JPH0933091A - Drain pump control device for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drain pump control device for an air conditioner which minimizes water leakage troubles in a living room. SOLUTION: There are provided a drain pump 3 which drains condensation water from a heat exchanger 1 collected in a water pan, a counter 6 which detects continuous operation time of a compressor 5 and an operation extension means 4 which drives the drain pump 3, responding to the starting of operation of the compressor 5 and delays the shutdown operation of the drain pump 3 as the continuous operation of the compressor 5 is extended in conformity with the continuous operation of the compressor 5 detected with the counter 6 after the stop of the compressor 5.

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 for discharging condensed water accumulated in a water tray of the air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the so-called built-in method of embedding a main body of an air conditioner in a ceiling or a closet has been rapidly progressing for effective use of a living room and improvement of aesthetics. For this reason, the condensed water generated during the cooling or dehumidifying operation cannot be discharged by utilizing the natural head, and a device for forcibly discharging the condensed water is required.

A conventional drain pump control device for an air conditioner is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-14022.

An example of the drain pump control device for the air conditioner will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional drain pump controller for an air conditioner. In FIG. 4, 101 is a heat exchanger that is connected to a compressor (not shown) and acts as an evaporator, and 102 is a water tray that is provided below the heat exchanger 101 and stores condensed water generated in the heat exchanger 101. , 103 is a drain pump for discharging the condensed water accumulated in the water tray 102,
Reference numeral 104 denotes a control device that controls the drain pump 103.
5 is a water level detection sensor that detects the water level of the condensed water accumulated in the water receiving tray 102 and outputs it to the control device 104, and 106 is a drain hose for discharging the condensed water sucked up by the drain pump 103 to the outside.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of a conventional drain pump controller for an air conditioner.

In FIG. 5, the drain pump 103 is operated for a predetermined time t1 after the water level detecting sensor 105 is turned on to discharge the condensed water. Further drain pump 10
When the water level detection sensor 105 does not turn off even after 3 exceeds the predetermined time t1, the control device 104 stops the operation of the drain pump 103.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, there is a risk of water leakage into the living room due to concern about the mounting structure of the water level detection sensor 105 and reliability. Further, there are various drawbacks that the circuit configuration of the control device 104 becomes complicated and the cost further increases.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide at low cost a drain pump control device for an air conditioner in which there is little concern about water leakage into the living room.

[0010]

To achieve this object, a drain pump control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention comprises a counter for detecting a continuous operation time of a compressor, and a drain pump according to the start of operation of the compressor. In addition to the operation time extension means for delaying the stop operation of the drain pump as the continuous operation time of the compressor becomes longer according to the continuous operation time of the compressor detected by the counter after the operation of the compressor is stopped. is there.

[0011]

In the present invention, the drain pump is operated according to the start of operation of the compressor, and the stop operation of the drain pump is delayed as the continuous operation time of the compressor becomes longer.
The water level sensor is unnecessary, there is little possibility of water leaking into the living room, and the cost does not increase.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a drain pump control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a main block diagram of a drain pump controller for an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a heat exchanger that acts as an evaporator, and 2 is a heat exchanger that is provided below the heat exchanger 1.
The water receiving tray for storing the condensed water generated in 1., 3 is a drain pump for discharging the condensed water accumulated in the water receiving tray 2, 4 is an operating time extending means for controlling the drain pump 3, and 5 is a refrigerating unit connected to the heat exchanger 1. It is a compressor that constitutes a cycle. 6 is a counter for detecting the continuous operation time of the compressor 5,
During the operation of, the signal indicating the operation is output.

The operation time extending means 4 operates the drain pump 3 in response to the start of operation of the compressor 5, and also operates in accordance with the continuous operation time of the compressor 5 detected by the counter after the operation of the compressor 5 is stopped. The longer the continuous operation time of 5 is, the later the stop operation of the drain pump 3 is delayed.

