Heater

Abstract

To provide a heater capable of suppressing warping or distortion of parts around a blowout port, to improve reliability and suppress deterioration of heating performance.SOLUTION: A heater comprises heat generation means 7 and a blowout port 4 that blows out heat generated by the heat generation means 7 as hot air, where the heater comprises a front panel 2 with a horizontally elongated opening 2a, a blowout port body 30 that comprises a louver 20 and is attached to the opening 2a to form a blowout port 2, and a holding member 40 that is attached to the inside of the front panel 2 and engages with the blowout port body 30. By engaging the holding member 40 with the blowout port body 30, warping and distortion of the blowout port body 30 is suppressed, thereby preventing a gap from occurring between the blowout port body and the front panel 2. This allows the hot air to be quickly discharged from the blowout port 4, thereby improving reliability and suppressing deterioration of heating performance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heating device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a heating device that has a heat generating means, such as a heater, inside the main body and blows out the heat generated by the heat generating means from an outlet provided on the front side of the main body. The outlet is provided with a plurality of thin plate-like members called louvers, which rectify the hot air and adjust the blowing direction.

[0003] The louvers are formed separately from the front panel that forms the front surface of the heating apparatus, and are attached to openings formed in the front panel during the heating apparatus assembly process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-203760 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, because the front panel and the louvers are constructed separately as mentioned above, if warping or distortion occurs over time, a gap will appear between the front panel and the louvers. If a gap opens up and changes the flow of hot air, it could cause unexpected parts to become locally hot, undermining product reliability, or the hot air could diffuse, causing a decline in heating performance. Furthermore, the presence of a gap also impairs the aesthetic appeal of the exterior.

[0006] The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a heating device that can suppress warping and distortion of parts around the air outlet, thereby improving reliability and suppressing deterioration of heating performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention comprises a heat generating means; A heating device having an outlet for blowing out the heat generated by the heat generating means as hot air, A front panel having a horizontally elongated opening; an air outlet body including a louver and attached to the opening to form the air outlet; The heating device further comprises a retaining member that is attached to the inside of the front panel and engages with the air outlet main body. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The above-mentioned configuration can suppress warping and distortion around the air outlet, improving reliability and preventing a decrease in heating performance. In addition, the design of the exterior can be maintained at a good level. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view of a heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a front panel in the heating device of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a holding member. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a view of the front panel with the retaining member attached, as seen from the inside. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the push-up portion in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the air outlet portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described below, showing the operation of the present invention.

[0011] The present invention is a heating device equipped with a heat generating means and an air outlet that blows out the heat generated by the heat generating means as hot air, the heating device being equipped with a front panel having a horizontally long opening, an air outlet body that is equipped with a louver and attached to the opening to form the air outlet, and a holding member that is attached to the inside of the front panel and engages with the air outlet body. By engaging the holding member with the air outlet body, warping and distortion of the air outlet body are suppressed, and the occurrence of a gap between the air outlet body and the front panel is suppressed. As a result, the hot air is quickly discharged from the air outlet, improving reliability and suppressing a decrease in heating performance. Furthermore, the design of the exterior can be maintained in good condition.

[0012] The retaining member is composed of a lattice portion and a frame portion provided on the outer periphery of the lattice portion, and the frame portion engages with the air outlet body. For safety reasons, a heating device needs a structure that prevents foreign objects such as fingers from entering through the air outlet, and the lattice portion provided on the retaining member plays a role in preventing the intrusion of foreign objects. In other words, simply by attaching the retaining member, it is possible to not only prevent warping and distortion, but also ensure safety.

[0013] In addition, the frame has a push-up portion that pushes the air outlet body upward. By pushing it upward, a force is applied to the air outlet body to abut against the upper end of the opening formed in the front panel, thereby effectively preventing the air outlet body from warping or distorting.

[0014] In addition, the louvers have multiple blades extending horizontally, and at least one of the blades is provided at the same height as the cross member of the lattice section, which reduces the obstruction of the hot air being discharged from the air outlet, thereby suppressing turbulence of the hot air and suppressing an increase in noise levels. EXAMPLES

[0015] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] Fig. 1 is an external view of the heating device of this embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the heating device of this embodiment. The main body 1 has a front panel 2 and a rear panel 3 that constitute the exterior, the front panel 2 is provided with an outlet 4 for blowing out warm air, and the rear panel 3 is provided with an inlet 5 for taking indoor air into the main body 1. A louver 20 having a plurality of blades 21 extending horizontally is attached to the outlet 4 provided in the front panel 2. In addition, a water tank 6 is detachably provided on the main body 1, and supplies water to a humidifying section 11 described below.

[0017] Inside the main body 1, there are provided a heater 7 as a heat generating means, a blower 10 consisting of a motor 8 and a fan 9 that draws air into the main body 1 by the rotation of the fan 9, and a humidifier 11 that generates humidified air. Furthermore, inside the main body 1, an air passage 12 is formed from the intake port 5 to the outlet 4, and indoor air taken in from the intake port 5 by the rotation of the fan 9 passes through the heater 7 and the humidifier 11 and is blown out from the outlet 4 as warm air.

[0018] Heater 7, which is heat generating means, is disposed downstream of blower 10 in air passage 12, and in this embodiment, a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater, which is a type of semiconductor heater that dissipates heat according to the surrounding temperature and air volume, is used. The capacity of heater 7 is 1200 W in total by using two 600 W PTC heaters, and this makes it possible to switch between outputs of 0 W, 600 W, and 1200 W by controlling the power supply to each heater 7. Note that heater 7 is not limited to a PTC heater, and may be a sheath heater, mica heater, etc., but a PTC heater is superior in terms of power consumption and safety.

[0019] The humidifying section 11 is composed of a water tank section 13 that stores a certain amount of water supplied from the water supply tank 6, and an evaporative filter 14 that is erected in this water tank section 13 and has water-absorbent properties. A portion of the evaporative filter 14 is immersed in the water in the water tank section 13, and becomes moist by sucking up this water.

[0020] In addition, air passage 12 from intake port 5 to outlet 4 branches into two directions downstream of heater 7, one of which is humidification passage 15 leading to outlet 4 via humidifier 11, and the other is hot air passage 16 leading directly to outlet 4 without passing through humidifier 11. This air passage 12 is opened and closed by damper 17, and the operation mode is changed by switching the position of damper 17 in response to an instruction from the user.

[0021] Specifically, when damper 17 is at position A, humidification path 15 is closed and hot air path 16 is open, so that hot air is blown out from outlet 4, and when damper 17 is at position B, hot air path 16 is closed and humidification path 15 is open, so that humidified air is blown out from outlet 4. Note that damper 17 may not only be positioned to block one of the paths as in A or B in the figure, but may also be positioned at an intermediate position. Damper 17 can be driven by a drive mechanism consisting of, for example, a stepping motor.

[0022] 3 is an exploded view of the front panel in the heating device of this embodiment. An air outlet body 30 and a retaining member 40 are attached to the front panel 2 that constitutes the front surface of the main body 1. A horizontally elongated opening 2a is formed in the lower part of the front panel 2, and the air outlet body 30 is attached so as to close this opening 2a to form the air outlet 4. After the air outlet body 30 is attached to the front panel 2, the retaining member 40 is attached to the inside of the front panel 2 by engaging with the air outlet body 30.

[0023] A louver 20 is rotatably attached to the air outlet body 30. The louver 20 is an integrally molded product in which two horizontally extending blades 21 and a rotary shaft 22 are integrally formed. The angle of the louver 20 in the vertical direction can be manually changed, and by changing the angle of the louver 20, the blowing direction of the warm air can be adjusted.

[0024] Next, the holding member 40 will be described in more detail.

[0025] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a retaining member, and Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the front panel with the retaining member attached, viewed from the inside. The retaining member 40 has a lattice portion 50 formed by combining a plurality of horizontal members 51 and vertical members 52, and a frame portion 60 provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the lattice portion 50. When the retaining member 40 is attached to a predetermined position on the inside of the front panel 2, the frame portion 60 is adapted to be engaged with the air outlet main body 30.

[0026] The air outlet body 30 is designed to fit into the opening 2a of the front panel 2 without any gaps, but if warping or distortion occurs due to changes over time, a gap will occur between the front panel 2 and the air outlet body 30. If a gap occurs and the flow of hot air changes, there is a risk that an unexpected part will become locally hot, which will damage the reliability of the product, or the hot air will diffuse, which will cause a decrease in heating performance. In addition, the gap will also impair the design of the exterior. In order to solve the above problem, a holding member 40 is attached to the inside of the front panel 2. By attaching the holding member 40, it is possible to suppress warping or distortion of the front panel 2 and the air outlet body 30 due to changes over time, and to prevent a gap from occurring between the front panel 2 and the air outlet body 30.

[0027] In the holding member 40, it is preferable to design the interval between adjacent horizontal members 51 of the lattice portion 50 to be 11 mm or less. This can prevent fingers, foreign objects, etc. from entering the inside of the main body 1 through the air outlet 4. Since the heater 7 is provided inside the main body 1, it is dangerous if fingers or foreign objects enter the inside through the air outlet 4, but by providing the lattice portion 50 on the holding member 40, such a dangerous situation can be avoided. In addition, the thinner the horizontal member 51, the less resistance it will cause when the hot air passes through, but it is inferior in terms of strength. Therefore, by providing vertical members 52 in addition to the horizontal members 51 to form a lattice shape, it is possible to reduce ventilation resistance and reinforce the horizontal members 51 to further increase safety.

