Air conditioner

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner capable of inhibiting a cleaning part from coming into contact with a drive part.SOLUTION: An air conditioner (10) includes: a housing (40); a fan (33) that is rotatably supported by the housing (40) and rotates to blow air; and a cleaning unit (50) that has a cleaning part (53) provided to be movable in approximately parallel with a rotation axis (CL) of the fan (33) and can clean the fan (33). The cleaning unit (50) includes, in addition to the cleaning part (53), a drive part (51) serving as a driving source for moving the cleaning part (53) and a transmission part (52) that transmits driving force of the drive part (51) to the cleaning part (53). At least part of the drive part (51) is disposed in a region formed by extending a track of the cleaning unit (50). Between a region where the cleaning part (53) moves and a region where the drive part (51) is disposed, partition wall parts (62-64) for defining the regions are provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioner. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional technique relating to an air conditioner for adjusting the temperature and humidity of a room or the like.

[0003] As shown in Fig. 11 of Patent Document 1, an air conditioner includes a brush that can come into contact with a fan. The brush is provided so as to be movable substantially parallel to the axial direction of the fan. By bringing the brush into contact with the fan, dust adhering to the fan can be removed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-143961 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Although details are not disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to use a drive source and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission force of the drive source to the cleaning unit in order to move the cleaning unit including the brush.

[0006] From the viewpoint of miniaturizing the air conditioner, it is preferable to provide the drive unit, which is the drive source, near the area in which the cleaning unit can move. On the other hand, if the drive unit is close to the cleaning unit, there is a risk that the cleaning unit will come into contact with the drive unit due to vibrations caused by other parts.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can prevent a cleaning unit from coming into contact with a drive unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, a cleaning device includes a housing, a fan that is rotatably supported by the housing and rotates to blow air, and a cleaning unit that has a cleaning part that is movable approximately parallel to a rotation axis of the fan and is capable of cleaning dust inside the housing, The cleaning unit has, in addition to the cleaning part, a drive part which is a drive source for moving the cleaning part, and a transmission part which transmits a driving force of the drive part to the cleaning part, At least a portion of the drive unit is disposed in an area that is an extension of the track of the cleaning unit, The air conditioner includes a partition wall provided between an area where the cleaning unit moves and an area where the drive unit is disposed, the partition wall separating the areas. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that can prevent the cleaning unit from coming into contact with the drive unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 2 with a fan removed from a housing used therein. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 3, as viewed from the center. [Diagram 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a diagram showing the partition wall portion shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from the back side. [Figure 7] 5 is a perspective view of the drive unit cover shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the rear side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. In the description, "front" refers to the near side of a user facing the air conditioner, "back" refers to the far side (wall side) from the user's perspective, "left" refers to the left and right from the user's perspective, and in the drawings, "Fr" refers to "front," "Rr" refers to "back," "L" refers to "left," "R" refers to "right," "Up" refers to "upper," and "Dn" refers to "lower." The embodiment shown in the attached drawings is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0012] <Example> Please refer to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows an air conditioner 10 according to the present invention. The air conditioner 10 has a cooling function for cooling the indoor air In and a heating function for heating the indoor air In. The air conditioner 10 may also have a dehumidification function for dehumidifying the indoor air In.

[0013] The air conditioner 10 includes an outdoor unit 20 provided outdoors (Ou) and an indoor unit 30 provided indoors (In). The outdoor unit 20 and the indoor unit 30 are connected to each other so that a refrigerant can circulate. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the direction in which the refrigerant circulates is based on the cooling operation.

[0014] The outdoor unit 20 has a compressor 21 that compresses a refrigerant, a four-way switching valve 22 through which the refrigerant that has passed through this compressor 21 flows and switches the direction in which the refrigerant circulates during cooling operation and heating operation, an outdoor heat exchanger 23 through which the refrigerant that has been compressed in the compressor 21 and has become high temperature and high pressure flows, an outdoor fan 24 that blows air towards the outdoor heat exchanger 23, and an expansion valve 25 that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23.

