JP6037150B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having an automatic filter cleaning function, and more particularly, to an air conditioner that can be removed from an indoor unit housing in a state where a filter is attached to a filter cleaning unit.

  Generally, an air conditioner is provided with a filter for removing dust and dust contained in the air entering the heat exchanger. Usually, this type of filter needs to regularly clean the dust accumulated in the filter, but the regular cleaning work of this filter is cumbersome and troublesome.

  Therefore, recently, an air conditioner having a filter cleaning function that automatically performs filter cleaning periodically has been provided. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, this air conditioner has a filter disposed along an air suction port in an indoor unit housing and a filter cleaning unit that removes dust adhering to the filter with a cleaning brush. Then, the filter attached to the filter can be collected by the filter cleaning unit by sliding the filter back and forth with the filter sandwiched in the filter cleaning unit.

  However, the filter cleaning unit of the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, since the filter cleaning part of patent document 1 needs to remove a filter cleaning part from an outdoor unit main body in order to throw away the dust collected in the filter cleaning part, the filter cleaning part of patent document 1 is a filter cleaning part. Since the filter is integrally attached to the filter, when the filter cleaning part is removed, the filter is also removed.

  The removed filter cleaning unit first removed the filter from the filter cleaning unit, then discarded the accumulated dust, and then attached the filter to the filter cleaning unit again and then returned to the outdoor unit housing .

  However, when the filter cleaning unit is returned to the indoor unit housing, first, the tip of the filter protruding from the filter cleaning unit is first inserted into the indoor unit housing. If it hits a part, the mounting position of the filter may shift. If the mounting position of the filter is deviated, there is a possibility that a problem may occur in the filter feed when cleaning the filter.

JP 2009-168386 A

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can safely attach and remove the filter cleaning unit with the filter attached thereto from the indoor unit housing. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention has several features described below. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a filter disposed along an air inlet in the indoor unit housing, a guide rail that movably supports the filter, and a filter cleaning that removes dust attached to the filter. An air conditioner that is removable from the indoor unit housing in a state where the filter is mounted on the filter cleaning unit.
The filter cleaning unit includes a dust box that collects dust removed from the filter, and the dust box has a part of a filter moving path by the guide rail when the filter cleaning unit is mounted in the indoor unit housing. And a filter passage whose length along the moving direction of the filter is longer than the length of the dust box.

  A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, one end of the guide rail communicates with one opening of the filter passage.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the filter that has moved to the front side of the indoor unit casing at the time of cleaning the filter is disposed on the front side of the indoor unit casing. A pull-in rail that is moved without being discharged out of the housing is provided, and the other opening of the filter passage is in communication with the inlet of the pull-in rail.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the filter cleaning unit includes a dust box that collects dust removed from the filter, and the dust box includes a filter that uses a guide rail when the filter cleaning unit is attached to the indoor unit housing. When the filter cleaning unit is attached to and detached from the indoor unit housing by being connected to a filter passage that is included in a part of the moving path and has a length along the moving direction of the filter that is longer than the length of the dust box. The filter does not move or shift, and the detachability workability is improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the indoor unit housing is provided with the guide rail that supports the filter and serves as a moving passage of the filter when the filter is cleaned, and one end of the guide rail is one of the filter passages. By communicating toward the opening, the filter can be moved back and forth for cleaning without taking the filter out of the indoor unit casing.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the pull-in rail on the front side of the indoor unit casing moves the filter that has moved to the front side of the indoor unit casing at the time of filter cleaning without being discharged out of the indoor unit casing. Since the other end of the filter passage communicates toward the entrance of the pull-in rail, the filter carried to the front side can be moved without taking it out of the machine.

