Air control port inspection device

Abstract

To provide an air control port inspection device capable of accurately performing measurement by a sensor and inspection of an air control port even when the air control port is installed in a skeleton ceiling.SOLUTION: An inspection device comprises a measurement unit including a hood having an upper opening larger than the air control port and a sensor disposed inside the hood, and a lifting unit configured to raise and lower the measurement unit. The air control port is installed in a skeleton ceiling. At the upper end of the hood forming the upper opening of the inspection device, a brush formed by bundling a plurality of wires extending inward from the upper end toward the inside of the upper opening is provided. An opening smaller than the air control port is defined at each tip end of the plurality of wires. When the measurement unit is raised to a predetermined inspection position, the brush is configured to contact and flex against the outer peripheral portion of the air control port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air outlet inspection device.

Background Art

[0002] After construction of air conditioning equipment work, inspections such as air volume and temperature are generally performed on air outlets such as a plurality of outlets and inlets provided in the ceiling. The air outlet inspection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below includes a measurement unit having a hood for collecting air and a sensor disposed in the hood, and a lifting unit for lifting and lowering the measurement unit. After moving the measurement unit directly below the air outlet, the measurement unit is lifted, and measurement by the sensor is performed in a state where the upper end portion defining the upper opening of the hood is in contact with the ceiling around the air outlet.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, the air outlet may be provided in a skeleton ceiling. In this case, since the air outlet is exposed, the upper end portion of the hood cannot be brought into contact with the ceiling around the air outlet. Then, a gap is formed between the upper end portion of the hood and the air outlet, and the air around the air outlet is attracted into the hood or the air in the hood escapes through the gap. As a result, the measurement accuracy by the sensor and thus the inspection accuracy are reduced.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide an air outlet inspection device capable of accurately performing measurement by a sensor and thus inspection of an air outlet even when the air outlet is provided in a skeleton ceiling.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present disclosure relates to an inspection device for an air intake port. The inspection device includes a measurement unit having a hood with an upper opening larger than the air intake port and a sensor disposed within the hood, and a lifting unit capable of lifting and lowering the measurement unit. The air intake port is provided in a skeleton ceiling. The inspection device is provided, at the upper end of the hood defining the upper opening, with a brush formed by bundling a plurality of wire rods extending from the upper end toward the inside of the upper opening across the entire upper end. An opening smaller than the air intake port is defined at each tip of the plurality of wire rods, and when the measurement unit is raised to a predetermined inspection position, the brush is configured to contact and bend against the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port.

[0007] A second aspect further has the following features in addition to the first aspect. The brush has a U-shaped cross-section that sandwiches each base end of the plurality of wire rods and has a frame body that is longitudinally long in one direction. The inspection device further includes a support plate provided at the upper end of the hood, the length of the support plate in the direction in which the wire rods extend being longer than the frame body, and the frame body is fixed on the support plate.

[0008] A third aspect further has the following features in addition to the second aspect. The point where the brush contacts the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port is defined as a contact point, and the angle formed by the virtual line passing through the contact point and the inner end of the upper surface of the support plate with the lower surface of the air intake port is within the range of 25 degrees to 43 degrees.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the first aspect, when the measurement unit is raised to the inspection position, the brush provided at the upper end of the hood contacts and bends against the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port, thereby suppressing the induction of air around the air intake port into the hood and the escape of air within the hood. Therefore, it becomes possible to accurately perform the measurement by the sensor and thus the inspection of the air intake port.

[0010] According to the second aspect, since the frame body is provided at the upper end portion of the hood via the support body, the base end portion of the brush is supported by the support plate. Thereby, it is possible to suppress as much as possible the tip of the wire rod from drooping due to its own weight.

[0011] According to the third aspect, it is possible to surely suppress the air around the air intake port from being drawn into the hood or the air in the hood from escaping.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to common or corresponding elements in each figure to simplify or omit the description. In each figure, for the convenience of drawing, the illustration of some components may be omitted.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an air intake port inspection device 1 according to an embodiment. In the present embodiment, an inspection device 1 for inspecting the air volume from a rectangular air intake port Vc (see FIG. 4) provided in a skeleton ceiling in a plan view will be described as an example. In the following, an anemometer type air intake port Vc will be described as an example, but an air intake port Vc of a type other than the anemometer type can be used.

