JP7488505B2 - Ceiling-mounted air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a ceiling-mounted air conditioner (indoor unit) that is installed on the ceiling of the room to be air-conditioned using a hanging bolt or the like, and more specifically, to a drain pan.

A ceiling-mounted air conditioner is installed on the ceiling of the room to be air-conditioned using hanging bolts or the like. The housing of a ceiling-mounted air conditioner has a front panel (also called the bottom panel), a left side panel, a right side panel, and a rear panel, and is often flat in shape.

The inside of the housing is divided by a partition into a heat exchanger chamber, which houses the indoor heat exchanger and drain pan, and a blower chamber, which houses the blower fan (sirocco fan).

Normally, the heat exchanger chamber is located on the front panel side, the blower chamber is located on the rear panel side, and an air outlet is provided in front of the housing on the heat exchanger chamber side, and an air intake is provided on the bottom side of the blower chamber. An intake grille with an air filter is attached to the air intake, and an air deflector is provided at the air outlet.

For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a drain pan has a detachable front panel that serves as a cosmetic cover to cover the drain pan. During cooling operation, condensed water drips from the indoor heat exchanger onto the drain pan, which can easily cause dirt due to mold or indoor dust. Therefore, as part of maintenance, the drain pan needs to be removed from the housing periodically or irregularly and cleaned.

The drain pan is screwed to the housing. Therefore, to remove the drain pan from the housing, the screws must be removed, but this requires work at a high altitude using a stepladder or ladder, which poses the following problems and makes maintenance work less efficient:

For example, if there are two screws, one on the left and one on the right, removing the screw on the right side will tilt the right side of the drain pan, causing accumulated condensed water to spill out. In addition, once the two screws are removed, the drain pan will separate from the housing (fall), making it difficult for one person to perform the work. In addition, it is easy to lose the removed screws.

JP 2008-209065 A

Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to improve the workability during maintenance of the drain pan in a ceiling-mounted air conditioner.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a ceiling-mounted air conditioner having a housing including a front panel, a left side panel, a right side panel, and a rear panel, the inside of the housing being divided by a partition into a heat exchanger chamber in which an indoor heat exchanger and a drain pan are disposed, and a blower chamber in which a blower fan is disposed, the front panel being detachably attached to the housing so as to cover the drain pan, an air outlet being provided in front of the housing on the heat exchanger chamber side, and an air inlet having an intake grille being provided on the bottom surface of the blower chamber,
the drain pan is disposed within the housing between the left side panel and the right side panel, and is provided on its left and right sides with screw fastening fittings that are screwed to flanges formed on the lower edges of the left side panel and the right side panel, and is movable between a dew receiving position relative to the indoor heat exchanger and a removal position on the air outlet side,
The screw fastening fitting has an engagement hole formed therein, which allows the drain pan to be fixed to the dew-receiving position by fastening a male screw, and allows the drain pan to be moved from the dew-receiving position to the removal position by loosening the male screw,
the engagement hole has a small diameter portion whose inner diameter is smaller than the head of the male screw, and a large diameter portion connected to the small diameter portion and whose inner diameter is larger than the head of the male screw, the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion are connected by a hole in the front-rear direction of the housing , the small diameter portion is arranged to face the air outlet side , and the drain pan is movable along the front-rear direction of the housing,
By loosening the male screw while the drain pan is in the dew-receiving position, the drain pan becomes movable while supported by the housing, and by moving the male screw from the small diameter portion to the large diameter portion, the drain pan becomes removable from the housing .

The present invention improves the ease of maintenance of the drain pan in a ceiling-mounted air conditioner.

1 is an external perspective view of a ceiling-mounted air conditioner according to the present invention, viewed from the floor side. FIG. Cross-sectional view of line AA in Figure 2. FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view showing the intake grille of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner in an open state. FIG. (a) is a side view of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B. 4 is an enlarged view showing a portion of the side cover of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner that wraps around the air outlet side. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing a wind deflector according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rear side of the air deflector according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the wind direction plate body and the side plate portion of the wind direction plate separated from each other. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a welding surface of the side plate portion. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a welding surface of a pivot support portion attached to the airflow direction plate. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the mounting position of an electrical equipment box in the ceiling-mounted air conditioner. FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the layout of connecting pipes in the ceiling-mounted air conditioner. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner as viewed from the floor side, showing the direction in which connection pipes can be pulled out. 4 is a perspective view of a main portion showing pull-out windows for connecting piping provided at both corners of a housing of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the suspension structure of the front panel in the above-mentioned ceiling-mounted air conditioner. FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the hanging hooks of the front panel. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the front panel in a suspended state. FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view showing the hanging portion of FIG. 16 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a temporary fixing means for the front panel. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a locking structure at a tip of the front panel. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid of the electrical equipment box is closed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid of the electrical equipment box is being opened. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the electrical equipment box with the cover open. FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the state in which the drain pan is attached to the housing. A perspective view of FIG. 22b. 5A to 5C are side views showing a procedure for attaching the drain pan to the housing. 5A to 5C are side views showing a procedure for attaching the drain pan to the housing. 5A to 5C are side views showing a procedure for attaching the drain pan to the housing. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ceiling-mounted air conditioner when hung on a wall. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an L-shaped angle used for the wall hanging installation. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a template that can also be applied to the wall-hanging installation.