1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The external appearance perspective view of the state which removed the front panel of the said air conditioner. Sectional drawing which abbreviate | omitted a part of internal structure of the said air conditioner. The perspective view of the filter of the said air conditioner. The perspective view of the filter cleaning part of the said air conditioner. The perspective view of the state which opened the said filter cleaning part. Sectional drawing of the state which abbreviate | omitted a part of internal structure of the said filter cleaning part. The perspective view which looked at the upper filter cleaning unit of the above-mentioned filter cleaning part from the upper surface side. The perspective view which looked at the upper filter cleaning unit of the said filter cleaning part from the bottom face side. The perspective view of the state which opened the release lever of the said upper filter cleaning unit. The partial expansion perspective view which shows the accommodation state of the stopper lever of the said upper filter cleaning unit. The perspective view of the said stopper lever. The partial expansion perspective view of the state which looked at the release lever from the bottom side. (A) Cross-sectional view of the filter cleaning unit with the release lever open, (b) Cross-sectional view of the filter cleaning unit with the release lever closed. The perspective view which looked at the lower filter cleaning unit of the said filter cleaning part from the upper surface side. The partial expansion perspective view of the state which removed the side cover of the said lower filter cleaning unit. The principal part sectional drawing of the said lower filter cleaning unit. (A) principal part sectional drawing which shows the guide groove of the said lower filter cleaning unit, (b) principal part sectional drawing of the state which inserted the filter in the guide groove.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the air conditioner (indoor unit) 1 includes a casing 10 that is supported on a wall surface via a back plate (not shown).

  A heat exchanger 2 and a cross flow fan (not shown) are supported on the casing 10 so as to be bridged. In this example, the heat exchanger 2 is a combination of upper and lower two-stage front-side heat exchangers 21 and one-stage rear-side heat exchanger 22 in a lambda (Λ) type. In the present invention, specific configurations of the heat exchanger 2 and the crossflow fan may be arbitrarily selected according to specifications.

  Moreover, although the air blower outlet 17, the wind direction board 18, the diffuser 19, etc. are provided in the lower surface side of the casing 10, in this invention, these structures are arbitrary components and are not specifically limited. Absent.

  The casing 10 includes an upper panel 11 that covers the upper surface of the heat exchanger 2, a front panel 12 that covers the front surface of the heat exchanger 2, and side panels 13 that support the left and right ends of the heat exchanger 2. In this example, each panel is made of a molded product of synthetic resin.

  The upper panel 11 and the front panel 12 are provided with an air inlet 14 for taking air into the indoor unit 1. A part of the front panel 12 is provided with an open panel 15 that is opened during operation to increase the opening area of the air suction port 14 and increase the air inflow amount.

  The open panel 15 is made of a synthetic resin plate and is provided so as to cover a part of the front panel 12 of the indoor unit 1. The lower end of the open panel 15 is rotatably connected to a part of the front panel 12 via a rotation shaft (not shown).

  The open panel 15 is configured so that its upper end (free end) is opened and closed by an opening / closing drive means (not shown). In this example, an open / close driving means using a motor as power is used to open and close the open panel 15, but various actuators such as solenoids may be used in addition to this. Moreover, you may make it open and close using a spring force etc.

  Inside the indoor unit 1, a filter 3 is provided so as to correspond to the air suction port 14. In this example, two filters 3 are provided side by side (in the left-right direction in FIG. 2), each covering about half of the air inlet 14. The filter 3 has the same shape on both the left and right sides.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the filter 3 is formed in a thin plate shape having a rectangular filter bar 31 and a filter sheet 32 stretched along the filter bar 31. The filter bar 31 is made of a synthetic resin molded product, and rack grooves 33 and 33 for feeding the filter 3 back and forth are provided at both ends in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4).

  The rack groove 33 is integrally formed with the filter bar 31 and is formed symmetrically at the same left and right pitch in order to make the feed amount of the filter 3 uniform. In this example, a part of the filter bar 31 is provided with a detection hole 34 for detecting whether or not the filter 3 is disposed at a predetermined position of the air suction port 14. The detection hole 34 is a through hole that penetrates the filter 3 in the thickness direction, and is detected by a detection switch (not shown) provided in the guide rail 4 of the indoor unit housing 1, so that the control means Can detect whether the filter 3 is placed in the initial position.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, a guide rail 4 that slidably supports the filter 3 is provided inside the indoor unit 1. The guide rails 4 are provided in a pair of left and right so as to support the filter 3 from both ends in the width direction, and are formed in a gentle arch shape from the top panel 11 to the front panel 12. By arranging the filter 3 along the filter guide 31, the filter 3 is arranged on the upstream side of the heat exchanger 2.

