JP6993299B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a dust box in which dust is collected.

Conventionally, in this type, there is an air conditioner equipped with a filter cleaning means capable of removing dust of the air filter inside the case, and the dust of the air filter is removed by periodically driving the filter cleaning means. The removed dust was guided to the dust box installed in the case, and the dust was collected. In some cases, the user regularly removed the dust box and discarded the collected dust. (For example, Patent Document 1)

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-57881

However, since this conventional structure has a structure in which the dust box is pulled out by a push button, a complicated mechanism in which a rotating body, a leaf spring, or the like is combined between the push button and the dust box is required.

Also, when removing the dust box from the case, the user must operate the push button with one hand and receive the dust box with the other hand, and when removing the dust box from the case provided at a high place in the room, the user himself / herself. There was room for improvement because it was difficult to maintain the posture of the user, the posture of the user became unstable, and the dust box could be accidentally dropped on the floor.

In order to solve the above problems, in claim 1 of the present invention, a case mounted on a wall surface and a case mounted on a wall surface are used.
It is provided with a dust box that is detachably provided on the edge of the case opening opened on the bottom surface of the case and collects dust inside the case.
The dust box is composed of an operation unit having a knob portion that can be operated by inserting a finger, a collection unit that can store dust, and a connection unit that connects the operation unit and the collection unit.
Two bottomless container-shaped knobs that are open downward with the substantially center position of the dust box facing each other are formed, and a box is placed on the end face of the knob that is farthest from the center. A protrusion is formed,
When the dust box is attached to the case, the dust box is supported by the box protrusion being caught on the edge of the case opening, and the dust box is attached with the opposed knob toward the center of the dust box. The connection portion is displaced by the force, the knob portion operates, the box protrusion is disengaged from the edge of the case opening, the state of being caught in the case opening is released, and the dust box is released from the case. It is characterized by being removed.

Further, in claim 2 , when the urging of the knob portion is released, the dust box is restored to the original state of the connection portion and the knob portion returns to the original position. The box protrusion is characterized by being caught on the edge of the case opening.

Further, claim 3 is characterized in that the dust box has a left-right width smaller than at least about half the left-right width of the case.

Further, according to claim 4 , the dust box is characterized in that a rib portion for partitioning between the knob portions facing each other is formed.

According to the present invention, a removable dust box is installed in the case opening formed on the bottom surface of the case, and the dust box is a container in which a knob portion that can be operated by inserting a finger is inserted under the opening. It is composed of an operation part in the shape of a container, a container-like collection part that can store dust by the upper side of the opening, and a connection part that connects the operation part and the collection part, and a box protrusion is formed on the side surface of the operation part. When the dust box is attached to the case, the dust box is supported by the box protrusion being caught on the edge of the case opening, and the knob is urged in the direction facing the formation position of the box protrusion to the case opening. Since the hooked state is released and the dust box is removed from the case, the user can easily attach the dust box to the case and remove the dust box from the case without the need for complicated structures or other members, which is convenient. Is improved.

In addition, since the dust box is released from being caught in the case opening by urging the opposing knobs in the direction of approaching each other, the knob of the operation unit is near the position of the center of gravity of the dust box, and the dust box is gripped. Since it can be removed from the case by pinching the part with your fingers, when the user removes the dust box from the case to remove the dust in the dust box, the user holds the grip part with one hand and the posture of the dust box. It is possible to lower the dust box from the upper part of the room while maintaining its own posture with the other hand, so there is a risk that the user's posture will collapse and the dust box will fall to the floor when removing the dust box from the case. There is no such thing, and the usability of the user is improved.

In addition, when the force on the knob of the dust box is released, the connection part is restored to the original state and the knob part returns to the original position, so that the box protrusion part becomes the edge of the case opening. Since it is caught, you can attach the dust box to the case by simply lifting the dust box with one hand and pushing it into the case opening, so you can attach the dust box to the case while maintaining the user's own posture with the other hand. There is no risk that the user's posture will collapse and the dust box will fall on the floor during the work of attaching it to the case, improving the user's usability.

Also, since the dust box has a left-right width that is at least about half the left-right width of the case, the dust box itself is compact, so that the user can support the dust box with one hand while holding his / her posture with the other hand. It is possible to easily install or remove the dust box while maintaining it.

