JP2005114200A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the ambient temperature of an outdoor machine and to directly and sufficiently improve heat efficiency by effectively practically using a function of a photocatalyst. <P>SOLUTION: In this air conditioner, the photocatalyst is coated on at least a part of the outer surface of a ventilation grille 6 or a panel constituting a casing 5 of the outdoor unit 2, and a water spray means for spraying water on its portion is provided. A drain pipe 4 for discharging a drain generated from an indoor unit to outdoors is used as the water spray means, and the drain is sprayed on the outer surface of the outdoor unit 2. At least a part of the ventilation grille 6 or the panel constituting the casing 5 of the outdoor unit 2 is formed of a porous body having a hydrous property such as foam metal or foam ceramics, the photocatalyst is coated on the surface of the porous body, and water is sprayed on the surface by the water spray means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner such as a room air conditioner.

  As is well known, air conditioners such as room air conditioners are composed of indoor units and outdoor units, but outdoor units installed outdoors are naturally polluted because they are naturally exposed to wind and rain, Molds and algae may occur, and neglecting maintenance not only impairs the appearance but also reduces the thermal efficiency.

In recent years, a purification function using a photocatalyst such as titanium oxide has attracted attention, and in particular, an excellent self-cleaning effect and antifouling effect can be obtained by coating a photocatalyst. In addition, it has been proposed to coat the inside with a photocatalyst to prevent adhesion of water droplets, organic matter, mold, and the like, thereby suppressing contamination.
JP 2000-121106 A JP 2001-165473 A

  By the way, in urban areas, heat island phenomenon due to waste heat from outdoor units of air conditioners has become a problem, and in order to mitigate this, it is necessary to suppress waste heat from the outdoor units to suppress an increase in ambient temperature. It is said that there is. In addition, improving the thermal efficiency of the air conditioner is an extremely important issue from the viewpoint of energy saving.

  Although coating the outdoor unit with the photocatalyst as described above can prevent the outdoor unit from being contaminated by its self-cleaning effect, it can be expected to have a slight effect of suppressing a decrease in thermal efficiency, but the photocatalyst itself is waste heat. Therefore, the above problem cannot be solved only by coating the photocatalyst on the outdoor unit.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an effective air conditioner capable of suppressing the ambient temperature of an outdoor unit and effectively improving its thermal efficiency directly and sufficiently by effectively utilizing the function of a photocatalyst. It is said.

  The invention of claim 1 is an air conditioner having an outdoor unit installed outdoors, and coats a photocatalyst on at least a part of the outer surface of the panel and the ventilation grille constituting the casing of the outdoor unit, A watering means for spraying water on the part is provided.

  The invention of claim 2 is the air conditioner of the invention of claim 1, having an indoor unit installed indoors, and having a drain pipe for discharging the drain generated from the indoor unit to the outdoors. The drain pipe is used as a sprinkling means to spray the drain on the outer surface of the outdoor unit.

  The invention of claim 3 is the air conditioner of the invention of claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a part of the panel and the ventilation grille constituting the casing of the outdoor unit is hydrated with foam metal, foam ceramic, or the like. The porous body has a structure in which the surface of the porous body is coated with a photocatalyst and water is sprayed by watering means.

  According to the invention of claim 1, by coating the outer surface of the casing with the photocatalyst, not only is the contamination suppressed by the self-cleaning effect of the photocatalyst, but also a small amount of water is sprayed on the outer surface of the casing by the watering means. As a result, the sprayed water does not form water droplets due to the superhydrophilic function of the photocatalyst, spreads widely and thinly on the outer surface of the casing to form a water film, and the water vaporizes quickly by vaporizing from the casing and surroundings. Heat is taken away, thereby suppressing an increase in casing and ambient temperature, and an effect of improving the thermal efficiency as an air conditioner can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 2, by using the drain pipe from the indoor unit as the watering means and spraying the drain on the outdoor unit, no special equipment or mechanism for watering is required, and the watering is performed. It is extremely reasonable without any cost.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by forming a part of the casing from the porous body, the dispersed water is held in the porous body, and when water is vaporized on the surface of the porous body, the water is held in the inside. The water that has been oozed out to the surface sequentially and further vaporizes, whereby the vaporization is efficiently and continuously performed, and the temperature rise suppressing effect is surely and sufficiently obtained.

  FIG. 1 shows an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioner of the present embodiment is a room air conditioner composed of a wall-hanging type indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit 2 installed outdoors, and both are connected by a refrigerant pipe 3, and drains are discharged to the indoor unit 1. The drain pipe 4 is connected to the top of the outdoor unit 2 so that the drain is sprayed on the upper surface of the outdoor unit 2.

  The indoor unit 1 is the same as that in a conventional general room air conditioner, and the outdoor unit 2 is basically the same as that in a conventional general room air conditioner, but the outer surface of the casing 5 of the outdoor unit 2 Is coated with a photocatalyst.

  As the photocatalyst for coating, anatase-type titanium dioxide can be suitably employed. The coating range may be set as appropriate, but it is preferable and possible to coat the panel on each side (upper surface, front surface, back surface, both side surfaces) constituting the casing 5 as much as possible. If present, it is most preferable to coat the entire outer surface of the casing 5 and the ventilation grill 6 (both the suction side and the blow-out side).

  As described above, by coating the outer surface of the casing 5 of the outdoor unit 2 with the photocatalyst, contamination of the outer surface of the casing 5 is naturally suppressed by the self-cleaning function of the photocatalyst, and mold and algae may be generated. Absent.

  In addition, in the room air conditioner of the present embodiment, the sprayed drain is sprayed on the casing 5 coated with the photocatalyst so that the sprayed drain does not form water droplets due to the superhydrophilic function of the photocatalyst. It spreads widely and thinly on the surface, so that a thin water film is naturally formed on the outer surface of the casing 5. And the water which became such a water film is vaporized quickly, and thereby heat of vaporization is taken away from the casing 5 and its surroundings, thereby suppressing an increase in the casing 5 and the ambient temperature and improving the thermal efficiency. Effect is obtained.

  According to a trial calculation example in which the air conditioner of the present invention is applied to a room air conditioner having an output of about 1 kW and a cooling capacity of about 3 kW, and thereby performing general cooling for a general house, Is about 0.7 kg / h. If the entire drain is sprayed on the surface of the outdoor unit and vaporized, the heat of vaporization is about 0.47 kW (400 kcal / h). That is, the cooling capacity can be increased by about 16%, and a sufficient energy saving effect can be obtained.

  In addition, when water is sprayed on the outer surface of a simple outdoor unit that is not coated with a photocatalyst, the sprayed water does not adhere to the water droplets and spread quickly, so that sufficient heat of vaporization is generated. Efficient vaporization such as taking away does not occur, and dust and dust are easily attached by water droplets, and generation of mold and algae is a concern. In other words, it is possible for the outdoor unit to dare to spray water for the first time by making the best use of its super-hydrophilic function on the premise of coating the photocatalyst. Of course, in the past, although the photocatalyst was coated for the purpose of self-cleaning of the outdoor unit, the idea of actively spraying water using its super-hydrophilic function to take away the heat of vaporization is completely absent. In this respect, the present invention is based on a completely new idea that has not been heretofore known.

  As described above, according to the present invention, by coating the outdoor unit 2 with a photocatalyst and spraying water on it, it is possible to suppress an increase in the ambient temperature and improve the thermal efficiency. It can contribute to mitigation and energy saving and is extremely effective.

  In particular, if the drain pipe 4 for discharging the drain from the indoor unit 1 is used as a sprinkling means as in the above embodiment to spray the drain on the outdoor unit 2, special equipment for watering It does not require any mechanism and does not cost any watering, so it is extremely reasonable. However, the present invention is not limited to the use of drain. For example, the use of rainwater is also conceivable, and appropriate watering means for spraying tap water may be provided, or a combination thereof may be adopted. Of course it is possible.

  Further, at least a part of the panels and ventilation grills 6 constituting each surface of the casing 5 is formed of a porous body having water content such as foam metal or foam ceramic, and a photocatalyst is formed on the surface of the porous body. It is also conceivable to have a structure in which water is sprayed there. By doing so, the sprayed water is retained in the porous body, and when the water is vaporized on the surface of the porous body, the water retained in the inside gradually oozes out to the surface and further vaporizes, As a result, the vaporization is performed efficiently and continuously, and the temperature rise suppressing effect is surely and sufficiently obtained. Further, in place of or in addition to this, embossing the surface of the casing 5 to form a large number of fine irregularities is also effective in efficiently holding and vaporizing the sprayed water.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to room air conditioners but can be widely applied to various types of air conditioners as long as they have outdoor units.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the air conditioner which is embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Outdoor unit 3 Refrigerant piping 4 Drain pipe (watering means)
5 Casing 6 Ventilation grill

Claims (3)

  An air conditioner having an outdoor unit installed outdoors, which coats a photocatalyst on at least a part of the outer surface of a panel and a ventilation grille constituting the casing of the outdoor unit, and sprays water on the part An air conditioner characterized by comprising watering means.   2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner has an indoor unit installed indoors, a drain pipe for discharging the drain generated from the indoor unit to the outside, and the drain pipe as watering means. An air conditioner characterized in that drain is applied to the outer surface of the outdoor unit. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a part of a panel and a ventilation grille constituting a casing of the outdoor unit is formed of a porous body having water content such as foam metal or foam ceramic, An air conditioner characterized in that the surface of the porous body is coated with a photocatalyst and water is sprayed by watering means.

Images