JPH1122999A - Air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the dimensional error of a front panel or the entire body casing from having an effect on the stability when the front panel is held in open state for the body casing, or the operating feeling at the time of opening/ closing the front panel. SOLUTION: A front panel 4 covering the body casing on the front side has a rotary shaft extending along the upper end side thereof and it is opened/ closed with respect to the body casing by turning the lower part side thereof. The front panel 4 is provided, at both the ends in the longitudinal direction thereof, with first engaging parts 15 and the body casing 1 is provided with a second engaging part 18. First abutting part 14 at the first engaging part 15 is abutted against the second abutting part 17 at the second engaging part 18 in order to hold the front panel 4 in open state. Relative position of the first abutting part 14 to the second abutting part 17 is regulated in the direction of the rotary shaft by a protrusion 21 provided on the body casing 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner in which a front panel for covering a front side of a main body casing is mounted so as to be freely opened and closed with respect to the main body casing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is a view showing an indoor unit of a wall-mounted air conditioner to which the present invention is applied, and a conventional example of the above-described air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG. The indoor unit includes a heat exchanger, a blower fan, and the like in a main body casing 1 having a rectangular front surface having a horizontal direction as a longitudinal direction, and a suction port 8 on a front side thereof. The suction port 8 is provided with air filters 6, 6, and furthermore, a front rectangular front panel having a horizontal direction as a longitudinal direction so as to cover the front side of the main body casing 1 from the front of the air filters 6, 6. 4 is attached. The air filter 6 is for collecting dust mixed in the intake air, and requires regular maintenance work to remove the collected dust. Therefore, the front panel 4 has a rotation axis along its upper end side, and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body casing 1 by rotating the lower side around the rotation axis. The main body casing 1 and the front panel 4 are provided with a holding mechanism for holding the front panel 4 in an open state with respect to the main body casing 1, thereby improving the maintenance workability of the air filter 6. .

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a holding mechanism of a front panel 40 provided in an indoor unit of the conventional air conditioner. First engagement portions 45 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the front panel 40, respectively. The first engagement portion 45 includes a support portion 43 protruding from the front panel 40 toward a main body casing (not shown), and a first protrusion protruding from the support portion 43 toward the central portion in the longitudinal direction.
And a contact portion 44. On the other hand, in the main body casing, a flexible portion 46 protruding toward the front panel 40 at a central portion in the longitudinal direction from the support portion 43 and having flexibility in the longitudinal direction. A second contact portion 47 protruding toward both ends in the longitudinal direction. When the front panel 40 is turned around a turning shaft existing along the longitudinal direction to open the front panel 40 with respect to the main body casing, the first contact portion 44 is moved to the second position.
The front panel 40 comes into contact with the contact portion 47 in the closing direction, and the front panel 40 is held in an open state. Further, when the front panel 40 is pressed in the closing direction from this state, the flexible portion 46 bends toward the center in the longitudinal direction and the contact between the first contact portion 44 and the second contact portion 47 is released,
The front panel 40 can be closed with respect to the main body casing.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional air conditioner, two first engaging portions 45, 45 are provided at both longitudinal ends of the front panel 40. This is because the front panel 40 in the folded state is stably held by the first engagement portion 45 and the second engagement portion 48. However, while the length of the front panel 40 in the longitudinal direction is large and exceeds 1 m, the first contact portion 44 and the second
The protrusion amount of the contact portion 47 is only about several mm. Therefore, especially when the front panel 40 and the first engaging portion 45 are integrally formed, unless the molding conditions are strictly controlled and the dimensional control is strict, the first contact portion 4 is required.
A large variation easily occurs in the contact amount between the fourth contact portion 47 and the second contact portion 47. When such a large variation occurs, there is a problem that stability when the front panel 40 which is open with respect to the main body casing is held and an operational feeling when the front panel 40 is opened and closed are not constant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and has as its object the stability of holding a front panel that is open with respect to a main body casing and the stability of the front panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that can make the operational feeling at the time of opening and closing not affected by the dimensional error of the front panel or the entire main body casing.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner including a front panel covering a front side of a main body casing.
The front panel 4 has a rotating shaft along its upper end, and is mounted so as to be openable and closable with respect to the main body casing 1 by rotating its lower side. A plurality of holding mechanisms for holding the body casing in an open state with respect to the main body casing 1 are arranged side by side in the direction of the rotation axis so as to be separated from each other.
Engaging portion 15 and second engaging portion 18 provided on main body casing 1
The first engagement portion 15 has a first
The front panel 4 is opened with respect to the main body casing 1 by bringing the contact section 14 into contact with the second contact section 17 provided on the second engagement section 18 in a direction to close the front panel 4. In the air conditioner held in a state, a position regulating member 21 for regulating the relative position of the first engagement contact portion 14 with respect to the second contact portion 17 in the rotation axis direction is provided.