  Inside the indoor unit 1, filter cleaning parts 5 and 5 for cleaning the filter 3 are arranged adjacent to one end side (left end in FIG. 3) of the guide rail 4. As shown in FIG. 2, one filter cleaning unit 5, 5 is provided for one filter 3, and in this example, a pair of left and right is provided on the front side of the indoor unit 1. Yes. Since the filter cleaning units 5 and 5 have the same shape, only one of them will be described below.

  Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 together, the filter cleaning section 5 includes an upper filter cleaning unit 100 disposed on one side (upper surface in FIG. 3) side of the filter 3 and the other side of the filter 3 (FIG. 3, the lower filter cleaning unit 200 is disposed on the lower surface side, and these are disposed opposite to each other with the filter 3 interposed therebetween.

  In the filter cleaning unit 5, the upper filter cleaning unit 100 and the lower filter cleaning unit 200 are connected to each other so as to be openable and closable around a horizontal rotation shaft (not shown). 7 to 10, the upper filter cleaning unit 100 detaches the filter-shaped main frame 110, the dust box 130 that collects dust attached to the filter 3, and the filter cleaning unit 5 from the indoor unit 1. And a release lever 150 as a gripping portion.

  The main frame 110 includes a pair of left and right side frames 111 and 111 disposed at substantially the same interval as the width of the filter 3, a reinforcing frame 112 that spans one end side of the side frames 111 and 111, and the side frames 111 and 111. And a guide frame 113 disposed in parallel with a predetermined interval therebetween.

  The side frames 111 and 111 are formed of a synthetic resin molded product having a hollow inside, and are formed in a rectangular shape extending along the moving direction of the filter 3. Inside the side frames 111, 111, a locking claw 114 for fixing the filter cleaning unit 5 inside the indoor unit 1 and a driving mechanism (not shown) are incorporated.

  The locking claw 114 protrudes from the side surface of the side frames 111 and 111 via the drive mechanism when the release lever 150 is open, and is stored inside the side frames 111 and 111 when the release lever 150 is closed. It is like that. In the present invention, the locking claw 114 and its driving mechanism are optional items, and a specific description thereof will be omitted.

  The guide surfaces 115 facing the filter 3 of the side frames 111 and 111 and the guide frame 113 are formed substantially flat so as to conform in shape along the lower filter cleaning unit 200 described later. The distal end side 116 (left side in FIG. 7) is curved in order to guide a part of the filter 3 to a pull-in rail 6 described later during filter cleaning.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the guide surface 115 is provided with an extraction hole 117 for pulling out a stopper lever 183 of the filter stopper 180 described later, and the stopper lever 183 is connected to the filter 3 from the extraction hole 117. Invade toward you.

  Referring to FIGS. 3 and 7, dust box 130 is arranged so as to be bridged to the rear end side (right side in FIG. 7) of side frames 111, 111, and is used for storing dust inside. Space is secured. Inside the dust box 130 are provided a cleaning brush 131 that contacts the filter 3 to scrape dust and a refresh brush 132 that collects dust attached to the cleaning brush 131.

  The cleaning brush 131 includes a fan-shaped brush main body 133 on a pedestal provided to be rotatable around a horizontal rotation axis. The brush body 133 is made of synthetic resin, and is planted so as to come into contact with the filter surface at a right angle or at an acute angle when the filter 3 is cleaned.

  The refresh brush 132 includes a refresh brush main body 135 planted along an inner peripheral surface (a surface facing the cleaning brush 131) of an arch-shaped brush base 134 disposed on the outer peripheral side of the cleaning brush 131.

  The refresh brush body 135 is an inclined brush that is arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the brush base 134 and is planted so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the root of the brush base 134. In this example, the refresh brush main body 135 is inclined so as to contact at an acute angle with respect to the rotation direction of the cleaning brush 43.

