JPH11248202A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a main body case or reduce costs by reducing the influence of heat due to a heater of a steam generator. SOLUTION: The inside of a main body case 1 mainly comprises a refrigerating cycle provided with a compressor 21, a condenser 22, and an evaporator 24, a drain tank 3, an air blower 4, and a steam generator 5. The inside of the main body case 1 is formed a ventilating flue for communicating an air inlet 20 and an air outlet (air discharge outlet) 17. The steam generator 5 is provided with a feed water tank, a steam generating cylinder, and a heater. At the lower part of a rear case 12 is provided an air inflow opening 8. When the air blower 4 is driven, overheating of the main body case 1 caused by the heater is prevented by a cooling air flowing from the air inflow opening 8 to the air discharge outlet (air outlet) 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an air conditioner,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a steam generator for performing humidification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of air conditioner has a main body case and a steam generator provided in the main body case, and the steam generator communicates with the water supply tank and the water supply tank. There is known a steam generator having a steam generator tube that stands vertically and stores water supplied from a water supply tank, and a heater that is provided below the steam generator tube and heats water in the steam generator tube. Have been.

[0003]

In such an air conditioner, the main body case is usually made of plastic. However, the main body case is easily affected by the heat of the heater of the steam generator, and may be overheated depending on the material. For this reason,
It is necessary to increase the distance between the heater and the side wall of the main body case, or it is necessary to make the main body case from a material having high heat resistance. As a result, there is an inconvenience that the main body case becomes large or the cost increases. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an air conditioner that can reduce the size of the main body case or reduce the cost by reducing the thermal effect of the heater of the steam generator. It is an object to provide a machine.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body case and a steam generator provided in the main body case. The steam generator communicates with the water supply tank and the water supply tank. A steam generating cylinder for standing up and storing water supplied from a water supply tank, and a heater provided at a lower portion of the steam generating cylinder for heating water in the steam generating cylinder; An air inlet is provided at a lower portion of the case, and an air outlet is provided at an upper portion, and cooling air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet is configured to prevent overheating of the main body case caused by the heater. An air conditioner characterized by the above is provided.

An air conditioner according to the present invention includes a main body case which is usually made of plastic, and a steam generator provided in the main body case.

[0007] The steam generator is used for humidification,
It has a water supply tank, a steam generating cylinder, and a heater. The water supply tank is, for example, detachably provided in the main body case and supplies humidifying water to the steam generating cylinder. The steam generating cylinder is
It usually opens upwards and stands up to communicate with the water tank,
Stores the water supplied from the water supply tank. The heating heater includes a quartz tube heater, a sheath heater, a resistance wire heater, and the like. The heating heater is provided in a coil shape surrounding the steam generating tube below the steam generating tube, for example, and heats water in the steam generating tube.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is further provided with an air inlet at a lower portion of the main body case, for example, a lower portion of a front wall, a side wall, and a rear wall, and an air outlet at an upper portion, for example, an upper wall. I have. Then, the body case near the heater is cooled by cooling air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet, thereby preventing overheating of the body case caused by the heater.

Here, the cooling air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet may be generated by natural ventilation or by a dedicated fan.

The air conditioner according to the present invention preferably has a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, and a blower for sucking and blowing air. An outlet is provided, further comprising a dehumidifying device for blowing out from the air outlet after dehumidifying the air sucked from the air inlet through the evaporator,
The air for cooling is obtained by using a blower of the dehumidifier.

The compressor is a mechanism for sending the refrigerant gas returned from the evaporator to the condenser at a high pressure, and a reciprocating compressor or a centrifugal compressor is used. The dehumidification of the air by the dehumidifier can be performed by bringing the air cooled in the evaporator into contact with the condenser and heating it. By using such a blower of the dehumidifier,
The cooling air can be obtained without providing a dedicated fan or the like.