In addition, since the dust box has ribs that partition between the knobs facing each other, when the dust box is removed from the case, excessive urging force is applied to the knobs, and the degree of displacement of the knobs is large. In such a case, since the displacement of the knob portion is regulated by the rib portion, it is possible to prevent the situation where the displacement of the knob portion becomes large and the connection portion is broken and damaged.

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. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. It is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is a bottom view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the dust box of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. It is a figure explaining how to remove the dust box shown in FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the explanation, the front and rear are the direction in which the indoor unit protrudes from the wall on which the indoor unit is hung, and the wall is the rear. In the figure, Fr is front, Rr is rear, Le is left, Ri is right, Up is up, and Dn is down.
<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 40 is supported by the support plate 31. The case 40 includes an indoor fan 33 that takes indoor In air into the case 40 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. The filter unit 60, which is arranged above the indoor heat exchanger 34 and suppresses the intrusion of dust into the case 40, the cleaning unit 36 that entangles the dust adhering to the filter unit 60, and the cleaning unit 36 are entangled. A dust box 70 for collecting dust and a dust box 70 are housed in the dust box 70.

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, by operating the outdoor fan 24, the outside air is forcibly flowed 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 40 from the air introduction port 42a 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 vent 42b 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. The air passing through the outer periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 exchanges heat with the refrigerant and is cooled. That is, 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.

See FIG. The support plate 31 is formed by bending a single metal plate. The support plate 31 has a fixing plate portion 31a formed in a flat plate shape and fixed to the wall Wa via pins 38, 38, and a lower protruding portion 31b that is bent forward from the lower end of the fixing plate portion 31a and protrudes forward. It has (projecting portion 31b) and an upper protruding portion 31c that is bent forward from the upper end of the fixing plate portion 31a and protrudes forward.

The lower protruding portion 31b extends forward substantially vertically from the lower end of the fixing plate portion 31a toward the front. The rear portion of the case 40 is hung on the lower protruding portion 31b. See FIG. The lower protrusions 31b and 31b are formed at two positions on the left and right.

See FIG. The upper protruding portion 31c has a substantially L-shape in a side view, and is formed continuously in the left-right direction. The upper portion of the vertical side of the upper protruding portion 31c extends diagonally forward along the shape of the case 40. The rear portion of the case 40 is hung on the upper protruding portion 31c.

See FIG. The case 40 is supported by a rear case body 50 supported by a support plate 31, a central case body 42 supported by the rear case body 50 and covering the rear portion of the indoor fan 33, and the central case body 42. It has a front case body 43 that covers the front of the filter unit 60.

The rear case body 50 is, for example, a resin molded product molded by resin molding. The rear case body 50 is integrally formed at the rear end of the case bottom 51, which is located at the lower end and has a case opening 51a for accommodating the dust box 70, and is hung on the lower protruding portion 31b. The lower case claw portion 52 (case claw portion 52), the case rear wall portion 53 that is integrally raised from the rear edge of the case opening 51a and partitions the rear end of the case 40, and the upper end of the case rear wall portion 53. The case ceiling portion 54 extending back and forth from the case, the case side wall portion 55 (see FIG. 4) connecting the case ceiling portion 54 to the case bottom portion 51, and the upper protrusion portion 31c protruding rearward from the upper portion of the case rear wall portion 53. It has an upper case claw portion 56 hung on the ceiling.

See FIG. The case openings 51a and 51a have a substantially rectangular shape, and are formed at two positions on the left and right of the case bottom 51.

See FIG. Both the case openings 51a and 51a are located in front of the lower protrusions 31b and 31b. It can also be said that the center position C1 in the left-right direction of the case opening 51a is located on the line CL extending forward from the center position in the left-right direction of the lower protrusion 31b.

See FIG. The lower case claw portion 52 is located behind the dust box 70.

See also FIG. The case rear wall portion 53 has a rear wall lower portion 53a extending upward from the edge of the case opening 51a, and a slanted wall portion 53b extending diagonally upward from the upper end of the rear wall lower portion 53a.

A rear wall hole portion 53c, which is a substantially rectangular opening, is opened at the lower end of the rear wall lower portion 53a. A lower case claw portion 52 is formed behind the rear wall hole portion 53c. The rear wall hole portion 53c is a hole formed by a slide mold for forming the lower case claw portion 52 during resin molding.

The front end of the inclined wall portion lower end portion 53d, which is the lower end of the inclined wall portion 53b, protrudes forward from the upper end of the rear wall portion lower portion 53a. The lower end portion 53d of the inclined wall portion covers the upper end portion of the rear portion of the dust box 70. As a result, it is possible to prevent dust from accumulating at the upper end of the rear portion of the dust box 70.

