Air conditioner

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner which can be easily assembled.SOLUTION: An air conditioner (10) includes a housing (40), a fan (33) rotatably supported by the housing (40) and rotated to blow air, and a cleaning unit (50) capable of cleaning the inside of the housing (40), the housing (40) having a housing body (43) supporting the fan (33) and the cleaning unit (50), the cleaning unit (50) having a drive part (51) as a driving source, a transmission part (52) for transmitting driving force generated by the drive part (51), and a cleaning part (53) supported by the transmission part (52) for cleaning the inside of the housing (40). At least part of the transmission part (52) is provided behind a blowing face (43s).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

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] The cleaning unit including the brush is provided in close proximity to the fan. Since various parts must be assembled in a small space, it is desirable for the assembly to be easy.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can be easily assembled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] 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 can clean the inside of the housing, The housing includes a housing body supporting the fan and the cleaning unit, The housing main body includes a blowing surface facing the fan at a rear thereof and guiding air generated by operation of the fan, the cleaning unit includes a drive section as a drive source, a transmission section that transmits a drive force generated by the drive section, and a cleaning section that is supported by the transmission section and cleans the inside of the housing, There is provided an air conditioning device, wherein at least a portion of the transmission portion is provided rearward of the air blowing surface. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that can be easily assembled. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [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 a cross-sectional view of a main part of the case body shown in FIG. 3, partially in cross section, as viewed from the front. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of the drive unit and the first rotating member, and FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view of the first support unit and the first rotating member. [Figure 6] 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A-6A in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of portion 6B in FIG. 6A. [Figure 7] 7A is an enlarged exploded perspective view of part 7A in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining how to attach the second rotating member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] 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," "Le" refers to "left," "Ri" refers to "right," "Up" refers to "upper," and "Dn" refers to "lower." The embodiment shown in the attached drawings is one example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0011] <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.

[0012] 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] 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.

[0015] 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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] Please refer to Fig. 4. A blower cover 38 and a drive unit cover 39 are fixed to the housing 40.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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.

[0021] Please refer to Fig. 2. Housing 40 is composed of multiple members and has a hollow interior. An air intake port 41 capable of taking in air from the outside (indoors In) is opened on the top surface of housing 40. An air outlet port 42 capable of blowing air out to the outside (indoors In) is opened on the front lower part of housing 40.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] In addition, the surface of the housing body 43 facing the fan 33 (see FIG. 3) is referred to as the air-blowing surface 43s. The air-blowing surface 43s guides the wind generated by the operation of the fan 33. The air-blowing surface 43s is curved so that the wind can flow smoothly from the rear of the fan 33 to the air outlet 42 (see FIG. 2).

[0025] 5A, the cleaning unit 50 has a driving part 51 which is a driving source, a transmission part 52 which transmits the driving force of the driving part 51, and a cleaning part 53 which is supported by the transmission part 52 and can wipe the fan 33 and the air blowing surface 43s.

[0026] The drive unit 51 has a motor 51a that operates when electricity is applied, and a drive gear unit 51b that is provided on the rotation shaft of the motor 51a and is constituted by a gear.

[0027] The driving unit 51 does not necessarily have to be configured by a motor as long as it can transmit driving force to the transmission unit 52. The driving gear unit 51b may be configured by a plurality of gears. Also, as long as it can transmit driving force to the transmission unit 52, it may be something other than a gear.

[0028] The transmission unit 52 has a first rotating member 52a that meshes with the drive gear portion 51b and rotates as the drive gear portion 51b rotates, a second rotating member 52b that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the first rotating member 52a, and a cleaning unit support portion 52c that is continuously stretched between the first rotating member 52a and the second rotating member 52b and supports the cleaning unit 53.

[0029] 5B, the first rotating member 52a is rotatably supported by a cylindrical first support portion 61 that is integrally formed with the housing body 43. In addition, the first rotating member 52a is prevented from coming off the first support portion 61 by a screw 62 that is fastened to the first support portion 61.

[0030] The first rotating member 52a includes a gear portion 52a1 that is in mesh with the drive gear portion 51b, and a pulley portion 52a2 that is in the form of a pulley and to which one end of the cleaning portion support portion 52c is hooked. The gear portion 52a1 and the pulley portion 52a2 are integrally formed on the same axis.

[0031] 7A, the second rotating member 52b is a pulley-shaped member rotatably supported by the second support portion 63, and the other end of the cleaning unit support portion 52c is hung on the second rotating member 52b. The second rotating member 52b is prevented from coming off the first support portion 61 by a screw 64 fastened to the second support portion 63.

