WO2011136271A1

WO2011136271A1 - Indoor unit for air conditioning device

Info

Publication number: WO2011136271A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/060265
Authority: WO
Inventors: 優太立石; 一久佐藤; 充邦佐野
Original assignee: 東芝キヤリア株式会社
Priority date: 2010-04-30
Filing date: 2011-04-27
Publication date: 2011-11-03

Abstract

Disclosed is an indoor unit body (1), which is mounted on top of an installation surface and has an upper outlet opening (6) and a lower outlet opening (11) in the front surface thereof, wherein: an indoor heat exchanger (14) and an indoor fan (20) are housed; a drain pan (R) is provided in the lower section of the indoor heat exchanger (14); a lower outlet ventilation path (22) is formed, with a position adjacent to the bottom surface section of the drain pan (R) as the inside section (V) thereof and a position distanced from said bottom surface as the outside section (U) thereof, to communicate between a peripheral end section of the indoor fan (20) and the lower outlet opening (11); a housing space (S) is formed along the inside section of the lower outlet ventilation path (22); and a damper (D) is pivotally supported to close the lower outlet ventilation path (22) or be housed in the storage space (S) to open the lower outlet ventilation path, according to the air-conditioning operation. As a result, the damper (D) is provided for the lower outlet ventilation path so as to be openable and closeable, the influence of reduced air volume due to the damper (D) housing construction is eliminated to obtain suitable air conditioning, and processing work on the indoor unit main body (1) is not required, which lessens the impact on cost.

Description

Air conditioner indoor unit

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner having floor outlets at the top and bottom of the front surface of a main body, and more particularly to improvement of a damper mounting structure in a lower outlet ventilation passage.

¡Floor-type indoor units in air conditioners have a box shape that is relatively thin between the front and back due to the space involved. Each surface is flat for design reasons that emphasize a sense of stability. In particular, an inclined surface is formed along the upper portion of the front surface, and an upper outlet is provided here. A lower outlet is provided at the lower front.

For example, an air conditioner floor-standing type indoor unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-183010 has a schematic configuration as described above, and has a lower outlet from a centrifugal fan to a lower outlet through a lower space. A passage is formed. A shutter is attached to the lower space, and a step motor is connected to a support shaft of the shutter so that the lower outlet passage can be freely opened and closed.

That is, the floor-mounted indoor unit can be switched between simultaneous blowing from the top and bottom and blowing only from the top. During cooling operation, the lower outlet is closed with a shutter to prevent the feet from getting too cold and only the upper outlet. It is described that the room can be efficiently heated by performing upper blowing and lower blowing during heating operation.

In the indoor unit described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-183010, the lower outlet passage is formed obliquely downward from the peripheral end of the centrifugal fan to the lower outlet. In this inclined portion, the portion close to the lower surface portion of the drain pan is the inner portion, and the separated portion is the outer portion. A storage space for storing the shutter includes a recess provided in an outer portion of the lower outlet passage.

By the way, the air blown from the centrifugal fan has a higher wind speed at the outer side than at the inner side due to the side view shape of the lower outlet passage. That is, the air exiting from the peripheral end of the centrifugal fan is immediately bent small and abruptly at the inner side of the blowout passage and is guided in a large resistance state, whereas it is bent largely and loosely at the outer side. Guided in a small state.

Since the shutter is housed in such a part with a high wind speed and the heat exchange air hits the shutter, the flow of the heat exchange air is likely to be disturbed, the air volume is lowered, and the comfortable air conditioning is impaired. Furthermore, since the lower outlet passage is integrally formed in the indoor unit main body and the concave portion, which is the shutter storage space, is also integrally provided in the lower outlet passage, the processing labor is increased and the cost is affected.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above circumstances. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a damper in the lower outlet passage so that the damper can be opened and closed, and to obtain a comfortable air conditioning without reducing the air volume due to the damper storage structure. An object of the present invention is to provide an indoor unit for an air conditioner that eliminates the need for processing the main body of the indoor unit and reduces the influence on cost.

