JPWO2006049043A1 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner having an indoor unit that houses a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger into the main body, and a filter net is attached to the main body on the upstream side of the heat exchanger, A filter device for cleaning the filter net was provided. Further, the filter device has a dust separation member that separates dust adhering to the filter mesh from the filter mesh, and the dust separation member is configured by a sheet.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a function of automatically cleaning an air filter provided at an air suction port of an indoor unit.

  In the conventional air conditioner filter device, an air filter is provided on the front surface of the heat exchanger to prevent dust from entering the inside of the air conditioner main body. It is configured to be detachable so that it can be cleaned. In addition to requiring frequent maintenance, the filter device with this configuration gradually clogs the air filter until maintenance is performed, resulting in a reduction in the amount of air passing through the heat exchanger. As a result, the air conditioning capacity is reduced, leading to an increase in power consumption.

For this reason, in order to reduce the maintenance work of the air filter, the filter device that cleans the dust attached to the air filter by scraping it with a brush, and the filter device that sucks and cleans the dust attached to the air filter with a nozzle Has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1 or 2).
JP-A-6-74521 JP 2002-340395 A

  However, in the filter device described in Patent Document 1, since cleaning is performed by scraping with a brush, dust must be entangled with the brush, or dust collected by scraping must be processed, which greatly reduces maintenance. It was not reduced. In addition, as the number of cleanings of the air filter overlaps, there is a problem that dust is entangled with the brush and the cleaning performance is deteriorated.

  On the other hand, the filter device described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that sufficient cleaning performance cannot be obtained only by the suction force of the nozzle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and is a filter device that can prevent entanglement of dust and maintain high cleaning ability, and can greatly reduce the labor of maintenance. It aims at providing the air conditioner provided with.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an air conditioner having an indoor unit in which a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger are housed in a main body, the heat exchanger And a filter device for cleaning the filter mesh, the filter device using a sheet as a dust separating member for separating dust attached to the filter mesh from the filter mesh. It is characterized by that.

  A rubber or resin film is used for the sheet, and the sheet is preferably provided with a plurality of cuts. The width of the cut is set larger than the width of the filter mesh. Moreover, it is more preferable to arrange a plurality of sheets so that the gaps formed by the cuts do not overlap.

  A foam material can also be used as the dust separation member, and silicon is preferably used as the foam material.

  Furthermore, the present invention is an air conditioner having an indoor unit in which a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger are housed in a main body, the main body upstream of the heat exchanger And a slidable suction nozzle for sucking dust adhering to the filter net having a belt formed with a suction port facing the filter net, and attached to the filter net. A dust separating member for separating the dust from the filter mesh is provided beside the suction port, the dust separating member is made of foam material, and the length of the belt side of the cross-sectional shape in the left-right direction is longer than the length of the filter side. It is characterized by setting.

  It is preferable that the surface of the dust separating member on the side in contact with the filter net is uneven and at least the side surface on the left and right drive side is smooth.

  Moreover, a sheet material may be provided on the left and right drive side surfaces of the foam material, and the sheet material may be joined to the foam material using a nonwoven fabric or a resin film. Furthermore, it is preferable to set the sheet material to be shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the sheet is used as the dust separating member, the cleaning performance can be maintained permanently by preventing the entanglement of dust while exhibiting high cleaning performance, and maintenance is also unnecessary.

  When rubber is used for the sheet, the sheet is flexibly deformed and is in close contact with the surface of the filter net, so that high cleaning performance can be exhibited. In addition, when a resin film is used for the sheet, the suction nozzle can be configured at low cost, and high durability against wear can be exhibited.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of cuts are provided in the sheet, high cleaning performance can be exhibited, and driving at the bent portion is smoothly performed, and damage can be prevented and reliability can be improved. In particular, if the width of the cut line is set larger than the width of the mesh of the filter mesh, damage to the sheet and the filter mesh due to the leading edge of the sheet being caught in the mesh of the filter mesh can be prevented, and sound during cleaning is also reduced. be able to.

  Also, if a plurality of gaps are provided in the sheet, the suction cleaning air can be leaked through the gaps to attract the dust and prevent the dust from falling, so the high cleaning performance by combining the separation and suction of the dust by the sheet Can be demonstrated. Further, since the sheet is smoothly driven at the bent portion, damage can be prevented and reliability can be improved.

  In particular, when a plurality of sheets are provided so that the gaps do not overlap with each other, it is possible to prevent the cleaning performance from being deteriorated in the portions located in the gaps between the sheets.

  In addition, when foamed material is used as a dust separating member, in addition to preventing entanglement of dust, dust entangled in the filter mesh is also scraped and cleaned by deformation of the foamed material, so that higher cleaning performance can be obtained. Also, friction noise with the filter net during cleaning is reduced. Furthermore, when silicon is used for the foam material, damage to the foam material due to friction with the filter network during cleaning can be prevented, and high reliability can be obtained.

  In addition, if the length of the belt of the left and right cross-sectional shape of the foam material is longer than the length of the filter mesh side, it is possible to prevent entanglement of dust on the foam material and to maintain high cleaning performance permanently. It is possible to scrape dust out of the filter net. Moreover, since the durability with respect to the flexibility of the foam material can be improved, maintenance is not required.

  By making the surface of the foam material in contact with the filter mesh uneven and smoothing at least the left and right drive side surfaces, it is possible to improve the dust scraping property from the filter mesh and the durability against repeated bending of the foam material.

  Further, when the dust separating member is formed of a foam material and a sheet material provided on the side surface on the left and right driving sides, durability against repeated bending in the left and right driving direction can be improved. Furthermore, when a non-woven fabric or a resin film is used for the sheet material and bonded to the foam material, durability against repeated bending in the left-right driving direction and ease of deformation during deformation can be improved.

  Also, if the sheet material is set shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section, it can improve the dust scraping ability from the filter net, durability against repeated bending in the left and right direction, and ease of deformation during deformation. it can.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the suction nozzle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a structure of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle using a bristle brush. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. 9A. FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 11B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 14A shows a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. 14B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 14A. FIG. 15A shows another modification of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. FIG. 15B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 15A. FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 16B is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 16A. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. 18A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 18B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 19 shows a modification of the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle in particular. FIG. 20A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. 20B is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. 20A. FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 20A. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 4 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram at the time of cleaning operation | movement of the suction nozzle in Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is the cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 5 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

2 Filter Frame 4 Filter Net 6 Suction Nozzle 8 Guide Rail 10 Suction Duct 12 Suction Device 14 Exhaust Duct 16 Suction Nozzle Body 18 Opening 20 Belt 22, 22A, 22B Suction Hole 24 Belt Guide 26, 26A Seat Brush 28 Bristle Brush 30 Foaming Silicon brush 32 Foam material brush 32a Foam material filter side 32b, 32c Foam brush side surface 34 Brush 36 Foam material 38, 38A Sheet material 50 Indoor unit body 52 Heat exchanger 54 Fan 56 Filter device

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. Inside an indoor unit main body 50, indoor air is taken in through a heat exchanger 52 and the heat exchanger 52, and the heat is exchanged by the heat exchanger 52. A fan 54 for blowing the exchanged air into the room and a filter device 56 disposed on the upstream side of the heat exchanger 52 are accommodated, and a plurality of suctions formed from the front surface to the upper surface of the main body 50 Air is sucked from the mouth by the operation of the fan 54, and dust floating in the air is removed by a filter device 56 provided between the suction mouth and the heat exchanger 52.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the filter device 56 of the air conditioner according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the filter device 56 that removes dust from the air passing through the heat exchanger 52 includes the filter frame 2, the filter mesh 4 held by the filter frame 2, and the surface of the filter mesh 4. And a slidable suction nozzle 6.

  The suction nozzle 6 can be smoothly moved to the left and right with a certain distance from the filter net 4 by a pair of guide rails 8 installed at the upper and lower ends of the filter frame 2. One end of a suction duct 10 is connected to the suction nozzle 6, and the other end of the suction duct 10 is connected to a suction device 12. The suction duct 10 is formed of a duct that can be bent so as not to interfere with the movement of the suction nozzle 6. Further, an exhaust duct 14 is connected to the suction device 12 and is routed outside the room. Dust adhering to the filter net 4 is sucked from the suction nozzle 6 and further discharged to the outside through the suction duct 10, the suction device 12 and the exhaust duct 14.

  When the filter device 56 is built in a small air conditioner for general household use, it is necessary to reduce the size and output of the suction device. The nozzle 6 uses a suction position switching device for cleaning the entire surface of the filter net 4 by switching the position by narrowing the suction to a part to increase the suction force.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
3A and 3B show the structure of the suction nozzle 6 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The suction nozzle body 16 is provided with a long slit-like opening 18 corresponding to the entire length of the filter mesh 4, and By providing the suction hole 22 in the belt 20 that can be driven along the opening 18, suction can be performed from only a part of the opening 18, and the place where the belt 20 is driven and sucked can be changed. In addition, since the belt 20 follows the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20 is guided by a belt guide 24 formed integrally with the suction nozzle body 16 by welding, adhesion, or the like. This prevents the occurrence of suction leakage at the part. With such a configuration, even a small amount of air is squeezed by the small suction hole 22, the wind speed of the air passing through the suction hole 22 is increased, and a strong suction force can be exhibited even with a small suction device.

  Further, a sheet brush 26 using a thin sheet is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 22 to serve as a dust separating member for separating dust attached to the filter mesh 4 from the filter mesh 4. In addition, the position of the seat brush 26 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20. With this configuration, since only the driving device for the belt 20 is necessary for changing the suction position and the seat brush position, the configuration is simple and can be realized at a low cost. The positional relationship of the brush 26 can always be maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the entire cleaning of the filter mesh 4 is performed by driving the belt 20 of the suction nozzle 6 to change the positions of the suction holes 22 and the brush 26, and driving the suction nozzle 6 left and right along the filter mesh 4. By doing so, the suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are repeatedly reciprocated as shown by the arrows in the figure. The suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are set to approximately ¼ of the total length of the filter net, and the entire surface of the filter net 4 is cleaned by four reciprocating sweep operations as indicated by arrows in the figure.

  Incidentally, the height h1 of the sheet brush 26 shown in FIG. 3B is designed by the distance from the filter net 4. The distance between the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 is designed to be 1.5 mm at the center in the axial direction of the suction nozzle 6 so that the filter mesh 4 does not come into contact even if there is a deflection (up to 1 mm). Therefore, when the deflection of the filter mesh 4 occurs in the opposite direction to the suction nozzle 6, the suction nozzle 6 and the filter mesh 4 are separated by a maximum of 2.5 mm. Even in this state, h1 is set to 5.0 mm so that the sheet brush 26 can sufficiently contact the filter net 4. The sheet brush 26 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but it is necessary to strongly bond the filter net 4 because it keeps rubbing the filter net 4 during cleaning. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the sheet brush 26 has an L-shaped sheet, and the fixing area is increased by increasing the partial area to be bonded to the belt 20. If this shape is used, the portion bent into the L shape easily falls to the belt 20 side, and is supported by the belt guide 24 to hold the L shape. The L-shape is used to increase the bonding area, and thus may be an inverted T-shape or other similar shapes.