[0032] Refer to Fig. 7B. The second support part 63 is supported by the housing main body 43 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. The second support part 63 is biased by the spring 65 so as to move away from the first support part 61 (see Fig. 4). As a result, the cleaning part support part 52c (see Fig. 4) is supported by the first support part 61 and the second support part 63 with an appropriate tension applied thereto.

[0033] Refer to Fig. 5A. The cleaning unit support part 52c is made of a toothed rope (synchro mesh rope) and is housed in the groove part 43a. The cleaning unit support part 52c meshes with a part formed on the pulley of the first rotating member 52a, and rotates when the first rotating member 52a rotates.

[0034] 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 driving unit 51. For example, a belt or a screw gear (worm) may be used. The first rotating member 52a and the second rotating member 52b (see FIG. 7A) may be formed in a sprocket shape to match the cleaning unit support unit 52c.

[0035] 6A, the cleaning unit 53 has a cleaning unit main body 53a supported by the transmission unit 52, a brush 53b provided on the front surface of the cleaning unit main body 53a and capable of contacting the fan 33 (see FIG. 3), and a nonwoven wiping unit 53c provided on the rear surface of the cleaning unit main body 53a and capable of wiping the air blowing surface 43s and the front surface 38s of the air blowing cover 38. That is, the cleaning unit 53 is capable of cleaning the inside of the housing 40.

[0036] The cleaning unit body 53a has a portion facing the groove portion 43a and is connected to the transmission portion 52. The cleaning unit body 53a protrudes forward from the gap between the housing body 43 and the blower cover 38 beyond the blower surface 43s.

[0037] Refer to Fig. 6B. Two rotatable rollers, a first roller 66 and a second roller 67, are attached to the cleaning unit main body 53a. The axis of the first roller 66 extends in the front-rear direction, and the lower end of the first roller 66 contacts the groove portion 43a. The axis of the second roller 67 extends vertically, and the front end of the second roller 67 contacts the air blower cover 38.

[0038] The blower cover 38 is a resin part, and covers the groove portion 43a. The blower cover 38 is fixed to the housing main body 43. Although the blower surface 43s is not formed in front of the groove portion 43a in the housing main body 43, the imaginary plane in which the blower surface 43s is extended to the front of the groove portion 43a and the front surface 38s of the blower cover 38 are substantially coincident with each other. In other words, it can be said that the front surface 38s of the blower cover 38 is located on substantially the same plane as the blower surface 43s.

[0039] The drive unit cover 39 is a resin part, and covers the drive unit 51. The drive unit cover 39 is fixed to the housing main body 43.

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

[0041] Referring to Fig. 3, first, the air conditioner 10 comprises a housing 40, a fan 33 that is rotatably supported in the housing 40 and rotates to blow air, and a cleaning unit 50 that can clean the inside of the housing 40. The housing 40 has a housing main body 43 that supports the fan 33 and the cleaning unit 50. The housing main body 43 faces the fan 33 at the rear of the fan 33 and has an air blowing surface 43s that guides the air generated by operation of the fan 33.

[0042] 5A and 6A, the cleaning unit 50 has a driving part 51 as a driving source, a transmission part 52 that transmits the driving force generated by the driving part 51, and a cleaning part 53 that is supported by the transmission part 52 and cleans the inside of the housing 40. At least a part of the transmission part 52 is provided behind the air blowing surface 43s.

[0043] Please refer to FIG. 3. Since the cleaning unit 50 is supported by the housing main body 43, the cleaning unit 50 can be attached to the housing main body 43 and then the fan 33 can be attached. If each part constituting the cleaning unit 50 is attached to a different part and then combined, the fan 33 may get in the way and make the assembly difficult. Alternatively, since the fan 33 is attached in a state where a plurality of parts are combined, in this case, the assembly of the fan 33 becomes difficult. By assembling all of the parts constituting the cleaning unit 50 to the housing main body 43, the fan 33 can be attached to the housing main body 43 in a state where the cleaning unit 50 is attached, and an air conditioner 10 that can be easily assembled can be provided.

[0044] In addition, at least a part of the transmission part 52 is provided behind the air blowing surface 43s. The dead space between the housing main body and the wall Wa (see FIG. 2) can be effectively utilized. Also, the inside of the housing 40 can be cleaned with a simple structure.

[0045] 5 and 7. Secondly, in the first air conditioner 10, the housing main body 43 includes a groove portion 43a formed in a groove shape recessed from the blowing surface 43s and spaced apart from the fan 33 (see FIG. 3). In addition, the transmission portion 52 is provided in the groove portion 43a.