Next, several embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 22, but the present invention is not limited to these.

"overall structure"
1 to 5, a ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 according to the present invention is an indoor unit that is installed on the ceiling of a room to be air-conditioned, and includes a flat housing 10. In the description of this embodiment, the upper side (top side), front side (front surface side), rear side (rear surface side), side (side surface side), and lower side (bottom surface side) are based on Fig. 1, and the front side (front surface side) is the side of the housing viewed diagonally.

The housing 10 is installed by hanging it from the ceiling of the room to be air-conditioned (indoors) using a hanging bolt or the like (not shown). Although not shown, it may also be installed near the ceiling by being supported by an inverted L-shaped hanger device for wall-hanging installation.

The housing 10 includes a top panel (top plate) 11 that faces the ceiling surface, a left side panel (side plate) 12L, a right side panel (side plate) 12R, a front panel (front plate) 13, and a rear panel (rear plate) 14.

When there is no need to distinguish between the left side panel 12L and the right side panel 12R, they will be referred to collectively as side panels 12. Note that in Figures 1 and 2, the side panel 12 is not visible because it is covered with a decorative side cover 15 (15L, 15R). Each of these panels 11 to 14 is made of sheet metal, and in particular the front panel 13 is made of decorative steel plate, but each of the panels 11 to 14 may also be made of synthetic resin.

As shown in FIG. 3, the interior of the housing 10 is divided in the front-rear direction by a partition plate 16 into a heat exchanger chamber 17 and a blower chamber 18. An indoor heat exchanger 171 and a drain pan 172 are housed in the heat exchanger chamber 17.

The drain pan 172 is made of, for example, polystyrene foam, and is disposed below the indoor heat exchanger 171 as a dew tray. The front panel 13 is disposed along the bottom surface of the drain pan 172 to cover the drain pan 172 as a decorative cover. As described below, the front panel 13 is removable and is removed during maintenance of the drain pan 172 (for example, when cleaning).

An air outlet 20 is provided in front of the heat exchanger chamber 17 (at the front end of the housing 10). The air outlet 20 is a long opening that extends horizontally (left-right), and inside it is provided an air deflector (up-down air deflector) 21 that deflects the direction of the airflow blown out of the air outlet 20 up and down within a specified angle range. In addition, behind the air deflector 21 is provided an air deflector (left-right air deflector) 22 that deflects the direction of the airflow blown out of the air outlet 20 left and right.

The blower chamber 18 contains a sirocco fan 181 as a blower. In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, four sirocco fans 181 are used. The outlet of the fan case 182 of the sirocco fan 181 penetrates the partition plate 16 and enters the heat exchanger chamber 17.

The bottom surface of the blower chamber 18 is the air intake port 30. Inside the air intake port 30, an intake grill 31 having an air filter 32 is provided. The intake grill 31 is disposed so as to be in contact with the rear end of the front panel 13, and the front panel 13 and the intake grill 31 form the bottom surface of the housing 10. The rear end 311 of the intake grill 31 is pivoted to the lower end of the rear panel 14, and as shown in FIG. 4, it can be opened by rotating it counterclockwise.

When the sirocco fan 181 is operating, indoor air is sucked into the blower chamber 18 through the air filter 32 of the intake grille 31, and then blown out from the fan case sink 182 into the heat exchanger chamber 17. After heat exchange with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 171, the air is blown out from the air outlet 20 toward the room, thereby conditioning the room.

<External shape of the housing (side cover)>
Cosmetic side covers 15L and 15R are attached to the side panels 12L and 12R, respectively. Since the side covers 15L and 15R are symmetrical, they will be collectively referred to as the side covers 15 when there is no need to distinguish between them.

Referring to Figures 6(a) and (b), the side cover 15 is divided into an upper area 151 on the ceiling side and a lower area 152 on the floor side in order to make the housing 10 look thinner and less bulky when viewed from the floor side.

The side cover 15 has an outer shape with a V-shaped cross section, with the boundary portion 153 between the upper region 151 and the lower region 152 protruding outward from the housing 10. That is, the left side cover 15L is formed with a V-shaped cross section so that its boundary portion 153 protrudes to the left, and the right side cover 15R is formed with a V-shaped cross section so that its boundary portion 153 protrudes to the right.

As a result, when looking up at the housing 10 installed on the ceiling, all or part of the upper region 151 is hidden by the lower region 152, making the housing 10 look thin. Also, in the case of a wall-hanging installation, as shown in FIG. 22a, the housing 10 is supported by an L-shaped angle 70, but the L-shaped angle 70 becomes difficult to see.

To further enhance these effects, as shown in FIG. 6(b), it is preferable to form a step portion 154 of a predetermined width (e.g., about 12 mm) along the boundary portion 153 on the upper region 151 side of the boundary portion 153. In this way, the lower region 152 is disposed on the outer side of the housing 10 than the upper region 151, making the upper region 151 less visible.

The lower region 152 forms a band-like surface that is continuous from one side cover, for example the right side cover 15R, through the front cover portion 110 of the top panel 11 to the other side cover, the left side cover 15L.

