Air conditioner and method for cleaning heat exchanger in air conditioner

Abstract

To easily perform maintenance on an air conditioner against dirt without disassembling the air conditioner.SOLUTION: In an air conditioner, when obtaining conditioned air by sucking air into the inside and passing the air between fins 2a of a heated or cooled heat exchanger 2, a piezoelectric element 12 is attached to the fins 2a of the heat exchanger 2 to form an ultrasonic vibrator 7; and the heat exchanger 2 is vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator 7 to cause dirt adhered to the heat exchanger 2 to float up, and the dirt is dissolved in a liquid adhered to the heat exchanger 2 and removing the dirt.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner and a method for cleaning a heat exchanger in an air conditioner. [Background technology]

[0002] The indoor unit of an air conditioner draws in indoor air and produces conditioned air by passing it between the fins of a heat exchanger that has been heated or cooled. However, dust and floating oil in the indoor air that has passed through the filter adhere to and accumulate on the heat exchanger. It is desirable to constantly remove the dust and oil that has adhered to the heat exchanger.

[0003] To remove dust or oil that has accumulated deep inside the fins of the heat exchanger, users must periodically disassemble the indoor unit of the air conditioner and spray it with a cleaning spray, or call a professional to do the job.

[0004] One method for removing dust or oil that has adhered to a heat exchanger involves raising the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger to soften (or liquefy or fluidize) the oil on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger, and then sequentially freezing and thawing the indoor heat exchanger, thereby washing away the oil on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger together with the dust (see Patent Document 1). In addition, air conditioners operate to lower the temperature of the heat exchanger, rapidly cooling the heat exchanger and causing frost or ice to form on the surface of the heat exchanger fins, and after the freezing operation, the air conditioner operates to raise the temperature of the heat exchanger, rapidly heating the heat exchanger and thawing the frost (ice).The air conditioner then performs a thawing operation to turn the frost (ice) back into water, and during this process, the air conditioner uses the momentum of the falling thawed water to wash away fine dust particles that have adhered to the heat exchanger (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6945100 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6400147 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In conventional air conditioners, the method of cleaning the heat exchanger by heating it to dissolve the oil adhering to the heat exchanger or by cooling it to cause condensation had a problem in that not all of the oil that is insoluble in water was dissolved and removed from the heat exchanger. In other words, there was room for improvement in cleaning the dirt.

[0007] The present disclosure discloses a technique for solving the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an air conditioner that enables easy maintenance of the heat exchanger. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The air conditioner of the present disclosure is capable of obtaining conditioned air by drawing air into the inside and passing the air between the fins of a heated or cooled heat exchanger, An ultrasonic transducer is formed by attaching a piezoelectric element to the fin of the heat exchanger; The heat exchanger is vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator, causing dirt adhering to the heat exchanger to float up and dissolve in the liquid adhering to the heat exchanger, thereby removing the dirt. In addition, the method of cleaning a heat exchanger in an air conditioner disclosed herein involves spraying cleaning water onto the heat exchanger using a cleaning water spray device, and then vibrating the ultrasonic vibrator to lift up dirt adhering to the heat exchanger and dissolve it into the cleaning water. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the air conditioner and the method for cleaning a heat exchanger in an air conditioner of the present disclosure, maintenance of the heat exchanger can be easily performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an indoor unit provided in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ultrasonic transducer is attached to a fin of a heat exchanger. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing functions of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an indoor unit provided in an air conditioner according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an indoor unit provided in an air conditioner according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a cleaning water spray device provided in an air conditioner according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is an enlarged view showing a cleaning water spray device provided in an air conditioner according to embodiment 2. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Embodiment 1 The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an indoor unit provided in an air conditioner according to embodiment 1. In Fig. 1, indoor unit 1 provided in the air conditioner is equipped with a heat exchanger 2, a blower fan 3, a drain pan 4, a filter 5, and an ultrasonic vibrator 7. Indoor unit 1 draws indoor air into itself, and the indoor air passes between the fins of heat exchanger 2 that has been heated or cooled, thereby obtaining conditioned air.