See FIG. The central case body 42 has an air introduction port 42a opened at the upper part for taking in air, and a blower port 42b opened for blowing out cooled air. A louver 39 is provided in the air outlet 42b so as to be swingable. By swinging the louver 39, the air outlet 42b is opened and closed, and the wind direction is adjusted.

The filter unit 60 has a resin frame-shaped support 61 provided along the air inlet, a filter 62 movably provided on the support 61, and a filter 62 that transmits a driving force to the filter 62. It has a drive mechanism 63 for moving the air filter in the front-rear direction, and a filter storage unit 64 for storing the filter 62 retracted during cleaning.

A rack that meshes with the drive mechanism 63 is formed at the left-right end portion of the back surface of the filter 62.

The drive mechanism 63 is formed by directly or indirectly connecting a pinion gear 63a to a motor as a drive source. The pinion gear 63a meshes with a rack formed on the filter 62.

The cleaning unit 36 has a brush 36a that comes into contact with the filter 62 and is rotatably provided to entangle the dust adhering to the filter 62, and a separation portion 36b that abuts the brush 36a and separates the dust adhering to the brush 36a from the brush 36a. And have.

The separation portion 36b is a comb-shaped member fixed to the upper end of the filter storage portion 64.

The dust box 70 is formed in a substantially pentagonal shape when viewed from the side. More specifically, it is formed into a pentagon with the front part of the upper side of the rectangle cut off diagonally from the upper part of the front side. The portion corresponding to the hypotenuse formed in the front portion of the dust box 70 is covered by the rear surface of the filter accommodating portion 64.

See FIGS. 4 and 5. The dust boxes 70 and 70 are attached to the two case openings 51a and 51a, respectively. The left and right dust boxes 70 and 70 have a width in the left-right direction smaller than half the width in the left-right direction of the case 40, preferably a left-right width substantially equal to the left-right width of the filter 62, and both have the same configuration. Therefore, only the left dust box 70 will be described below. The description of the dust box 70 on the right will be omitted.

The dust box 70 is integrally formed by, for example, resin molding. The dust box 70 has an operation unit 71 having a knob portion 71a at the lower end of the center in the left-right direction. The operation portion 71 is formed so that two substantially container-shaped knob portions 71a having an opening in the lower end direction face each other in the front-rear direction, and the end surface of the knob portion 71a farthest from the center of the dust box 70 in the front-rear direction. Box protrusions 71b protruding in the front-rear direction are formed on the 71d and 71d. Then, at the center position in the front-rear direction of the two opposed knob portions 71a, a rib portion 71c extending in the left-right direction and partitioning the two knob portions 71a is formed.

See FIG. On the left and right sides of the operation unit 71, collection units 72, 72 are formed in which dust is collected in a substantially container shape with an open upper end. The collecting portion 72 is formed with protrusions 72a extending upward at the left and right ends. The protrusion 72a is provided for opening and closing the damper 80 between the inclined wall portion 53b of the case rear wall portion 53 and the filter accommodating portion 64. When the dust box 70 is attached to the case opening 51a, the protrusion 72a pushes up the damper 80 to open the path to the collecting unit 72, and the dust of the filter 62 collected by the cleaning unit 36 falls into the collecting unit 72. It becomes possible to store. Further, when the dust box 70 is removed from the case opening 51a, the protrusion 72a is separated from the damper 80, so that the path to the collecting section 72 is closed, and the dust is floored from the path between the inclined wall portion 53b and the filter storage section 62. It is possible to prevent it from falling on the surface.

The front-rear side surface of the dust box 70 is recessed by a predetermined distance toward the center of the dust box 70, and is sandwiched between two side recesses 74 located in each of the front and rear directions and the two side recesses 74. A knob accommodating recess 75 is formed at the above position and accommodating the knob portion 71a of the operation portion 71.

See FIGS. 6 and 7. The end surface 71d of the operation unit 71 extends in the left-right direction to a position facing the side surface recess 74 of the dust box 70, and the upper end of the end surface 71d and the side surface recess 74 are connected via the connecting portion 73 at the position facing the side surface recess 74. It is connected.