[0015] The indoor unit 30 is used by hanging it on a wall Wa inside the room In. The housing 40 of the indoor unit 30 is fixed to the wall Wa via a support plate. The housing 40, which extends in the left-right direction, contains a fan 33 that takes in air from the room In into the housing 40 and blows it out to the room In, an indoor heat exchanger 34 that exchanges heat with the air taken in by the fan 33, and a cleaning unit 50 that can wipe off dust adhering to the fan 33 and the housing 40.

[0016] Please refer to Fig. 2. Furthermore, air outlet 42 opened at the front lower part of housing 40 is provided with up-down louvers 36 that can open and close air outlet 42 and adjust the air blowing direction in the up-down direction.

[0017] Please refer to Fig. 3. Behind the up-down louvers 36, left-right louvers 37 are provided which are capable of adjusting the direction in which air is blown out to the left and right.

[0018] Please refer to Figures 4 and 5. A blower cover 38 and a drive unit cover 39 are fixed to the housing 40. The blower cover 38 and the drive unit cover 39 will be described in detail later.

[0019] At the right end of the housing 40, partition walls 62-64 are formed which define the movement end of the cleaning unit 50. The partition walls 62-64 have a housing wall 62 which is integrally formed with the housing 40, an air blower cover part wall 63 which is integrally formed with the air blower cover 38, and a drive part cover part wall 64 which is integrally formed with the drive part cover 39. Hereinafter, the partition walls 62-64 may be referred to as the housing wall 62, the air blower cover part wall 63, and the drive part cover part wall 64, respectively.

[0020] The partition walls 62-64 may be formed of a member independent of other members such as the housing 40. The partition walls 62-64 may be formed integrally with any one of the housing 40, the blower cover 38, and the drive unit cover 39, or may be formed integrally with any two of them.

[0021] Refer to Fig. 1. During cooling operation, the refrigerant that has been made high temperature and high pressure by the compressor 21 exchanges heat with outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 23, releasing heat. At this time, the outdoor fan 24 operates to forcibly flow outside air around the outdoor heat exchanger 23, promoting heat exchange. The refrigerant that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and released heat is reduced in pressure by the expansion valve 25, and its temperature drops. The refrigerant with the lowered temperature is sent to the indoor unit 30.

[0022] Air is introduced into the housing 40 of the indoor unit 30 by operating the fan 33. The introduced air passes around the periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 and is sent to the indoor space In. A refrigerant cooled in the outdoor unit 20 is supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 34. The air passing around the periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 exchanges heat with the refrigerant and is cooled. The cooled air is sent to the indoor space In.

[0023] During heating operation, the four-way switching valve 22 switches the flow path of the refrigerant, circulating the refrigerant in the opposite direction to that during cooling operation. That is, the refrigerant that has been made high temperature and high pressure in the compressor 21 is made to flow to the indoor heat exchanger 34. The fan 33 blows air around the periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34. The air passing around the periphery of the indoor heat exchanger 34 exchanges heat with the refrigerant and is heated. The heated air is blown indoors In.

[0024] Please refer to Fig. 2. An air intake port 41 capable of taking in air from the outside (indoors In) is provided on the top surface of the housing 40. An air outlet port 42 capable of blowing air out to the outside (indoors In) is provided on the front lower part of the housing 40.

[0025] Please refer to Fig. 4. The housing 40 has a housing body 43 that rotatably supports the fan 33. The housing body 43 is supported by the wall Wa (see Fig. 1) via a metal support plate.

[0026] A groove portion 43a formed in a groove shape recessed toward the rear is formed in the housing body 43. The groove portion 43a is formed across both ends in the left-right direction of the housing body 43, and the opening at the front is covered by the air blower cover 38.

[0027] Please also refer to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the partition walls 62 to 64 shown in Fig. 5 as viewed from the back. The cleaning unit 50 has a drive section 51 which is a drive source, a transmission section 52 which transmits the drive force of the drive section 51, and a cleaning section 53 which is supported by the transmission section 52 and can wipe the fan 33.