In the air conditioner of the present invention, the holding mechanism may be configured such that the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion abut on each other to hold the front panel. Is pressed in the closing direction to release the abutment.

[0008] The air conditioner according to claim 3 is the first air conditioner.
The contact portion 14 also comes into contact with the second contact portion 17 from the direction in which the front panel 4 is opened, and from this contact state, the front panel 4
By applying an external force in a direction in which the front panel 4 is opened, the contact can be released and the front panel 4 can be opened with respect to the main body casing 1. And

In the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the relative position of the first contact portion 14 with respect to the second contact portion 17 is regulated in the direction of the rotation axis.
Alternatively, even if a dimensional error occurs in the main body casing 1 in the rotation axis direction, the contact amount between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 can be set to a certain value or more.

As in the air conditioner of the fourth aspect, the rotating shaft extends along the longitudinal direction of the front panel 4, and the first engaging portions 15 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the front panel 4, respectively. , An error in the relative position between the first engaging portion 15 and the second engaging portion 18 is likely to occur. In particular, when the front panel 4 and the first engaging portion 15 are integrally formed as in the air conditioner according to claim 5, unless the molding conditions are strictly controlled and the dimensional control is strict.
An error in the relative position between the first engagement portion 15 and the second engagement portion 18 can easily occur. However, even in the case described above, in the air conditioner according to claim 4 or 5, it is possible to make the contact amount between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 equal to or more than a certain value. .

In the air conditioner according to a sixth aspect, the first engaging portion 15 has a first flexible portion 13 having flexibility in a rotation axis direction.
And a first abutting portion 14 protruding from the first flexible portion 13 toward the center in the longitudinal direction of the front panel 4. The second engaging portion 18 is formed of the first flexible portion 13. 13, a second flexible portion 16 that is located closer to the center in the longitudinal direction and has flexibility in the rotation axis direction, and protrudes from the second flexible portion 16 toward both ends in the longitudinal direction. The position regulating member 21 includes a contact portion 14 and a second contact portion 17 that is in contact with the second engagement portion 18. Are arranged at predetermined intervals.

In the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect, it is possible to easily implement the air conditioner.

[0013]

Next, specific embodiments of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner configured as a wall-mounted type. The main unit casing 1 of the indoor unit is configured by fitting a front grill 2 and a bottom frame 3 from front and rear, and includes a heat exchanger, a blower fan, and the like inside. A suction port 8 is formed on the front side of the front grille 2, and two air filters 6 are attached so as to cover the suction port 8. A front panel 4 is further provided in front of the air filters 6 and 6.
The front panel 4 is mounted so as to be openable and closable with respect to the front grill 2 in order to facilitate maintenance work of the air filters 6 and 6.
In FIG. 1, the front panel 4 is shown opened to the front grill 2. An outlet 9 is formed at the lower side of the front grille 2, and the outlet 9 is provided with a horizontal flap 5 for changing the blowing direction of the conditioned air up and down. At the end of the front grill 2, a service cover 7 for performing maintenance work on electrical components and the like is provided.

The main unit casing 1 of the indoor unit has a front rectangular shape whose longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 2, and accordingly, the front panel 4 covering the front side of the main unit casing 1 also extends in the horizontal direction. It has a frontal rectangular shape with the direction. The front panel 4 has a rotation axis along its upper end, and rotates its lower side around the rotation axis to open and close the main casing 1. on the other hand,
The indoor unit has a holding mechanism at both ends in the longitudinal direction,
With this holding mechanism, the front panel 4 is held in an open state with respect to the main body casing 1.

The above-mentioned holding mechanism is provided symmetrically about the center of the indoor unit in the longitudinal direction.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the indoor unit showing the holding mechanism provided on the front left end side. In FIG. 1, the front panel 4 is shown separated from the front grille 2 for simplicity and easy understanding. The front panel 4
A substantially fan-shaped support plate 22 is formed integrally with the front panel 4 at the upper portion on the back side of the front panel 4. And this support plate 22
At the center position of the fan shape, a cylindrical shaft portion 12 is provided so as to be substantially perpendicular to the plate surface of the support plate 22 and project toward the central portion in the longitudinal direction. The axial direction of the shaft portion 12 is the direction of the rotation axis of the front panel 4, and therefore, the front panel 4 rotates the lower portion around the shaft portion 12 as a rotation center.
At this time, the arrow H shown in the figure turns in the opening direction with respect to the main body casing 1, and the arrow T turns in the closing direction. On the other hand, on the arc side of the support plate 22, a first flexible portion 13 having flexibility in the direction of the rotation axis is formed. The first abutting portion 14 extending along the center is protruded toward the central portion in the longitudinal direction. Then, the first contact portion 14 and the first
The flexible portion 13 forms the first engagement portion 15.