  In a small air conditioner for home use, since the filter net 4 is on the top and front, the suction nozzle 6 is bent along the top as shown in FIG. Therefore, the seat brush 26 also has a bent state depending on the driving position of the belt 20, but the sheet is very thin and the bent portion is deformed into a wave shape and can be driven without any problem. In addition, in FIG. 3A, the bending part of a sheet brush is not illustrated in the waveform. Since the belt 20 and the seat brush 26 are required to have flexibility against bending as well as durability against tensile strength and wear, it is preferable to use rubber or a resin film as the material. In particular, resin films such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) are very excellent in strength, flexibility and durability, and the belt 20 is thinned to about 75 to 100 microns due to its mechanical strength. As a result, the suction nozzle 6 itself can be made thin and the storage property is improved. As a result, the indoor unit main body can be thinned, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design. In terms of cost, material costs and processing costs are extremely low.

  The sheet brush 26 has a thickness of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm when rubber is used, and about 50 to 75 microns when a resin film is used.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26 (B portion in FIG. 3A) and shows a state before and after the bonding process. As is clear from FIG. 5, the seat brush 26 is very easily attached to the belt 20. It can be fixed to. In particular, when resin films are used for both the belt 20 and the seat brush 26, since welding (thermal welding or ultrasonic welding) can be performed, extremely strong fixing can be performed as compared with fixing with an adhesive.

  The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below. First, the behavior of the brush and dust when a bristle brush is used as the brush will be described.

  6A and 6B are structural views of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. The bristle brush 28 is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 33. Since the bristle brush 28 has an action of peeling off dust adhering to the filter mesh 4, dust that cannot be removed from the filter mesh 4 by suction force alone can be sucked and cleaned. A brushed cloth is often used for the bristle brush 28. The position of the bristle brush 28 is changed along with the suction hole 22 by the driving of the belt 20, and the dust brush peeled off by the bristle brush 28 is sucked from the suction hole 22 by being always present beside the suction hole 22.

  However, in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28, as the number of cleanings of the filter net 4 overlaps, dust gets entangled with the bristle brush 28, and the cleaning performance of the filter device decreases, and the bristle brush 28 is regularly maintained. Necessary.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle during cleaning in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28. Solid arrows indicate the wind of suction, and white arrows indicate the direction of travel during the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. The bristle brush 28 is attached to the rear of the suction hole with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, and black circles indicate dust that is strongly attached to the filter net 4 due to oil or cigarette dust, and is difficult to be sucked. During cleaning, dust that is easily sucked is sucked before touching the bristle brush 28, but dust that is difficult to be sucked is sucked after being scraped off by the bristle brush 28. At this time, as shown in the figure, dust that contains oil or the like that is difficult to be sucked is entangled in a large amount on the surface of the bristle brush 28, and more dust enters the bristle brush 28 as the number of cleanings increases. Therefore, the bristle brush 28 is extremely dirty. As a result, not only the cleaning performance of the filter device is lowered, but also the possibility that the suction hole is clogged by sucking it when dust entangled with the bristle brush 28 grows large and falls off increases. Moreover, since various germs may propagate in the dust, it is not preferable in terms of hygiene.

  The seat brush 26 used in the suction nozzle 6 according to the present embodiment solves the problems inherent to the bristle brush 28 described above, and realizes the suction nozzle 6 in which no entanglement of dust occurs.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in a cross section. The arrows and circles in FIG. 8 are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows a portion having the suction hole 22 in FIG. 3A, that is, the state of the AA cross section. Since the suction hole 22 precedes the seat brush 26, dry dust or the like is peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. Dust that cannot be removed only by suction force due to oil or the like is filtered to adhere to the surface of the filter mesh 4 while the sheet brush 26 that comes after passing through the suction hole 22 is flexibly deformed so that the surface of the filter mesh 4 is stroked. Peel off from the net 4. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. By cleaning the surface of the filter mesh 4 so as to be stroked, the resistance is much smaller than that of the bristle brush that cleans the filter mesh 4 while the hair is biting into it, and the motor that drives the suction nozzle 6 to the left and right is also small in output.・ Small in size, and it is also advantageous in terms of reliability, such as the temperature rise of the motor. In addition, the fact that a small motor can be used has the advantage of increasing the degree of freedom in terms of the design of the indoor unit body. Since the seat brush 26 is flexible, even if the filter mesh 4 is deformed or bent, the seat brush 26 is deformed accordingly and the tip of the seat brush 26 is in close contact with the filter mesh 4 without any gap, so that the ability to peel off dust Is high and the cleaning performance is very good. On the other hand, because of its flexibility, dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4. The tip of the seat brush 26 may collect dust that has been forcibly removed by the seat brush 26. When the dust is collected to some extent, it is sucked and removed. Unlike the bristle brush, the seat brush 26 has no part where the dust is entangled and the surface is smooth, so that the dust does not easily adhere. Even if it adheres to the surface, it will immediately come off while rubbing against the filter net 4. Therefore, the cleaning performance can be maintained permanently by using the seat brush 26, and maintenance such as cleaning of the brush is unnecessary.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
9A and 9B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is the first embodiment described above in that a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A. Is different.

  As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the cut is made from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the root (surface on the belt 20 side), and the shape is cut in a V shape to create a gap in the cut portion. I am doing so.

  Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26A (E portion in Fig. 9A), and shows the state before and after the bonding process, as shown in Fig. 10. The interval between the slits is 2 mm, and the end portion of each cut is cut into a V shape so that the dimension is 1 mm, and the filter mesh 4 uses 40 meshes (40 filter fibers per inch). The distance between the fibers is 0.64 mm. If the tip of the sheet brush 26A is set to 0.64 mm or more, it is possible to prevent the sheet brush 26A from being damaged by entering the mesh of the filter net 4 and being caught. In the present embodiment, since the interval between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 also varies, the margin is set to 1 mm, as described above. Is preferably designed to be larger than the mesh interval of the filter mesh 4. If the mesh of the filter mesh 4 is fine, the interval between the cuts of the sheet brush 26A can be reduced. For example, when a resin film having a thickness of 75 to 100 microns is used, it is not preferable to make it too fine from the viewpoint of tensile strength.

The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.
As described in the first embodiment, the sheet brush 26 </ b> A has a role of removing dust from the filter net 4. The operation of peeling off the dust is effective even when the seat brush 26A strokes the filter net 4, but when the seat brush 26A tries to return to its original shape by the elastic force, the effect of repelling dust is used. Strong peeling ability is obtained.

  11A and 11B are schematic views showing the effect. In FIG. 11A, the sheet brush 26A is dragged by the filter net 4 during the cleaning, and greatly deforms in the backward direction with respect to the advancing direction of the suction nozzle 6. It is in a state of being. This amount of deformation becomes large when large dust or dust strongly adhering to the filter net 4 comes into contact with the seat brush 26A. Even if dust starts to collect at the tip of the seat brush 26A, it becomes large. When the amount of deformation exceeds a certain value, the seat brush 26A that was originally perpendicular to the surface of the belt 20 tries to return (vertically) to the original (perpendicular) by the elastic force.

  FIG. 11B shows this state, and the dust is repelled and removed by suction at the suction hole side. Since the force at this time is strong, it can be repelled by large dust or dust. When a plurality of cuts are provided in the sheet brush 26A, the fine sheet pieces formed thereby frequently perform this operation, so that the ability to remove dust is greatly improved as compared with the case where no cuts are made. In addition, this effect is remarkable in the case of using a resin film such as PET or PEN in terms of physical properties.

  In addition, providing the sheet brush 26A with a plurality of cuts increases the flexibility of the entire sheet brush. As a result, even if the filter net 4 is bent or uneven, the sheet brush 26A comes into contact with each other depending on the shape and can be cleaned to every corner.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A, there are driving advantages in addition to an improvement in cleaning performance.

  FIG. 12 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle in the present embodiment, and depicts only the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20, the suction hole 22, and the sheet brush 26A in FIG. 9A. As described above, the belt 20 is driven to change the position of the suction hole 22 in order to clean the entire surface of the filter net 4. In the present embodiment, by providing a plurality of fine cuts in the sheet brush 26A, when passing through the bent portion of the suction nozzle 6, the sheets subdivided by the cut overlap to form a bent portion. It does not have to be deformed into a wave shape as in the first embodiment. Therefore, since an excessive force is not applied to the seat brush 26A, deterioration does not occur, and durability and reliability are improved. In particular, by making the cut into a V shape, it is possible to reduce the portion where the seat brush 26A overlaps as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the cut is inserted in a V shape from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the base (surface on the belt 20 side) so that a gap is formed. This helps to attract the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 </ b> A to the suction hole 22. In the first embodiment, the wind sucked from the suction hole 22 is blocked by the seat brush 26, and no suction force acts on the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 with respect to the suction hole 22. In particular, when the filter net 4 is vertical and there is dust that has climbed over the seat brush 26 on the scale, the suction force does not work, so that the indoor unit main body falls and becomes dirty. However, if a plurality of cuts are made in the seat brush 26A and a gap is provided in each, the suction wind passes through the gap, so that dust that has passed over the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram when the suction nozzle 6 is cleaned in the present embodiment, and the white arrow in the figure indicates the wind of suction, and the magnitude thereof indicates the strength of the wind. It can be seen from FIG. 13 that the wind escapes through the gap on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A. In addition, it can be seen from FIG. 13 that the width of the cut line of the sheet brush 26A is larger than the width of the filter mesh 4 so that the sheet brush 26A is not caught by the mesh of the filter mesh 4.

  In addition, when a cleaning operation is repeated in which a plurality of cuts are made in the sheet brush 26A and the reciprocating operation of the suction nozzle 6 as shown in FIG. 4 is performed, the sheet brush 26A contacts the filter net 4 at the gap portion. As a result, the cleaning performance may be deteriorated only in that portion.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, when a plurality of sheet brushes 26A with gaps are provided beside the suction holes 22 so that the gaps do not overlap, the suction of the suction nozzle 6 causes the sheet brushes 26A to be filtered. 4 contacts the entire surface. Also in this case, since the suction wind passes through the gap, dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

  14A and 14B, the two seat brushes 26A are arranged on one side of the suction hole 22. However, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the two sheet brushes 26A are arranged on both sides of the suction hole 22, respectively. You may arrange. In particular, in the latter case, the wind sucked into the suction holes 22 is guided by the two sheet brushes 26A, and the two sheet brushes 26A also have an effect of preventing the spread of the sucked winds. The suction wind speed is increased and the cleaning performance is improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
16A and 16B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 obtained by foaming silicon like a sponge is used as the belt 20. This is different from the first embodiment described above in that it is fixed to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 16B, the foamed silicon brush 30 is designed to have a width d2 of 5 mm and a height h2 of 5 mm. The width is determined in consideration of the cleaning performance and driving resistance, and also varies depending on the silicon material. As described in the first embodiment, the height is designed to be 5.0 mm so that the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 can sufficiently contact each other even at a maximum distance of 2.5 mm. The state pressed to 4 and slightly compressed becomes a steady state.

