JP6985990B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a filter unit.

The air conditioner is provided with a filter unit along the air inlet opened in the case. The filter unit suppresses the intrusion of dust into the case. There is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 as a prior art relating to such an air conditioner.

As shown in Patent Document 1, the air conditioner has a case in which an air introduction port for introducing air is opened, and a filter unit facing the air introduction port and suppressing the intrusion of dust into the case. ing.

The filter unit has a support provided along the air inlet, a filter provided so as to be movable on the support, and a drive mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the filter to move the filter.

A brush is provided on the trajectory on which the filter moves. The brush comes into contact with the surface of the moving filter and entangles the dust adhering to the surface of the filter.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-198450

The air conditioner needs to move the filter along a predetermined trajectory. In order to move in orbit, for example, it is conceivable to provide a guide for guiding the filter on the support. However, if the number of parts increases by providing the guide, the manufacturing cost increases, which is not preferable.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of guiding a filter while being inexpensive.

According to the present invention, there is a case in which an air introduction port for introducing air is opened, and a filter unit facing the air introduction port and suppressing the intrusion of dust into the case.
The filter unit includes a support provided along the air inlet, a filter provided so as to be movable on the support, and a drive mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the filter to move the filter. In an air conditioner with
The support has a pair of rail portions extending along the moving direction of the filter and having a substantially U-shape with respect to a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction, and a rail connecting portion connecting these rail portions. death,
The substantially U-shaped rail portion includes a rail bottom portion provided facing each other, an upper and lower rail wall portion extending from the top and bottom of these rail bottom portions toward the opposite rail bottom portion, and a lower rail wall portion. Provided is an air conditioner comprising: a guide portion integrally raised from the tip of the rail to guide the filter, and a rail opening opened at a portion of the bottom of the rail facing the guide portion. Will be done.

In the present invention, the U-shaped rail portion is formed with a guide portion that is integrally raised from the tip of the lower rail wall portion to guide the filter. Since the U-shaped rail portions are provided so as to face each other, the movement range to the outside, the upper side, and the lower side of the filter can be regulated. Further, the inward movement range of the filter can be regulated by the guide portion integrally raised from the tip of the lower rail wall portion. Since the guide portion is integrally raised from the lower rail wall portion, these can be configured by one component. It is possible to provide an air conditioner capable of guiding a filter while being inexpensive.

A rail opening is opened at a portion of the bottom of the rail facing the guide portion. If the support is manufactured by resin molding, the rail opening can be formed by a slide type for forming the guide portion, and can be easily configured. Since the rail opening is formed, the weight of the support can be reduced.

It is a figure which showed schematically the air conditioner according to the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the filter unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. It is a 6-arrow view of FIG. It is a 7 arrow view of FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, Fr is front, Rr is rear, Le is left, Ri is right, Up is up, Dn is down, and Ce is the center of the support in the width direction.
<Example>

See FIG. FIG. 1 shows an air conditioner 10 including a cooling device according to the present invention. The air conditioner 10 has a cooling function for cooling the indoor In and a heating function for heating the indoor In.

The air conditioner 10 includes an outdoor unit 20 provided in the outdoor Ou and an indoor unit 30 provided in the indoor In. The outdoor unit 20 and the indoor unit 30 are connected to each other so that the refrigerant can be circulated. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the direction in which the refrigerant circulates is based on the cooling operation.

The outdoor unit 20 includes a four-way switching valve 21 that switches the circulation direction of the refrigerant during cooling operation and heating operation, a compressor 22 through which the refrigerant that has passed through the four-way switching valve 21 flows and compresses the refrigerant, and the compressor 22. The outdoor heat exchanger 23 through which the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 22 and having a high temperature and high pressure flows, the outdoor fan 24 that blows air toward the outdoor heat exchanger 23, and the refrigerant that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 are depressurized. It has an expansion valve 25 and.