[0015] The inspection device 1 includes a measurement unit 2 for measuring the air volume, a lifting unit 3 that supports the measurement unit 2 so as to be movable up and down, a traveling unit 4 that can travel at a position directly below the air intake Vc, and a control unit 5.

[0016] The measurement unit 2 has an air collecting hood 21 with an upper opening 20 that is slightly larger than the air intake Vc, and a sensor 22 disposed within the hood 21. The hood 21 has a base 21a at the lower part, and a cylindrical holding portion 21b is provided at the center of the interior of the base 21a. A plurality (four in this embodiment) of sensors 22 are respectively disposed so as to bridge the space between the side surface of the holding portion 21b and the corner portions at the four corners of the base 21a. Since a known Pitot tube can be used as the sensor 22, further explanation including its mounting method and the air volume measurement principle is omitted. The hood 21 is formed so as to gradually narrow from the upper opening 20 toward the base 21a, and can collect the air blown out from the air intake Vc and guide it to each sensor 22. Hereinafter, two directions in which the upper end portion 210 defining the upper opening 20 of the hood 21 extends and are orthogonal to each other are defined as the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction orthogonal to these two directions is defined as the vertical direction for explanation.

[0017] The lifting unit 3 is constituted by, for example, a pantograph-shaped lifter. By expanding and contracting the lifting unit (lifter) 3 in the vertical direction, the measurement unit 2 can be lifted and lowered between the upward position (measurement position) where the hood 21 approaches the air intake Vc and the downward position where the hood 21 is separated from the air intake Vc. In order to detect the degree of expansion and contraction of the lifting unit 3, and thus the vertical position of the hood 21, a limit switch (not shown), an infrared optical sensor, or the like may be provided.

[0018] As the traveling unit 4, a known automatic traveling cart that can acquire a position (teaching position) set in advance by teaching directly below the air intake Vc and can automatically travel to the acquired teaching position can be used. The traveling unit 4 is not limited to an automatically traveling one, and any device that can move the measurement unit 2 directly below the air intake Vc may be used.

[0019] As the control unit 5, a controller including a processor and a memory can be used. The control unit 5 comprehensively controls the running of the running unit 4, the operation of the lifting unit 3, the measurement by the sensor 22, and the like.

[0020] By the way, when the air inlet Vc is provided in the skeleton ceiling, since the air inlet Vc is exposed, the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 cannot be brought into contact with the ceiling around the air inlet Vc. In this case, a gap is formed between the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 and the air inlet Vc, and the air around the air inlet Vc is attracted into the hood 21 through this gap, or the air in the hood escapes from the gap. As a result, the measurement accuracy by the sensor 22 is reduced, and thus the inspection accuracy is reduced.

[0021] Therefore, in the present embodiment, a brush 23 is provided at the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 that defines the upper opening 20, and an opening 230 that is slightly smaller than the air inlet Vc is defined by the tip of the brush 23. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the brush 23 provided at the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21. FIG. 3(a) is an enlarged plan view showing the brush 23 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view of the brush 23. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the brush 23 is in contact with and bent around the outer peripheral portion of the air inlet Vc.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the brush 23 is a linear brush formed by bundling a plurality of wire rods 231 extending inward from the upper end portion 210 toward the upper opening 20 without any gaps. As the material of the wire rod 231, it can be selected from nylon, polypropylene, polyester, and vinyl chloride, and it is particularly preferable to use nylon. The wire diameter of the wire rod 231 is preferably set in the range of 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm, and for example, it can be set to 0.4 mm. The length L1 of the wire rod 231 can be set to 150 mm, for example. The brush 23 has a U-shaped cross section that sandwiches the base ends of the plurality of wire rods 231 and has a longitudinally extending frame body 232 in one direction. By the frame body 232, the plurality of layers of wire rods 231 in the vertical direction are bundled so as to be two-dimensionally densely packed. In this case, the number of layers of the wire rod 231 is preferably set in the range of 6 to 9 layers, and for example, it can be set to 7 layers (at this time, the vertical thickness on the base end side of the bundled wire rods 231 is about 2.5 mm). By setting the wire diameter and the number of layers in this way, not only can the shape retention of the brush 23 be enhanced (the shape of the brush 23 can be made difficult to collapse), but also the elasticity (pressing load) of the brush 23 that does not allow air to pass between the wire rods 231 while contacting the outer peripheral portion of the air vent Vc without any gaps and the pressure loss can be made compatible. The length of the frame body 232 in the longitudinal direction is set to be the same as the length of one side of the upper end portion 210 (for example, 580 mm). Brushes 23 are provided on each of the four sides of the upper end portion 210, whereby the brushes 23 are provided over the entire upper end portion 210. By setting the length of each brush 23 in the longitudinal direction in this way, the wire rods 231 of the two brushes 23 overlap vertically and become dense at the four corners of the upper opening 20. The dense wire rods 231 are wound around each corner of the air vent Vc shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 2, so that the wire rods 231 can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral portion of each corner of the air vent Vc without any gaps and deflected. As a result, it is reliably suppressed that the air around the air vent Vc is attracted into the hood 21 or the air in the hood 21 escapes. In addition, when the number of layers of the brush 23 is large, the length of the frame body 232 in the longitudinal direction may be set so that the wire rods 231 of the two brushes 23 do not overlap at the four corners of the upper opening 20.