[0028] With reference to Fig. 6, the drive unit 51 has a motor 51a that operates when electricity is applied, a drive gear unit 51b that is provided on the rotation shaft of the motor 51a, and a driven gear unit 51c that is driven by the drive gear unit 51b.

[0029] The drive gear portion 51b is a gear that rotates when the motor 51a is operated, and the driven gear portion 51c meshes with the drive gear portion 51b and rotates when the drive gear portion 51b rotates. One end of a belt-like transmission portion 52 is hung on the outer circumferential surface of the driven gear portion 51c.

[0030] In addition, the driving unit 51 does not necessarily have to be composed of a motor and two gear units as long as it can transmit a driving force to the transmission unit 52. A driving source other than a motor, one or three or more gear units, or even a pulley instead of a gear may be used.

[0031] Also see Fig. 5. The transmission part 52 is made of a toothed rope (synchro mesh rope) and is housed in the groove part 43a. The transmission part 52 meshes with the driven gear part 51c, and rotates as the driven gear part 51c rotates.

[0032] The transmission unit 52 may be configured by something other than a toothed rope as long as it supports the cleaning unit 53 and is driven by the drive unit 51. For example, a belt or a screw gear (worm) may also be used.

[0033] Please refer to Figures 4 and 5. Cleaning unit 53 has cleaning unit main body 53a supported by transmission unit 52, brush 53b provided on the front surface of cleaning unit main body 53a and capable of contacting fan 33 (see Figure 3), and wiping unit 53c made of nonwoven fabric provided on the rear surface of cleaning unit main body 53a and capable of wiping the front surface of housing main body 43 and the front surface of blower cover 38.

[0034] Although it is preferable that the cleaning unit 53 includes both the brush 53b and the wiping unit 53c, it may include only one of them. That is, it is sufficient that the cleaning unit 53 can clean either the fan 33 (see FIG. 3) or the housing 40.

[0035] The cleaning unit body 53 a has a portion facing the groove portion 43 a and is connected to the transmission portion 52 . The cleaning unit body 53 a protrudes from between the housing body 43 and the blower cover 38 to the front surface of the housing body 43 .

[0036] The cleaning unit main body 53a is moved in the left-right direction with the brush 53b in contact with the fan 33 (FIG. 3), thereby wiping off dust adhering to the fan 33. At this time, by rotating the fan 33, all the blades of the fan 33 can be cleaned.

[0037] Furthermore, by moving the cleaning body 53a in the left-right direction, dust adhering to the front surface of the housing body 43 and the front surface of the blower cover 38 can be wiped away by the wiping portion 53c.

[0038] The blower cover 38 is a resin part, and a blower cover wall portion 63 is integrally formed at an end portion.

[0039] Please refer to Figs. 5 and 7. The drive unit cover 39 covering the drive unit 51 (see Fig. 6) is a resin part. In addition to the drive unit cover wall 64, the drive unit cover 39 is integrally formed with a plurality of bosses 39a to 39c to which fastening members are fastened. The drive unit cover wall 64 extends approximately parallel to the axis of the bosses 39a to 39c. The bosses 39a to 39c are portions for fastening a sensor for detecting the cleaning unit 53 (see Fig. 4) and a screw for fixing the motor 51a (see Fig. 6). One boss 39a is formed integrally with the drive unit cover wall 64. That is, the drive unit cover wall 64 (partition wall 64) is formed integrally with the boss 39a to which a fastening member for fixing a part is fastened. The drive unit cover wall 64 can be used to fix the part with high strength.

[0040] The air conditioner 10 described above will be summarized below.

[0041] Referring to Fig. 3, first, air conditioner 10 includes housing 40, fan 33 that is rotatably supported by housing 40 and rotates to blow air, and cleaning unit 50 that has cleaning part 53 that is provided movably approximately parallel to rotation axis CL of fan 33 and can clean dust inside housing 40.