[0046] By providing the transmission part 52 for moving the cleaning unit 53 in the groove part 43a, it is possible to prevent the transmission part 52 from being exposed to the air blowing surface 43s. This prevents the transmission part 52 from interfering with the air blowing, and allows the air to be blown smoothly.

[0047] See Fig. 6A. Thirdly, in the second air conditioner 10, the groove portion 43a is covered by the air blower cover 38. The front surface 38s of the air blower cover 38 is located on approximately the same plane as the air blowing surface 43s. This prevents the wind generated by the fan 33 (see Fig. 3) from entering the groove portion 43a, and allows air to be blown smoothly.

[0048] Fourthly, in the third air conditioner 10, the cleaning unit 53 includes a cleaning unit main body 53a supported by the transmission unit 52. The cleaning unit main body 53a extends from the gap between the housing main body 43 and the blower cover 38 to the front of the blowing surface 43s. The gap between the housing main body 43 and the blower cover 38 can be used as a guide for moving the cleaning unit main body 53a left and right. The cleaning unit main body 53a can be guided without increasing the number of parts.

[0049] See Fig. 4. Fifth, in any of the first to fourth air conditioners 10, the transmission unit 52 includes a first rotating member 52a that rotates when the drive unit 51 is operated, a second rotating member 52b that rotates as a result of the rotation of the first rotating member 52a, and a cleaning unit support unit 52c that is continuously stretched between the first rotating member 52a and the second rotating member 52b and supports the cleaning unit 53.

[0050] Please refer to Fig. 5. The drive unit 51 is located forward of the air blowing surface 43s. The first rotating member 52a has a portion (gear portion 52a1) that meshes with the drive unit 51 located forward of the air blowing surface 43s, and a portion (pulley portion 52a2) around which the cleaning unit support portion 52c is rotated is located rearward of the air blowing surface 43s. The drive unit cover 39 covers the front of the drive unit 51 and the portion of the first rotating member 52a that meshes with the drive unit.

[0051] If all of the drive unit 51 is disposed behind the air blowing surface 43s, the housing 40 becomes larger in the left-right direction, but by disposing the drive unit 51 outside the movement area of ​​the cleaning unit 53 and the air blowing surface 43s, the drive unit 51 can be disposed in front of the air blowing surface 43s. This makes it possible to keep the housing 40 compact. Also, by covering the drive unit with the drive unit cover 39, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the transmission unit 52 side.

[0052] 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.

[0053] As long as the functions and effects of the present invention are achieved, the present invention is not limited to the examples. [Industrial Applicability]

[0054] The present invention is suitable for use in home air conditioners. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10...Air conditioner 33…Fan 38…Ventilator cover, 38s…Front 40…Housing 43... housing body, 43a... groove portion, 43s... air blowing surface 50…Cleaning unit 51...Drive unit 52: Transmission section, 52a: First rotating member, 52b: Second rotating member, 52c: Cleaning section support section 53…Cleaning department 61...First support part 63…Second support part

Claims

1. The cleaning device comprises a housing, a fan that is rotatably supported by the housing and rotates to blow air, and a cleaning unit that can clean the inside of the housing, The housing includes a housing body supporting the fan and the cleaning unit, The housing main body includes a blowing surface facing the fan at a rear thereof and guiding air generated by operation of the fan, the cleaning unit includes a drive section as a drive source, a transmission section that transmits a drive force generated by the drive section, and a cleaning section that is supported by the transmission section and cleans the inside of the housing, At least a portion of the transmission portion is provided rearward of the air blowing surface.

2. The housing body includes a groove portion that is recessed from the air blowing surface and spaced apart from the fan, The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission portion is provided in the groove portion.

3. The groove portion is covered by a blower cover, The air conditioner according to claim 2 , wherein a front surface of the air blower cover is positioned substantially on the same plane as the air blowing surface.

4. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning unit main body supported by the transmission unit, The air conditioner according to claim 3 , wherein the cleaning body extends from a gap between the housing body and the blower cover to a position in front of the blowing surface.

5. the transmission unit includes a first rotating member that rotates when the drive unit is operated, a second rotating member that rotates in response to the rotation of the first rotating member, and a cleaning unit support unit that is continuously stretched between the first rotating member and the second rotating member and supports the cleaning unit; The drive unit is located forward of the air blowing surface, a portion of the first rotating member that meshes with the drive portion is located forward of the air blowing surface, and a portion around which the cleaning unit support portion is wound is located rearward of the air blowing surface; The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein a front portion of the drive portion and a portion of the first rotating member that meshes with the drive portion are covered by a drive portion cover.

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