[0028] In this way, the retaining member 40 consists of a lattice portion 50 and a frame portion 60 provided on the outer periphery of the lattice portion 50, and the frame portion 60 engages with the air outlet main body 30. Therefore, simply by attaching the retaining member 40, not only can warping and distortion be prevented, but safety can also be ensured.

[0029] A push-up portion 61 is formed to protrude from the upper side of the frame portion 60 of the holding member 40. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the push-up portion, in which a receiving portion 31 is formed to protrude from the upper side of the air outlet body 30, and the push-up portion 61 is adapted to be fitted into the receiving portion 31. When the push-up portion 61 is fitted into the receiving portion 31 during attachment of the holding member 40, the tip of the push-up portion 61 abuts against the abutment wall 32, and a force is applied to push the receiving portion 31 upward as shown by the white arrow in the figure. This applies a force to abut the air outlet body 30 against the upper end of the opening 2a formed in the front panel 2, so that warping or distortion of the air outlet body 30 can be effectively prevented and the occurrence of gaps can be suppressed. In this embodiment, an example in which the push-up portion 61 is formed in only one place has been shown, but the push-up portion 61 may be provided in multiple places. The push-up portion 61 is fixed to the front panel 2 together with the receiving portion 31 by screwing.

[0030] Furthermore, a plurality of cutout holes 62 are formed on the bottom side of the frame 60. The air outlet body 30 is provided with protruding pieces 33 at positions facing the cutout holes 62, and when the holding member 40 is attached, the protruding pieces 33 are fitted into the cutout holes 62. This defines the position of the bottom end of the frame 60, so that the force pushing up the air outlet body 30 can be exerted more effectively.

[0031] Screw holes 63 for screw fastening are provided on the left and right sides of the frame portion 60. The holding member 40 is fixed in position by fitting the push-up portion 61 into the receiving portion 31, fitting the protruding piece 33 into the notched hole 62, and then fastening with a screw.

[0032] 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the air outlet. The louver 20 and the cross member 51 are arranged so that the uppermost blade 21a of the multiple blades 21 constituting the louver 20 and the cross member 51 of the holding member 40 are at the same height. The louver 20 and the lattice portion 50 provided in the hot air passage become obstacles when the hot air passes through, but by providing at least one of the blades 21 and the cross member 51 of the lattice portion 50 at the same height, the number of obstacles can be reduced. This can suppress turbulence of the hot air and an increase in noise level.

[0033] However, it is not necessary to make all the blades 21 and the cross members 51 the same height. Since the interval A between the blades 21 and the interval B between the cross members 51 are set to appropriate values ​​based on different purposes and conditions, the intervals A and B will be different values ​​if the positions of the blades and the cross members are not taken into consideration. Therefore, if the interval A is adjusted to B in an attempt to force the positions to match, the number of blades 21 may be increased meaninglessly, or the interval between the blades 21 may become narrower, increasing resistance and reducing heating efficiency. Therefore, while the intervals A and B are set to appropriate values, the increase in noise level can be suppressed by adjusting the height of at least one blade 21 and the cross member 51.

[0034] In addition, a rib 64 is formed on the lower side of the frame 60, further below the cutout hole 62, and the rib 64 is arranged so as to overlap with the flange 13a of the water tank 13 provided at the bottom of the main body 1. This part is part of the humidification path 15 that passes through the humidification part 11 to the air outlet 4, and if a gap occurs here, hot air will flow into the inside of the main body 1, causing deformation and deterioration of parts. Therefore, by overlapping the rib 64 and the flange 13a, gaps between the components in the humidification path 15 are prevented. In this case, if the rib 64 is arranged below the flange 13a, gaps can be prevented more reliably. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 2 Front Panel 2a aperture 4 Air outlet 7 Heater (heat generating means) 20 Luba 21 Feather 30 Air outlet body 40 Retaining member 50 Lattice section 51 Cross member 60 Frame 61 Push-up part

Claims

1. A heat generating means; A heating device having an outlet for blowing out the heat generated by the heat generating means as hot air, A front panel having a horizontally elongated opening; an air outlet body including a louver and attached to the opening to form the air outlet; A heating device comprising: a retaining member attached to the inside of the front panel and engaging with the air outlet main body.

2. the holding member includes a lattice portion and a frame portion provided on an outer periphery of the lattice portion, The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the frame portion is engaged with the air outlet body.

3. The heating device according to claim 2 , wherein the frame portion has a push-up portion that pushes the air outlet body upward.

4. The louver has a plurality of blades extending horizontally, 5. A heating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein at least one of said blades is provided at the same height as a cross member of said lattice portion.

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