FIG. 2 simply shows an example of the operating time extending means 4 of the drain pump control device for the air conditioner of the embodiment. In FIG. 2, the drain pump 3 is connected to the power supply 14 via the relay contact 8a. The timer selection means 7 uses the output of the counter 6 that counts the continuous operation time of the compressor 5, so that the first timer means 9 that operates the drain pump 3 while the compressor 5 is operating, and the predetermined time T from the stop of the compressor 5 ₂ Any one of the second timer means 10 for delaying the stop operation of the drain pump 3 and the third timer means 11 for delaying the stop operation of the drain pump 3 for a predetermined time T ₄ (T ₄ > T ₂ ) from the stop of the compressor 5 A signal is output and input to the transistor 12. The output of the transistor 12 is connected to the relay drive power supply 13 via the relay coil 8b.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the drain pump controller of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

The operation of the drain pump control device of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

When the compressor 5 operates at the time point a in FIG. 3, the counter 6 detects the start of operation and inputs it to the timer selecting means 7. The timer selection means 7 outputs the output of the first timer means 9 to the transistor 12, and the transistor 12 outputs the output to the relay coil 8b.
When a is closed and a voltage is applied to the drain pump 3, the drain pump 3 condenses in the heat exchanger 1 and discharges the condensed water accumulated in the water tray 2.

When the compressor 5 is stopped at time b when T ₁ time has elapsed from time a in FIG. 3, the counter 6 detects the continuous operation time of the compressor 5 and outputs it to the timer selecting means 7. . The timer selecting means 7 determines that the continuous operation time T ₁ of the compressor 5 in this case is shorter than the predetermined time, the second timer means 10 is selected, and the time after the predetermined time T ₂ from the stop of the compressor 5 The drain pump 3 is stopped at c.

When the compressor 5 is stopped at time e after time T _{3 has} elapsed from time d in FIG. 3, the timer selecting means 7 causes the continuous operation time T ₃ of the compressor 5 in this case to be longer than a predetermined time. Is determined, the third timer means 10 is selected, and the drain pump 3 is stopped at a time point f after a predetermined time T _{4 has} elapsed since the compressor 5 was stopped.

That is, in the present embodiment, the longer the operation of the compressor 5, the larger the amount of condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger 1, and the shorter the operation time of the compressor 5, the more condensation that occurs. The operating time of the drain pump 3 is determined by the operating time extending means 4 by utilizing the fact that the amount of water decreases.

Therefore, by changing the operating time of the drain pump depending on the operating time of the compressor 5, even if the amount of condensed water becomes large, an appropriate amount of condensed water drainage can be secured. It is possible to reduce the possibility that condensed water overflows from the tray 2 and pollutes the ceiling, walls, push-in and the like in the living room. Moreover, the cost does not increase because the water level sensor is not used.

In the present embodiment, the extended operating time of the drain pump 3 is set to two ways according to the operating time of the compressor 5, but if it is set to three or more ways, or if it is changed steplessly, it will be somewhat. Although the cost may increase, it is possible to accurately operate the drain pump 3 without waste and further improve the reliability of water leakage prevention.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the counter for detecting the continuous operation time of the compressor and the drain pump are operated according to the start of operation of the compressor.
The operation time extending means for delaying the stop operation of the drain pump is delayed as the continuous operation time of the compressor becomes longer according to the continuous operation time of the compressor detected by the counter after the operation of the compressor is stopped. By changing the operating time of the drain pump, it is possible to realize comfortable air conditioning with a low-cost configuration, reducing the possibility of condensed water overflowing from the water pan.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a drain pump control device for an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram of a drain pump control device of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the drain pump control device of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional drain pump control device for an air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of a conventional drain pump control device for an air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 heat exchanger 2 water tray 3 drain pump 4 means for extending operating time 5 compressor 6 counter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A compressor that constitutes a refrigeration cycle, a heat exchanger that is connected to the compressor and acts as an evaporator, a water tray for storing condensed water generated in the heat exchanger, and a water tray. A drain pump for discharging accumulated condensed water, a counter for detecting the continuous operation time of the compressor, and operating the drain pump according to the start of operation of the compressor, and the counter after the operation of the compressor is stopped. A drain pump control device for an air conditioner, comprising: an operating time extending means that delays the stop operation of the drain pump as the continuous operating time of the compressor becomes longer according to the continuous operating time of the compressor detected by.