Referring to FIG. 6, the front cover portion 110 is the portion extending from the end portion 111, where the boundary portion 153 and the step portion 154 abut against the top panel 11 and disappear as the lower region 152 wraps around to the top panel 11 side, to the front end 10a of the housing 10 on the air outlet 20 side, and corresponds to the top surface of the air outlet 20.

Preferably, the front cover part 110 of the top panel 11 has an inclined surface that slopes downward from the terminal end 111 toward the front end 10a, and the lower region 152 of the side cover 15 is curved so as to wrap around the upper edge of the air outlet 20, so that the corner C1 extending from the side cover 15 of the lower region 152 to the front cover part 110 has a first curved surface R1 with a large curvature, and the corner is rounded off, as shown in FIG. 7.

This creates a visual effect in which the lower area 152 is perceived as a continuous band-like surface with a sense of unity, reducing the sense of volume and lateral protrusion of the housing 10, making it appear more compact than its actual width.

To further accentuate this effect, it is preferable to provide the corners 201 of the air outlet 20 and the corners 211 of the upper and lower air deflectors 21 with curved surfaces of the same curvature as the corners C1 extending from the side covers 15 in the lower region 152 to the front cover section 110, as shown in FIG. 7.

In order to express the feeling that the band-shaped lower region 152 wraps around the rear panel 14 side, the lower region 152 of the side cover 15 is curved so as to wrap around the rear panel 14 side.
2, it is preferable to provide a vertically long second curved surface R2 having a predetermined curvature at the corner C2 on the rear end side of the lower region 152. This creates the effect of making the corner C2 on the rear end side of the lower region 152 appear to have a larger curve than it actually does when viewed from the front looking up.

The side covers 15 (15L, 15R) have flanges 155 on their periphery that wrap around to the housing 10 side. The display 40 that displays the driving status, etc. is located on the flange 155 of the side cover 15 (the right side cover 15R in this embodiment).

Wind vane
Next, the configuration of the airflow direction vane (upper and lower airflow direction vane) 21 arranged inside the air outlet 20 will be described with reference to Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) and Figs. 9(a) to 9(c).

The air deflector 21 is a long strip shaped plate formed to fit the size of the air outlet 20, and as shown in Figure 3, when the air outlet 20 is closed, its cross section is curved in an arch shape so that it appears integrated with the front panel 13. Figure 8a shows the front side (convex side) of the air deflector 21, and Figure 8b shows the back side (concave side) of the air deflector 21.

The wind direction plate 21 comprises a wind direction plate body 23, a left side plate portion 24L attached to the left end side of the wind direction plate body 23 in FIG. 8(b), and a right side plate portion 24R attached to the right end side of the wind direction plate body 23 in FIG. 8(b). In this embodiment, the left side plate portion 24L and the right side plate portion 24R are symmetrical, and when there is no need to distinguish between them, they are collectively referred to as side plate portions 24.

The wind direction plate body 23 is an extrusion molded product, and both ends are cut along a straight line perpendicular to the length direction. Figure 9 (a) shows one of the left end faces 232. In addition, on the back side of both ends of the wind direction plate body 23, a welding surface (first welding surface) 231 is formed with a step portion as a connecting portion and a thin wall thickness.

As shown in FIG. 9(a), the side plate portion 24 (24L, 24R) is an injection molded product in a mold, and includes a connecting portion 241 that is attached to the end of the air direction plate body 23, and a flange piece 242 that is formed to rise at a nearly right angle from the end of the connecting portion 241.

The front side (convex side) of the connecting portion 241 is formed with a step to form a thin welding surface (second welding surface) 243. This welding surface 243 faces the welding surface 231 on the air deflector body 23 side, and when they are overlapped, it has the thickness of one piece of the air deflector body 23 formed by extrusion molding.

In other words, the first welded surface 231 and the second welded surface 243 are in a notched joint relationship, and a step surface 244 against which the end surface 232 of the air direction plate body 23 abuts is formed linearly on the welded surface 243 side of the side plate portion 24, and a step surface 233 against which the end surface 246 of the side plate portion 24 abuts is formed linearly on the welded surface 231 side of the air direction plate body 23.

In this way, the end face 232 of the wind direction board body 23 and the step face 244 of the side plate portion 24, and the end face 246 of the side plate portion 24 and the step face 233 of the wind direction board body 23 are each perpendicular and parallel, so that at the welded portion between the wind direction board body 23 and the side plate portion 24, there is only one joint line that appears on the front side and the back side of the wind direction board 21. In other words, the joint line on the front side does not reach the back side, and the joint line on the front side does not reach the back side.

In addition, the welding surface 243 is provided on one side of the side plate portion 24, and the remaining part of the side plate portion 24 on the flange piece 242 side can be used as a design part that enhances the design, resulting in a wind direction plate 21 with a rich design.

The rotation axis 210a of the air deflector 21 faces outward on the flange piece 242.

The welding surface 231 and the welding surface 243 are integrally welded by ultrasonic welding. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the welding surface 243 on the side plate portion 24 side has a number of ribs 245 formed thereon, which become the melting portion during ultrasonic welding.

The welding rib 245 may be formed on the welding surface 231 side of the air deflector body 23, but by forming the welding rib 245 on the welding surface 243 side of the side plate portion 24 as in this embodiment, even if a sink mark occurs during ultrasonic welding, it is possible to prevent a sink mark from appearing on the front side of the air deflector body 23.

