JPH06137586A - Drain pump controller for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent inhibition of room cooling due to overflow of drain water and waviness of drain water in an air conditioner. CONSTITUTION:The drain pump controller comprises a heat exchanger 1, a water receiver 2 for storing drain water, a float switch 3 for monitoring a level of the drain water, a drain pump 4, a drain tube 5 and a controller 6. The pump 4 is operated while a compressor is stopped as long as the switch 3 is operated at the time of room cooling. Thus, since the compressor is stopped at the time of operating the pump 4, an increase in the drain water due to room cooling can be prevented, and inhibition of room cooling due to waviness of the drain water can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drain pump controller for an air conditioner equipped with a drain pump.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional technology (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-139347)
Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing main components near a drain pump of an air conditioner. 1 is an indoor unit heat exchanger, 2 is a water tray for collecting drain water generated in the indoor unit heat exchanger, 3 is a float switch for monitoring the water level of the drain water stored in the water receiver, and 4 is pumping drain water for drainage. A drain pump, 5 is a drain pipe, and 6 is a control device for controlling these operations. With this configuration, the drain pump is forcibly operated for several seconds while the normal operation is performed regardless of the operation or non-operation of the float switch when the compressor is operated and the cooling operation is started. By forcibly operating the drain pump, the water level in the water pan is lowered to prevent prohibition of cooling operation. FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the drain pump operation. The cooling operation starts, the compressor is turned on, and the drain pump is turned on regardless of the operation of the float switch. Even if the drain water level becomes abnormal for some reason while the operation is stopped, it is possible to prevent the cooling operation stop by operating the drain pump at the start of the operation.

[0003]

However, in the conventional drain pump control, the drain pump and the compressor are operated at the same time when the cooling operation is started. Therefore, while drain water is being pumped by the drain pump, heat is exchanged by operating the compressor. Drain water flows down from the vessel, and the drain water level in the water pan rises. Further, if the float switch operates due to the undulation of drain water, the problem that the cooling operation is stopped occurs.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a water receiver for collecting drain water generated in an indoor unit heat exchanger of an air conditioner, a drain pump for discharging drain water, and a drain water. A controller equipped with a float switch that operates when the water level rises and a microcomputer that controls the operation of the air conditioner is installed, and a device that operates the drain pump for a predetermined time only when the float switch operates at the start of cooling operation Equipped

[0005]

The operation of the above means is as follows.

According to the present invention, when the cooling operation is started, only when the float switch is operating, the cooling operation is put in the standby state and the drain pump is operated for a predetermined time, whereby the float switch is returned to the recovery state and the cooling operation is prohibited. Can be prevented. Since the operation is in the standby state (compressor off), it is possible to prevent the water level from rising due to the cooling operation at the start of the cooling operation. Also, in order to operate the drain pump for a predetermined time after the float switch operates,
It is possible to prevent the malfunction of the float switch due to the undulation of drain water collected in the water receiver.

[0007]

EXAMPLES An example of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the construction of the main part of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention (same as the conventional example), 1 is an indoor unit heat exchanger, 2 is a water tray, and 3 is a drain water level. A float switch for monitoring, 4 is a drain pump, 5 is a drain pipe, and 6 is a control device equipped with a microcomputer for controlling the air conditioner.

When the cooling operation is started in this configuration, the moisture in the air is condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 1 and drops into water drops, which are collected in the water receiving tray 2. The drain water collected in the water tray 2 is pumped up by the drain pump 4 and discharged through the drain pipe 5 to the outside.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the cooling operation. When the user starts the cooling operation of the air conditioner,
It is determined whether or not the float switch 3 is operating, the timer function of the control device 6 operates only when the float switch is operating, and the drain pump is forcibly operated for t hours (several minutes). In this case, the cooling operation is not prohibited even if the float switch is operating, and the operation is kept in the standby state. After the lapse of time t, the operation of the float switch is judged again and if the water level is rising, the cooling operation is prohibited. It is possible to prevent overflow due to drain water flowing at the start of operation, and prevent erroneous judgment due to waviness. Therefore, after the end of the previous cooling operation, the drain water adhering to the heat exchanger flows down into the water pan, the water level rises, and the drain pump is operated once even when the float switch is operating, Can be restarted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the heating operation.

Even if the float switch is operated at the start of the heating operation, there is no water drop flowing from the heat exchanger, so the operation is continued.

[0013]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention operates when the water tray for collecting the drain water generated by condensation in the indoor heat exchanger of the air conditioner, the drain pump for discharging the drain water, and the water level of the water tray rises. A float switch and a control device for controlling the operation of the air conditioner are provided, and by providing a control for operating the drain pump for a predetermined time only when the float switch is operating during cooling operation, the configuration of the indoor unit, Even if you cannot secure the volume of the water tray,
When the float switch is operating at the start of operation, by operating the drain pump, the drain water flowing out from the heat exchanger during the stop can be discharged, so that the cooling operation can be restarted. Further, even if the float switch is operating during the heating / cooling switching, water droplets do not flow down from the indoor unit heat exchanger, so that the heating operation is not prohibited.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part near a drain pump of an air conditioner showing an embodiment of the present invention and a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the float switch.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a conventional drain pump.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart during heating operation according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Indoor unit heat exchanger, 2 ... Water receiver, 3 ... Float switch, 4 ... Drain pump, 5 ... Drain drain pipe, 6 ... Control device.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Tokusa 390 Muramatsu, Shimizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Shimizu Plant

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water tray for collecting drain water condensed and generated by an indoor unit heat exchanger of an air conditioner, a drain pump for draining the drain water, a float switch that operates when the water level of the water receiver rises, and the air. A control device for a harmony machine is provided, and when the float switch operates at the start of cooling, the operation is not prohibited immediately, and the cooling operation is performed only when the drain switch is operated even if the drain pump is operated for a predetermined time. A drain pump control device for an air conditioner, which is characterized in that: