WO2023228858A1

WO2023228858A1 - Air conditioning device

Info

Publication number: WO2023228858A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/018598
Authority: WO
Inventors: 創一郎松本
Original assignee: 三菱重工サーマルシステムズ株式会社
Priority date: 2022-05-23
Filing date: 2023-05-18
Publication date: 2023-11-30
Also published as: JP2023172161A

Abstract

This air conditioning device comprises an air conditioning device body that has an inlet, a filter part that is provided to the inlet and collects dust contained in air, and a cleaning device that removes the dust which has attached to the filter part. The cleaning device has a cleaning unit that is capable of reciprocating movement in a first direction along an outer surface of the filter part, and a radiating part that is attached to the cleaning unit and that radiates ultraviolet light in the direction of the outer surface of the filter part.

Description

air conditioner

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner.
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-083778 filed in Japan on May 23, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein.

A ceiling-embedded air conditioner (hereinafter simply referred to as an air conditioner) includes an electric motor, a turbo fan that is rotationally driven by the electric motor, a heat exchanger that surrounds the turbo fan from the outside, and an inlet and an outlet. It mainly comprises a panel with Indoor air taken in through the suction port is forced into contact with the heat exchanger by a turbo fan. The air, which has become warm or cold by exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger, is blown into the room through the outlet.

Here, the above-mentioned suction port is generally provided with a filter section for collecting dust contained in the indoor air. Various devices for automatically removing dust attached to a filter section have been put to practical use. As an example of this type of device, Patent Document 1 below describes a mechanism for collecting dust collected by a filter section, a dust box in which the collected dust is stored, a light source that irradiates ultraviolet rays into the dust box, An apparatus comprising:

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-236399

However, when irradiating only the inside of the dust box with ultraviolet rays as described above, the sterilization of the filter section itself becomes insufficient. Therefore, there has been an increasing demand for an air conditioner equipped with a mechanism that can automatically sterilize the filter section.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an air conditioner that can efficiently sterilize a filter section.

In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner according to the present disclosure includes an air conditioner main body having a suction port, a filter portion provided at the suction port to collect dust contained in the air, and a filter portion provided in the suction port to collect dust contained in the air. a cleaning device that removes the attached dust; the cleaning device includes a cleaning unit that can reciprocate in a first direction along the outer surface of the filter portion; and a cleaning device that is attached to the cleaning unit and that an irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet rays toward the outer surface of the device.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that can efficiently sterilize a filter section.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a filter section and a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is a sectional view showing a first modification of the cleaning device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. It is a sectional view showing a second modification of the cleaning device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(Configuration of ceiling-mounted air conditioner)
Hereinafter, a ceiling-embedded air conditioner 1 (air conditioner) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 1 includes an air conditioner main body 10, a filter section 20, and a cleaning device 30.

The air conditioner main body 10 includes a main body case 11, a motor 12, a turbo fan 13, a heat exchanger 14, a bell mouth 15, and a drain pan 16.

The main body case 11 is embedded in the ceiling 90 of the building. The main body case 11 has a rectangular shape when viewed from below, and is recessed upward to form a space inside. Specifically, the main body case 11 includes a panel 41 exposed on the ceiling surface 91 and a box-shaped cabinet 42 provided above the panel 41. The panel 41 has a panel main body 43 that is a rectangular frame, and a grill 44 provided at the center of the lower part. The panel 41 forms an air outlet 45 around this grille 44.

The motor 12 is provided at the center of the bottom surface 46 facing downward inside the cabinet 42. The motor 12 includes a motor body 51 that accommodates coils, magnets, etc., and an output shaft 52 that projects vertically downward from the motor body 51. The output shaft 52 is rotationally driven around an axis O extending in the vertical direction.

A turbo fan 13 is attached to the output shaft 52. The turbofan 13 includes a disk-shaped main plate 61 that extends outward in the radial direction and is centered on the axis O, a plurality of main wings 62 that are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and an annular main plate that covers these main wings 62 from below. It has a shroud 63. As the output shaft 52 rotates, the turbo fan 13 fixed to the output shaft 52 by the main plate 61 rotates, and the air sucked from the grill 44 passes through the bell mouth 15 (described later), and the turbo fan 13 Sent in the outward direction.

An annular heat exchanger 14 surrounding the turbo fan 13 is provided on the outside in the radial direction of the turbo fan 13. Heat exchanger 14 is part of a refrigerant circuit that includes a refrigeration cycle.

The air sent to the heat exchanger 14 by the turbo fan 13 exchanges heat with the refrigerant when passing through the heat exchanger 14. As a result, the air flowing out to the outer peripheral side of the heat exchanger 14 becomes cold air or warm air. This air flows downward along the side surface of the cabinet 42 and is supplied into the room from the air outlet 45.

The drain pan 16 provided below the heat exchanger 14 is a dish-shaped member for receiving condensed water generated on the surface of the heat exchanger 14. A plurality of openings are formed in the drain pan 16 to guide the air that has passed through the heat exchanger 14 to the outlet 45 . The portion excluding these openings covers the heat exchanger 14 from below when viewed from the axis O direction.

A bell mouth 15 is placed in the center of the drain pan 16. The bell mouth 15 is provided to guide air introduced from the grill 44 and send it to the turbo fan 13. The bell mouth 15 has a conical shape whose diameter gradually decreases from the bottom to the top. One (upper) end of the bell mouth 15 in the direction of the axis O is surrounded by the above-mentioned shroud 63 from the outer peripheral side. The opening on the other side (lower side) of the bell mouth 15 in the direction of the axis O is a suction port 70 that communicates with the grille 44 .

(Configuration of filter section)
A filter section 20 is provided between the grill 44 and the bell mouth 15. The filter section 20 is provided to collect dust contained in the air introduced into the air conditioner main body 10 through the grill 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the filter section 20 has a rectangular shape that covers the suction port 70 from below. The filter section 20 is detachably attached to a frame section 31 of a cleaning device 30, which will be described later, from below. The filter section 20 is a fiber material made of resin or metal, and has a thin film shape. Furthermore, the filter section 20 is made of a material containing a photocatalyst. A photocatalyst is a substance that exhibits a photochemical reaction when irradiated with ultraviolet rays or other visible light, and has the effect of killing attached bacteria and viruses. A large number of holes are formed in the filter section 20, and while air flows through the filter section 20, dust and foreign matter are captured by the downwardly facing surface (outer surface 21) of the filter section 20.

(Configuration of cleaning device)
The cleaning device 30 is provided to remove dust attached to the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20 described above. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning device 30 includes a frame section 31, a cleaning unit 32, and an irradiation section 33. The frame section 31 has a rectangular shape that covers the above-mentioned suction port 70 from below, and is provided to hold the cleaning unit 32 and the irradiation section 33.

The cleaning unit 32 includes a drive mechanism 81, a brush mechanism 82, a pedestal section 83, a brush section 84, a brush mechanism moving nut 85, a brush rotation mechanism 87, and a dust box 88.

The drive mechanism 81 is a mechanism for reciprocating the brush mechanism 82 and the brush section 84 along the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20. In the following description, this reciprocating direction will be referred to as a "first direction D1", and the horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction D1 will be referred to as a "second direction D2".

The drive mechanism 81 includes a drive motor 81a and a drive rod 81b. The drive motor 81a has a rotating shaft extending in the first direction D1. A drive rod 81b is connected to this rotating shaft. The drive rod 81b has a rod shape extending in the first direction D1, and has a spiral wire 81c fixed to its outer peripheral surface so as to spirally turn around the first direction D1. In other words, the drive rod 81b has the same shape as a male thread. By supplying electric power to the drive motor 81a, the drive rod 81b is rotationally driven around the rotation axis X extending in the first direction D1.

The brush mechanism 82 is a frame for holding the brush part 84. The brush mechanism 82 extends in the second direction D2 along one side of the rectangular filter section 20. A pedestal portion 83 is provided on one side of the brush mechanism 82 in the first direction D1. The pedestal section 83 is provided to support the irradiation section 33, which will be described later. The pedestal portion 83 protrudes from the brush mechanism 82 in the first direction D1.

The brush portion 84 is rotatable around the central axis C extending in the second direction D2, and both ends thereof are supported by the brush mechanism 82. The brush portion 84 has a cylindrical shape centered on this central axis C. The brush portion 84 includes a large number of fiber materials extending radially outward of the central axis C from the outer circumferential surface of a shaft portion (not shown). The filter section 20 is arranged such that at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the brush section 84 contacts the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20 from below.

A brush mechanism moving nut 85 is attached to one end of the brush mechanism 82 in the second direction D2. The brush mechanism moving nut 85 is provided at a position overlapping the above-described drive rod 81b in the second direction D2. The brush mechanism moving nut 85 is formed with a female screw hole (not shown) into which the drive rod 81b is inserted. That is, the female thread of the brush mechanism moving nut 85 is screwed into the spiral wire 81c of the drive rod 81b. When the drive rod 81b rotates, the brush mechanism moving nut 85, the brush mechanism 82, and the brush portion 84 move in the first direction D1 while being guided by these screws. By switching the direction of rotation of the drive rod 81b between forward and reverse, the directions of movement of the brush mechanism moving nut 85, the brush mechanism 82, and the brush part 84 are also reversed, making it possible to reciprocate in the first direction D1. There is.

The brush rotation mechanism 87 is provided to rotate the brush portion 84 around the central axis C. The brush rotation mechanism 87 includes a pair of rack gears 87a provided on both ends of the frame portion 31 in the second direction D2 with the filter portion 20 in between, a pair of shafts 87b provided in the brush mechanism 82, and a pinion gear 87c. and has. Rack gear 87a extends in the first direction D1. The rack gear 87a has a plurality of teeth arranged in the first direction D1. The pinion gear 87c is supported by a pair of shafts 87b extending from both ends of the brush portion 84 in the second direction D2. The shaft 87b extends along the central axis C of the brush portion 84. The pinion gear 87c has a circular shape centered on the central axis C, and has a plurality of teeth formed on its outer peripheral surface to mesh with the teeth of the rack gear 87a.

When the brush mechanism 82 is moved in the first direction D1 by the drive mechanism 81, the pinion gear 87c engages with the rack gear 87a, thereby rotating around the central axis C. Along with this rotation, the brush portion 84 also rotates around the central axis C. The brush portion 84 contacts the outer surface 21 of the filter portion 20 while rotating. As a result, dust adhering to the outer surface 21 is removed.

As shown in FIG. 3, a dust box 88 is attached below the brush mechanism 82. The dust box 88 is a container for storing the dust removed by the brush section 84. The dust box 88 is detachably attached to the brush mechanism 82. That is, when the dust box 88 is filled with dust, the user removes the dust box 88 to remove the dust and reinstalls it on the brush mechanism 82. Note that the dust box 88 may be attached to the grill 44 instead of the brush mechanism 82. In this case, for example, by providing a mechanism for raising and lowering the grille 44 in the vertical direction, dust can be removed from the dust box 88 when the grille 44 is lowered.

(Configuration of irradiation part)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of irradiating sections 33 are provided on the pedestal section 83 of the brush mechanism 82. The irradiation unit 33 is, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) that emits deep ultraviolet rays. More specifically, the irradiation unit 33 is a UVC-LED. Note that the deep ultraviolet rays mentioned here refer to ultraviolet rays with short wavelengths of about 50 to 200 nm. The irradiation section 33 is attached to the surface of the pedestal section 83 that faces the outer surface 21 side of the filter section 20 . A plurality of irradiation units 33 (for example, three) are provided at intervals in the second direction D2. Moreover, the irradiation part 33 and the pedestal part 83 are provided adjacent to the edge of the brush mechanism 82 on the opposite side to the side where the drive motor 81a is located when seen from the second direction D2. Note that if cost is important, it is also possible to use a UVA-LED as the irradiation section 33 instead of the UVC-LED.

The irradiation section 33 is connected to a power source via a cable (not shown), and continuously or intermittently irradiates the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20 with ultraviolet rays while the cleaning unit 32 is moving in the first direction D1. do. Further, although not shown in detail, the irradiation unit 33 includes an LED chip as a light source and a diffusion lens that covers the LED chip. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the LED chip are scattered through the diffusion lens, so that a wider range of the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20 is irradiated with the ultraviolet rays. That is, as described above, the three irradiation sections 33 irradiate the entire area of the filter section 20 in the second direction D2 with deep ultraviolet rays. As a result, bacteria and viruses attached to the filter section 20 and dust are killed (sterilized and sterilized).

(effect)

The operation of the above-mentioned ceiling-embedded air conditioner 1 will be explained. When the air conditioner main body 10 is operated, indoor air is sucked into the suction port 70 of the bell mouth 15 through the grille 44. At this time, dust contained in the air is collected by the filter section 20 that covers the suction port 70. As a result, the air blown from the air outlet 45 through the inside of the air conditioner main body 10 does not contain dust or contains only a very small amount of dust.

Here, when the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 1 is operated for a long period of time, there is a possibility that dust accumulates on the filter section 20 and the filter section 20 becomes clogged. Therefore, the cleaning device 30 removes the dust. The operating cycle of the cleaning device 30 may be determined by the user or automatically determined by the control device.

When the cleaning device 30 is driven, the brush portion 84 rotates and moves in the first direction D1, thereby removing dust from the outer surface 21 of the filter portion 20. The brush portion 84 reciprocates at least once in the first direction D1. As the brush section 84 moves in the first direction D1, the above-mentioned irradiation section 33 irradiates the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20 with deep ultraviolet rays. As a result, bacteria and viruses adhering to the filter section 20 are killed (the filter section 20 is sterilized and sterilized). As a result, the air blown from the air outlet 45 through the inside of the air conditioner main body 10 is clean and free of bacteria and viruses. In this way, the filter section 20 can be efficiently sterilized in accordance with the driving of the cleaning device 30.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the filter section 20 is a photocatalyst filter. Since the filter section 20 is a photocatalytic filter, the filter section 20 is autonomously sterilized over time by being exposed to ultraviolet rays emitted by the irradiation section 33 in addition to visible light emitted from indoor lighting etc. be able to. In other words, it is possible to achieve both the sterilization and disinfection of the filter section 20 by the irradiation section 33 and the self-cleaning action based on the photocatalytic effect of the filter section 20 itself. As a result, it becomes possible to maintain the filter section 20 in an even cleaner state.

Further, according to the above configuration, the plurality of irradiation units 33 are arranged at intervals in the second direction D2 that is perpendicular to the first direction D1, which is the reciprocating direction of the cleaning unit 32. Thereby, the filter part 20 can be sterilized over a wider range in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. In particular, UVC-LEDs that emit deep ultraviolet light as described above are generally expensive. Therefore, by arranging only a plurality of (for example, three) irradiation units 33 at intervals in the second direction D2, the number of required UVC-LEDs can be reduced. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and maintenance cost of the device.

In addition, according to the above configuration, a UVC-LED that emits deep ultraviolet light with a short wavelength is used as the irradiation section 33. By irradiating the filter section 20 with this deep ultraviolet ray, it becomes possible to sterilize and disinfect the filter section 20 more effectively. In particular, deep ultraviolet rays are known to have the effect of fundamentally killing bacteria and viruses by destroying their genes. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the filter section 20 in an extremely clean state.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the irradiation section 33 is provided adjacent to the first direction D1, which is the reciprocating direction of the cleaning unit 32. As a result, as the cleaning unit 32 reciprocates, the dust attached to the filter section 20 is first sterilized and sterilized on the outward path, and the dust is removed by the brush section 84 . In other words, the dust stored in the dust box 88 is already sterilized. Furthermore, on the return trip, the filter section 20 from which dust has been removed can be directly sterilized and disinfected by the ultraviolet light emitted by the irradiation section 33, and at the same time a photocatalytic effect can be obtained. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility that users will come into contact with bacteria or viruses.

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and may include design changes without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

For example, in the embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the irradiation section 33 and the pedestal section 83 are provided on the opposite side of the brush mechanism 82 from the side where the drive motor 81a is located. However, as shown in FIG. 4 as a first modification, the irradiation section 33 and the pedestal section 83 may be provided on the side of the brush mechanism 82 where the drive motor 81a is located. With this configuration as well, the same effects as those described above can be obtained as the brush mechanism 82 reciprocates in the first direction D1. Note that which side of the brush mechanism 82 the irradiation section 33 and the pedestal section 83 are provided on may be appropriately selected as long as interference with the drive motor 81a does not occur.

Furthermore, as a second modification example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the pedestal portion 83 is not provided. In this case, the irradiation unit 33 is directly fixed to the end face of the brush mechanism 82 facing the first direction D1. Furthermore, a prism 100 is further provided to direct the irradiation direction of the irradiation section 33 toward the filter section 20 . With this configuration as well, the same effects as those described above can be obtained. Furthermore, since the protrusion length in the first direction D1 can be kept small, it is also possible to further increase the movable range of the brush mechanism 82 in the first direction D1.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example in which the filter section 20 is a photocatalyst filter has been described. However, when using a UVC-LED capable of emitting deep ultraviolet rays as described above as the irradiation section 33, the irradiation section 33 alone can provide a certain sterilization and disinfection effect, so the filter section 20 is not necessarily composed of a photocatalyst. You can.

