therefrom. Further, the screw fixing portion 45 b of the handle plate 45 is provided so as to protrude outward from the outer periphery of the protective cover 46.

  Usually, the cover 43 is fitted into the lower surface window 40. That is, a plug 44 made of a heat insulating material constituting the cover 43 is inserted into and fitted into the lower surface window 40. In this state, since the screw fixing portion 45b of the handle plate 45 is engaged with the screw h of the screw boss portion 42, the cover 43 does not fall off. Since both the stopper 44 attached to the back surface of the handle plate 45 and the protective cover 46 covering the surface of the handle plate 45 are made of heat insulating material, no condensation occurs particularly on the handle plate 45.

  At the time of maintenance, the handle plate 45 is rotated by holding the handle portion 45a protruding from the protective cover 46, so that the screw fixing portion 45b of the handle plate 45 and the screw h are disengaged. If the handle plate 45 is pulled in this state, the plug 44 comes out of the lower surface window 40. By looking into the inside from the lower surface window 40, the operating state of the drain pump 25 in the drain reservoir container 20, the state of the collected drain water, and the like can be confirmed.

  Here, the ceiling-suspended indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a ceiling-embedded indoor unit that is arranged on the back side (that is, the upper side) of the ceiling plate and connects a duct to the suction port and the outlet.

  As mentioned above, although this embodiment was described, the above-mentioned embodiment is shown as an example and does not intend limiting the range of embodiment. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Indoor unit, 2 ... Suction inlet, 3 ... Outlet, 5 ... Indoor heat exchanger, 7 ... Drain pan, D, Da ... Drain pump apparatus, 20 ... Drain reservoir container, 20D ... Projection part, 22 ... Pump support case 25 ... Drain pump, g ... Synthetic resin material layer, n ... Heat insulation material layer, 28 ... Window part, 28a ... Front window part, 28b ... Bottom window part, 30 ... Cover, 32 ... Antibacterial agent case, 32a ... Flange.

Claims (5)

An indoor unit of an air conditioner including a heat exchanger, a drain pan that receives drain water condensed on the heat exchanger, and a drain pump device that discharges drain water received by the drain pan to the outside,
The drain pump device is
The drain pan is formed in a two-layer structure having a transparent or semi-transparent synthetic resin material layer on the inside and a heat insulation material layer on the outside, and a part of the heat insulation material layer is removed to provide an internal confirmation window. A drain storage container for storing drain water led from
A pump support case integrally connected to the drain reservoir;
A drain pump supported by the pump support case, for sucking up drain water in the drain reservoir and discharging it to the outside;
An indoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising: a lid formed of a heat insulating material detachably attached to the window portion. The drain reservoir container has a protrusion formed into a shape in which a part of the side wall protrudes outward,
The window portion includes a front window portion from which the heat insulating material layer of the projecting portion is removed from top to bottom, and a lower surface window portion from which the heat insulating material layer of the lower surface of the projecting portion is removed continuously from the front window portion. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, comprising: The protruding portion protrudes with respect to the pump support case,
The drain pump device further includes an antibacterial agent case that is filled with an antibacterial agent and is housed in the protrusion from the upper end opening of the protrusion.
The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the lid covers the front window portion and the lower window portion and presses the antibacterial agent case loaded in the projecting portion. The antibacterial agent case is provided with a flange at the upper end portion that contacts the upper end of the protruding portion and closes the upper end opening of the protruding portion
The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the lid presses the flange toward the protruding portion from above. The protrusion has a positioning rail on the inner surface,
The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the antibacterial agent case has a guide recess guided by the rail.

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