In order to satisfy the above object, an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention has an upper air outlet at the upper part of the front surface and a lower air outlet at the lower part of the front surface. The indoor heat exchanger and the indoor blower to be accommodated, the drain pan attached to the lower part of the indoor heat exchanger and receiving drain water dripping from the indoor heat exchanger, the portion close to the lower surface of the drain pan as the inner portion, and the separated portion as the outer portion A storage space is formed along the inner part of the lower blower air passage that is close to the bottom surface of the drain pan and communicates with the lower end of the air blower. A damper that is rotatably supported to close the blowout air passage or to be housed in a storage space and to open the lower blowout air passage is provided.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which a front panel constituting the indoor unit according to the embodiment is removed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a part of the indoor unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drain pan according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a configuration explanatory diagram of the drain pan according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a storage space structure of the damper according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a part of the indoor unit in a state different from FIG. 3 according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a storage space structure for a damper according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit of a floor-standing type air conditioner.

The indoor unit main body 1 includes a rear main body 2 constituting a rear case and a front panel 3 constituting a front case. The rear main body 2 is formed such that the back plate 4 and the bottom plate 5 are integrally formed, the bottom plate 5 is placed on the floor surface of the air-conditioned room, and the back plate 4 is close to the wall surface of the air-conditioned room. Is done.

The front face of the back plate 4 is opened, and the front panel 3 is fitted into the opening. Only a portion along the upper end portion of the front panel 3 and a portion along the lower end portion are formed on the inclined surface, and the other surfaces are flat. The back plate 4 is flat on each side. Therefore, in the assembled state as the indoor unit main body 1, it becomes a substantially box shape that is thin in the front-rear direction.

The upper outlet 6 and the display unit 7 are arranged in parallel on the inclined surface along the upper end of the front panel 3. A louver 8 is provided at the upper outlet 6, and this louver 8 is connected to a drive motor and is rotationally driven during cooling operation and heating operation to change the vertical blowing direction of cold air and hot air. The display unit 7 includes LEDs, lamps, and operation switches for displaying a set temperature, room temperature, operating conditions, and the like.

A lower outlet 11, which will be described later, is provided in which a grill 10 is fitted on an inclined surface along the lower end of the front panel 3. Furthermore, a front suction port 12 is provided along the width direction at a substantially central portion of the front panel 3 in the vertical direction, and side suction ports 12a that are long in the vertical direction are provided on both sides (only one side is shown).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interior of the indoor unit body 1 showing the components that are attached to the rear body 2 by removing the front panel 3 constituting the indoor unit body 1. The air filter 13 is detachably attached to the rear body 2. The air filter 13 is formed to have substantially the same dimension as the dimension in the left-right width direction of the louver 8 fitted into the upper outlet 6. The indoor heat exchanger 14 is disposed on the back side of the air filter 13 and the positions thereof are aligned. The indoor heat exchanger 14 is placed on a drain pan R provided in the rear main body 2.

A heat exchange pipe P bent in a substantially U shape protrudes from the side surface of the indoor heat exchanger 14, and the top of the heat exchange pipe P and the side of the back plate 4 (that is, the side surface of the indoor unit main body 1). Spatial space is secured between them.

The electrical component box 15 is disposed on the upper side of the space space, and the protective cover member 16 and the assembly of the display unit 7 are attached to the upper surface of the electrical component box 15. Between the lower end of the electrical component box 15 and the bottom plate 5 of the rear main body 2, a space is formed in which a connection pipe and the like with a refrigerant pipe extending from the outdoor unit are accommodated.

The lower outlet 11 is opened at the lower part on the near side of the front end surface of the drain pan R. An intermediate plate Qa is provided at an intermediate portion in the left-right width direction of the lower outlet 11, and a plurality of vertical louvers 18 are provided at predetermined intervals on both the left and right sides. A pair of vertical louvers 18 on both the left and right sides are connected to a drive motor and are driven to rotate at the same time to change the blowing direction on the left and right.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the indoor unit, particularly an enlarged part on the lower side. An indoor blower 20 is disposed between the back surface of the indoor heat exchanger 14 and the back plate 4. The indoor blower 20 includes a turbo fan F and a fan casing K that are fitted on a rotating shaft of a fan motor (not shown). The turbo fan F is a type of centrifugal fan that blows wind in the centrifugal direction.