  In the present invention, the specific shapes and specifications of the dust box 130, the cleaning brush 131, and the collection brush 132 are selected according to the specifications as long as they have a basic mechanism capable of collecting dust attached to the filter. May be. Furthermore, you may provide the hair removal means for loosening the cleaning brush 131 exclusively.

  In this example, the filter cleaning unit 5 uses the cleaning brush 131 provided in the dust box 130 as a cleaning unit. However, the method for removing dust attached to the filter 3 is not limited to this. Absent. In other words, dust may be removed by suction using a suction nozzle, a transfer roller, or the like, and the cleaning unit may be arbitrarily selected according to specifications.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a rotating gear 136 for rotating the cleaning brush 131 is provided at the bottom of the side surface of the dust box 130. The rotating brush 136 is engaged with a driving gear (not shown) provided on the indoor unit unit 1 side, so that the cleaning brush 131 rotates back and forth via the rotating gear 136.

  The release lever 150 includes lever arms 151 and 151 that are rotatably connected to the upper ends of the side frames 111 and 111 of the main frame 110, and a grip 152 that extends over the free ends of the lever arms 151 and 151. And is formed in a U-shaped arch shape as a whole. The release lever 150 is made of a synthetic resin and is an integrally molded product.

  A rotation shaft (not shown) is provided at the tip of each lever arm 151, 151, and the rotation shaft is pivotally supported by a bearing hole (not shown) of each side frame 111, 111, thereby supporting the main frame 110. It is attached to open and close up and down.

  In this example, the rotating shaft of the release lever 150 is provided with a coil spring (both not shown), and the release lever 150 is always spring-biased via the coil spring in the direction of opening (vertical direction in FIG. 14). .

  The grip 152 is provided with an engagement recess 153 to which the slide lock 16 is locked when the filter cleaning unit 5 is fixed in a state of being attached to the indoor unit 1. The engaging recess 153 includes a cutout portion that is cut out from the front end of the grip 152 toward the center, and is provided at two locations on one release lever 150.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the slide lock 16 is formed by a slide-type locking claw provided on a part of the front panel 12, and is always spring-loaded to the lock side (left direction in FIG. 2) via a spring means (not shown). It is energized. In the present invention, the specific configuration of the slide lock 16 is arbitrary.

  In this example, the filter cleaning unit 5 is detached from the indoor unit 1 with the filter 3 attached. Therefore, the filter cleaning unit 5 is provided with a filter stopper 180 that restricts the movement of the filter 3 during attachment / detachment.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 11 to 13, the filter stopper 180 has a rotary shaft 181 that is pivotally supported inside the side frame 111, a stopper lever 183 that is locked to the filter, and the rotary shaft 181. And a stopper release lever 182 attached so as to face the stopper lever 183. The filter stopper 180 is made of a synthetic resin molded product.

  The stopper release lever 182 is formed in the shape of a tongue protruding in an arc from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 181 toward the outside. The stopper lever 183 is formed in a tongue-like shape protruding in an arc shape from a position facing the stopper release lever 182 and the rotating shaft 181.

  The stopper lever 183 is formed such that its tip engages with the rack groove 33 of the filter 3. A coil spring (not shown) is coaxially attached to the rotating shaft 181 of the stopper lever 180, and the tip of the stopper lever 183 is urged by a spring so as to always protrude from the extraction hole 117 via this coil spring.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, a release convex portion 154 that presses a stopper release lever 182 of a filter stopper 180 described later is provided on a part of the bottom surface of the release lever 150 (the surface facing the main frame 110). ing. The release convex portion 154 is a tongue piece protruding from the bottom surface of the release lever 150, more specifically from the bottom surface of the lever arm 151 toward the stopper release lever 182.

  According to this, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), when the release lever 150 is open (in a state where it is lifted up), the filter stopper 180 is in a rotation-free state. The tip of the lever 183 protrudes from the extraction hole 117 and is locked in the rack groove 33 of the filter 3 so that the filter 3 is locked.