See FIGS. 2 and 3. The indoor unit 30 is used by hanging it on a wall Wa in the indoor In. In the indoor unit 30, a metal plate support plate 31 is fixed to the wall Wa, and the case 32 is supported by the support plate 31. The case 32 includes an indoor fan 33 that takes indoor In air into the case 32 and blows air to the indoor In, and a plurality of indoor heat exchangers 34 that exchange heat with the air taken in by the indoor fan 33. A filter that houses a filter unit 40 that is placed above the indoor heat exchanger 34 and suppresses the intrusion of dust into the case 32, and a filter 70 that is continuously provided at the rear of the filter unit 40 and retracted during cleaning. A storage unit 35 and a dust box 37 for collecting dust are stored.

See FIG. During the cooling operation, the refrigerant whose high temperature and high pressure are set by the compressor 22 exchanges heat with the outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and releases heat. At this time, the outdoor fan 24 operates to forcibly flow the outside air to the outer periphery of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 to promote heat exchange. The refrigerant that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and released heat is depressurized by the expansion valve 25, and the temperature drops.

See FIG. By operating the indoor fan 33, air is introduced into the case 32 from the air introduction port 32a opened at the upper part. The introduced air passes through the outer periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 and is blown to the indoor In through the air outlet 32b opened at the lower part. On the other hand, the indoor heat exchanger 34 is supplied with the refrigerant cooled by the outdoor unit 20 (see FIG. 1). The air passing through the outer periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 exchanges heat with the refrigerant and is cooled. Cooled air is blown to the indoor In.

See also FIG. During the heating operation, the four-way switching valve 21 switches the flow path of the refrigerant, and the refrigerant is circulated in the direction opposite to that during the cooling operation.

3 and 4 (a) are referred to. FIG. 4A shows an exploded perspective view of the filter unit. The filter unit 40 transmits a driving force to a resin frame-shaped support 50 provided along the air introduction port 32a, a filter 70 movably provided on the support 50, and a filter 70. It has a drive mechanism 43 for moving the 70 in the front-rear direction, and a cleaning unit 44 for entwining dust adhering to the filter 70.

See FIG. 4 (a). The support 50 is a resin molded product that is detachably provided with respect to the case 32 (see FIG. 3). The support 50 extends in the front-rear direction and supports the left and right end portions of the filter 70, and the front rail portions 60, 60 connecting the front ends of the left and right rail portions 60, 60. Located near the connecting portion 52 (rail connecting portion 52), the rear rail connecting portion 53 (rail connecting portion 53) connecting the left and right rail portions 60, and the rear ends of the left and right rail portions 60, and the rear rail connecting portion 53. A vertical extension between the drive mechanism support portions 54, 54 that support a part of the drive mechanism 43 and the left and right rail portions 60, 60 along the rail portions 60, 60 to prevent the filter 70 from floating. Between the front and rear rail connection portions 52 and 53, the cross rail portions 56 and 56 extending left and right along the front and rear rail connection portions 52 and 53 to prevent the filter 70 from floating are integrated. It is formed in.

See FIG. 4 (b) and FIG. FIG. 4 (b) is an enlarged view of a portion 4b of FIG. 4 (a). The left and right rail portions 60, 60 have the same configuration. The rail portion 60 has a substantially U-shape that opens toward the center of the support 50 in the left-right direction, and has a rail bottom 61 corresponding to the bottom of the U-shape and a center of the support 50 in the left-right direction from the lower end of the rail bottom 61. The lower rail wall portion 62 extending toward the rail, the upper rail wall portion 63 extending parallel to the lower rail wall portion 62 from the upper end of the rail bottom portion 61, and the tip of the lower rail wall portion 62 are integrally raised. It has a guide portion 64 for guiding the filter 70 (see FIG. 4A), and a rail opening 65 opened at a portion of the rail bottom 61 facing the guide portion 64.

It can be said that the rail portion 60 extends along the moving direction (front-back direction) of the filter 70 and exhibits a substantially U-shape with respect to the cross section perpendicular to the moving direction.

See FIG. 4 (a) and FIG. It can be said that the left and right rail bottoms 61 and 61 face each other, and the upper and lower wall portions 62 and 63 extend from the top and bottom of the rail bottom 61 toward the facing rail bottom 61.