A bell mouth 21 is interposed between the indoor blower 20 and the indoor heat exchanger 14. The bell mouth 21 concentrates and guides the indoor air sucked into the indoor unit body 1 by driving the indoor blower 20 to the indoor heat exchanger 14. Here, the bell mouth 21 is also housed on the drain pan R together with the indoor heat exchanger 14.

Between the indoor blower 20 and the lower outlet 11, a lower outlet ventilation path 22 described later is formed. That is, the lower outlet 11 is provided in the lower front portion of the indoor unit main body 1, while the indoor blower 20 is disposed on the rear side of the indoor unit main body 1 and above the lower outlet 11.

The side view of the lower blow-out ventilation path 22 is curved obliquely downward from the peripheral end portion of the turbo fan F of the indoor blower 20, and further inclined obliquely downward straight to the portion immediately before the lower blow-off port 11 and bent from here. In the horizontal direction with respect to the lower outlet 11. Accordingly, the entire portion is inclined obliquely downward except for the portion facing the turbo fan F and the lower outlet 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front view of the lower outlet 11 has a rectangular shape with a short vertical direction and a long horizontal direction. Therefore, even when viewed from the front of the lower blow-out ventilation path 22, the lower blow-out opening 11 is formed over the indoor blower 20 with a rectangular cross-section substantially the same as the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the lower blow-out opening 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the left and right wall surfaces and the lower wall surface 22 a of the lower blowing air passage 22 are formed of a part of the rear main body 2 that connects the back plate 4 and the bottom plate 5. The drain wall R is also used as the upper wall surface. In other words, the drain pan R is configured so as to also serve as the upper wall surface of the lower outlet air passage 22.

The drain pan R will be further described. In this side view, an inclined surface is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the lower wall surface 22a forming the inclined surface of the lower blowing air passage 22, and substantially parallel to the horizontal wall surface of the lower blowing air passage 22. A horizontal plane is formed so that The front end portion and the rear end portion are formed to rise, and are bent integrally with the horizontal plane end portion and the inclined surface end portion.

The heat insulating material 23 is attached to the lower surface of the drain pan R. Due to the presence of the heat insulating material 23, the drain pan R can be prevented from being exposed to the drain water received by the drain pan R. The heat insulating material 23 is, for example, polystyrene foam. The heat insulating material 23 is formed to be parallel to the inclined surface of the drain pan R and to be parallel to the horizontal plane of the drain pan R.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drain pan assembly 25 in which the heat insulating material 23 is attached to the drain pan R, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the drain pan assembly 25.

Support ribs 26 are provided on the left and right side portions of the drain pan R, and the lower end portion of the drain pan R protrudes downward through the heat insulating material 23. An attachment hole for attaching and fixing the support rib 26 to the rear main body 2 via an attachment is provided at the lower end portion of the support rib 26.

A drain pipe 27 projects from a portion in the vicinity of one of the supporting ribs 26 and corresponding to the horizontal plane of the drain pan R. A drain hose is connected to the drain pipe 27 in the assembled state, and drain water received by the drain pan R is discharged and guided to the outside.

The upper surface portion of the heat insulating material 23 is formed according to the cross-sectional shape of the drain pan R, and the drain pan R is fitted into the drain pan assembly 25. As shown by the broken line B in FIG. 5, the lower surface portion of the heat insulating material 23 originally has the entire lower surface in the same plane, and there is no problem in the heat insulating effect even if no processing is performed. The increase in man-hours can be suppressed without extra processing effort.

However, in this case, the substantially right-angled triangular section 28 is cut from the substantially intermediate portion of the heat insulating material 23 in the front-rear direction to the back side, and cut away. Therefore, as described above, the molded heat insulating material 23 is parallel to the inclined surface of the drain pan R, and an inclined surface 23a having a uniform thickness is obtained, and the surface that is not cut remains as the horizontal lower surface 23b.