The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.
FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. A solid line arrow in the drawing indicates the wind of suction, and a white arrow indicates the traveling direction during the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. Further, the circles on the filter net 4 indicate adhering dust (dust removed by the filter net 4). White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, black circles indicate dust that is difficult to be sucked in because it contains a small amount of oil, and black triangles indicate dust that is very difficult to be sucked in because it contains a large amount of oil. The foamed silicone brush 30 is attached to the rear of the suction hole 22 with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6.

  FIG. 17 shows a portion having a suction hole in FIG. 16A, that is, the state of the FF cross section.

  Since the suction hole 22 precedes the foamed silicon brush 30 in the cleaning operation, dry dust (white circles) and the like are peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. The dust (black circles) that cannot be removed only by the suction force due to oil or the like adheres to the surface of the filter net 4 while the foamed silicon brush 30 that flexes after passing through the suction hole 22 is deformed flexibly, and the surface of the filter net 4 The dust is removed from the filter net 4 by stroking. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. However, dust (black triangles) that is very difficult to be sucked in due to containing a large amount of oil, for example, may not be removed, but may be stuck on the filter net 4. By using a soft foam material such as sponge as a brush, the dust enters the space between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 while flexibly deforming as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 17, and wraps up the stuck dust. And can be scraped off to the surface of the filter net 4. This effect is largely due to fine holes on the surface of the foam. In this way, dust is collected on the filter net 4 by rubbing on the surface of the filter net 4, and the fuzz ball comes out on the opposite side of the brush. The pills that have come out are easily peeled off from the filter net 4 by being rubbed with the foam material, and the pills are also in a state of being easily sucked because of their increased surface area. This behavior is sometimes seen when a bristle brush is used, but when the foam material is used as a brush, there is a tendency to become smaller pills, and like the bristle brush, the pills become too large and clog the suction holes 22. I will not let you. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, most of the dust is sucked and removed by cleaning the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6, and the remaining dust balls that are very difficult to suck are sucked by cleaning the backward movement. It can be removed, and high cleaning performance can be exhibited against any dust. Even in the vertical part of the filter net 4, the pill after the forward movement is small, so it is held by the filter net 4 without being dropped and cleaned during the backward movement.

  As shown in FIG. 19, if one suction hole 22 </ b> A, 22 </ b> B is provided on each side of the foamed silicon brush 30, it is more ideal because all dust can be removed by the forward movement.

  Materials such as EPT (ethylene propylene rubber) may be used for the foam material, but it is most preferable to use silicon from the viewpoint that it does not adhere to the surface even if it contains oily dust and has excellent durability against wear. preferable. Among foamed materials, silicon is excellent in strength, and can be prevented from being damaged by friction with the filter net 4 during cleaning. In addition, since the foam material catches the dust so as to wrap it, the dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4 like a bristle brush. Further, since the foamed material is soft, there is almost no sound rubbed with the filter net 4 during cleaning, and noise reduction during cleaning can be achieved. In the present embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 is obtained by quadrupling the foaming rate, which has the best cleaning performance, from an experiment in which the cleaning performance is comparatively evaluated.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
20A and 20B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. On the surface of the belt 20, a sponge or EPT having a trapezoidal cross section beside the suction hole 22 is shown. A brush 32 made of a foam material such as (ethylene propylene rubber) is fixed, and the position of the brush 32 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20.

  Here, the width W of the brush 32 in contact with the filter mesh 4 is set in consideration of the cleaning performance and the resistance during driving, and the height H of the brush 32 is the amount of deflection of the filter mesh 4. In consideration of this, the height is set such that the brush 32 and the filter net 4 can be in sufficient contact with each other and are slightly compressed.

  The brush 32 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but when cleaning, the filter net 4 is continuously rubbed while being slightly deformed with the filter net 4, so that the brush 32 is peeled off by repeated left and right driving. It is necessary to bond firmly so as not to occur. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the cross section of the brush 32 is trapezoidal and the adhesion area with the belt 20 is increased to increase the fixing force.

  Here, the cross-sectional shape of the brush 32 in the left-right direction may be any shape as long as the length on the belt side is longer than the length on the filter mesh side. Other shapes such as a cross-sectional shape combining a rectangle and a rectangle may be used.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. Since the arrows, circles, etc. in the figure are the same as those in the above-described third embodiment (particularly, FIG. 17), description thereof is omitted. The operation and action of the suction nozzle 6 are the same as those in the third embodiment.

  Further, by using silicon as the material of the foam brush of the present embodiment, dust containing oil can be scraped from the filter net 4 without adhering to the brush surface, improving the cleaning performance, Further, it is possible to prevent the brush from being deteriorated due to environmental conditions and to improve the durability against wear and cracks.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the surface 32a on the side in contact with the filter mesh 4 is made uneven and the side surfaces 32b and 32c on the left and right drive sides are made smooth, as shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to improve particularly the dust scraping property from the filter net 4 and the durability against repeated bending of the brush 32.

  That is, by roughening the roughness of the surface 32a of the brush 32 that is in contact with the filter mesh 4, it is possible to improve the scraping performance against dust containing a large amount of oil that adheres closely to the filter mesh 4 and is difficult to remove. Further, by smoothing the roughness of at least the side surfaces 32b and 32c in the left and right direction of the brush 32, it is possible to improve the bending durability when the suction nozzle 6 is repeatedly driven left and right.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 23 shows the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic structure of the suction nozzle 6 itself is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, unlike the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is constituted by a foam material 36 and a sheet material 38 provided on the side surface on the left and right drive sides.

  When the suction nozzle 6 is driven left and right, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is pressed against the filter mesh 4 and deforms rightward or leftward while rubbing the filter mesh 4. At this time, a large stress is generated in the vicinity of the bonding surface of the brush 34 with the belt 20, and there is a possibility that a crack is generated in the vicinity of the base of the foam material 36 due to repeated bending of the left and right drive.

  Therefore, by joining the sheet material 38 to the side surface of the foam material 36, the foam material 36 can be reinforced to improve the bending durability and to prevent the occurrence of cracks.

  Further, when the sheet material 38 is joined to the foam material 36 using a nonwoven fabric, the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained, and the durability of the brush 34 against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  In addition, when a resin film is used for the sheet material 38, the contact resistance between the brush 34 and the filter net 4 can be reduced, and an increase in driving torque can be suppressed, and the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained. The durability against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 24, when the length of the sheet material 38A is set shorter than the foam material 36 in the left and right drive side cross section, the contact resistance between the brush 34A and the filter net 4 is greatly reduced and the drive torque is increased. It can be further suppressed.

  The above-described seat brushes, foamed silicon brushes, and the like of the first to fifth embodiments are also useful in other filter devices that do not employ the suction cleaning method (for example, cleaning devices that only scrape dust). However, the present invention is not limited to the filter device described in the first to fifth embodiments.

  As described above, the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention can perform cleaning of the filter net by using suction and a brush in combination with a suction nozzle, so various air filters, It can be used for air filters used under various installation conditions. Therefore, the present invention can be applied not only to an air filter of an air conditioner but also to an air filter such as a device having a cooling fan (for example, an air filter of a stabilized power source), a filter device that automatically cleans an air filter such as a ventilation fan.

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a function of automatically cleaning an air filter provided at an air suction port of an indoor unit.

  In the conventional air conditioner filter device, an air filter is provided on the front surface of the heat exchanger to prevent dust from entering the inside of the air conditioner main body. It is configured to be detachable so that it can be cleaned. In addition to requiring frequent maintenance, the filter device with this configuration gradually clogs the air filter until maintenance is performed, resulting in a reduction in the amount of air passing through the heat exchanger. As a result, the air conditioning capacity is reduced, leading to an increase in power consumption.

For this reason, in order to reduce the maintenance work of the air filter, the filter device that cleans the dust attached to the air filter by scraping it with a brush, and the filter device that sucks and cleans the dust attached to the air filter with a nozzle Has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1 or 2).
JP-A-6-74521 JP 2002-340395 A

  However, in the filter device described in Patent Document 1, since cleaning is performed by scraping with a brush, dust must be entangled with the brush, or dust collected by scraping must be processed, which greatly reduces maintenance. It was not reduced. In addition, as the number of cleanings of the air filter overlaps, there is a problem that dust is entangled with the brush and the cleaning performance is deteriorated.

  On the other hand, the filter device described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that sufficient cleaning performance cannot be obtained only by the suction force of the nozzle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and is a filter device that can prevent entanglement of dust and maintain high cleaning ability, and can greatly reduce the labor of maintenance. It aims at providing the air conditioner provided with.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an air conditioner having an indoor unit in which a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger are housed in a main body, the heat exchanger And a filter device for cleaning the filter mesh, the filter device using a sheet as a dust separating member for separating dust attached to the filter mesh from the filter mesh. It is characterized by that.

  A rubber or resin film is used for the sheet, and the sheet is preferably provided with a plurality of cuts. The width of the cut is set larger than the width of the filter mesh. Moreover, it is more preferable to arrange a plurality of sheets so that the gaps formed by the cuts do not overlap.

  A foam material can also be used as the dust separation member, and silicon is preferably used as the foam material.

  Furthermore, the present invention is an air conditioner having an indoor unit in which a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger are housed in a main body, the main body upstream of the heat exchanger And a slidable suction nozzle for sucking dust adhering to the filter net having a belt formed with a suction port facing the filter net, and attached to the filter net. A dust separating member for separating the dust from the filter mesh is provided beside the suction port, the dust separating member is made of foam material, and the length of the belt side of the cross-sectional shape in the left-right direction is longer than the length of the filter side. It is characterized by setting.

  It is preferable that the surface of the dust separating member on the side in contact with the filter net is uneven and at least the side surface on the left and right drive side is smooth.

  Moreover, a sheet material may be provided on the left and right drive side surfaces of the foam material, and the sheet material may be joined to the foam material using a nonwoven fabric or a resin film. Furthermore, it is preferable to set the sheet material to be shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the sheet is used as the dust separating member, the cleaning performance can be maintained permanently by preventing the entanglement of dust while exhibiting high cleaning performance, and maintenance is also unnecessary.

  When rubber is used for the sheet, the sheet is flexibly deformed and is in close contact with the surface of the filter net, so that high cleaning performance can be exhibited. In addition, when a resin film is used for the sheet, the suction nozzle can be configured at low cost, and high durability against wear can be exhibited.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of cuts are provided in the sheet, high cleaning performance can be exhibited, and driving at the bent portion is smoothly performed, and damage can be prevented and reliability can be improved. In particular, if the width of the cut line is set larger than the width of the mesh of the filter mesh, damage to the sheet and the filter mesh due to the leading edge of the sheet being caught in the mesh of the filter mesh can be prevented, and sound during cleaning is reduced. be able to.

  Also, if a plurality of gaps are provided in the sheet, the suction cleaning air can be leaked through the gaps to attract the dust and prevent the dust from falling, so the high cleaning performance by combining the separation and suction of the dust by the sheet Can be demonstrated. Further, since the sheet is smoothly driven at the bent portion, damage can be prevented and reliability can be improved.

  In particular, when a plurality of sheets are provided so that the gaps do not overlap with each other, it is possible to prevent the cleaning performance from being deteriorated in the portions located in the gaps between the sheets.