The side panel portion 24 is manufactured by injection molding, so that the corner portion 211 of the airflow direction plate 21 can also have a curved surface with a curvature similar to that of the corner portion C1 extending from the side cover 15 in the lower region 152 to the front cover portion 110, as described in FIG. 7.

Since the wind direction plate body 23 is long, the shaft support portion 25 having the rotation shaft 210b is attached to the back side of the wind direction plate body 23 in, for example, two places. The shaft support portion 25 has a welding portion 251 as a connection portion to the wind direction plate body 23, and a flange piece 252 formed to rise at a substantially right angle from the end of the welding portion 251.

The flange piece 252 also has a rotating shaft 210b. The shaft support portion 25 has the welding portion 251 integrally welded to the back side of the air deflector body 23 by ultrasonic welding so that the rotating shaft 210b is coaxial with the rotating shaft 210a on the side plate portion 24 side.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9c, the welded portion 251 of the pivot support portion 25 also has a number of ribs 253 formed thereon, which become the melted portion during ultrasonic welding. By forming the ribs 253 for welding on the welded portion 251 of the pivot support portion 25 in this way, even if a sink mark occurs during ultrasonic welding, it is possible to prevent the sink mark from appearing on the front side of the air deflector body 23.

Although not shown, bearings for the rotating shafts 210a and 210b and a motor for driving the vane are provided inside the air outlet 20. The vane 21 is supported rotatably around the rotating shafts 210a and 210b inside the air outlet 20 and is driven by the motor between a fully closed position and a fully open position.

As shown in FIG. 7, the seam between the front cover portion 110 of the top panel 110 and the side cover 15 is designated by the reference numeral 202, and the seam between the air deflector body 23 of the air deflector 21 and the side panel portion 24 is designated by the reference numeral 203. It is preferable that the seams 202, 203 are aligned in a straight line when the air deflector 21 is closed.

With this configuration of the wind direction vane 21, if the length of the wind direction vane 21 differs for each model, only the length of the extruded wind direction vane 21 needs to be changed, and the side panel portion 24 (24L, 24R) can be shared, so different models with different lengths of wind direction vane 21 can be accommodated without incurring extra costs.

Electrical equipment box
10, in the present invention, electrical component box 50 is provided on the outer surface of one of side panels 12L, 12R. Specifically, electrical component box 50 is disposed in space S (see FIG. 6B) formed by side panel 12 and side cover 15. This allows easy access to electrical component box 50 by removing side cover 15, which makes it easier to perform work such as part replacement, improving workability.

It is preferable to place it on the side panel 12 closest to the display 40, in this embodiment, on the right side panel 12R. This shortens the length of the wiring between the electrical equipment box 50 and the display 40, eliminating the need to run long wiring inside the housing 10.

Although not shown, the indoor heat exchanger 171 has a piping connection part for the refrigerant piping at one end on the left or right side. Since the piping connection part is provided with a piping temperature sensor, an electronic expansion valve, etc. (neither of which are shown), it is more preferable that the above-mentioned piping connection part of the indoor heat exchanger 171 is also located on the side panel 12 on the side where the electrical equipment box 50 is provided (in this embodiment, the right side panel 12R).

That is, it is preferable that the electrical equipment box 50 be attached to the left side panel 12L or the right side panel 12R, whichever side panel 12 has the side cover 15 with the display 40 attached and the piping connection part of the indoor heat exchanger 171 located on.

The side panel 12 is made of sheet metal that is strong enough to accommodate a hanging fixture (not shown) for ceiling mounting, making it easy to attach the electrical equipment box 50.

In the present invention, the electrical equipment box 50 has a configuration that allows easy access to its interior and good maintainability, and this configuration will be described with reference to Figures 20a to 20c. Note that in Figure 20a, the electrical equipment box 50 is viewed from a different direction than in Figure 10.

The electrical equipment box 50 comprises a box body 520 fixed to the side panel 12, and a lid 530 that is detachably placed over the box body 520. One side of the box body 520 facing the side cover 15 is open as an opening 523, and various electrical components are stored inside as shown in FIG. 20c.

The lid 530 is removably attached to the opening 523 of the box body 520, and includes a first screw fastening portion 540 arranged on one side 521 of two opposing sides 521, 522 of the box body 50 in the lateral direction as a screw fastening portion for the lid 530 to the box body 520, and a second screw fastening portion 550 arranged on the other side 522. The lateral direction of the box body 50 is the direction from diagonally forward to diagonally backward in FIG. 20a (the left-right direction in FIG. 20c).

The first screw fastening portion 540 includes an engagement hole 541 and a male screw 542. In this case, the engagement hole 541 is an elliptical long hole having a long axis along the lateral direction of the box body 50.

The second screw fastening portion 550 includes an engagement groove 551 and a male screw 552. In this case, the engagement groove 551 is a horizontally elongated U-shaped groove that extends along the lateral direction of the box body 50 and opens at the side edge of the lid body 530.

As described above, the side cover 15 is formed with a dogleg-shaped cross section that protrudes outward from the housing 10, so that the lid 530 is provided with a roof-like raised portion 531 in the central portion 510 of the electrical equipment box 50 to match the side cover 15. This allows tall components (such as large aluminum electrolytic capacitors) to be placed on the raised portion 531.