The length range in the horizontal direction on the inclined surface 23a after the right-angled triangular portion 28 of the heat insulating material 23 is cut is referred to as “A section in the X-axis direction”. The section A in the X-axis direction is a storage space S for the damper D as will be described later.

3 again, the damper D is accommodated along the drain pan R forming the drain pan assembly 25 and the inclined surface 23a of the heat insulating material 23. If it demonstrates, the storage space S of the said damper D will be provided in the range of the X-axis direction A area of the heat insulating material 23 which comprises the said drain pan assembly 25. FIG.

The damper D is formed by attaching a heat insulating material 30b to one surface of a plate-shaped synthetic resin material 30a. In a state in which the damper D is stored in the storage space S, the plate-shaped synthetic resin material 30a constituting the damper D is in close contact with the inclined surface 23a of the heat insulating material 23 forming the drain pan assembly 25, and the heat insulating material 30b of the damper D is in the lower part. Facing the blowout ventilation path 22.

The damper D stored in the storage space S is held in a parallel posture along the drain pan R and the inclined surface 23 a of the heat insulating material 23. Moreover, the indoor blower 20 side end of the drain pan R protrudes so as to face the end face of the damper D of the storage space S, and serves as a nose portion Qb that also serves as a windproof cover.

Further, a space between the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the lower outlet 11 is referred to as “Y-axis direction B section”. The damper D in the state of being stored in the storage space S hardly protrudes or extends on the extension line of the B-axis direction B section from the lower outlet 11 to the back side of the indoor unit body 1.

At the lower end side of the damper D, support shafts project from both the left and right sides and are pivotally supported by the side wall of the rear body 2. A motor (not shown) is connected to one of the support shafts, and can be rotated and displaced clockwise about the support shaft from the position where the damper D is stored in the storage space S as the motor is driven.

That is, the upper end of the slope of the damper D stored in the storage space S rotates in the clockwise direction, and moves in the direction of closing the lower outlet ventilation path 22 in the entire damper D. A stopper stepped portion Qc is provided on the lower wall surface 22a of the lower blowing air passage 22, and the rotation of the damper D is restricted in a state where the tip end portion of the damper D is in contact with the stopper stepped portion Qc. Is done.

The indoor unit of the air conditioner configured as described above is instructed to start the air conditioning operation by instructing a cooling operation or a heating operation and turning on the operation start button. The indoor air sucked into the indoor unit body 1 from the front suction port 12 and the side suction port 12a flows through the indoor heat exchanger 14 to exchange heat.

The heat exchange air is blown out from the upper outlet 6 and the lower outlet 11. In other words, the louver 8 of the upper outlet 6 is in an inclined posture so that cool air is blown obliquely upward during the cooling operation, and is in a horizontal posture so that warm air is blown forward during the heating operation. The vertical louver 18 of the lower outlet 11 is rotationally driven to the left and right during the heating operation, and guides warm air to the room widely.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which warm air is blown out from the lower outlet 11. Warm air is guided from the peripheral end of the turbo fan F of the indoor blower 20 to the lower outlet 11 through the lower outlet ventilation path 22, guided by the vertical louver 18, and blown into the room.

Here, a center line AC that divides the space from the peripheral edge of the turbo fan F to the lower outlet 11 via the lower outlet passage 22 into an upper part and a lower part is drawn. The lower part is called “outer part U”.

When the warm air reaches the lower blowout air passage 22 from the peripheral edge of the turbo fan F, it is guided in a state of being sharply curved along the inner portion V, while being guided in a state of being bent gently along the outer portion U. . The ventilation resistance in the inner part V is larger than the ventilation resistance in the outer part U, and the wind speed of warm air guided to the inner part V is lower than the wind speed of warm air guided to the outer part U.

Therefore, warm air having a smaller air volume than that of the outer portion U is guided to the inner portion V. Since the damper D is stored in the storage space S provided in the inner portion V where the air volume is small, there is little influence on the flow rate of the warm air guided through the lower blowing air passage 22.