  In addition, when foamed material is used as a dust separating member, in addition to preventing entanglement of dust, dust entangled in the filter mesh is also scraped and cleaned by deformation of the foamed material, so that higher cleaning performance can be obtained. Also, friction noise with the filter net during cleaning is reduced. Furthermore, when silicon is used for the foam material, damage to the foam material due to friction with the filter network during cleaning can be prevented, and high reliability can be obtained.

  In addition, if the length of the belt of the left and right cross-sectional shape of the foam material is longer than the length of the filter mesh side, it is possible to prevent entanglement of dust on the foam material and to maintain high cleaning performance permanently. It is possible to scrape dust out of the filter net. Moreover, since the durability with respect to the flexibility of the foam material can be improved, maintenance is not required.

  By making the surface of the foam material in contact with the filter mesh uneven and smoothing at least the left and right drive side surfaces, it is possible to improve the dust scraping property from the filter mesh and the durability against repeated bending of the foam material.

  Further, when the dust separating member is formed of a foam material and a sheet material provided on the side surface on the left and right driving sides, durability against repeated bending in the left and right driving direction can be improved. Furthermore, when a non-woven fabric or a resin film is used for the sheet material and bonded to the foam material, durability against repeated bending in the left-right driving direction and ease of deformation during deformation can be improved.

  Also, if the sheet material is set shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section, it can improve the dust scraping ability from the filter net, durability against repeated bending in the left and right direction, and ease of deformation during deformation. it can.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. Inside an indoor unit main body 50, indoor air is taken in through a heat exchanger 52 and the heat exchanger 52, and the heat is exchanged by the heat exchanger 52. A fan 54 for blowing the exchanged air into the room and a filter device 56 disposed on the upstream side of the heat exchanger 52 are accommodated, and a plurality of suctions formed from the front surface to the upper surface of the main body 50 Air is sucked from the mouth by the operation of the fan 54, and dust floating in the air is removed by a filter device 56 provided between the suction mouth and the heat exchanger 52.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the filter device 56 of the air conditioner according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the filter device 56 that removes dust from the air passing through the heat exchanger 52 includes the filter frame 2, the filter mesh 4 held by the filter frame 2, and the surface of the filter mesh 4. And a slidable suction nozzle 6.

  The suction nozzle 6 can be smoothly moved to the left and right with a certain distance from the filter net 4 by a pair of guide rails 8 installed at the upper and lower ends of the filter frame 2. One end of a suction duct 10 is connected to the suction nozzle 6, and the other end of the suction duct 10 is connected to a suction device 12. The suction duct 10 is formed of a duct that can be bent so as not to interfere with the movement of the suction nozzle 6. Further, an exhaust duct 14 is connected to the suction device 12 and is routed outside the room. Dust adhering to the filter net 4 is sucked from the suction nozzle 6 and further discharged to the outside through the suction duct 10, the suction device 12 and the exhaust duct 14.

  When the filter device 56 is built in a small air conditioner for general household use, it is necessary to reduce the size and output of the suction device. The nozzle 6 uses a suction position switching device for cleaning the entire surface of the filter net 4 by switching the position by narrowing the suction to a part to increase the suction force.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
3A and 3B show the structure of the suction nozzle 6 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The suction nozzle body 16 is provided with a long slit-like opening 18 corresponding to the entire length of the filter mesh 4, and By providing the suction hole 22 in the belt 20 that can be driven along the opening 18, suction can be performed from only a part of the opening 18, and the place where the belt 20 is driven and sucked can be changed. In addition, since the belt 20 follows the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20 is guided by a belt guide 24 formed integrally with the suction nozzle body 16 by welding, adhesion, or the like. This prevents the occurrence of suction leakage at the part. With such a configuration, even a small amount of air is squeezed by the small suction hole 22, the wind speed of the air passing through the suction hole 22 is increased, and a strong suction force can be exhibited even with a small suction device.

  Further, a sheet brush 26 using a thin sheet is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 22 to serve as a dust separating member for separating dust attached to the filter mesh 4 from the filter mesh 4. In addition, the position of the seat brush 26 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20. With this configuration, since only the driving device for the belt 20 is necessary for changing the suction position and the seat brush position, the configuration is simple and can be realized at a low cost. The positional relationship of the brush 26 can always be maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the entire cleaning of the filter mesh 4 is performed by driving the belt 20 of the suction nozzle 6 to change the positions of the suction holes 22 and the brush 26, and driving the suction nozzle 6 left and right along the filter mesh 4. By doing so, the suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are repeatedly reciprocated as shown by the arrows in the figure. The suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are set to approximately ¼ of the total length of the filter net, and the entire surface of the filter net 4 is cleaned by four reciprocating sweep operations as indicated by arrows in the figure.

  Incidentally, the height h1 of the sheet brush 26 shown in FIG. 3B is designed by the distance from the filter net 4. The distance between the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 is designed to be 1.5 mm at the center in the axial direction of the suction nozzle 6 so that the filter mesh 4 does not come into contact even if there is a deflection (up to 1 mm). Therefore, when the deflection of the filter mesh 4 occurs in the opposite direction to the suction nozzle 6, the suction nozzle 6 and the filter mesh 4 are separated by a maximum of 2.5 mm. Even in this state, h1 is set to 5.0 mm so that the sheet brush 26 can sufficiently contact the filter net 4. The sheet brush 26 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but it is necessary to strongly bond the filter net 4 because it keeps rubbing the filter net 4 during cleaning. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the sheet brush 26 has an L-shaped sheet, and the fixing area is increased by increasing the partial area to be bonded to the belt 20. If this shape is used, the portion bent into the L shape easily falls to the belt 20 side, and is supported by the belt guide 24 to hold the L shape. The L-shape is used to increase the bonding area, and thus may be an inverted T-shape or other similar shapes.

  In a small air conditioner for home use, since the filter net 4 is on the top and front, the suction nozzle 6 is bent along the top as shown in FIG. Therefore, the seat brush 26 also has a bent state depending on the driving position of the belt 20, but the sheet is very thin and the bent portion is deformed into a wave shape and can be driven without any problem. In addition, in FIG. 3A, the bending part of a sheet brush is not illustrated in the waveform. Since the belt 20 and the seat brush 26 are required to have flexibility against bending as well as durability against tensile strength and wear, it is preferable to use rubber or a resin film as the material. In particular, resin films such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) are very excellent in strength, flexibility and durability, and the belt 20 is thinned to about 75 to 100 microns due to its mechanical strength. As a result, the suction nozzle 6 itself can be made thin and the storage property is improved. As a result, the indoor unit main body can be thinned, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design. In terms of cost, material costs and processing costs are extremely low.

  The sheet brush 26 has a thickness of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm when rubber is used, and about 50 to 75 microns when a resin film is used.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26 (B portion in FIG. 3A) and shows a state before and after the bonding process. As is clear from FIG. 5, the seat brush 26 is very easily attached to the belt 20. It can be fixed to. In particular, when resin films are used for both the belt 20 and the seat brush 26, since welding (thermal welding or ultrasonic welding) can be performed, extremely strong fixing can be performed as compared with fixing with an adhesive.

  The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below. First, the behavior of the brush and dust when a bristle brush is used as the brush will be described.

  6A and 6B are structural views of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. The bristle brush 28 is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 33. Since the bristle brush 28 has an action of peeling off dust adhering to the filter mesh 4, dust that cannot be removed from the filter mesh 4 by suction force alone can be sucked and cleaned. A brushed cloth is often used for the bristle brush 28. The position of the bristle brush 28 is changed along with the suction hole 22 by the driving of the belt 20, and the dust brush peeled off by the bristle brush 28 is sucked from the suction hole 22 by being always present beside the suction hole 22.

  However, in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28, as the number of cleanings of the filter net 4 overlaps, dust gets entangled with the bristle brush 28, and the cleaning performance of the filter device decreases, and the bristle brush 28 is regularly maintained. Necessary.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle during cleaning in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28. Solid arrows indicate the wind of suction, and white arrows indicate the direction of travel during the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. The bristle brush 28 is attached to the rear of the suction hole with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, and black circles indicate dust that is strongly attached to the filter net 4 due to oil or cigarette dust, and is difficult to be sucked. During cleaning, dust that is easily sucked is sucked before touching the bristle brush 28, but dust that is difficult to be sucked is sucked after being scraped off by the bristle brush 28. At this time, as shown in the figure, dust that contains oil or the like that is difficult to be sucked is entangled in a large amount on the surface of the bristle brush 28, and more dust enters the bristle brush 28 as the number of cleanings increases. Therefore, the bristle brush 28 is extremely dirty. As a result, not only the cleaning performance of the filter device is lowered, but also the possibility that the suction hole is clogged by sucking it when dust entangled with the bristle brush 28 grows large and falls off increases. Moreover, since various germs may propagate in the dust, it is not preferable in terms of hygiene.

  The seat brush 26 used in the suction nozzle 6 according to the present embodiment solves the problems inherent to the bristle brush 28 described above, and realizes the suction nozzle 6 in which no entanglement of dust occurs.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in a cross section. The arrows and circles in FIG. 8 are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows a portion having the suction hole 22 in FIG. 3A, that is, the state of the AA cross section. Since the suction hole 22 precedes the seat brush 26, dry dust or the like is peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. Dust that cannot be removed only by suction force due to oil or the like is filtered to adhere to the surface of the filter mesh 4 while the sheet brush 26 that comes after passing through the suction hole 22 is flexibly deformed so that the surface of the filter mesh 4 is stroked. Peel off from the net 4. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. By cleaning the surface of the filter mesh 4 so as to be stroked, the resistance is much smaller than that of the bristle brush that cleans the filter mesh 4 while the hair is biting into it, and the motor that drives the suction nozzle 6 to the left and right is also small in output.・ Small in size, and it is also advantageous in terms of reliability, such as the temperature rise of the motor. In addition, the fact that a small motor can be used has the advantage of increasing the degree of freedom in terms of the design of the indoor unit body. Since the seat brush 26 is flexible, even if the filter mesh 4 is deformed or bent, the seat brush 26 is deformed accordingly and the tip of the seat brush 26 is in close contact with the filter mesh 4 without any gap, so that the ability to peel off dust Is high and the cleaning performance is very good. On the other hand, because of its flexibility, dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4. The tip of the seat brush 26 may collect dust that has been forcibly removed by the seat brush 26. When the dust is collected to some extent, it is sucked and removed. Unlike the bristle brush, the seat brush 26 has no part where the dust is entangled and the surface is smooth, so that the dust does not easily adhere. Even if it adheres to the surface, it will immediately come off while rubbing against the filter net 4. Therefore, the cleaning performance can be maintained permanently by using the seat brush 26, and maintenance such as cleaning of the brush is unnecessary.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
9A and 9B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is the first embodiment described above in that a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A. Is different.

  As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the cut is made from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the root (surface on the belt 20 side), and the shape is cut in a V shape to create a gap in the cut portion. I am doing so.

  Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26A (E portion in Fig. 9A), and shows the state before and after the bonding process, as shown in Fig. 10. The interval between the slits is 2 mm, and the end portion of each cut is cut into a V shape so that the dimension is 1 mm, and the filter mesh 4 uses 40 meshes (40 filter fibers per inch). The distance between the fibers is 0.64 mm. If the tip of the sheet brush 26A is set to 0.64 mm or more, it is possible to prevent the sheet brush 26A from being damaged by entering the mesh of the filter net 4 and being caught. In the present embodiment, since the interval between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 also varies, the margin is set to 1 mm, as described above. Is preferably designed to be larger than the mesh interval of the filter mesh 4. If the mesh of the filter mesh 4 is fine, the interval between the cuts of the sheet brush 26A can be reduced. For example, when a resin film having a thickness of 75 to 100 microns is used, it is not preferable to make it too fine from the viewpoint of tensile strength.

The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.
As described in the first embodiment, the sheet brush 26 </ b> A has a role of removing dust from the filter net 4. The operation of peeling off the dust is effective even when the sheet brush 26A is stroking the filter net 4, but when the seat brush 26A tries to return to the original shape by the elastic force, the effect of repelling the dust is used. Strong peeling ability is obtained.

  11A and 11B are schematic views showing the effect. In FIG. 11A, the sheet brush 26A is dragged by the filter net 4 during the cleaning, and greatly deforms in the backward direction with respect to the advancing direction of the suction nozzle 6. It is in a state of being. This amount of deformation becomes large when large dust or dust strongly adhering to the filter net 4 comes into contact with the seat brush 26A. Even if dust starts to collect at the tip of the seat brush 26A, it becomes large. When the amount of deformation exceeds a certain value, the seat brush 26A that was originally perpendicular to the surface of the belt 20 tries to return (vertically) to the original (perpendicular) by the elastic force.

  FIG. 11B shows this state, and the dust is repelled and removed by suction at the suction hole side. Since the force at this time is strong, it can be repelled by large dust or dust. When a plurality of cuts are provided in the sheet brush 26A, the fine sheet pieces formed thereby frequently perform this operation, so that the ability to remove dust is greatly improved as compared with the case where no cuts are made. In addition, this effect is remarkable in the case of using a resin film such as PET or PEN in terms of physical properties.

  In addition, providing the sheet brush 26A with a plurality of cuts increases the flexibility of the entire sheet brush. As a result, even if the filter net 4 is bent or uneven, the sheet brush 26A comes into contact with each other depending on the shape and can be cleaned to every corner.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A, there are driving advantages in addition to an improvement in cleaning performance.

  FIG. 12 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle in the present embodiment, and depicts only the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20, the suction hole 22, and the sheet brush 26A in FIG. 9A. As described above, the belt 20 is driven to change the position of the suction hole 22 in order to clean the entire surface of the filter net 4. In the present embodiment, by providing a plurality of fine cuts in the sheet brush 26A, when passing through the bent portion of the suction nozzle 6, the sheets subdivided by the cut overlap to form a bent portion. It does not have to be deformed into a wave shape as in the first embodiment. Therefore, since an excessive force is not applied to the seat brush 26A, deterioration does not occur, and durability and reliability are improved. In particular, by making the cut into a V shape, it is possible to reduce the portion where the seat brush 26A overlaps as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the cut is inserted in a V shape from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the base (surface on the belt 20 side) so that a gap is formed. This helps to attract the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 </ b> A to the suction hole 22. In the first embodiment, the wind sucked from the suction hole 22 is blocked by the seat brush 26, and no suction force acts on the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 with respect to the suction hole 22. In particular, when the filter net 4 is vertical and there is dust that has climbed over the seat brush 26 on the scale, the suction force does not work, so that the indoor unit main body falls and becomes dirty. However, if a plurality of cuts are made in the seat brush 26A and a gap is provided in each, the suction wind passes through the gap, so that dust that has passed over the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram when the suction nozzle 6 is cleaned in the present embodiment, and the white arrow in the figure indicates the wind of suction, and the magnitude thereof indicates the strength of the wind. It can be seen from FIG. 13 that the wind escapes through the gap on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A. In addition, it can be seen from FIG. 13 that the width of the cut line of the sheet brush 26A is larger than the width of the filter mesh 4 so that the sheet brush 26A is not caught by the mesh of the filter mesh 4.

  In addition, when a cleaning operation is repeated in which a plurality of cuts are made in the sheet brush 26A and the reciprocating operation of the suction nozzle 6 as shown in FIG. 4 is performed, the sheet brush 26A contacts the filter net 4 at the gap portion. As a result, the cleaning performance may be deteriorated only in that portion.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, when a plurality of sheet brushes 26A with gaps are provided beside the suction holes 22 so that the gaps do not overlap, the suction of the suction nozzle 6 causes the sheet brushes 26A to be filtered. 4 contacts the entire surface. Also in this case, since the suction wind passes through the gap, dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

  14A and 14B, the two seat brushes 26A are arranged on one side of the suction hole 22. However, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the two sheet brushes 26A are arranged on both sides of the suction hole 22, respectively. You may arrange. In particular, in the latter case, the wind sucked into the suction holes 22 is guided by the two sheet brushes 26A, and the two sheet brushes 26A also have an effect of preventing the spread of the sucked winds. The suction wind speed is increased and the cleaning performance is improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
16A and 16B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 obtained by foaming silicon like a sponge is used as the belt 20. This is different from the first embodiment described above in that it is fixed to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 16B, the foamed silicon brush 30 is designed to have a width d2 of 5 mm and a height h2 of 5 mm. The width is determined in consideration of the cleaning performance and driving resistance, and also varies depending on the silicon material. As described in the first embodiment, the height is designed to be 5.0 mm so that the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 can sufficiently contact each other even at a maximum distance of 2.5 mm. The state pressed to 4 and slightly compressed becomes a steady state.

The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.
FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. A solid line arrow in the drawing indicates the wind of suction, and a white arrow indicates the traveling direction during the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. Further, the circles on the filter net 4 indicate adhering dust (dust removed by the filter net 4). White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, black circles indicate dust that is difficult to be sucked in because it contains a small amount of oil, and black triangles indicate dust that is very difficult to be sucked in because it contains a large amount of oil. The foamed silicone brush 30 is attached to the rear of the suction hole 22 with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6.

  FIG. 17 shows a portion having a suction hole in FIG. 16A, that is, the state of the FF cross section.

  Since the suction hole 22 precedes the foamed silicon brush 30 in the cleaning operation, dry dust (white circles) and the like are peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. The dust (black circles) that cannot be removed only by the suction force due to oil or the like adheres to the surface of the filter net 4 while the foamed silicon brush 30 that flexes after passing through the suction hole 22 is deformed flexibly, and the surface of the filter net 4 The dust is removed from the filter net 4 by stroking. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. However, dust (black triangles) that is very difficult to be sucked in due to containing a large amount of oil, for example, may not be removed, but may be stuck on the filter net 4. By using a soft foam material such as sponge as a brush, the dust enters the space between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 while flexibly deforming as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 17, and wraps up the stuck dust. And can be scraped off to the surface of the filter net 4. This effect is largely due to fine holes on the surface of the foam. In this way, dust is collected on the filter net 4 by rubbing on the surface of the filter net 4, and the fuzz ball comes out on the opposite side of the brush. The pills that have come out are easily peeled off from the filter net 4 by being rubbed with the foam material, and the pills are also in a state of being easily sucked because of their increased surface area. This behavior is sometimes seen when a bristle brush is used, but when the foam material is used as a brush, there is a tendency to become smaller pills, and like the bristle brush, the pills become too large and clog the suction holes 22. I will not let you. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, most of the dust is sucked and removed by cleaning the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6, and the remaining dust balls that are very difficult to suck are sucked by cleaning the backward movement. It can be removed, and high cleaning performance can be exhibited against any dust. Even in the vertical part of the filter net 4, the pill after the forward movement is small, so it is held by the filter net 4 without being dropped and cleaned during the backward movement.

  As shown in FIG. 19, if one suction hole 22 </ b> A, 22 </ b> B is provided on each side of the foamed silicon brush 30, it is more ideal because all dust can be removed by the forward movement.

  Materials such as EPT (ethylene propylene rubber) may be used for the foam material, but it is most preferable to use silicon from the viewpoint that it does not adhere to the surface even if it contains oily dust and has excellent durability against wear. preferable. Among foamed materials, silicon is excellent in strength, and can be prevented from being damaged by friction with the filter net 4 during cleaning. In addition, since the foam material catches the dust so as to wrap it, the dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4 like a bristle brush. Further, since the foamed material is soft, there is almost no sound rubbed with the filter net 4 during cleaning, and noise reduction during cleaning can be achieved. In the present embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 is obtained by quadrupling the foaming rate, which has the best cleaning performance, from an experiment in which the cleaning performance is comparatively evaluated.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
20A and 20B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. On the surface of the belt 20, a sponge or EPT having a trapezoidal cross section beside the suction hole 22 is shown. A brush 32 made of a foam material such as (ethylene propylene rubber) is fixed, and the position of the brush 32 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20.

  Here, the width W of the brush 32 in contact with the filter mesh 4 is set in consideration of the cleaning performance and the resistance during driving, and the height H of the brush 32 is the amount of deflection of the filter mesh 4. In consideration of this, the height is set such that the brush 32 and the filter net 4 can be in sufficient contact with each other and are slightly compressed.

  The brush 32 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but when cleaning, the filter net 4 is continuously rubbed while being slightly deformed with the filter net 4, so that the brush 32 is peeled off by repeated left and right driving. It is necessary to bond firmly so as not to occur. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the cross section of the brush 32 is trapezoidal and the adhesion area with the belt 20 is increased to increase the fixing force.

  Here, the cross-sectional shape of the brush 32 in the left-right direction may be any shape as long as the length on the belt side is longer than the length on the filter mesh side. Other shapes such as a cross-sectional shape combining a rectangle and a rectangle may be used.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. Since the arrows, circles, etc. in the figure are the same as those in the above-described third embodiment (particularly, FIG. 17), description thereof is omitted. The operation and action of the suction nozzle 6 are the same as those in the third embodiment.

  Further, by using silicon as the material of the foam brush of the present embodiment, dust containing oil can be scraped from the filter net 4 without adhering to the brush surface, improving the cleaning performance, Further, it is possible to prevent the brush from being deteriorated due to environmental conditions and to improve the durability against wear and cracks.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the surface 32a on the side in contact with the filter mesh 4 is made uneven and the side surfaces 32b and 32c on the left and right drive sides are made smooth, as shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to improve particularly the dust scraping property from the filter net 4 and the durability against repeated bending of the brush 32.

  That is, by roughening the roughness of the surface 32a of the brush 32 that is in contact with the filter mesh 4, it is possible to improve the scraping performance against dust containing a large amount of oil that adheres closely to the filter mesh 4 and is difficult to remove. Further, by smoothing the roughness of at least the side surfaces 32b and 32c in the left and right direction of the brush 32, it is possible to improve the bending durability when the suction nozzle 6 is repeatedly driven left and right.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 23 shows the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic structure of the suction nozzle 6 itself is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, unlike the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is constituted by a foam material 36 and a sheet material 38 provided on the side surface on the left and right drive sides.