In the air conditioner according to the present invention, preferably, an air inlet is provided at a position different from the air inlet.
The air outlet also serves as the air outlet. That is,
The air inlet is usually provided near the center of the front wall of the main body case, and the air outlet is usually provided near the center of the upper wall of the main body case. The flow of air from the air inlet to the air outlet becomes the air flow during dehumidification. Then, the flow of air from the air inlet provided at a position different from the air inlet to the air outlet also serving as an air outlet becomes the flow of the cooling air.

With this configuration, there is no need to provide a special air outlet for discharging the cooling air.

In the air conditioner according to the present invention, preferably, the compressor is provided at a lower part in the main body case, and the air inlet is provided at a position corresponding to the compressor in the main body case-a lower part in the main body case. I have. With this configuration, when the main body case near the heater is cooled by the air flowing from the air inlet, the compressor can be cooled together, and the refrigerant gas in the compressor is cooled by the refrigerant gas. It is possible to prevent the possibility of overheating due to the influence of the heater.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this.

As shown in FIG. 1, a main body case 1 of an air conditioner 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a front case 11, a rear case 12, and a bottom plate 13.

The front case 11 includes an upper wall 11a having an inlet 20 formed therein, a tank door 14 formed below the upper wall 11a, and an upper wall 11b having a steam outlet 15 and an operation section 16. It has.

The tank door 14 is opened when the left end thereof is turned about 90 degrees in the forward direction with a vertical rotation axis as a vertical rotation axis, so that the drain tank 3 described later can be taken in and out. Tank door 1
A water level confirmation window 14a through which the water level of the drainage tank 3 can be confirmed from outside is formed in the right part of 4. Operation unit 16
Is provided near the center front of the upper wall 11b of the main body case 1, and is provided with a power switch, a changeover switch, and the like.

The rear case 12 has a lattice-shaped air outlet 17 provided on an upper wall 12a, and a rear wall 12b at a lower rear portion of the steam outlet 15 has a tank housing portion for housing a water supply tank 6 described later. 18 are provided.

Next, the air conditioner 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Of the body case 1 will be described.

The inside of the main body case 1 is provided with a compressor 21, a condenser 22 and an evaporator 24, and is provided with a refrigeration cycle 2, which is arranged to constitute a dehumidifying mechanism, a drain tank 3, and a main body which sucks indoor air and sucks air. Blower 4 that blows out of case 1
And a steam generator 5.

Inside the main body case 1, an air inlet 20 is provided.
A ventilation path communicating the air outlet 17 with the air outlet 17 is formed. In this ventilation path, an evaporator 24 for cooling the room air sucked from the air suction port 20 through the filter 19, a condenser 22 cooled by the air passing through the evaporator 24, An air blower 4 that sucks air and sends the air to the air outlet 17 is arranged in order from the air inlet 20 toward the back. In addition, a refrigerant expansion valve (not shown) is provided between the condenser 22 and the evaporator 24.

The compressor 21 is mounted on the upper surface of the bottom plate 13 of the main body case 1 and is fixed via a vibration isolator. A suction pipe 27 for sucking refrigerant gas from the evaporator 24 is provided on the peripheral surface of the compressor 21 so as to extend so as to be located on the opposite side of the heater 7 described later.

A drain pan (not shown) is provided below the evaporator 24, and receives condensed water that has condensed and dropped in the evaporator 24. The condensed water received by this drain pan is guided as drain water to a drain tank 3 disposed below the drain pan.

Next, the steam generator 5 will be described with reference to FIG. The steam generation device 5 includes a water supply tank 6, a steam generation tube 72, and a heater 7. The water supplied from the water supply tank 6 is stored in the steam generation tube 72, and heated by the heater 7. This is a configuration for generating steam.