In addition, since the damper D is stored in the storage space S set in the section A in the X-axis direction described above, the damper D forms the upper surface portion of the lower blowing air passage 22 together with the heat insulating material 23. The area in the lower blowing air passage 22 can be secured, and the influence on the warm air guided through the lower blowing air passage 22 can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the damper D is stored in the storage space S in a state where it hardly exists in the extension line of the B-axis direction B section described above, there is no reduction in the amount of warm air blown from the lower outlet 11. Eventually, a sufficient amount of warm air is blown out, and an efficient indoor heating operation can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the indoor unit in a state where the damper D is rotated. When the cooling operation is started, the damper D is driven, and the end portion on the side opposite to the pivot shaft is rotated in the clockwise direction so as to come into contact with the stopper step Qc provided on the lower wall surface 22a of the lower blowing passage 22. . That is, since the damper D closes the lower blowout ventilation path 22, even if cold air is introduced from the turbofan F, the damper D is prevented from flowing.

Cold air is not blown out from the lower outlet 11, but only from the upper outlet 6. Without cooling the occupants' feet, the room can be efficiently cooled. At this time, cold air hits the damper D, and the closed state is maintained by the pressure (wind pressure) of the flow of cold air. Even if the power supply to the motor that drives the damper D is cut off, the position and orientation of the damper D is maintained, and there is no air loss.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to another embodiment. As described above, the heat insulating material 23 attached to the lower surface of the drain pan R is formed with an inclined surface 23a that is parallel to the inclined surface of the drain pan R, that is, a uniform thickness, and a horizontal lower surface 23b that is parallel to the horizontal surface of the drain pan R. Is done. Since the storage space S for the damper D is provided at a position along the inclined surface 23 a of the heat insulating material 23, the opening area of the lower outlet air passage 22 is reduced by the thickness of the damper D.

Here, a concave portion Sa formed by a cut is provided in the inclined surface 23a of the heat insulating material 23, and a storage space in which a part of the damper D directly contacts the drain pan R is used. Since the position of the support shaft provided at one end of the damper D does not change, no substantial design change is required.

That is, as described above, when the inclined surface 23a of the heat insulating material 23 is formed in parallel with the inclined surface of the drain pan R, and the line along the damper D surface in the storage space S along the inclined surface 23a is Lb, A cut is made in the inclined surface 23a of the heat insulating material 23 to form a recess Sa, and a line along the damper D surface in this storage space is La.

The damper D is housed in a state in which the upper end of the slope is pulled up, the opening area of the lower blowout air passage 22 is enlarged by the difference from the line Lb to the line La, and the warm air blown out from the lower blowout port 11 An increase in airflow can be obtained.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments.

According to the present invention, a damper can be freely opened and closed in the lower outlet passage, and a comfortable air conditioning can be obtained by eliminating a reduction in the air volume due to the storage space of the damper. The effect of reducing the influence of the effect is achieved.

Claims

An indoor unit body provided with an upper outlet at the upper front, a lower outlet at the lower front, and placed on the installation surface;
An indoor heat exchanger accommodated in the indoor unit body, and an indoor fan disposed to face the indoor heat exchanger,
A drain pan attached to the lower part of the indoor heat exchanger, receiving drain water dripping from the indoor heat exchanger,
A lower blowout ventilation path that communicates between the indoor blower peripheral end and the lower blowout port, with the portion close to the lower surface portion of the drain pan as the inner portion, and the portion spaced from the lower surface portion of the drain pan as the outer portion,
A storage space is formed along an inner portion of the lower blowout ventilation path that is close to the lower surface of the drain pan, and the lower blowout ventilation path is closed or stored in the storage space according to the air conditioning operation. A damper that is rotatably supported so as to open the lower blowing air passage;
An air conditioner indoor unit comprising:
The indoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the storage space for the damper is provided in an outer portion of an extension line extending straight from the peripheral edge of the lower outlet to the back side of the indoor unit body.
The drain pan is attached with a heat insulating material of uniform thickness along its lower surface,
3. The damper according to claim 1, wherein a part of the storage space of the damper is a recess obtained by cutting the heat insulating material attached along the lower surface of the drain pan. Air conditioner indoor unit.