The front grill 2 has the shaft 12.
Is formed to be able to accommodate from the front. A second flexible portion 16 is formed below the concave portion 11 at a position closer to the center in the longitudinal direction than the first flexible portion 13. This second flexible portion 16 is
Has flexibility in the direction of the rotation axis similarly to
A second contact portion 17 protrudes toward the end in the longitudinal direction. The second contact portion 17 and the second flexible portion 1
6 form a second engagement portion 18. Further, an arc-shaped guide portion 20 is formed on the lower end side of the second engagement portion 18. The guide portion 20 comes into contact with an arc-shaped contact surface 19 formed on the arc side of the support plate 22, and slides the contact surface 19 to guide the rotation of the front panel 4. . In addition, 10 shown in the figure is a heat exchanger provided in the main body casing 1.

FIG. 4 shows the front panel 4 with the front grill 2
FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the main body casing 1 showing the holding mechanism when the main body casing is opened with respect to the main body casing 1. To clearly show the holding mechanism, the front panel 4 is shown as being transparent. As shown in the figure,
When the front panel 4 is attached to the front grill 2, the shaft portion 12 protruding from the support plate 22 is housed in the concave portion 11, and the second engagement portion is located closer to the center in the longitudinal direction than the first engagement portion 15. The part 18 is located. On the end side in the longitudinal direction of the first engagement portion 15, a projection 21 projecting from the front grill 2 is provided with a predetermined interval between the first engagement portion 15 and the second engagement portion 18. Are located.

FIG. 5 shows the first engagement portion 15 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing an engagement portion between the first engagement portion and a second engagement portion. As shown in the figure, the convex portion 21 is provided so as to be juxtaposed with the first contact portion 14 along the rotation axis direction. Therefore, the relative position of the first contact portion 14 with respect to the second contact portion 17 is regulated by the convex portion 21 in the rotation axis direction. That is, the protrusion 21 functions as a position regulating member. Then, the first contact portion 14 whose position is regulated in this way contacts the second contact portion 17 in a direction to close the front panel 4. By this contact, the front panel 4 is held in an open state with respect to the main body casing 1. When the lower part of the front panel 4 is pressed in this direction to close the lower part, the second contact part 17 having a downward slope toward the end in the longitudinal direction is formed.
Is pressed toward the center in the longitudinal direction by the first contact portion 14 having a rounded corner portion. Then, the second flexible portion 16 having flexibility in the rotation axis direction bends toward the center in the longitudinal direction, and finally, the first engagement portion 14 and the second
The contact with the engagement portion 17 is released, and the front panel 4 can be closed with respect to the main body casing 1.

FIG. 1 is a principle view showing the operation of the holding mechanism. The first engaging portions 15 and 15 are provided on the back side of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the front panel 4.
The second engaging portions 18 and 1 are located closer to the center in the longitudinal direction than 5 and 15.
8 are provided, and furthermore, convex portions 21, 21 are provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the first engaging portions 15, 15.
When the front panel 4 is open with respect to the main body casing 1, the first contact portion 14 is
Is in contact with the front panel 4 in the closing direction, thereby holding the front panel 4 in the open state as described above. Incidentally, the first engagement portions 15 and 15 are formed integrally with the front panel 4 by resin. In addition, while the length of the front panel 4 in the longitudinal direction may be about 1 m or more, the amount of protrusion of the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 depends on the operational feeling when the front panel 4 is opened and closed. Is about several mm in order to obtain a good value.
Therefore, when the front panel 4 is formed, the second engagement portion 18 and the first
A dimensional error with the engaging portion 15 is likely to occur in the longitudinal direction. However, in the indoor unit, the first contact portion 14 is supported by the first flexible portion 13 having flexibility in the rotation axis direction (the longitudinal direction of the front panel 4), and
Protrusions 21 are provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the first engagement portion 15. Therefore, even when a dimensional error occurs at both ends in the longitudinal direction at the position of the first engaging portion 15 when the front panel 4 is formed, the first flexible portion 13 is bent toward the central portion in the longitudinal direction by the convex portion 21. Thus, the contact amount between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 can be set to be equal to or more than a certain value. Therefore, strict control of molding conditions and strict dimensional control can be eliminated.