[0023] The opening 230, which is rectangular in plan view (square in the example shown in Fig. 2), is defined by the tips of the plurality of wire rods 231 that make up the brush 23. When the size of the air intake Vc, which is rectangular in plan view, is 360 mm square, the size of the opening 230 can be set, for example, to 285 mm to 290 mm square. The size of the opening 230, that is, the length L1 of the wire rod 231, can be set in consideration of the displacement in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction when the measuring unit 2 is raised from the lowered position to the inspection position.

[0024] Here, it is preferable to interpose a support plate 24 between the upper end portion 210 and the brush 23. That is, it is preferable to provide a support plate 24 at the upper end portion 210 and fix the frame body 232 of the brush 23 on the support plate 24. The support plate 24 can be made of a plastic plate material such as plastic corrugated board, for example. The width L2 of the support plate 24 (the length in the short side direction in which the wire rod 231 extends) is set to be longer than the width of the frame body 232. The width L2 of the support plate 24 can be set in the range of 1 / 4 to 1 / 3 of the length L1 of the wire rod 231 of the brush 23, specifically, and can be set to 50 mm, for example. By providing the support plate 24, it is possible to suppress the tip of the wire rod 231 from sagging downward due to its own weight as compared with the case where the frame body 232 is directly fixed to the upper end portion 210 without providing the support plate 24.

[0025] When such a measuring unit 2 is raised by the elevating unit 3, as shown in Fig. 4, the brush 23 comes into contact with the outer peripheral portion of the air intake Vc and bends. This position is also referred to as the inspection position. At the inspection position, the gap between the air intake Vc and the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 is blocked by the brush 23.

[0026] Next, a method for inspecting the air supply port Vc using the inspection device 1 will be described. Prior to the inspection, map data (not shown) of the floor where the air conditioning facility work has been carried out is acquired, and teaching of each air supply port Vc to be inspected is performed on the acquired map data. The teaching includes not only the operation of actually running the traveling unit 4 to set the positions (X coordinate and Y coordinate) directly below each air supply port Vc, but also the operation of setting the traveling route (inspection order of the air supply ports Vc) of the traveling unit 4. The map data after teaching is stored in the memory of the control unit 5. Since known map data and teaching methods can be used, further explanation is omitted.

[0027] The control unit 5 reads out the map data after teaching from the memory, acquires the traveling route of the traveling unit 4 and the set position (teaching position) directly below the air supply port Vc where the inspection is first performed on the traveling route, and runs the traveling unit 4 to the acquired set position.

[0028] When the traveling unit 4 reaches the position directly below the air supply port Vc, the lifting unit 3 is extended to raise the measuring unit 2 to the inspection position, so that the brush 23 contacts and deflects the outer peripheral portion of the air supply port Vc. Here, referring to FIG. 4, the point where the brush 23 contacts the outer peripheral portion of the air supply port Vc is defined as the contact point P1, and the angle α formed by the virtual line Lv passing through this contact point P1 and the inner end P2 of the support plate 24 and the lower surface of the air supply port Vc is defined. The angle α is preferably in the range of 10 degrees to 60 degrees, and more preferably in the range of 25 degrees to 43 degrees. By setting the angle α in the range of 25 degrees to 43 degrees, the brush 23 can be reliably brought into contact with and deflected the outer peripheral portion of the air supply port Vc. The angle α can be obtained by α = tan -1 (h / d). Here, d is the distance in the X-axis direction (or Y-axis direction) from the outer peripheral portion of the air supply port Vc to the support plate 24, and h is the height from the lower surface of the air supply port Vc to the upper surface of the support plate 24.