[0012] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the ultrasonic transducer attached to the fins of the heat exchanger. A pair of piezoelectric elements 12 are fixed to the heat exchanger 2 by bolts 13, nuts 11, and washers 14 with a thickness equal to the distance between the fins 2a.

[0013] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of the air conditioner, and is a functional block diagram of the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 26. In Fig. 3, the indoor unit 1 is equipped with a remote control transmitting / receiving unit 16, an indoor unit control unit 19, and an indoor temperature sensor 20. The remote control transmitting / receiving unit 16 exchanges predetermined information with the remote control 15 via infrared communication. The indoor unit control unit 19 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and various interface circuits, none of which are shown. The CPU executes various processes according to programs stored in the ROM.

[0014] The indoor fan motor 17 and the flap control motor are controlled by the indoor unit control section 19. The indoor fan motor 17 sets the amount of air blown from the indoor unit 1 by controlling the rotation speed of the blower fan 3. The flap control motor 18 is a motor for determining the direction of a flap that determines the direction of air blown from the blower fan 3. The indoor temperature sensor 20 detects the temperature of the indoor air, and the data is taken in by the indoor unit control unit 19 and transmitted to the outdoor unit control unit 22. The ultrasonic oscillator 24 oscillates at a frequency of 22 kHz or 40 kHz to vibrate the ultrasonic vibrator 7 at a frequency of 22 kHz or 40 kHz. The ultrasonic oscillator 24 is controlled by the indoor unit control unit 19, and is turned on when performing a cleaning operation for the heat exchanger.

[0015] The outdoor unit 26 includes an outdoor unit control unit 22. The outdoor unit control unit 22 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and various interface circuits (not shown). The CPU executes various processes according to programs stored in the ROM. The compressor motor 23, four-way valve 30, and expansion valve 25 are controlled by the outdoor unit control unit 22. The compressor motor 23 heats the refrigerant gas filled in the refrigerant pipes wired inside the heat exchangers of the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 26 by compressing it. The four-way valve 30 switches between cooling operation and heating operation by changing the direction in which the refrigerant gas flows to the compressor. The expansion valve 25 reduces the pressure of the high-pressure, high-temperature refrigerant gas to lower its temperature before sending it to the heat exchanger, allowing heat exchange between the refrigerant gas and the air. In addition, the outdoor fan motor 21 is controlled by the outdoor unit control section 22 .

[0016] Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In the method for cleaning the heat exchanger 2 of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner in this embodiment, first, water droplets are formed on the heat exchanger 2 by condensation when the heat exchanger 2 is operated to cool it. Next, the heat exchanger 2 is vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator 7 to lift up the dirt adhering to the heat exchanger 2 and dissolve it into water droplets. The ultrasonic vibrator 7 is made of a piezoelectric element, and vibrates at 22 kHz or 40 kHz, which is effective for effectively lifting up the dirt. The water droplets containing the dirt flow down into the drain pan 4 and are discharged to the outside of the room through a drain hose (not shown). According to the air conditioner of this embodiment, dirt adhering to the heat exchanger 2 is lifted by the action of ultrasonic waves and is dissolved and removed into the liquid (moisture, etc.) adhering to the heat exchanger 2. This provides the excellent effect of allowing maintenance of dirt to be performed without disassembling the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

[0017] Embodiment 2 Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an indoor unit equipped in an air conditioner according to embodiment 2, Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the indoor unit equipped in an air conditioner according to embodiment 2 with the housing removed, Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a cleaning water spray device equipped in an air conditioner according to embodiment 2, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showing a cleaning water spray device equipped in an air conditioner according to embodiment 2. In the figure, parts that are given the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment indicate the same parts. In this embodiment, in addition to the indoor unit 1 in the first embodiment, a cleaning water spray device 6 is provided. The cleaning water spray device 6 is provided with a cleaning water inlet 8 and a sprayer 9. In Fig. 7, 10 indicates the sprayed cleaning water.

