Air conditioner

Inactive Publication Date: 2011-09-08
SHARP KK
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that achieves a reduction in power consumption and cost and can improve safety.
[0015]The control element that controls the heater is disposed adjacently to the air passage and the heat sink is disposed inside the air passage, and thus the control element can be cooled by an airflow flowing through the air passage via the heat sink. This eliminates the need to install a fan for cooling the control element, and thus power consumption and cost can be reduced and the safety of the air conditioner can be improved.
[0016]Furthermore, in the longitudinal direction, the heat sink is disposed on the outside of the heater that is shorter than the blower fan, and thus the temperature rise of the control element due to heat radiation of the heater can be suppressed. Moreover, air heated by heat exchange with the heat sink is sent out from an end portion of the air passage, and thus the efficiency of a heating operation can be improved. In addition, the heat sink is disposed in a dead space between the blower fan and the heat exchanger, on the outside of the heater in the longitudinal direction, and thus the air conditioner can be prevented from increasing in size due to the installation of the heat sink.
[0017]Furthermore, in the present invention, preferably, in the air conditioner configured as above, the heater is formed by a PTC heater, and the control element is formed by a triac element. According to this configuration, duty control of the PTC heater is performed by the triac element, and thus the occurrence of an overcurrent at the start-up of the PTC heater is prevented.
[0019]According to this configuration, the circuit substrate is disposed in the cup-shaped substrate holder, and the control element mounted on the circuit substrate is brought into close contact with the heat sink via the window portion. The molding material is filled in the substrate holder, so that the circuit substrate is molded and the control element disposed at the window portion is also molded. In a case where, during a cooling operation, low temperature air comes in contact with the heat sink and thus dew condensation occurs in the substrate holder, since the molding material is filled, it is possible to prevent dew condensation water from being deposited on the circuit substrate and the control element.
[0022]Furthermore, in the present invention, more preferably, in the air conditioner configured as above, the control element is fastened to the heat sink with a screw, and a groove portion into which the control element is fitted is recessed in the heat sink. According to this configuration, the control element is installed by being fitted into the groove portion of the heat sink and then is fastened thereto with a screw. At this time, the groove portion prevents the control element from being rotated due to the screw being firmly screwed down.

Problems solved by technology

When the heat generation element is heated to a temperature higher than its Curie point, the resistance value thereof increases rapidly, leading to a decrease in the current value and heat generation amount of the heat generation element.
In this case, however, at start-up, the PTC heater is at a low temperature and the heat generation element therefore has a low resistance value, so that an overcurrent might flow to exceed a tolerable current level based on a power supply capacitance.
According to the above-described conventional air conditioner, however, due to a large heat generation amount of the triac element, electrical equipment provided in the air conditioner are heated.
This impairs the safety of the air conditioner, which has been problematic.
Furthermore, installing a fan for cooling the triac element increases the power consumption and cost of the air conditioner, which is also problematic.

Method used

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Embodiment Construction

[0036]The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the appended drawings. FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are a perspective view, a cross-sectional side view, and a front view showing an air conditioner according to one embodiment, respectively. FIGS. 1 and 3 show a state without an exterior cover 30 (see FIG. 2). An air conditioner 1 is configured as an integrated type including an indoor section 2 that is disposed indoors and an outdoor section 4 that is disposed outdoors adjacently to the indoor section 2.

[0037]A suction port 21 is provided in a front portion of the indoor section 2, and an outdoor heat exchanger 42 is provided in a front portion of the outdoor section 4. In the following description, a front side refers to a suction port 21 side, and a back side (rear side) refers to an outdoor heat exchanger 42 side. Furthermore, a right side and a left side of the air conditioner 1 refer to the right side and the left side thereof in a view facing the suc...

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Abstract

An air conditioner includes: an air passage 23 that is formed in a cabinet 20 so as to connect a suction port 21 and a blowoff port 22 to each other, which are open on a surface of the cabinet 20; a blower fan 25 that is disposed inside the air passage 23 so as to extend in one direction; a heat exchanger 27 that is disposed so as to be opposed to the suction port 21 and cools air flowing in through the suction port 21; a heater 28a that is disposed between the blower fan 25 and the heat exchanger 27 in order to heat air flowing in through the suction port 21 and is shorter in a longitudinal direction than the blower fan 25; a control element 52 that controls the heater 28a and is disposed outside the air passage 23 adjacently to the air passage 23; and a heat sink 70 that is in close contact with the control element 52 and is disposed between the blower fan 25 and the heat exchanger 27, on an outside of the heater 28a in the longitudinal direction.

Description

[0001]This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-046934 filed on Mar. 3, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a heater and a control element that controls the heater.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]A conventional air conditioner is disclosed in JP-A-H8-152179. This air conditioner is configured as an integrated type in which an indoor section that is disposed indoors is installed at its front portion, and an outdoor section that is disposed outdoors is installed at its back portion. In the outdoor section, a compressor that operates a refrigeration cycle is disposed. At the rear surface of the outdoor section, an outdoor heat exchanger that is connected to the compressor is disposed, and an outdoor fan that cools the outdoor heat exchanger is provided so as to face the outdoor heat exchanger.[0006]A ...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): F25B29/00F24F7/007
CPCF24F7/007F25B29/00F24F2221/34F24F1/0063
InventorOKA, TAKANORITASHIMA, TOSHIOUEMAE, HIROKAZUUCHIDA, KEISUKETAKASAKI, YOHHEI
OwnerSHARP KK