The guide portions 64 are intermittently formed at five locations. The distance between the adjacent guide portions 64 is set so that the distance between the guide portion 64 closest to the front end portion (see the filter entrance / exit 52a) of the rail portion 60 and the guide portion 64 adjacent to the guide portion 64 is the shortest. By reaching the second guide portion 64 as soon as possible when the filter 70 is inserted, the filter 70 can be stably guided.

See FIGS. 5 and 7. The guide portion 64 includes a guide surface 64a facing the rail bottom portion 61 and to which the filter 70 can abut. The guide surface 64a is composed of a curved surface whose center protrudes toward the rail bottom 61 from both ends in the front-rear direction.

The rail opening 65 is opened at a portion facing the guide portion 64. The rail opening 65 is formed by a slide mold for forming a guide portion 64 when the support 50 is resin-molded. The height of the rail opening 65 is lower than the height of the filter 70 and higher than the height of the guide portion 64. Therefore, in the portion where the guide portion 64 is formed, the range in which the filter 70 can move up, down, left, and right is defined.

A filter inlet / outlet 52a for inserting / removing the filter 70 is formed at the front end of the front rail connecting portion 52.

The filter 70 is detachably provided with respect to the support 50. The filter 70 can be moved from the state of being removed from the front of the support 50 as shown in FIG. 4A to the inside of the filter accommodating portion 35 shown in FIG.

From the state shown in FIG. 4A to the state shown in FIG. 3, the operator moves the filter 70 by pushing or pulling out the filter 70. For example, this operation is performed when replacing the filter 70, or in order to remove the filter 70 from the support 50, particularly when the amount of dust adhering to the filter 70 is large.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, the filter 70 is connected to the drive mechanism 43. When the drive mechanism 43 is operated from the state shown in FIG. 3, the filter 70 can be retracted toward the filter accommodating portion 35 by the driving force of the drive mechanism 43. This operation is performed during an automatic cleaning operation or the like.

The filter 70 is surrounded by a filter frame 71 formed in a substantially rectangular shape, a mesh-shaped filter body 72 supported by the filter frame 71 to prevent dust from entering the case 32, and the filter frame 71. It is formed on the back surfaces of the filter vertical reinforcing portions 73, 73 extending in the front-rear direction at the site, the filter horizontal reinforcing portions 74 extending in the left-right direction in the area surrounded by the filter frame 71, and the left and right ends of the filter frame 71. It has filter rack portions 75, 75 connected to the drive mechanism 43.

The filter rack portions 75, 75 are formed from the front end to the rear end at the left and right end portions of the filter frame body 71.

The drive mechanism 43 is formed by directly or indirectly connecting left and right pinion gears 43a and 43a to a motor as a drive source. The left and right pinion gears 43a and 43a are connected to each other via a shaft 43b. The pinion gears 43a and 43a mesh with the filter rack portions 75 and 75, respectively.

See FIG. The cleaning unit 44 has a brush 44a that abuts on the filter 70 and is rotatably provided to entangle the dust adhering to the filter 70, and a separation portion 44b that abuts on the brush 44a and separates the dust adhering to the brush 44a from the brush 44a. And have.

The separation portion 44b is a comb-shaped member fixed to the upper end of the filter storage portion 35.

The filter accommodating portion 35 is provided with a plurality of guide portions for guiding the filter 70 intermittently.

The operation of the air conditioner 10 of the present invention will be described below.

For example, the air conditioner 10 starts a cleaning operation after finishing the cooling operation. During the cleaning operation, the motor of the drive mechanism operates. When the motor of the drive mechanism 43 operates, the pinion gear 43a rotates. Since the pinion gear 43a meshes with the filter rack portion 75 (see FIG. 4A), the filter 70 is retracted via the filter rack portion 75. The rear end of the retracting filter 70 retracts along the filter accommodating portion 35.

See FIG. When the filter 70 retracts, the direction of movement of the filter 70 is guided by the rail portion 60.