  When the suction nozzle 6 is driven left and right, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is pressed against the filter mesh 4 and deforms rightward or leftward while rubbing the filter mesh 4. At this time, a large stress is generated in the vicinity of the bonding surface of the brush 34 with the belt 20, and there is a possibility that a crack is generated in the vicinity of the base of the foam material 36 due to repeated bending of the left and right drive.

  Therefore, by joining the sheet material 38 to the side surface of the foam material 36, the foam material 36 can be reinforced to improve the bending durability and to prevent the occurrence of cracks.

  Further, when the sheet material 38 is joined to the foam material 36 using a nonwoven fabric, the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained, and the durability of the brush 34 against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  In addition, when a resin film is used for the sheet material 38, the contact resistance between the brush 34 and the filter net 4 can be reduced, and an increase in driving torque can be suppressed, and the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained. The durability against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 24, when the length of the sheet material 38A is set shorter than the foam material 36 in the left and right drive side cross section, the contact resistance between the brush 34A and the filter net 4 is greatly reduced and the drive torque is increased. It can be further suppressed.

  The above-described seat brushes, foamed silicon brushes, and the like of the first to fifth embodiments are also useful in other filter devices that do not employ the suction cleaning method (for example, cleaning devices that only scrape dust). However, the present invention is not limited to the filter device described in the first to fifth embodiments.

  As described above, the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention can perform cleaning of the filter net by using suction and a brush in combination with a suction nozzle, so various air filters, It can be used for air filters used under various installation conditions. Therefore, the present invention can be applied not only to an air filter of an air conditioner but also to an air filter such as a device having a cooling fan (for example, an air filter of a stabilized power source), a filter device that automatically cleans an air filter such as a ventilation fan.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the suction nozzle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a structure of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle using a bristle brush. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. 9A. FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 11B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 14A shows a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. 14B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 14A. FIG. 15A shows another modification of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. FIG. 15B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 15A. FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 16B is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 16A. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. 18A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 18B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 19 shows a modification of the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle in particular. FIG. 20A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. 20B is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. 20A. FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 20A. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 4 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram at the time of cleaning operation | movement of the suction nozzle in Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is the cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 5 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

2 Filter Frame 4 Filter Net 6 Suction Nozzle 8 Guide Rail 10 Suction Duct 12 Suction Device 14 Exhaust Duct 16 Suction Nozzle Body 18 Opening 20 Belt 22, 22A, 22B Suction Hole 24 Belt Guide 26, 26A Seat Brush 28 Bristle Brush 30 Foaming Silicon brush 32 Foam material brush 32a Foam material filter side 32b, 32c Foam brush side surface 34 Brush 36 Foam material 38, 38A Sheet material 50 Indoor unit body 52 Heat exchanger 54 Fan 56 Filter device

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a function of automatically cleaning an air filter provided at an air suction port of an indoor unit.

  In the conventional air conditioner filter device, an air filter is provided on the front surface of the heat exchanger to prevent dust from entering the inside of the air conditioner main body. It is configured to be detachable so that it can be cleaned. In addition to requiring frequent maintenance, the filter device with this configuration gradually clogs the air filter until maintenance is performed, resulting in a reduction in the amount of air passing through the heat exchanger. As a result, the air conditioning capacity is reduced, leading to an increase in power consumption.

  For this reason, in order to reduce the maintenance work of the air filter, a filter device that cleans the dust attached to the air filter by scraping with a brush, or a filter device that sucks and cleans the dust attached to the air filter with a nozzle. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2).

JP-A-6-74521 JP 2002-340395 A

  However, in the filter device described in Patent Document 1, since cleaning is performed by scraping with a brush, dust must be entangled with the brush, or dust collected by scraping must be processed, which greatly reduces maintenance. It was not reduced. In addition, as the number of cleanings of the air filter overlaps, there is a problem that dust is entangled with the brush and the cleaning performance is deteriorated.

  On the other hand, the filter device described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that sufficient cleaning performance cannot be obtained only by the suction force of the nozzle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and is a filter device that can prevent entanglement of dust and maintain high cleaning ability, and can greatly reduce the labor of maintenance. It aims at providing the air conditioner provided with.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an air conditioner having an indoor unit that houses a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger into a room,
A filter mesh attached to the main body upstream of the heat exchanger, a slidable suction nozzle having a belt formed with a suction port facing the filter mesh, and a suction duct connected to the suction nozzle And a suction device that is connected to the suction duct and sucks dust adhering to the filter mesh through the suction duct and the suction nozzle, and the suction nozzle has a length on a side in contact with the filter mesh in a cross section. A dust separation member made of a foam material whose length is longer than the length on the belt side is provided on the belt beside the suction port so as to contact the filter net .

  It is preferable that the surface of the dust separating member on the side in contact with the filter net is uneven and at least the side surface on the left and right drive side is smooth.

  Moreover, a sheet material may be provided on the left and right drive side surfaces of the foam material, and the sheet material may be joined to the foam material using a nonwoven fabric or a resin film. Furthermore, it is preferable to set the sheet material to be shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  When foam material is used as a dust separation member, in addition to preventing entanglement of dust, dust entangled in the filter mesh is also scraped and cleaned by deformation of the foam material, so that higher cleaning performance can be obtained and cleaning The friction noise with the filter network at the time is also reduced. Furthermore, when silicon is used for the foam material, damage to the foam material due to friction with the filter network during cleaning can be prevented, and high reliability can be obtained.

  In addition, if the length of the belt of the left and right cross-sectional shape of the foam material is longer than the length of the filter mesh side, it is possible to prevent entanglement of dust on the foam material and to maintain high cleaning performance permanently. It is possible to scrape dust out of the filter net. Moreover, since the durability with respect to the flexibility of the foam material can be improved, maintenance is not required.

  By making the surface of the foam material in contact with the filter mesh uneven and smoothing at least the left and right drive side surfaces, it is possible to improve the dust scraping property from the filter mesh and the durability against repeated bending of the foam material.

  Further, when the dust separating member is formed of a foam material and a sheet material provided on the side surface on the left and right driving sides, durability against repeated bending in the left and right driving direction can be improved. Furthermore, when a non-woven fabric or a resin film is used for the sheet material and bonded to the foam material, durability against repeated bending in the left-right driving direction and ease of deformation during deformation can be improved.

  Also, if the sheet material is set shorter than the foam material in the left and right drive side cross section, it can improve the dust scraping ability from the filter net, durability against repeated bending in the left and right direction, and ease of deformation during deformation. it can.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. Inside the indoor unit body 50, indoor air is taken in through the heat exchanger 52 and the heat exchanger 52, and the heat is exchanged by the heat exchanger 52. A fan 54 for blowing the exchanged air into the room and a filter device 56 disposed on the upstream side of the heat exchanger 52 are accommodated, and a plurality of suction holes formed from the front surface to the upper surface of the main body 50 Air is sucked from the mouth by the operation of the fan 54, and dust floating in the air is removed by a filter device 56 provided between the suction mouth and the heat exchanger 52.

  FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the filter device 56 of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the filter device 56 that removes dust from the air passing through the heat exchanger 52 includes the filter frame 2, the filter mesh 4 held by the filter frame 2, and the surface of the filter mesh 4. And a slidable suction nozzle 6.

  The suction nozzle 6 can be smoothly moved to the left and right with a certain distance from the filter net 4 by a pair of guide rails 8 installed at the upper and lower ends of the filter frame 2. One end of a suction duct 10 is connected to the suction nozzle 6, and the other end of the suction duct 10 is connected to a suction device 12. The suction duct 10 is formed of a duct that can be bent so as not to interfere with the movement of the suction nozzle 6. Further, an exhaust duct 14 is connected to the suction device 12 and is routed outside the room. Dust adhering to the filter net 4 is sucked from the suction nozzle 6 and further discharged to the outside through the suction duct 10, the suction device 12 and the exhaust duct 14.

When the filter device 56 is built in a small air conditioner for general household use, it is necessary to reduce the size and output of the suction device. The nozzle 6 uses a suction position switching device for cleaning the entire surface of the filter net 4 by switching the position by narrowing the suction to a part to increase the suction force.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
3A and 3B show the structure of the suction nozzle 6 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The suction nozzle body 16 is provided with a long slit-like opening 18 corresponding to the entire length of the filter mesh 4, and By providing the suction hole 22 in the belt 20 that can be driven along the opening 18, suction can be performed from only a part of the opening 18, and the place where the belt 20 is driven and sucked can be changed. In addition, since the belt 20 follows the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20 is guided by a belt guide 24 formed integrally with the suction nozzle body 16 by welding, adhesion, or the like. This prevents the occurrence of suction leakage at the part. With such a configuration, even a small amount of air is squeezed by the small suction hole 22, the wind speed of the air passing through the suction hole 22 is increased, and a strong suction force can be exhibited even with a small suction device.

  Further, a sheet brush 26 using a thin sheet is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 22 to serve as a dust separating member for separating dust attached to the filter mesh 4 from the filter mesh 4. In addition, the position of the seat brush 26 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20. With this configuration, since only the driving device for the belt 20 is necessary for changing the suction position and the seat brush position, the configuration is simple and can be realized at a low cost. The positional relationship of the brush 26 can always be maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the entire cleaning of the filter mesh 4 is performed by driving the belt 20 of the suction nozzle 6 to change the positions of the suction holes 22 and the brush 26, and driving the suction nozzle 6 left and right along the filter mesh 4. By doing so, the suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are repeatedly reciprocated as shown by the arrows in the figure. The suction hole 22 and the brush 26 are set to approximately ¼ of the total length of the filter net, and the entire surface of the filter net 4 is cleaned by four reciprocating sweep operations as indicated by arrows in the figure.

  Incidentally, the height h1 of the sheet brush 26 shown in FIG. 3B is designed by the distance from the filter net 4. The distance between the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 is designed to be 1.5 mm at the center in the axial direction of the suction nozzle 6 so that the filter mesh 4 does not come into contact even if there is a deflection (up to 1 mm). Therefore, when the deflection of the filter mesh 4 occurs in the opposite direction to the suction nozzle 6, the suction nozzle 6 and the filter mesh 4 are separated by a maximum of 2.5 mm. Even in this state, h1 is set to 5.0 mm so that the sheet brush 26 can sufficiently contact the filter net 4. The sheet brush 26 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but it is necessary to strongly bond the filter net 4 because it keeps rubbing the filter net 4 during cleaning. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the sheet brush 26 has an L-shaped sheet, and the fixing area is increased by increasing the partial area to be bonded to the belt 20. If this shape is used, the portion bent into the L shape easily falls to the belt 20 side, and is supported by the belt guide 24 to hold the L shape. The L-shape is used to increase the bonding area, and thus may be an inverted T-shape or other similar shapes.