[0029] According to the present embodiment, when the measurement unit 2 is raised to the inspection position, the brush 23 provided at the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 contacts the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port Vc and bends, thereby suppressing the intake of air around the air intake port Vc into the hood 21 or the escape of the air in the hood 21. Therefore, it becomes possible to accurately perform the measurement by the sensor 22 and thus the inspection of the air intake port Vc.

[0030] In order to confirm the above effects, the following experiment was conducted. In this experiment, first, assuming an air intake port Vc embedded in a normal ceiling, a hood 21 without a brush 23 was raised to the same height as the air intake port Vc of the skeleton ceiling, and the air volume was measured with the gap between the upper end portion 210 and the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port Vc sealed with a plastic film. The result was 678 [CMH]. Next, as in the present embodiment, the measurement unit 2 was raised to the inspection position, and the air volume was measured with the brush 23 in contact with and bent against the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port Vc of the skeleton ceiling. The result was 680 [CMH], which was equivalent to the measurement result in the above-mentioned sealed state. According to this, it was confirmed that the air around the air intake port Vc was not drawn into the hood 21. On the other hand, when the air volume was measured with the brush 23 removed, it increased to 802 [CMH]. According to this, it was found that a gap was formed between the upper end portion 210 of the hood 21 and the air intake port Vc, and the air around the air intake port Vc was drawn into the hood 21 through this gap. Although there is a risk of a decrease in measurement accuracy if the lower surface of the air intake port Vc is overly blocked by the brush 23, it was confirmed that the measurement accuracy does not deteriorate even if about 10% of the lower surface of the air intake port Vc is blocked by the brush 23. Also, although this experiment was conducted under the condition that ambient air is drawn into the hood 21 through the gap, when it is the condition that the air in the hood 21 escapes through the gap, the measurement accuracy decreases due to the decrease in the measured air volume. Also in this case, by bringing the brush 23 into contact with and bending it against the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port Vc of the skeleton ceiling, a decrease in measurement accuracy can be suppressed.

[0031] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. In the above embodiment, the air intake port Vc having a rectangular shape in plan view has been described as an example. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the present disclosure can also be applied to the air intake port Vc having a circular shape in plan view. In this case, the brush 23 may be configured such that the length of the wire 231 at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the frame body 232 is the shortest and the length of the wire 231 gradually increases toward the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the frame body 232. According to this, even when the air intake port Vc is circular, an opening 230 having a circular shape in plan view that is slightly smaller than the air intake port Vc can be defined by the tip of the brush 23, and the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0032] 1... inspection device, 2... measurement unit, 20... upper opening, 21... hood, 210... upper end portion, 22... sensor, 23... brush, 230... opening, 231... wire, 232... frame body, 24... support plate, 3... lifting unit, Vc... air intake port, α... angle

Claims

1. An inspection device for an air intake port, comprising: a measurement unit having a hood with an upper opening larger than the air intake port and a sensor disposed within the hood; and a lifting unit capable of lifting and lowering the measurement unit, wherein the air intake port is provided in a skeleton ceiling, a brush configured by bundling a plurality of wire rods extending from the upper end of the hood defining the upper opening inward of the upper opening over the entire upper end is provided at the upper end of the hood, an opening smaller than the air intake port is defined at each tip of the plurality of wire rods, and the brush is configured to contact and bend against the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port when the measurement unit is lifted to a predetermined inspection position. The inspection device for an air intake port.

2. The brush has a U-shaped cross section that sandwiches each base end of the plurality of wire rods and has a frame body that is longitudinally long in one direction, The inspection device for an air intake port according to claim 1, further comprising a support plate provided at the upper end of the hood, the length of the support plate in the direction in which the wire rod extends being longer than that of the frame body, and the frame body being fixed on the support plate.

3. Taking the point where the brush contacts the outer peripheral portion of the air intake port as the contact point, the angle formed by the virtual line passing through the contact point and the inner end of the upper surface of the support plate with the lower surface of the air intake port is within the range of 25 degrees to 43 degrees. The inspection device for an air intake port according to claim 2.

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