  In the locked state, for example, even if the filter 3 is forced to slide back and forth, the stopper lever 183 is engaged with the rack groove 33, so that the movement of the filter 3 can be completely restricted.

  When the release lever 150 is closed, as shown in FIG. 14B, the release convex portion 154 of the release lever 150 pushes the first stopper lever 152 downward against the spring bias, thereby allowing the release lever 150 to pass through the rotating shaft 181. Accordingly, the stopper lever 183 is rotated upward, whereby the engagement with the rack groove 33 is released, and the restriction of the filter 3 is released.

  Next, the lower filter cleaning unit 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 15 to 18. The lower filter cleaning unit 200 includes a pair of side frames 210 and 210 arranged at substantially the same interval as the width of the filter 3, a filter receiver 230 spanned on one end side of the side frames 210 and 210, It is formed in a lattice shape having a reinforcing frame 250 spanning the other end side of 210.

  The side frame 210 is formed of a rectangular molded product extending along the moving direction of the filter 3, and a guide groove 211 for guiding the filter 3 is provided therein. Referring also to FIG. 7, the guide groove 211 is formed between a guide base 212 provided on the side frame 210 side and an L-shaped guide member 213 provided detachably on the side surface of the guide base 212. It is a formed space, and is formed continuously along the extending direction of the side frame 210 (the left-right direction in FIG. 7).

  A filter insertion portion 214 for inserting the filter 3 toward the guide groove 211 is provided on one end side of the side frame 210. The filter insertion portion 214 includes an opening through which a part of the guide base 212 is exposed by cutting out a part of the guide member 213.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the filter insertion portion 214 has an opening length L1 and a length L2 of the guide groove 211 (more specifically, a length from the start end of the guide groove to the center of the feed roller shaft). , L1 ≦ 1/2 × L2. In this example, the length L1 is preferably set to 15 to 35 mm, which is the average length of the first joint of the thumb.

  That is, since the opening length L1 is set to be equal to or less than ½ of the guide groove length L2, when the filter 3 is inserted into the guide groove 211, a shift in the left and right feed amounts of the filter 3 or the filter 3 A part of the finger is caught in the guide groove 211 and the like is bent or distorted. However, since the opening length L1 is short, the feed amount of one finger can be reduced, and as a result, the filter 3 is fed to the feed gear. Since the finger is separated from the filter 3 at least twice before meshing with 233, the distortion and deflection generated in the filter 3 when the finger is separated can be removed.

  The filter receiver 230 is disposed opposite to the dust box 130 with the filter 3 interposed therebetween, and is formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same area as the dust box 130. The filter receiver 230 is provided with three filter pressing plates 231 for pressing the lower surface side of the filter 3 in this example.

  The filter pressing plate 231 is a rectangular resin plate, and a compression spring (not shown) is disposed on the lower surface thereof. According to this, the filter pressing plate 231 is always spring-biased upward (in the direction of the filter 3), and when the filter is cleaned, the filter 3 is lifted upward, and the cleaning efficiency by the cleaning brush 131 of the upper filter cleaning unit 100 is improved. Can be increased.

  The filter receiver 230 further incorporates a filter feed mechanism for moving the filter 3 back and forth. The filter feed mechanism includes a feed shaft 232 driven by an external drive motor (not shown) and a feed gear 233 provided at one end of the feed shaft. As shown in FIG. 17, the feed gear 233 has a shape that can match the rack groove 33 of the filter 3, and a part of the feed gear 233 protrudes toward the inside of the guide groove 211.

  The reinforcing frame 250 is a beam member that spans the distal ends of the side frames 210 and 210, and is disposed in parallel to the filter receiver 230. The reinforcing frame 250 is further provided with a guide frame 251 that extends over the filter receiver 230.

  The reinforcing frame 250 and the guide frame 251 are disposed opposite to the reinforcing frame 112 and the guide frame 113 provided in the upper filter cleaning unit 100.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, on the inlet side (left side in FIG. 3) of the filter cleaning unit 5, a pull-in rail 6 is provided for pulling in part when the filter 3 is moved to the near side during filter cleaning. ing.