[0018] When performing the operation of cleaning the heat exchanger 2, cleaning water is sprayed from the cleaning water spray device 6 towards the heat exchanger 2. The cleaning water spray device 6 has a length equal to the width of the heat exchanger 2 so that the cleaning water can be distributed over the entire heat exchanger 2 (see Figs. 5, 6 and 7). The cleaning water spray device 6 is also provided so that the cleaning water can be sprayed parallel to the fins 2a of the heat exchanger 2, so that the cleaning water can move in an appropriate direction (see Fig. 6). As shown in Fig. 7, the cleaning water spray device 6 is provided with a plurality of sprayers 9 at regular intervals towards the heat exchanger 2.

[0019] After the cleaning water is sprayed onto the heat exchanger 2 for a certain period of time, the ultrasonic vibrator 7 installed on the heat exchanger 2 is vibrated to lift up the dirt adhering to the heat exchanger 2 and dissolve it into the cleaning water. As a result, the cleaning water containing the dirt flows down into the drain pan 4 and is discharged outside through a drain hose (not shown).

[0020] When performing the cleaning operation of the heat exchanger 2, if the blower fan 3 is not stopped, there is a possibility that dirt that has been loosened from the heat exchanger 2 by the cleaning will be scattered indoors by the blower of air. The indoor unit control unit 19 may be programmed to perform the cleaning operation if the accumulated operating time has reached a predetermined time using a timer that accumulates the operating time of the air conditioner when an operation is performed to stop the air conditioner.

[0021] When the heat exchanger 2 is operated to cool, water droplets form on the fins of the heat exchanger 2 due to condensation, and this moisture is the cause of mold growth. To prevent moisture that causes mold, the moisture adhering to the heat exchanger 2 can be evaporated by vibrating the heat exchanger 2 with the ultrasonic vibrator 7. This keeps the heat exchanger 2 dry and prevents mold growth, so the air sent from the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner can be kept clean. Note that the above description was given for the heat exchanger 2 in the indoor unit 1, but the same can also be applied to a heat exchanger installed in the outdoor unit 26. Furthermore, the above-mentioned cleaning device for an air conditioner can be used in the indoor or outdoor unit of a "room air conditioner" or "package air conditioner."

[0022] The air conditioner of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present embodiment. Although the present disclosure describes various exemplary embodiments and examples, the various features, aspects, and functions described in one or more embodiments are not limited to application to a particular embodiment, but may be applied to the embodiments alone or in various combinations. Therefore, countless variations not exemplified are assumed within the scope of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present disclosure, including, for example, modifying, adding, or omitting at least one component, and further, extracting at least one component and combining it with a component of another embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 1 indoor unit, 2 heat exchanger, 2a fin, 3 blower fan, 4 drain pan, 5 filter, 6 cleaning water spray device, 7 ultrasonic transducer, 8 cleaning water inlet, 9 sprayer, 11 nut, 12 piezoelectric element, 13 bolt, 14 washer, 26 Outdoor unit.

Claims

1. In an air conditioner, air is drawn into the inside and passes between the fins of a heated or cooled heat exchanger to obtain conditioned air. An ultrasonic transducer is formed by attaching a piezoelectric element to the fin of the heat exchanger; The air conditioner vibrates the heat exchanger with the ultrasonic vibrator, causing dirt adhering to the heat exchanger to float up and dissolve into the liquid adhering to the heat exchanger, thereby removing the dirt.

2. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning water spray device for spraying cleaning water onto said fins of said heat exchanger.

3. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is installed in an indoor unit or an outdoor unit.

4. A method for cleaning the heat exchanger in the air conditioner according to claim 2, comprising the steps of: A method for cleaning a heat exchanger in an air conditioner, in which the cleaning water is sprayed onto the heat exchanger by the cleaning water spray device, and then the ultrasonic vibrator is vibrated to lift up dirt adhering to the heat exchanger and dissolve it into the cleaning water.

Images