That is, the water supply tank 6 includes the main body case 1.
Is detachably arranged on the left side of the rear of the
1, a water supply port (not shown) for supplying water to the steam generating cylinder 72 is formed at a lower portion. A cap 62 is detachably attached to the water supply port. A communication port (not shown) is provided at the center of the cap 62 and a spring (not shown) is urged to close the communication port. A water tap 63 is provided.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a water tank fixed to the main body case 1 and opened upward. The water supply tank 6 is detachably mounted on the upper part of the water tank 64. The water tank 64 communicates with an elbow pipe 66 via a connection pipe 65 connected to the lower surface. 67 is a projection formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the water tank 64. The projection 67 pushes up the water tap 63 of the water supply tank 6 when the water supply tank 6 is mounted, and supplies the water in the water supply tank 6 to the water tank 64.

A detachable maintenance plug 68 is attached below the elbow pipe 66. By removing the plug 68, the elbow pipe 66 and the like can be cleaned. Above the elbow pipe 66, a metal steam generating cylinder 72 is connected via a connection pipe 71. A connection pipe 73 is connected from the upper part of the steam generating cylinder 72 to the upper part thereof. Connection pipe 7
A steam outlet 15 is provided in the upper part of 3.

The heater 7 is mounted below the steam generating tube 72 in a coil shape surrounding the steam generating tube 72. The heater 7 is energized to heat water in the steam generating cylinder 72. When the water in the steam generating tube 72 is heated, it turns into steam and rises in the steam generating tube 72 to rise into the steam outlet 15.
Blown out from.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rear case 12 of the main body case 1 is provided with an air inlet 8 at a lower portion thereof. The position of the air inlet 8 is a position facing the compressor 21 in the main body case 1. Further, the rear wall 12 above the tank storage portion 18 for storing the water supply tank 6 is provided.
An air inlet 9 is also provided at b. The position of the air inlet 9 is a position facing the upper end of the steam generating cylinder 72 and the lower part of the connection pipe 73 of the steam generating device 5. The air inlet 9 is hidden by the water supply tank 6 when the water supply tank 6 is stored in the tank storage section 18.

The air conditioner 10 drives the refrigeration cycle 2 and the blower 4 without energizing the heater 7 of the steam generator 5 to dehumidify the indoor air, and performs a compressor 21 operation. In the stopped state, the heater 7 of the steam generator 5 is energized to generate steam to control the humidification operation to humidify the indoor air. The driving of the blower 4 is controlled so that it can be performed both during the humidifying operation and when the humidifying operation is stopped.

First, the dehumidifying operation will be described. When the blower 4 is driven in a state where the compressor 21 is operated, room air is sucked into the main body case 1 from the air inlet 20 through the filter 19. This air is supplied to the evaporator 24
Then, the air passes through the condenser 25 and is dehumidified, and is blown out from the air outlet 17.

Next, the humidification (steam generation) operation will be described. When the water supply tank 6 containing water is mounted on the tank storage portion 18, the water tap 63 of the water supply tank 6 is pushed up by the projection 67 in the water tank 64, and the water in the water supply tank 6 is discharged from the water tank 64.
Flows into the steam generating cylinder 72 from the outlet. When the water level of the water tank 64 reaches the lower surface of the cap 62 of the water supply tank 6, air does not enter the water supply tank 6, and the water supply from the water supply tank 6 stops. Then, the inside of the steam generating cylinder 72 has a constant water level.

When the humidifying operation is performed by turning on the power switch of the operation unit 16 in this state, the heater 7 is energized and water in the steam generating cylinder 72 is evaporated. The generated steam rises in the steam generating cylinder 72 and is blown out from the steam outlet 15.

The air blower 4 is also driven during this humidifying operation, and the air in the room is sucked into the main body case 1 from the air inlet 20 and is blown out from the air outlet 17.

At this time, since the blower 4 is driven, the indoor air flows from the air inlet 8 provided at a position different from the air inlet 20 (the position facing the compressor 21 in the main body case 1). Flows into the main body case 1 to cool the inside of the main body case 1. The inflowing cooling air rides on the flow of air from the air inlet 20 to the air outlet 17 also serving as an air outlet, as shown by arrows in FIGS. 2 and 4, and flows out from the air outlet 17. I do. And
Cooling air flowing from the air inlet 8 to the air outlet (air outlet 17) causes the main body case 1 near the heater 7 to cool.
Can be cooled. Therefore, overheating of the main body case 1 due to the heater 7 during the humidifying operation can be prevented.