See FIG. 7. The operation unit 71 and the collection unit 72 of the dust box 70 are connected by the connection unit 73. The connecting portion 73 extends forward or backward from the side surface recess 74 and is connected to the end faces 71d and 71d of the operating portion 71. The connecting portion 73 is formed so as to be thinner than the thickness of the side surface constituting the dust box 70, and this thickness is such that the connecting portion 73 is displaced when urged to bring the knob portions 71a closer to each other. When the knob portion 71a operates and the urging of the knob portion 71a is released, the thickness is such that the grip portion 71a returns to the original position due to the restoring force of the connection portion 73.

Therefore, when the user puts a finger in the knob portion 71a and urges the knob portions 71a to approach each other, the connection portion 73 is displaced and the knob portions 71a and 71a move in the front-rear direction. The box protrusion 71b is detached from the edge of the case opening 51a, and the dust box 70 can be removed from the case opening 51a.

Further, when the user releases the finger from the pinching portion 71a and releases the urging in the direction in which the pinching portions 71a are brought together, the connecting portion 73 exerts a restoring force to return to the original state, and the pinching portion 71a operates. Since the dust box 70 returns to the original position and stands still, the box protrusion 71b is caught on the edge of the case opening 51a simply by pushing the dust box 70 into the case opening 51a, and the dust box 70 can be attached to the case opening 51a.

See FIG. The operation unit 71 has two substantially container-shaped knob portions 71a and 71a that are open downward in the front-rear direction.

A box projecting portion 71b that projects forward and hangs on the edge of the case opening 51a is formed on the end surface 71d that constitutes the front knob portion 71a. A box projecting portion 71b that projects rearward and hangs on the edge of the case opening 51a is formed on the end surface 71d that constitutes the rear knob portion 71a. Both the box protrusions 71b and 71b have a fan shape in which the amount of protrusion increases downward. It can also be said that the rear box protrusion 71b hangs on the lower end edge of the rear wall hole 53c.

The two knob portions 71a and 71a are partitioned by a rib portion 71c connecting the left and right collecting portions 72 and 72.

The upper part of the front end of the collecting portion 72 is arranged along the lower end of the filter accommodating portion 64, and the upper part of the rear end is located in the vicinity of the lower end portion 53d of the inclined wall portion. Dust falls between the case rear wall portion 53 and the filter storage portion 64. Therefore, it can be said that the collecting unit 72 faces the entire portion where the dust falls.

See FIG. The knob portions 71a and 71a are parts where a user can insert a finger, and by inserting a finger into the front and rear knob portions 71a and 71a and urging the rib portion 71c to be sandwiched, the center of the dust box 70 is used. Can be bent toward.

By urging the knob portions 71a and 71a toward the center of the dust box 70, the connecting portion 73 is displaced, and the front and rear box protrusions 71b and 71b are displaced within the front and rear widths of the case opening 51a. The dust box 70 can be removed from the case 40 by lowering the dust box 70 while urging the knob portions 71a and 71a toward the center of the dust box 70.

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

See FIG. 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 63 operates, the pinion gear 63a rotates to retract the filter 62. The retracting filter 62 retracts along the filter accommodating portion 64. The brush 36a is in contact with the surface of the filter 62, and the brush 36a rotates to entangle the dust adhering to the filter 62. The separating portion 36b is in contact with the brush 36a. Further, as the brush 36a rotates, the dust is separated from the brush 36a by the separating portion 36b. The separated dust passes between the filter storage portion 64 and the case rear wall portion 53, falls into the dust box 70, and is collected.

See FIG. After the cleaning operation is completed, the operator of the air conditioner 10 removes the dust box 70 from the case 40 and discards the dust in the dust box 70. Since the knobs 71a and 71a of the operation unit 71 are arranged so as to face the center of the dust box 70 in the front-rear direction, when the dust box 70 is taken out from the bottom surface of the case 40, the knobs are located near the center of gravity of the dust box 70. When the dust box 70 is taken out, the dust box 70 can be lowered from a high place in the room where the case 40 is installed while the knob portion 71a is supported by the fingers of one hand, and the user's own posture can be maintained with the other hand. It is possible to prevent the dust box 70 from tilting due to the user's posture being disturbed and the dust in the collecting unit 72 from falling on the floor surface.