<Additional notes>
The air conditioner described in each embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

(1) The air conditioner according to the first aspect includes an air conditioner main body 10 having a suction port 70, a filter section 20 that is provided at the suction port 70 and that collects dust contained in the air, and the filter section 20, the cleaning device 30 includes a cleaning unit 32 capable of reciprocating in a first direction D1 along the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20; It has an irradiation section 33 that is attached to the unit 32 and irradiates ultraviolet rays toward the outer surface 21 of the filter section 20.

According to the above configuration, as the cleaning unit 32 reciprocates in the first direction D1, the irradiation section 33 attached to the cleaning unit 32 irradiates the filter section 20 with ultraviolet rays. Thereby, the entire area of the filter section 20 can be sterilized.

(2) The air conditioner according to the second aspect is the air conditioner according to the first aspect, and the filter section 20 is a photocatalyst filter.

According to the above configuration, since the filter section 20 is a photocatalytic filter, the filter section 20 can be autonomously sterilized over time by being exposed to light emitted from indoor lighting or the like.

(3) The air conditioner according to the third aspect is the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, in which the irradiation section 33 is directed in a second direction D2, which is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction D1. Multiple arrays are arranged at intervals.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of irradiating units 33 are arranged at intervals in the second direction D2 orthogonal to the first direction D1, which is the reciprocating direction of the cleaning unit 32. Thereby, the filter part 20 can be sterilized over a wider range in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

(4) The air conditioner according to the fourth aspect is the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, and the irradiation section 33 is a light emitting diode that irradiates deep ultraviolet rays.

According to the above configuration, the irradiation section 33 irradiates the filter section 20 with deep ultraviolet rays having a short wavelength, thereby making it possible to sterilize the filter section 20 more effectively.

(5) The air conditioner according to the fifth aspect is the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, in which the irradiation section 33 is provided adjacent to the cleaning unit 32 in the first direction D1. It is being

According to the above configuration, the irradiation section 33 is provided adjacent to the first direction D1, which is the reciprocating direction of the cleaning unit 32. As a result, as the cleaning unit 32 reciprocates, the dust adhering to the filter section 20 is sterilized during either the forward or return trip. On the other of the outbound and return trips, the filter section 20 after dust has been removed can be directly sterilized.

1...Ceiling-embedded air conditioner 10...Air conditioner body 11...Body case 12...Motor 13...Turbo fan 14...Heat exchanger 15...Bell mouth 16...Drain pan 20...Filter section 21...Outer surface 30...Cleaning device 31... Frame section 32... Cleaning unit 33... Irradiation section 41... Panel 42... Cabinet 43... Panel body 44... Grill 45... Air outlet 46... Bottom surface 51... Motor body 52... Output shaft 61... Main plate 62... Main wing 63... Shroud 70... Suction Mouth 81... Drive mechanism 81a... Drive motor 81b... Drive rod 81c... Spiral wire 82... Brush mechanism 83... Pedestal part 84... Brush part 85... Brush mechanism moving nut 87... Brush rotation mechanism 87a... Rack gear 87b... Shaft 87c... Pinion gear 88...Dust box 90...Attic space 91...Ceiling surface 100...Prism C...Central axis D1...First direction D2...Second direction O...Axis line X...Rotation axis

Claims

an air conditioner main body having a suction port;
a filter section provided at the suction port to collect dust contained in the air;
a cleaning device that removes the dust attached to the filter part;
Equipped with
The cleaning device includes:
a cleaning unit capable of reciprocating in a first direction along the outer surface of the filter section;
an irradiation unit attached to the cleaning unit and irradiating ultraviolet rays toward the outer surface of the filter unit;
Air conditioner with.
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the filter section is a photocatalyst filter.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the irradiation units are arranged at intervals in a second direction, which is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the first direction.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the irradiation unit is a light emitting diode that irradiates deep ultraviolet rays.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the irradiation section is provided adjacent to the cleaning unit in the first direction.