[0042] Also see Figure 6. In addition to the cleaning part 53, the cleaning unit 50 has a drive part 51 which is a drive source for moving the cleaning part 53, and a transmission part 52 which transmits the drive force of the drive part 51 to the cleaning part 53.

[0043] Please refer to Figures 5 and 6. At least a part of the drive unit 51 (for example, the driven gear unit 51c) is disposed in an area that is an extension of the track of the cleaning unit 53 (see the position of the air blower cover wall unit 63 and the position of the driven gear unit 51c in Figure 6). Between the area where the cleaning unit 53 moves and the area where the drive unit 51 is disposed, partition walls 62 to 64 are provided to partition these areas.

[0044] For example, even if the cleaning unit 53 located at the end of the movable area is subjected to vibration or the like and falls toward the drive unit 51, the cleaning unit 53 will come into contact with the partition walls 62-64 before coming into contact with the drive unit 51. By coming into contact with the partition walls 62-64, it is possible to prevent the cleaning unit 53 and the drive unit 51 from coming into contact with each other.

[0045] Secondly, in the first air conditioner 10, a groove-shaped groove portion 43a that opens toward the fan 33 (see FIG. 3) is formed in the housing 40. The transmission portion 52 is housed in the groove portion 43a, and the opening of the groove portion 43a is closed by the blower cover 38. The drive portion 51 is covered by the drive portion cover 39. The partition walls 62 to 64 are formed integrally with at least one of the housing 40, the blower cover 38, and the drive portion cover 39.

[0046] The number of parts can be reduced. Also, in the case where the partition walls 62-64 are formed on the blower cover 38 and the drive unit cover 39, the assembly of the partition walls 62-64 is completed at the time when the blower cover 38 and the drive unit cover 39 are attached to the housing 40, thereby improving the ease of assembly.

[0047] Thirdly, in the first or second air conditioner 10, the lower end of the housing wall 62 (partition wall 62) is located lower than the lower end of the cleaning part 53. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent the cleaning part 53 and the drive part 51 from coming into contact with each other.

[0048] In this embodiment, the lower end of the housing wall 62 is located lower than the lower end of the cleaning section 53, but the air blower cover section wall 63 and the drive section cover section wall 64 may also be located lower than the lower end of the cleaning section 53.

[0049] The present invention is applicable not only to an air conditioner consisting of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, but also to an air conditioner in which these are integrated together.

[0050] As long as the functions and effects of the present invention are achieved, the present invention is not limited to the examples. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present invention is suitable for use in home air conditioners. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 10...Air conditioner 33…Fan 38…Ventilator cover 39…Drive unit cover 40…Housing 43a...Groove 50…Cleaning unit 51...Drive unit 52...Transmission section 53...Cleaning department 62...Housing wall (compartment wall) 63...Ventilation cover wall (compartment wall) 64...Drive unit cover wall (compartment wall) CL...(fan) rotation axis

Claims

1. The cleaning device includes a housing, a fan that is rotatably supported by the housing and rotates to blow air, and a cleaning unit that has a cleaning part that is movable approximately parallel to a rotation axis of the fan and is capable of cleaning dust inside the housing, The cleaning unit has, in addition to the cleaning part, a drive part which is a drive source for moving the cleaning part, and a transmission part which transmits a driving force of the drive part to the cleaning part, At least a portion of the drive unit is disposed in an area that is an extension of the track of the cleaning unit, an air conditioning apparatus, wherein a partition wall is provided between an area where the cleaning unit moves and an area where the drive unit is disposed, the partition wall separating the areas.

2. The housing is formed with a groove portion that opens toward the fan, The transmission portion is housed in the groove portion, The opening of the groove is closed by a blower cover, The drive unit is covered by a drive unit cover, The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the partition wall portion is formed integrally with at least one of the housing, the air blower cover, and the drive unit cover.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein a lower end of the partition wall portion is positioned lower than a lower end of the cleaning portion.

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