To open the lid 530, first loosen the male screw 542 of the first screw fastening portion 540 and the male screw 552 of the second screw fastening portion 550, move the lid 530 leftward in FIG. 20a, and remove the male screw 552 from the engagement groove 551. This allows the second screw fastening portion 550 side of the lid 530 to be opened as shown in FIG. 20b.

Preferably, the male screw 542 is loosened sufficiently to raise the lid 530 outward so that tall components do not hit the lid 530. The male screws 542 and 552 are left attached to the box body 520 without being removed from the box body 520.

Next, as shown in FIG. 20c, the lid body 530 can be rotated in the direction of the arrow with the first screw fastening portion 540 as a fulcrum, thereby hanging the lid body 530 from the box body 520 and allowing access to the electrical components inside the box body 520.

To close the lid 530, simply follow the steps in reverse order: Figure 20c → Figure 20b → Figure 20a.

As described above, according to the present invention, the electrical equipment box 50 can be accessed simply by removing the side cover 15. In addition, by loosening the male screws 542, 552 of the first screw fastening portion 540 and the second screw fastening portion 550, the lid 530 can be opened by hanging it from the box body 520.

<Running the connecting piping>
Next, the layout of the connection pipe P for connecting to the outdoor unit will be described with reference to Figures 3, 5, and 11 to 13. According to the present invention, the connection pipe P for connecting to the outdoor unit can be drawn out from either the left corner 141L or the right corner 141R on the rear panel 14 side, depending on the location of the outdoor unit and the layout of the room. The connection pipe P includes a gas side pipe and a liquid side pipe.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the electrical equipment box 50 is disposed in the space S formed by the side panel 12 and the side cover 15, not between the sirocco fan 181 and the rear panel 14, so that the space between the sirocco fan 181 and the rear panel 14 in the blower chamber 18 can be used as a piping space 180 through which the connecting piping P passes, as shown in FIG. 3.

Here, if the piping connection of the indoor heat exchanger 171 is located on the right side, as shown in FIG. 10, the connection piping P runs from the piping connection along the right side panel 12R to the right corner portion 141R of the rear panel 14, and then can be selected to run upward from there, either from the top, rear, or side (right). Rear exit is shown in FIG. 10.

In contrast, when the connection pipe P is pulled out from the left corner portion 141L, the connection pipe P is bent at a substantially right angle from the right corner portion 141R toward the left corner portion 141L, and passes through the piping space 180 between the sirocco fan 181 and the rear panel 14 to reach the left corner portion 141L. The connection pipe P can be pulled out from either the top, rear, or side (left).

To facilitate this piping pull-out operation, the right corner portion 141R and the left corner portion 141L are each provided with a piping pull-out portion 190 that allows the piping to be pulled out in three directions, as shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 shows how the connection piping P is pulled out laterally (Ps) and rearward (Pb) from the right corner portion 141R, and how it is pulled out rearward (Pb) from the left corner portion 141L.

As shown in FIG. 13, the piping pull-out section 190 of the left corner section 141L includes a first pull-out section 191 for sideward pull-out provided on the side panel 12, a second pull-out section 192 for rearward pull-out provided on the rear panel 14, and a third pull-out section 193 for upward pull-out provided on the top panel.

In this embodiment, the first drawer section 191 for side-exiting and the second drawer section 192 for rear-exiting are formed as pre-punched openings, while the third drawer section 193 for top-exiting consists of a knock-out hole with a lid that can be easily removed, for example, by applying a strike. The first drawer section 191 for side-exiting and the second drawer section 192 for rear-exiting may also be drawer sections using knock-out panels.

The third drawer 193 for upward discharge does not necessarily have to be provided at both the right corner 141R and the left corner 141L. In this embodiment, it is provided on the right corner 141R side, which is the pipe connection side of the indoor heat exchanger 171.

Now, referring to Figures 3 to 5, within the air intake 30 of the blower chamber 18, multiple (three in this example) beam fittings 33 are installed between the partition plate 16 and the rear panel 14 as framework members that also serve as filter guides for the air filter 32.

If the connecting pipe P comes into contact with the fan casing 182 of the sirocco fan 181, the vibration of the fan casing 182 may cause an unpleasant noise.

In this embodiment, to prevent this annoying noise, a clamp 34 is provided between the beam bracket 33 and the top panel 11 to hold down the connecting pipe P that passes through the pipe space 180 between the fan casing 182 of the sirocco fan 181 and the rear panel 14.

As shown in Figures 10 and 13, the side panel 12 has a large opening 125 for pipe connection work, which is carved into an approximately U-shape (or C-shape) near the rear panel 14 of the blower room 18, so that the worker can insert his or her hand when connecting the connection pipe P to the pipe fitting (e.g., a flareless pipe fitting) J drawn out from the indoor heat exchanger 171. The opening 125 can also be used as the first drawer 191 for side drawing.

The opening 125 is surrounded by a first side portion 126 that extends along the rear panel 14, a second side portion 127 that corresponds to the bottom edge, and a third side portion 128 that faces the first side portion 126.