  In a small air conditioner for home use, since the filter net 4 is on the top and front, the suction nozzle 6 is bent along the top as shown in FIG. Therefore, the seat brush 26 also has a bent state depending on the driving position of the belt 20, but the sheet is very thin and the bent portion is deformed into a wave shape and can be driven without any problem. In addition, in FIG. 3A, the bending part of a sheet brush is not illustrated in the waveform. Since the belt 20 and the seat brush 26 are required to have flexibility against bending as well as durability against tensile strength and wear, it is preferable to use rubber or a resin film as the material. In particular, resin films such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) are very excellent in strength, flexibility and durability, and the belt 20 is thinned to about 75 to 100 microns due to its mechanical strength. As a result, the suction nozzle 6 itself can be made thin and the storage property is improved. As a result, the indoor unit main body can be thinned, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design. In terms of cost, material costs and processing costs are extremely low.

  The sheet brush 26 has a thickness of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm when rubber is used, and about 50 to 75 microns when a resin film is used.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26 (B portion in FIG. 3A) and shows a state before and after the bonding process. As is clear from FIG. 5, the seat brush 26 is very easily attached to the belt 20. It can be fixed to. In particular, when resin films are used for both the belt 20 and the seat brush 26, since welding (thermal welding or ultrasonic welding) can be performed, extremely strong fixing can be performed as compared with fixing with an adhesive.

  The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below. First, the behavior of the brush and dust when a bristle brush is used as the brush will be described.

  6A and 6B are structural views of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. The bristle brush 28 is fixed to the surface of the belt 20 next to the suction hole 33. Since the bristle brush 28 has an action of peeling off dust adhering to the filter mesh 4, dust that cannot be removed from the filter mesh 4 by suction force alone can be sucked and cleaned. A brushed cloth is often used for the bristle brush 28. The position of the bristle brush 28 is changed along with the suction hole 22 by the driving of the belt 20, and the dust brush peeled off by the bristle brush 28 is sucked from the suction hole 22 by being always present beside the suction hole 22.

  However, in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28, as the number of cleanings of the filter net 4 overlaps, dust gets entangled with the bristle brush 28, and the cleaning performance of the filter device decreases, and the bristle brush 28 is regularly maintained. Necessary.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle during cleaning in the suction nozzle 6 using the bristle brush 28. Solid arrows indicate the wind of suction, and white arrows indicate the direction of travel during the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. The bristle brush 28 is attached to the rear of the suction hole with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6. White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, and black circles indicate dust that is strongly attached to the filter net 4 due to oil or cigarette dust, and is difficult to be sucked. During cleaning, dust that is easily sucked is sucked before touching the bristle brush 28, but dust that is difficult to be sucked is sucked after being scraped off by the bristle brush 28. At this time, as shown in the figure, dust that contains oil or the like that is difficult to be sucked is entangled in a large amount on the surface of the bristle brush 28, and more dust enters the bristle brush 28 as the number of cleanings increases. Therefore, the bristle brush 28 is extremely dirty. As a result, not only the cleaning performance of the filter device is lowered, but also the possibility that the suction hole is clogged by sucking it when dust entangled with the bristle brush 28 grows large and falls off increases. Moreover, since various germs may propagate in the dust, it is not preferable in terms of hygiene.

  The seat brush 26 used in the suction nozzle 6 according to the present embodiment solves the problems inherent to the bristle brush 28 described above, and realizes the suction nozzle 6 in which no entanglement of dust occurs.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in a cross section. The arrows and circles in FIG. 8 are the same as those in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a portion having the suction hole 22 in FIG. 3A, that is, the state of the AA cross section. Since the suction hole 22 precedes the seat brush 26, dry dust or the like is peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. Dust that cannot be removed only by suction force due to oil or the like is filtered to adhere to the surface of the filter mesh 4 while the sheet brush 26 that comes after passing through the suction hole 22 is flexibly deformed so that the surface of the filter mesh 4 is stroked. Peel off from the net 4. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. By cleaning the surface of the filter mesh 4 so as to be stroked, the resistance is much smaller than that of the bristle brush that cleans the filter mesh 4 while the hair is biting into it, and the motor that drives the suction nozzle 6 to the left and right is also small in output.・ Small in size, and it is also advantageous in terms of reliability, such as the temperature rise of the motor. In addition, the fact that a small motor can be used has the advantage of increasing the degree of freedom in terms of the design of the indoor unit body. Since the seat brush 26 is flexible, even if the filter mesh 4 is deformed or bent, the seat brush 26 is deformed accordingly and the tip of the seat brush 26 is in close contact with the filter mesh 4 without any gap, so that the ability to peel off dust Is high and the cleaning performance is very good. On the other hand, because of its flexibility, dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4. The tip of the seat brush 26 may collect dust that has been forcibly removed by the seat brush 26. When the dust is collected to some extent, it is sucked and removed. Unlike the bristle brush, the seat brush 26 has no part where the dust is entangled and the surface is smooth, so that the dust does not easily adhere. Even if it adheres to the surface, it will immediately come off while rubbing against the filter net 4. Therefore, the cleaning performance can be maintained permanently by using the seat brush 26, and maintenance such as cleaning of the brush is unnecessary.
Embodiment 2. FIG.
9A and 9B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is the first embodiment described above in that a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A. Is different.

  As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the cut is made from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the root (surface on the belt 20 side), and the shape is cut in a V shape to create a gap in the cut portion. I am doing so.

  Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of the seat brush 26A (E portion in Fig. 9A), and shows the state before and after the bonding process, as shown in Fig. 10. The interval between the slits is 2 mm, and the end portion of each cut is cut into a V shape so that the dimension is 1 mm, and the filter mesh 4 uses 40 meshes (40 filter fibers per inch). The distance between the fibers is 0.64 mm. If the tip of the sheet brush 26A is set to 0.64 mm or more, it is possible to prevent the sheet brush 26A from being damaged by entering the mesh of the filter net 4 and being caught. In the present embodiment, since the interval between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 also varies, the margin is set to 1 mm, as described above. Is preferably designed to be larger than the mesh interval of the filter mesh 4. If the mesh of the filter mesh 4 is fine, the interval between the cuts of the sheet brush 26A can be reduced. For example, when a resin film having a thickness of 75 to 100 microns is used, it is not preferable to make it too fine from the viewpoint of tensile strength.

  The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.

  As described in the first embodiment, the sheet brush 26 </ b> A plays a role of removing dust from the filter net 4. The operation of peeling off the dust is effective even when the seat brush 26A strokes the filter net 4, but when the seat brush 26A tries to return to its original shape by the elastic force, the effect of repelling dust is used. Strong peeling ability is obtained.

  11A and 11B are schematic views showing the effect. In FIG. 11A, the sheet brush 26A is dragged by the filter net 4 during the cleaning, and greatly deforms in the backward direction with respect to the advancing direction of the suction nozzle 6. It is in a state of being. This amount of deformation becomes large when large dust or dust strongly adhering to the filter net 4 comes into contact with the seat brush 26A. Even if dust starts to collect at the tip of the seat brush 26A, it becomes large. When the amount of deformation exceeds a certain value, the seat brush 26A that was originally perpendicular to the surface of the belt 20 tries to return (vertically) to the original (perpendicular) by the elastic force.

  FIG. 11B shows this state, and the dust is repelled and removed by suction at the suction hole side. Since the force at this time is strong, it can be repelled by large dust or dust. When a plurality of cuts are provided in the sheet brush 26A, the fine sheet pieces formed thereby frequently perform this operation, so that the ability to remove dust is greatly improved as compared with the case where no cuts are made. In addition, this effect is remarkable in the case of using a resin film such as PET or PEN in terms of physical properties.

  In addition, providing the sheet brush 26A with a plurality of cuts increases the flexibility of the entire sheet brush. As a result, even if the filter net 4 is bent or uneven, the sheet brush 26A comes into contact with each other depending on the shape and can be cleaned to every corner.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of cuts are provided in the seat brush 26A, there are driving advantages in addition to an improvement in cleaning performance.

  FIG. 12 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle in the present embodiment, and depicts only the suction nozzle body 16, the belt 20, the suction hole 22, and the sheet brush 26A in FIG. 9A. As described above, the belt 20 is driven to change the position of the suction hole 22 in order to clean the entire surface of the filter net 4. In the present embodiment, by providing a plurality of fine cuts in the sheet brush 26A, when passing through the bent portion of the suction nozzle 6, the sheets subdivided by the cut overlap to form a bent portion. It does not have to be deformed into a wave shape as in the first embodiment. Therefore, since an excessive force is not applied to the seat brush 26A, deterioration does not occur, and durability and reliability are improved. In particular, by making the cut into a V shape, it is possible to reduce the portion where the seat brush 26A overlaps as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the cut is inserted in a V shape from the tip of the seat brush 26A to the base (surface on the belt 20 side) so that a gap is formed. This helps to attract the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 </ b> A to the suction hole 22. In the first embodiment, the wind sucked from the suction hole 22 is blocked by the seat brush 26, and no suction force acts on the dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26 with respect to the suction hole 22. In particular, when the filter net 4 is vertical and there is dust that has climbed over the seat brush 26 on the scale, the suction force does not work, so that the indoor unit main body falls and becomes dirty. However, if a plurality of cuts are made in the seat brush 26A and a gap is provided in each, the suction wind passes through the gap, so that dust that has passed over the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram when the suction nozzle 6 is cleaned in the present embodiment, and the white arrow in the figure indicates the wind of suction, and the magnitude thereof indicates the strength of the wind. It can be seen from FIG. 13 that the wind escapes through the gap on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A. In addition, it can be seen from FIG. 13 that the width of the cut line of the sheet brush 26A is larger than the width of the filter mesh 4 so that the sheet brush 26A is not caught by the mesh of the filter mesh 4.

  In addition, when a cleaning operation is repeated in which a plurality of cuts are made in the sheet brush 26A and the reciprocating operation of the suction nozzle 6 as shown in FIG. 4 is performed, the sheet brush 26A contacts the filter net 4 at the gap portion. As a result, the cleaning performance may be deteriorated only in that portion.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, when a plurality of sheet brushes 26A with gaps are provided beside the suction holes 22 so that the gaps do not overlap, the suction of the suction nozzle 6 causes the sheet brushes 26A to be filtered. 4 contacts the entire surface. Also in this case, since the suction wind passes through the gap, dust on the opposite side of the seat brush 26A can also be sucked and cleaned.

14A and 14B, the two seat brushes 26A are arranged on one side of the suction hole 22. However, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the two sheet brushes 26A are arranged on both sides of the suction hole 22, respectively. You may arrange. In particular, in the latter case, the wind sucked into the suction holes 22 is guided by the two sheet brushes 26A, and the two sheet brushes 26A also have an effect of preventing the spread of the sucked winds. The suction wind speed is increased and the cleaning performance is improved.
Embodiment 3 FIG.
16A and 16B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 obtained by foaming silicon like a sponge is used as the belt 20. This is different from the first embodiment described above in that it is fixed to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 16B, the foamed silicon brush 30 is designed to have a width d2 of 5 mm and a height h2 of 5 mm. The width is determined in consideration of the cleaning performance and driving resistance, and also varies depending on the silicon material. As described in the first embodiment, the height is designed to be 5.0 mm so that the filter mesh 4 and the suction nozzle 6 can sufficiently contact each other even at a maximum distance of 2.5 mm. The state pressed to 4 and slightly compressed becomes a steady state.