See FIG. The brush 44a is in contact with the surface of the filter 70, and the brush 44a rotates to entangle the dust adhering to the filter 70. The separation portion 44b is in contact with the brush 44a. Further, as the brush 44a rotates, the dust is separated from the brush 44a by the separating portion 44b. The separated dust passes between the filter storage portion 35 and the case rear wall portion 32c, falls into the dust box 37, and is collected. The dust box 37 is detachably provided with respect to the case 32. The operator can remove the dust box 37 from the case and dispose of the collected dust.

The condition for starting the cleaning operation is not limited to the case where the cleaning operation is automatically started at the end of the cooling operation. The cleaning operation may be started by the start operation of the cleaning operation by the operator. In addition, the cleaning operation can be started under any conditions.

The present invention described above has the following effects.

See FIG. 4 (a) and FIG. The U-shaped rail portion 60 is formed with a guide portion 64 that is integrally raised from the tip of the lower rail wall portion 62 and guides the filter 70. Since the U-shaped rail portions 60 are provided so as to face each other, the movement range of the filter 70 to the outside, the upper side, and the lower side can be regulated. Further, the inward movement range of the filter 70 can be regulated by the guide portion 64 integrally raised from the tip of the lower rail wall portion 62. Since the guide portion 64 is integrally raised from the lower rail wall portion 62, these can be configured by one component. It is possible to provide an air conditioner 10 (see FIG. 3) capable of guiding a filter while being inexpensive.

A rail opening 65 is opened at a portion of the rail bottom 61 facing the guide portion 64. If the support 50 is manufactured by resin molding, the rail opening 65 can be formed by a slide type that can slide in the width direction of the support 50 in order to form the guide portion 64. In this case, the rail opening 65 can be easily formed. Since the rail opening 65 is formed, the weight of the support 50 can be reduced.

See FIG. 7. The guide surface 64a is composed of a curved surface whose center is bulging toward the rail bottom 61 from both ends. Since the curved surface has a bulge in the center, the filter 70 can be smoothly guided regardless of the front and back of the moving direction of the filter 70 (see FIG. 6).

Although the air conditioner according to the present invention has been described as an example of an air conditioner having both a cooling function and a heating function, it can be applied to an air conditioner having only a cooling function or a heating function.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a cooling device including an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, but also to a cooling device in which these are integrated.

The left and right guide portions 64 do not necessarily have to coincide with each other in the front-rear direction. That is, the left and right guide portions 64 may be formed alternately on the left and right.

The present invention is not limited to the examples as long as the actions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

The air conditioner of the present invention is suitable for a home air conditioner.

10 ... Air conditioner 32 ... Case 32a ... Air inlet 40 ... Filter unit 43 ... Drive mechanism 50 ... Support 52 ... Front rail connection (rail connection)
53 ... Rear rail connection (rail connection)
60 ... Rail part 61 ... Rail bottom 62 ... Lower rail wall part 63 ... Upper rail wall part 64 ... Guide part 64a ... Guide surface 65 ... Rail opening 70 ... Filter

Claims (2)

It has a case in which an air introduction port for introducing air is opened, and a filter unit that faces the air introduction port and suppresses the intrusion of dust into the case.
The filter unit includes a support provided along the air inlet, a filter provided so as to be movable on the support, and a drive mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the filter to move the filter. In an air conditioner with
The support has a pair of rail portions extending along the moving direction of the filter and having a substantially U-shape with respect to a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction, and a rail connecting portion connecting these rail portions. death,
The substantially U-shaped rail portion includes a rail bottom portion provided facing each other, an upper and lower rail wall portion extending from the top and bottom of these rail bottom portions toward the opposite rail bottom portion, and a lower rail wall portion. An air conditioner comprising: a guide portion integrally raised from the tip of the rail to guide the filter, and a rail opening opened at a portion of the bottom of the rail facing the guide portion. The guide portion has a guide surface facing the bottom of the rail and with which the filter can come into contact.
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface is formed of a curved surface whose center is bulging toward the bottom of the rail rather than both ends.

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