When the front panel 4 is closed, the first contact portion 14 presses the second contact portion 17 as described above,
The contact between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 is released by bending the flexible portion 16 toward the center in the longitudinal direction. At this time, as described above, the contact amount between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 is always kept at a certain level or more, so that the front panel 4 is closed regardless of the dimensional error during molding. In this case, the operational feeling can be made constant. Further, when the front panel 4 is opened in the indoor unit, the first contact portion 14 contacts the second contact portion 17 in the opening direction of the front panel 4. Then, by applying an external force to the front panel 4 in a direction of opening the front panel 4 from the contact state, the first contact portion 14 presses the second contact portion 17 to move the second flexible portion 16 in the longitudinal direction. The first contact portion 14 is deflected toward the central portion, thereby releasing the contact, so that the first contact portion 14 is closer to the front than the second contact portion 17 (FIG. 1).
(Upper side). Therefore, as described above, if the contact amount between the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 is always maintained at a certain level or more, the front panel 4 can be opened regardless of the dimensional error during molding. Can also be made constant.

Although the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the present invention. Although the present invention has been applied to the indoor unit of the wall-mounted air conditioner in the above description, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to other types of air conditioners. Further, the specific configuration of the holding mechanism is not limited to the illustrated one. Further, the first engagement portion 15
If the present invention is not integrally formed with the front panel 4, the present invention can easily eliminate mounting dimensional errors and the like to obtain excellent holding stability and a stable operation feeling at the time of opening and closing. . In the above description, the first contact portion 14 and the second contact portion 17 are in contact with each other both when the front panel 4 is closed and when the front panel 4 is opened. May be formed separately from each other. That is, in the above description, these contact portions provided on the first engagement portion 15 are collectively referred to as the first contact portions 14,
Further, the above-mentioned contact portion provided on the second engagement portion 18 is collectively referred to as a second contact portion 17.

[0023]

In the air conditioner according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the amount of contact between the first contact portion and the second contact portion can always be equal to or more than a certain value. It is possible to obtain excellent holding stability of the panel and a stable operation feeling when opening and closing the front panel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram for explaining a holding mechanism in an indoor unit of an embodiment of an air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indoor unit.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of an indoor unit showing the holding mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the indoor unit showing the holding mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the holding mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a principle diagram for explaining a holding mechanism provided in a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body casing 4 Front panel 13 1st flexible part 14 1st contact part 15 1st engaging part 16 2nd flexible part 17 2nd contact part 18 2nd engaging part 21 Convex part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A front panel (4) for covering a front side of a main body casing (1), the front panel (4) having a rotation axis along an upper end thereof, and rotating on a lower side thereof. A plurality of holding mechanisms that are attached to the main body casing (1) so as to be openable and closable and that hold the front panel (4) in an open state with respect to the main body casing (1); The holding mechanism has a first engaging portion (15) provided on the front panel (4) and a second engaging portion (18) provided on the main body casing (1). The first engagement portion (15) provided on the first engagement portion (15).
The contact portion (14) is brought into contact with the second contact portion (17) provided on the second engagement portion (18) in a direction to close the front panel (4), and the front panel (4) is contacted. ) Is held open with respect to the main body casing (1), the relative position of the first contact portion (14) with respect to the second contact portion (17) is changed in the rotation axis direction. An air conditioner comprising a position regulating member (21) for regulating. 2. The holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion are brought into contact with each other to hold the front panel. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the contact can be released by pressing in a closing direction. 3. The first contact portion (14) contacts the second contact portion (17) also in a direction in which the front panel (4) is opened, and contacts the front panel (4) from this contact state. On the other hand, by applying an external force in the opening direction, the contact can be released and the front panel (4) can be opened with respect to the main body casing (1). The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The rotating shaft is provided along the longitudinal direction of the front panel (4), and the first engaging portion (15) is provided at each of both longitudinal ends of the front panel (4). The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is provided. 5. The front panel (4) and a first engaging portion (1).
The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein (5) is integrally formed. 6. The first engaging portion (15) includes a first flexible portion (13) having flexibility in a rotation axis direction, and a front panel (4) extending from the first flexible portion (13). ) And a first contact portion (14) protruding toward the center in the longitudinal direction, and the second engaging portion (18) is more longitudinally centered than the first flexible portion (13). A second flexible portion (16) located on the side of the first flexible portion and having flexibility in the direction of the rotation axis;
The position restricting member (21) further includes a contact portion (14) and a second contact portion (17) that is in contact with the first contact portion (15). The air conditioner according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the air conditioner is disposed at a predetermined interval between the air conditioner and the two engaging portions (18).