Of these, the first side edge 126 in particular serves as a support member for the rear panel 14, and therefore is not strong enough due to the opening 125. This may cause distortion of the housing 10 due to vibrations during transportation to the installation site or impacts from being dropped.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a reinforcing stay 35 is placed in the opening 125 to increase the mechanical strength. It is preferable to place the reinforcing stay 35 so that it does not interfere with the drawing out of the connection pipe P.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the reinforcing stay 35 is attached diagonally from the first side portion 126 to the second side portion 127. With this, as shown in FIG. 13, the connection pipe P can be pulled out from the opening 125 (first pull-out portion 191 for side pull-out) while the reinforcing stay 35 is still attached.

In this embodiment, the reinforcing stay 35 is removable. The reinforcing stay 35 is a part that may be removed from the opening 125 after the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 is installed on the ceiling. Therefore, in the present invention, the reinforcing stay 35 is used as a clamp 34 to make effective use of the reinforcing stay 35.

Hanging the front panel
During maintenance of the indoor unit, for example when removing drain pan 172 from housing 10 for cleaning, front panel 13 must be removed, but since front panel 13 is made of decorative steel plate and is large and quite heavy, it may be difficult for one person to support front panel 13 when removing and installing it. Therefore, in the present invention, a structure is provided in which front panel 13 can be moved to the open position on the intake grille 31 side and can be suspended from housing 10.

Referring to Figures 3, 13 to 16, an inverted L-shaped angle portion 135 is formed at the rear end 131 of the front panel 13 on the intake grill 31 side. The angle portion 135 includes a vertical plate portion 135a that rises vertically from the rear end 131 of the front panel 13, and a horizontal plate portion 135b that is bent at a right angle from the upper end of the vertical plate portion 135a toward the intake grill 31 side (to the right in Figure 14).

A flange portion 161 is formed integrally with the lower end of the partition plate 16, bent at a nearly right angle. One end of the beam metal fitting 33 is attached to the flange portion 161. When the front panel 13 is normally covering the bottom surface of the drain pan 172, as shown in FIG. 13, the horizontal plate portion 135b is in contact with the underside of the flange portion 161.

Referring also to FIG. 14, a bearing fitting 137 having a pair of coaxial bearing grooves 137a, 137a on the left and right sides is fixed to the bottom side of the horizontal plate portion 135b by welding or the like. The hanging hook 60 is attached to the rear end 131 of the front panel 13 by the bearing fitting 137.

The hanging hook 60 is made of a round steel wire rod. The hanging hook 60 is bent into an approximately U-shape and has a gate-like shape overall, with a top 601, a pair of left and right legs 602, 602 that extend parallel to each other in the same direction from both ends of the top 601, and shafts 603, 603 that are bent in opposite directions from the lower ends of the legs 602, 602 as a coaxial shaft.

When the top 601 of the hanging hook 60 is positioned (hooked) on the upper surface 331 of the beam fitting 33, the shafts 603, 603 are engaged in the bearing grooves 137a, 137a of the bearing fitting 137.

The hanging hooks 60 should be provided at least in two places, one on the left and one on the right, and preferably on each beam metal fitting 33. In addition, it is preferable that the top 601 of the hanging hooks 60 and the top surface 331 of the beam metal fitting 33 are both parallel to the horizontal plane (the horizontal plane when the indoor unit is installed), which prevents the front panel 13 from shaking left and right when it is suspended.

Also, as shown in FIG. 14, the leading end 312 of the opening side of the intake grill 31 fits flush into the angle portion 135 on the rear end 131 side of the front panel 13, ensuring that no gap occurs between the front panel 13 and the intake grill 31.

To achieve this, an engagement hole 136 is formed in the vertical plate portion 135a of the angle portion 135. In contrast, the intake grille 31 has multiple horizontal bars 313, 313, ... that are parallel to one another, and the horizontal bar 313a at the tip end of these bars can slide in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in Figure 13), and the horizontal bar 313a is provided with an engagement piece 314 that moves in and out of the engagement hole 136 as it slides.

As shown in FIG. 18, an engagement claw 138 is provided on the inner side of the side edge of the front panel 13. The engagement claw 138 is a flat metal plate with a dogleg-shaped hook. On the other hand, an engagement hole 123 that is a counterpart of the engagement claw 138 is provided on the side edge of the side panel 12. The engagement hole 123 is a slit-shaped hole that extends in the front-rear direction.

Normally, the front panel 13 is screwed to the housing 10 at several points. When the screws are removed during maintenance of the drain pan 172, the front panel 13 attempts to separate from the drain pan 172 and fall, but the engagement claws 138 catch on the edges of the engagement holes 123, so the front panel 13 is held in a position slightly away from the drain pan 172 (temporarily fixed). When opening the front panel 13, the intake grille 31 is opened first, as shown in Figure 4.

When the screws are removed, the front panel 13 becomes slidable in the front-rear direction. Then, slide the front panel 13 forward (toward the front in FIG. 18, to the left in FIG. 3) to disengage the engagement claw 138 from the engagement hole 123.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, the front panel 13 is suspended from the hanging hook 60 on the rear end 131 side as a fulcrum. At this time, the weight of the front panel 13 is applied to approximately the center of the housing 10, so that the housing 10 is suspended in a well-balanced manner without any uneven load being applied thereto.