After discarding the dust, the dust box 70 is pushed toward the case opening 51a. The amount of protrusions of the box protrusions 71b and 71b is continuously increasing downward. Therefore, by urging the dust box 70 toward the case 40, the box protrusions 71b and 71b are pushed into the central portion in the front-rear direction by the edge of the case opening 51a. By further urging, the box protrusions 71b and 71b pass through the case opening 51a and return to their original shapes as shown in FIG. This completes the installation of the dust box 70. When the dust in the dust box 70 has been removed and the dust box 70 is reattached to the bottom surface of the indoor unit 30, the dust box 70 goes to a high place in the room where the indoor unit 30 is installed while supporting the vicinity of the center of gravity of the dust box 70 with the fingers of one hand. Since the user's own posture can be maintained with the other hand while raising the dust box 70, the user's posture collapses when the dust box 70 is attached, and the dust box 70 tilts and slides off the operation unit 71, causing the dust box 70 to slide off the floor surface. It is possible to prevent it from falling into.

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 condition.

See FIG. Since the left-right width of one dust box 70 is smaller than about half of the left-right width of the case 40 and is almost the same as the left-right width of the filter 62, the dust collected by the cleaning unit 36 is surely put into the collecting portion 72 of the dust box 70. Also, when the dust box 70 is removed from the case opening 51a, the dust box 70 is compact, so that the knob portion 71a located at a high place in the room can be removed by operating it with one hand. Even when the dust box 70 is attached to the case opening 51a, the knob portion 71a can be lifted to a high place in the room while being supported by one hand, so that the user can support the dust box 70 with one hand while supporting the other. Since it is possible to maintain one's own posture with one's hand, the dust box 70 can be attached to or removed from the case opening 51a in a stable posture without losing the balance.

See FIG. When the grips 71a and 71a are urged toward the center in the front-rear direction in order to remove the dust box 70 from the case 40, if the force applied to the grip 71a is large, the displacement of the operation portion 71 becomes large and the grip 71a becomes large. The dust box 70 is removed from the case 40 because it tries to exceed the center position in the front-rear direction of the dust box 70, but the knob portion 71a does not exceed the center position in the front-rear direction of the dust box 70 due to the restriction by the rib portion 71c. Occasionally, a large force is applied to the connection portion 73, and it is possible to prevent the connection portion 73 from breaking and being damaged.

In this embodiment, the cleaning unit 36 collects the dust adhering to the filter 62 provided in the indoor unit 30 that blows the air harmonious into the room, and the dust collected by the cleaning unit 36 is collected. Although the dust box 70 to be collected has been described, the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, but also includes another embodiment that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention, for example, for inspection installed on the bottom surface of the case 40. The configuration of the present invention may be applied to the box for closing the hole of the above, and the point is that it is a box shape that can be attached to and detached from the bottom surface of the case 40 attached to the wall surface at a high place in the room. For example, it falls into the category of the present invention.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the knob portions 71a and 71a of the dust box 70 are formed so as to face the center in the front-rear direction, but only one knob portion 71a is formed at the lower end of the dust box and the box protrusion portion. It may be supported by the case opening 51a by 71b, or the knob portion 71a may be formed so as to face the center in the left-right direction, and the number of the knob portions 71a may be increased. The position is not particularly limited as long as it has a shape that conforms to the gist of the present invention.

10 Air conditioner 40 Case 51a Case opening 70 Dust box 71 Operation part 71a Knob part 71b Box protrusion 71c Rib part 71d End face 72 Collection part 73 Connection part

Claims (4)

A case mounted on the wall and
It is provided with a dust box that is detachably provided on the edge of the case opening opened on the bottom surface of the case and collects dust inside the case.
The dust box is composed of an operation unit having a knob portion that can be operated by inserting a finger, a collection unit that can store dust, and a connection unit that connects the operation unit and the collection unit.
Two bottomless container-shaped knobs that are open downward with the substantially center position of the dust box facing each other are formed, and a box is placed on the end face of the knob that is farthest from the center. A protrusion is formed,
When the dust box is attached to the case, the dust box is supported by the box protrusion being caught on the edge of the case opening, and the dust box is attached with the opposed knob toward the center of the dust box. The connection portion is displaced by the force, the knob portion operates, the box protrusion is disengaged from the edge of the case opening, the state of being caught in the case opening is released, and the dust box is released from the case. An air conditioner characterized by being removed. In the dust box, when the urging to the grip portion is released, the connection portion is restored to the original state and the grip portion returns to the original position, so that the box protrusion portion opens the case. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner is hooked on the edge of the portion. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the dust box has a left-right width smaller than about half of the left-right width of the case. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the dust box is formed with rib portions that partition between the knob portions facing each other.

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