  The operation and action of the filter device 56 configured as described above will be described below.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. A solid line arrow in the figure indicates a suction wind, and a white arrow indicates a traveling direction during the forward operation of the suction nozzle 6. Further, the circles on the filter net 4 indicate adhering dust (dust removed by the filter net 4). White circles indicate dust that is easily sucked, such as dry dust, black circles indicate dust that is difficult to be sucked in because it contains a small amount of oil, and black triangles indicate dust that is very hard to be sucked in because it contains a large amount of oil. The foamed silicon brush 30 is attached to the rear of the suction hole 22 with respect to the cleaning progress direction of the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6.

  FIG. 17 shows a portion having a suction hole in FIG. 16A, that is, the state of the FF cross section.

  Since the suction hole 22 precedes the foamed silicon brush 30 in the cleaning operation, dry dust (white circles) and the like are peeled off from the filter net 4 by suction force and removed by suction. The dust (black circles) that cannot be removed only by the suction force due to oil or the like adheres to the surface of the filter net 4 while the foamed silicon brush 30 that flexes after passing through the suction hole 22 is deformed flexibly, and the surface of the filter net 4 The dust is removed from the filter net 4 by stroking. The dust that has been peeled off is cleaned by being sucked into the suction holes 22 located nearby. However, dust (black triangles) that is very difficult to be sucked in due to containing a large amount of oil, for example, may not be removed, but may be stuck on the filter net 4. By using a soft foam material such as sponge as a brush, the dust enters the space between the meshes of the filter mesh 4 while flexibly deforming as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 17, and wraps up the stuck dust. And can be scraped off to the surface of the filter net 4. This effect is largely due to fine holes on the surface of the foam. In this way, dust is collected on the filter net 4 by rubbing on the surface of the filter net 4, and the fuzz ball comes out on the opposite side of the brush. The pills that have come out are easily peeled off from the filter net 4 by being rubbed with the foam material, and the pills are also in a state of being easily sucked because of their increased surface area. This behavior is sometimes seen when a bristle brush is used, but when the foam material is used as a brush, there is a tendency to become smaller pills, and like the bristle brush, the pills become too large and clog the suction holes 22. I will not let you. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, most of the dust is sucked and removed by cleaning the forward movement of the suction nozzle 6, and the remaining dust balls that are very difficult to suck are sucked by cleaning the backward movement. It can be removed, and high cleaning performance can be exhibited against any dust. Even in the vertical part of the filter net 4, the pill after the forward movement is small, so it is held by the filter net 4 without being dropped and cleaned during the backward movement.

  As shown in FIG. 19, if one suction hole 22 </ b> A, 22 </ b> B is provided on each side of the foamed silicon brush 30, it is more ideal because all dust can be removed by the forward movement.

Materials such as EPT (ethylene propylene rubber) may be used for the foam material, but it is most preferable to use silicon from the viewpoint that it does not adhere to the surface even if it contains oily dust and has excellent durability against wear. preferable. Among foamed materials, silicon is excellent in strength, and can be prevented from being damaged by friction with the filter net 4 during cleaning. In addition, since the foam material catches the dust so as to wrap it, the dust is not pushed out to the opposite side (heat exchanger side) of the filter net 4 like a bristle brush. Further, since the foamed material is soft, there is almost no sound rubbed with the filter net 4 during cleaning, and noise reduction during cleaning can be achieved. In the present embodiment, the foamed silicon brush 30 is obtained by quadrupling the foaming rate, which has the best cleaning performance, from an experiment in which the cleaning performance is comparatively evaluated.
Embodiment 4 FIG.
20A and 20B show the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. On the surface of the belt 20, a sponge or EPT having a trapezoidal cross section beside the suction hole 22 is shown. A brush 32 made of a foam material such as (ethylene propylene rubber) is fixed, and the position of the brush 32 together with the suction hole 22 can be changed by driving the belt 20.

  Here, the width W of the brush 32 in contact with the filter mesh 4 is set in consideration of the cleaning performance and the resistance during driving, and the height H of the brush 32 is the amount of deflection of the filter mesh 4. In consideration of this, the height is set such that the brush 32 and the filter net 4 can be in sufficient contact with each other and are slightly compressed.

  The brush 32 is fixed to the belt 20 by using an adhesive or the like, but when cleaning, the filter net 4 is continuously rubbed while being slightly deformed with the filter net 4, so that the brush 32 is peeled off by repeated left and right driving. It is necessary to bond firmly so as not to occur. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the cross section of the brush 32 is trapezoidal and the adhesion area with the belt 20 is increased to increase the fixing force.

  Here, the cross-sectional shape of the brush 32 in the left-right direction may be any shape as long as the length on the belt side is longer than the length on the filter mesh side. Other shapes such as a cross-sectional shape combining a rectangle and a rectangle may be used.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle at the time of cleaning in the present embodiment, and shows the state of the suction nozzle 6 and the filter net 4 during the suction cleaning of the filter net 4 in cross section. Since the arrows, circles, etc. in the figure are the same as those in the above-described third embodiment (particularly, FIG. 17), description thereof is omitted. The operation and action of the suction nozzle 6 are the same as those in the third embodiment.

  Further, by using silicon as the material of the foam brush of the present embodiment, dust containing oil can be scraped from the filter net 4 without adhering to the brush surface, improving the cleaning performance, Further, it is possible to prevent the brush from being deteriorated due to environmental conditions and to improve the durability against wear and cracks.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the surface 32a on the side in contact with the filter mesh 4 is made uneven and the side surfaces 32b and 32c on the left and right drive sides are made smooth, as shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to improve particularly the dust scraping property from the filter net 4 and the durability against repeated bending of the brush 32.

That is, by roughening the roughness of the surface 32a of the brush 32 that is in contact with the filter mesh 4, it is possible to improve the scraping performance against dust containing a large amount of oil that adheres closely to the filter mesh 4 and is difficult to remove. Further, by smoothing the roughness of at least the side surfaces 32b and 32c in the left and right direction of the brush 32, it is possible to improve the bending durability when the suction nozzle 6 is repeatedly driven left and right.
Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 23 shows the structure of the suction nozzle of the filter device 56 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic structure of the suction nozzle 6 itself is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, unlike the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is constituted by a foam material 36 and a sheet material 38 provided on the side surface on the left and right drive sides.

  When the suction nozzle 6 is driven left and right, as shown in FIG. 23, the brush 34 is pressed against the filter mesh 4 and deforms rightward or leftward while rubbing the filter mesh 4. At this time, a large stress is generated in the vicinity of the bonding surface of the brush 34 with the belt 20, and there is a possibility that a crack is generated in the vicinity of the base of the foam material 36 due to repeated bending of the left and right drive.

  Therefore, by joining the sheet material 38 to the side surface of the foam material 36, the foam material 36 can be reinforced to improve the bending durability and to prevent the occurrence of cracks.

  Further, when the sheet material 38 is joined to the foam material 36 using a nonwoven fabric, the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained, and the durability of the brush 34 against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  In addition, when a resin film is used for the sheet material 38, the contact resistance between the brush 34 and the filter net 4 can be reduced, and an increase in driving torque can be suppressed, and the ease of deformation of the brush 34 is maintained. The durability against repeated bending in the left-right drive direction can be improved.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 24, when the length of the sheet material 38A is set shorter than the foam material 36 in the left and right drive side cross section, the contact resistance between the brush 34A and the filter net 4 is greatly reduced and the drive torque is increased. It can be further suppressed.

  The above-described seat brushes, foamed silicon brushes, and the like of the first to fifth embodiments are also useful in other filter devices that do not employ the suction cleaning method (for example, cleaning devices that only scrape dust). However, the present invention is not limited to the filter device described in the first to fifth embodiments.

  As described above, the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention can perform cleaning of the filter net by using suction and a brush in combination with a suction nozzle, so various air filters, It can be used for air filters used under various installation conditions. Therefore, the present invention can be applied not only to an air filter of an air conditioner but also to an air filter such as a device having a cooling fan (for example, an air filter of a stabilized power source), a filter device that automatically cleans an air filter such as a ventilation fan.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the filter device of the air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the suction nozzle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3A. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a structure of a suction nozzle using a bristle brush. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle using a bristle brush. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 3A. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. 9A. FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 11B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 9A. FIG. 14A shows a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. 14B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 14A. FIG. 15A shows another modification of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is a perspective view when a plurality of sheet brushes are arranged. FIG. 15B is a side view of the seat brush of FIG. 15A. FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 16B is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 16A. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. 18A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 18B is another schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 16A. FIG. 19 shows a modification of the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle in particular. FIG. 20A is a perspective view of a suction nozzle according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. 20B is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. 20A. FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning operation of the suction nozzle of FIG. 20A. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 4 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram at the time of cleaning operation | movement of the suction nozzle in Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is the cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 5 of this invention, and shows especially the cleaning operation | movement of a suction nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

2 Filter Frame 4 Filter Net 6 Suction Nozzle 8 Guide Rail 10 Suction Duct 12 Suction Device 14 Exhaust Duct 16 Suction Nozzle Body 18 Opening 20 Belt 22, 22A, 22B Suction Hole 24 Belt Guide 26, 26A Seat Brush 28 Bristle Brush 30 Foaming Silicon brush 32 Foam material brush 32a Foam material filter side 32b, 32c Foam brush side surface 34 Brush 36 Foam material 38, 38A Sheet material 50 Indoor unit body 52 Heat exchanger 54 Fan 56 Filter device

Claims (15)

An air conditioner having an indoor unit that houses a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger into the room,
A filter net attached to the main body on the upstream side of the heat exchanger; and a filter device for cleaning the filter net, wherein the filter unit separates dust adhering to the filter net from the filter net. An air conditioner using a sheet as a member. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein rubber is used for the sheet. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a resin film is used for the sheet. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has a plurality of cuts. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein a width of the cut of the sheet is larger than a width of the mesh of the filter net. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of sheets are arranged so that gaps formed by the cuts do not overlap. An air conditioner having an indoor unit that houses a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger into the room,
A filter net attached to the main body on the upstream side of the heat exchanger; and a filter device for cleaning the filter net, wherein the filter unit separates dust adhering to the filter net from the filter net. An air conditioner using a foam material as a member. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein silicon is used for the foam material. An air conditioner having an indoor unit that houses a heat exchanger and a fan that blows out the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger into the room,
A filter net attached to the main body on the upstream side of the heat exchanger, and a belt formed with a suction port opposed to the filter net, and is slidable for sucking dust adhering to the filter net A dust separation member that separates dust adhering to the filter mesh from the filter mesh, and is formed of a foam material and has a cross-sectional shape in the left-right direction. An air conditioner characterized in that the length on the belt side is set longer than the length on the filter side. The air conditioner according to claim 9, wherein silicon is used for the foam material. 11. The air conditioner according to claim 9, wherein a surface of the dust separating member on the side in contact with the filter net is made uneven, and at least a side surface on the left and right drive side is smoothed. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein a sheet material is provided on a left and right drive side surface of the foam material. The air conditioner according to claim 12, wherein the sheet material is joined to the foamed material using a non-woven fabric. The air conditioner according to claim 12, wherein a resin film is used for the sheet material. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the sheet material is set to be shorter than the foam material in a left-right drive side cross section.

Images