In addition, as described above, by making the top 601 of the hanging hook 60 and the top surface 331 of the beam metal fitting 33 parallel to the horizontal plane (the horizontal plane when the indoor unit is installed), the front panel 13 is prevented from shaking left and right when it is suspended.

In addition, the front panel 13 can be moved to the open position on the intake grille 31 side as shown by the arrow in Figure 16 by sliding the top 601 of the hanging hook 60 over the upper surface 331 of the beam metal fitting 33.

After maintenance of the drain pan 172, the front panel 13 is returned to its original position covering the drain pan 172 and screwed in place. As shown in FIG. 19, a folded portion 133 is formed at the tip of the front panel 13, and a recess 173 into which the folded portion 133 fits is formed on the corresponding side of the drain pan 172.

A locking protrusion 174 is formed within the recess 173 to which the folded portion 133 of the front panel 13 can be detachably hooked. As described above, the front panel 13 becomes slidable in the front-rear direction when the screws are removed, so that when the front panel 13 is shifted leftward in FIG. 19, the folded portion 133 disengages from the locking protrusion 174, and when the front panel 13 is shifted rightward in FIG. 19, the folded portion 133 is locked to the locking protrusion 174. This prevents gaps from occurring at the tip of the front panel 13.

Drain Pan
Next, a configuration for improving the workability of maintenance of the drain pan 172 will be described with reference to Figs. 21a to 21e.

As shown in FIG. 21a, the drain pan 172 has screw fittings 175 on its left side surface 172L and right side surface 172R, which are screwed to the housing 10. The drain pan 172 is made of resin (styrofoam), and the screw fittings 175 are insert-molded. The left screw fitting 175 and the right screw fitting 175 have the same shape.

In this embodiment, the screw fastening fitting 175 is screwed to the flange 12f formed on the lower edge of the side panel 12 (12L, 12R) of the housing 10. The screw fastening fitting 175 uses a male screw 177, and the flange 12f is provided with a female screw hole 178 that serves as a counterpart of the male screw 177.

The screw fastening fitting 175 has an engagement hole 176 through which the male screw 177 passes. As shown in FIG. 21c, the engagement hole 176 has a small diameter portion 176S whose inner diameter is smaller than the head 177h of the male screw 177, and a large diameter portion 176L whose inner diameter is larger than the head 177h of the male screw 177.

The small diameter portion 176S and the large diameter portion 176L are connected as a single hole, and the male screw 177 can move between the small diameter portion 176S and the large diameter portion 176L.

When the male screw 177 is inserted into the engagement hole 176, the drain pan 172 can move between a dew receiving position for the indoor heat exchanger 171 and a removal position closer to the air outlet 20, i.e., it can move in the front-to-rear direction of the housing 10. The small diameter portion 176S and the large diameter portion 176L are arranged along the front-to-rear direction of the housing 10.

When the drain pan 172 is in the dew-receiving position, the small diameter portion 176S corresponds to the female screw hole 178, and the screw fastener 175 is tightened by the male screw 177. This fixes the drain pan 172 in the dew-receiving position.

To remove the drain pan 172 for maintenance, first loosen the male screw 177 without removing it. In this way, by loosening the male screw 177, the drain pan 172 becomes movable while supported by the housing 10.

Next, the drain pan 172 is moved to the removal position, which is toward the front of the air outlet 20, so that the large diameter portion 176 of the engagement hole 176 is positioned above the female screw hole 178. This causes the screw fastener 175 to come off the male screw 177, allowing the drain pan 172 to be removed from the housing 10.

In this way, according to the present invention, it is only necessary to loosen the male screw 177 without removing it. Also, when the drain pan 172 is moved to the removal position, both the left and right sides of the drain pan 172 are simultaneously removed from the male screw 177, so the drain pan 172 can be lowered onto the floor without tilting it.

The procedure for attaching the drain pan 172 to the housing 10 will now be described. First, the male screw 177 is loosened and inserted into the large diameter portion 176L. At this time, as shown in FIG. 21d, the tip 172a of the drain pan 172 rests on the insulating material 20a on the air outlet 20 side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21e, shift the drain pan 172 in the direction of the left arrow and insert the male screw 177 into the small diameter portion 176S, and then, as shown in FIG. 21e, return the drain pan 172 to the right and abut the tip portion 172a of the drain pan 172 against the insulating material 20a on the air outlet 20 side.

"template"
Next, with reference to Figures 22a to 22c, a case will be described in which the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 is installed by hanging it on a wall using an L-shaped angle 70. According to the present invention, when installing it on a wall, the position of the L-shaped angle 70 can be adjusted using a template 80 shown in Figure 22c.

Returning to FIG. 10, the side panel 12 has a total of four hanging brackets 129 for hanging bolts installed on the ceiling side (not shown), two on the left side panel 12L and two on the right side panel 12R.

Figure 22a shows a ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 installed on a wall, but for wall-mounted installation, two L-shaped angles 70 shown in Figure 22b are used: a left L-shaped angle 70L and a right L-shaped angle 70R.