A compressor 21 is provided at a lower portion in the main body case 1, and an air inlet 8 is provided in the rear case 1 of the main body case 1.
2 is provided at a position corresponding to the compressor 21, so that when the main body case 1 near the heater 7 is cooled by the air flowing from the air inlet 8, the compressor 21
Can be cooled, and the possibility that the refrigerant gas in the compressor 21 is overheated by the influence of the heater 7 can be prevented.

When the blower 4 is driven, the air flowing into the main body case 1 from the air inlet 9 through the gap between the water supply tank 6 and the rear case 12 from the rear of the main body case 1 is also changed. As it moves on the flow, the heater 7
The upper body case 1 can be cooled.

[0039]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a main body case, and a steam generator provided in the main body case, wherein the steam generator communicates with the water supply tank and the water supply tank. A steam generating cylinder that stands vertically and stores water supplied from the water supply tank, and a heater that is provided below the steam generating cylinder and heats water in the steam generating cylinder, and An air inlet is provided at a lower portion of the main body case, and an air outlet is provided at an upper portion, and cooling air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet is configured to prevent overheating of the main body case caused by the heater. I have. Therefore, by preventing or reducing overheating of the main body case caused by the heater of the steam generator, it is possible to reduce the size or cost of the main body case.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the compressor,
It has a refrigeration cycle consisting of a condenser and an evaporator, and a blower for sucking and blowing air, an air inlet and an air outlet are provided in the main body case, and the air sucked from the air inlet is used as an evaporator. The air conditioner further includes a dehumidifier for blowing out the air from the air outlet after dehumidifying through the air, and the cooling air is obtained by using a blower of the dehumidifier. Therefore, by using such a blower of the dehumidifier, the cooling air can be obtained without providing a dedicated fan or the like.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the air inlet is provided at a position different from the air inlet and the air outlet also serves as the air outlet, the cooling air is discharged. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special air outlet for cooling.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the compressor is provided at a lower portion in the main body case, and the air inlet is provided at a position corresponding to the compressor in the main body case. When the main body case near the heater is cooled by the inflowing air, the compressor can be cooled at the same time, thereby preventing the refrigerant gas in the compressor from being overheated by the influence of the heater. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory view of the inside of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is a configuration explanatory view of the inside of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory view of the inside of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 as viewed from the right side.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the air conditioner of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 2 Refrigeration cycle 4 Blower 5 Steam generator 6 Water supply tank 7 Heater 8 Air inlet 10 Air conditioner 17 Air outlet (Air outlet) 20 Air inlet 21 Compressor 22 Condenser 24 Evaporator 72 Evaporator 72 Steam generating cylinder

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiro Uedozono 2-5-1-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroyuki Takami 2-5-2-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A water supply tank comprising: a main body case; and a steam generation device provided in the main body case, wherein the steam generation device is provided with a water supply tank, and a water supply tank is provided standing upright in communication with the water supply tank. And a heater provided at a lower portion of the steam generating tube for heating water in the steam generating tube. Further, an air inlet is provided at a lower portion of the main body case, and an upper portion is provided at an upper portion thereof. An air conditioner, wherein an air outlet is provided in the air conditioner, and cooling air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet prevents overheating of the main body case caused by the heater. 2. A refrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, and a blower for sucking and blowing air, wherein an air inlet and an air outlet are provided in a main body case, and an air inlet is provided. Further comprising a dehumidifier for dehumidifying the air sucked in from the air outlet through the evaporator, and then blowing out the air from the air outlet, wherein the cooling air is obtained by using a blower of the dehumidifier. Item 7. The air conditioner according to Item 1. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein an air inlet is provided at a position different from the air inlet, and an air outlet also serves as the air outlet. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the compressor is provided at a lower portion in the main body case, and the air inlet is provided at a position corresponding to the compressor in the main body case.