  One end of the pull-in rail 6 is opened toward the opening of the filter cleaning unit 5, and is formed in a numerical “6” shape. According to this, the filter 6 drawn in from the opening moves to the center spirally along the pull-in rail 6 so that the filter 6 at the time of filter cleaning can be moved efficiently in the indoor unit 1. Can do.

  Next, an example of a method for attaching and detaching the filter cleaning unit 5 of the present invention will be described. In removing the filter cleaning unit 5, first, a part of the front panel 12 including the open panel 15 is opened. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, the filter cleaning unit 5 appears on the entire surface of the indoor unit 1.

  Next, the slide lock 16 disposed on the front side of the indoor unit 1 is slid in a predetermined direction, in this example, to the right. By sliding the slide lock 16 to the right, the release lever 150 is unlocked, and the release lever 150 jumps up by the spring bias of the coil spring.

  In this state, the filter cleaning unit 5 can be detached from the indoor unit 1 together with the filter 3 by pulling the release lever 150 toward the front while grasping the release lever 150 by hand. At this time, since the release lever 150 is open, the movement of the filter 3 is restricted by the filter stopper 180.

  Next, the user holds the upper filter cleaning unit 100 and the lower filter cleaning unit 200 with their hands and opens them in a dogleg shape from the opening side (see FIG. 6). Thereby, the upper filter cleaning unit 100 is lifted up, and the filter 3 can be extracted from the lower filter cleaning unit 200.

  After removing the filter 3 from the lower filter cleaning unit 200, the user cleans the filter 3 by wiping and cleaning it, and attaches it again to the lower filter cleaning unit 200. At this time, the tip of the filter 3 is inserted into the filter insertion portion 214, The filter 3 is attached to the filter cleaning unit 5 by closing the upper filter cleaning unit 100 again after feeding the finger to a position that meshes with the feed gear 233.

  On the other hand, when removing the dust stored in the dust box 130 of the upper filter cleaning unit 100, after opening the opening / closing flap on the top of the dust box 130, apply a suction port such as a vacuum cleaner to the dust box 130 to remove the dust inside. The dust inside can be removed by sucking it out.

  Thereafter, the release lever 150 is again gripped by hand and pushed into the indoor unit 1, and then the release lever 150 is closed. Thereby, the release lever 150 is automatically locked by the slide lock 16, and the attachment of the filter cleaning unit 5 to the indoor unit 1 is completed. Although the installation position of the filter 3 is initialized after the filter cleaning unit 5 is attached, the initialization method and the like are not particularly limited in the present invention.

1 Air conditioner (indoor unit)
2 Heat exchanger 3 Filter 33 Rack groove 4 Guide rail 5 Filter cleaning part 6 Pull-in rail 100 Upper filter cleaning unit 110 Main frame 130 Dust box 150 Release lever 180 Filter stopper 182 Stopper release lever 183 Stopper lever 200 Lower filter cleaning unit 210 Side frame 230 Filter receiver 250 Reinforcement frame

Claims (3)

An indoor unit housing has a filter disposed along an air suction port, a guide rail that supports the filter so as to be movable, and a filter cleaning unit that removes dust attached to the filter. In the air conditioner detachable from the indoor unit casing in a state of being mounted on the filter cleaning unit,
The filter cleaning unit includes a dust box that collects dust removed from the filter, and the dust box has a part of a filter moving path by the guide rail when the filter cleaning unit is mounted in the indoor unit housing. The air conditioner is characterized in that a filter passage having a length along the moving direction of the filter is longer than a length of the dust box.   2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein one end of the guide rail communicates with one opening of the filter passage.   A pull-in rail is provided on the front side of the indoor unit housing to move the filter that has moved to the front side of the indoor unit housing at the time of cleaning the filter without being discharged out of the indoor unit housing. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the other opening of the filter passage communicates with an inlet of the pull-in rail.

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