The L-shaped angle 70 (70L, 70R) has a horizontal beam portion 710 arranged along the top panel 11 of the housing 10 and a vertical beam portion 720 that is approximately at a right angle to the horizontal beam portion 710, and the vertical beam portion 720 is attached to a wall surface or the like via, for example, a strong mounting base (not shown) made of sheet metal.

The hanging bracket 129 on the side panel 12 is connected to the cross beam portion 710 via a bolt or the like (not shown). Therefore, it is necessary to align the cross beam portion 710 of the left L-shaped angle 70L with the upper part of the left side edge of the housing 10, which is the left hanging position, and the cross beam portion 710 of the right L-shaped angle 70R with the upper part of the right side edge of the housing 10, which is the right hanging position.

Referring to FIG. 22c, the template 80 has dot marks 810 on two locations on the left and two on the right that indicate the position of the suspension bracket 129 for aligning the suspension bolt from the ceiling with the suspension bracket 129.

In addition, in order to make the template 80 applicable to cases where the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 is installed by hanging it on a wall using L-shaped angles 70, 70, guide lines 820, 820 are drawn out from the dot marks 810, 810 for aligning the L-shaped angles 70L, 70R with the tops of the left and right sides of the housing 10.

In this embodiment, in order to make it easier to position the template 80 along the L-shaped angle 70, the template 80 includes a main plate 801 that corresponds to the top panel 11 and a sub-plate 802 that corresponds to the rear panel 14 and can be bent relative to the main plate 801, and a guide line 820 for aligning the L-shaped angle 70 is displayed from the dot mark 810 to the sub-plate 802.

When using, the subplate 802 is placed on a wall surface, and the L-shaped angles 70L, 70R are fixed to the wall surface etc., aligned with the guide lines 820, 820. The ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 is then placed between the L-shaped angles 70L, 70R, and the hanging brackets 129 are connected to each L-shaped angle 70 with hanging bolts or the like (not shown). In this way, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 can be quickly attached to the L-shaped angles 70L, 70R.

Since this type of ceiling-mounted air conditioner 1 is usually transported in a rectangular parallelepiped packaging box, the main plate 801 may be printed on the top or bottom surface of the packaging box, and the sub-plate 802 may be printed on the side adjacent to the top or bottom surface. In addition, the template 80 displays, for example, the piping position of the outside air intake pipe, but as this is not directly related to the present invention, a description of this will be omitted.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Ceiling-mounted air conditioner 10 Housing 11 Top panel 12 (12L, 12R) Side panel 129 Suspension bracket 13 Front panel 135 Angle section 135a Vertical plate section 135b Horizontal plate section 136 Engagement hole 137 Bearing bracket 137a Bearing groove 138 Engagement claw 14 Rear panel 141 (141L, 141R) Corner section 15 (15L, 15R) Side cover 151 Upper region 152 Lower region 153 Boundary section 154 Step section 155 Flange section 16 Partition plate 17 Heat exchanger chamber 171 Indoor heat exchanger 172 Drain pan 18 Blower chamber 180 Piping space 181 Sirocco fan 20 Air outlet 21 Air deflector 23 Air direction plate body 24 Side plate portion 25 Axis support portion 30 Air intake port 31 Intake grille 313 Horizontal bar 313a Horizontal bar at tip end 314 Engagement piece 32 Air filter 33 Beam metal fitting 34 Clamp 35 Auxiliary stay 40 Display 50 Electrical equipment box 520 Box body 530 Lid 540 First screw fastening portion 550 Second screw fastening portion 60 Suspension hook 601 Top portion 602 Leg portion 603 Axis portion 70 L-shaped angle 710 Horizontal beam portion 720 Vertical beam portion 80 Template 801 Main plate 802 Sub-plate 810 Dot mark 820 Guide line

Claims (1)

A ceiling-mounted air conditioner having a housing including a front panel, a left side panel, a right side panel, and a rear panel, the inside of the housing being divided by a partition into a heat exchanger chamber in which an indoor heat exchanger and a drain pan are disposed, and a blower chamber in which a blower fan is disposed, the front panel being detachably attached to the housing so as to cover the drain pan, an air outlet being provided in front of the housing on the heat exchanger chamber side, and an air inlet having an intake grille being provided on the bottom surface of the blower chamber,
the drain pan is disposed within the housing between the left side panel and the right side panel, and is provided on its left and right sides with screw fastening fittings that are screwed to flanges formed on the lower edges of the left side panel and the right side panel, and is movable between a dew receiving position relative to the indoor heat exchanger and a removal position on the air outlet side,
The screw fastening fitting has an engagement hole formed therein, which allows the drain pan to be fixed to the dew-receiving position by fastening a male screw, and allows the drain pan to be moved from the dew-receiving position to the removal position by loosening the male screw,
the engagement hole has a small diameter portion whose inner diameter is smaller than the head of the male screw, and a large diameter portion connected to the small diameter portion and whose inner diameter is larger than the head of the male screw, the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion are connected by a hole in the front-rear direction of the housing , the small diameter portion is arranged to face the air outlet side , and the drain pan is movable along the front-rear direction of the housing,
This ceiling-mounted air conditioner is characterized in that by loosening the male screw while the drain pan is in the dew-receiving position, the drain pan becomes movable while supported by the housing, and by moving the male screw from the small diameter portion to the large diameter portion, the drain pan becomes removable from the housing .

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