Air filter cleaning unit and air conditioner

Abstract

To provide an air filter cleaning unit which can remove dust without fail and an air conditioner including the air filter cleaning unit at low costs.SOLUTION: An air filter cleaning unit 1 includes: an air filter 2; a cleaning body 41 for removing dust of the air filter 2; and a clutch 6 which enables the cleaning body 41 to rotate only in a first direction of a circumferential direction. The clutch 6 includes: an outer ring 60 which rotates in conjunction with action of sliding the air filter 1 or the cleaning body 41 manually; and an inner ring 61 connected with a rotary shaft 42 of the cleaning body 41. When the outer ring 60 rotates in the first direction, the rotation is transmitted to the inner ring 61. The structure allows a user to remove dust by easy manual operation without using a drive soure for rotating the cleaning body 41. Further, the cleaning body 41 can be switched between rotation and non-rotation states, thereby preventing dust removed from the air filter 2 from re-adhering to the air filter 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air filter cleaning unit that cleans an air filter that captures dust in the air, and an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, a filter is provided at the air intake of an air conditioner to prevent dust in the air from entering the main body. Therefore, if the air conditioner continues to operate, dust may adhere to the filter, reducing the amount of air taken into the main body, which may result in abnormally high temperatures inside the main body and a decrease in air conditioning performance. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, an air conditioner equipped with a filter cleaning device that automatically removes dust adhering to the filter has been proposed.

[0003] The filter cleaning device in Patent Document 1 includes a filter roller that drives the filter and a brush that removes dust from the filter, and the filter roller and brush are driven to rotate by a control unit. The direction and duration of rotation of the filter roller and brush are individually controlled to remove and collect dust. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-142521 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The above-described configuration allows the filter to be cleaned without the removed dust re-adhering to the filter, but requires a drive source for each of the filter roller and the brush, which increases costs.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an air filter cleaning unit that can reliably remove dust, and an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning unit at low cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides an air filter that captures dust in the air; a cleaning body for removing dust from the air filter; an air filter cleaning unit including a clutch that allows the cleaning body to rotate only in a first direction among the circumferential directions, The clutch is an outer ring that rotates in accordance with a manual sliding action of the air filter or the cleaning body; an inner ring disposed inside the outer ring and connected to a rotation shaft of the cleaning element; When the outer ring rotates in the first direction, a rotation state is created in which rotation is transmitted from the outer ring to the inner ring. This is an air filter cleaning unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] With the above-described configuration, it is possible to provide an air filter cleaning unit that can reliably remove dust, and an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning unit at low cost. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a rear view of an air conditioner equipped with an air filter cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the air filter cleaning unit of the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of the clutch of the present embodiment, in which FIG. 1A shows a rotating state and FIG. 1B shows a non-rotating state. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the force applied to the rolling element from the legs. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a protrusion in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0011] The present invention provides an air filter cleaning unit comprising an air filter, a cleaning element for cleaning the air filter, and a clutch that allows the cleaning element to rotate in only a first circumferential direction. The clutch comprises an outer ring that rotates when the air filter or cleaning element is manually slid, and an inner ring disposed inside the outer ring and connected to the rotation shaft of the cleaning element. When the outer ring rotates in the first direction, rotation is transmitted from the outer ring to the inner ring, creating a rotating state. This allows the cleaning element to be switched between rotating and non-rotating with a simple manual operation, without using a drive source to rotate the cleaning element. Furthermore, because the cleaning element rotates in only one direction, dust removed from the air filter by the rotation of the cleaning element does not return to the air filter and re-adhere. This ensures reliable dust removal while keeping costs down.

[0012] The clutch also includes rolling elements disposed between an outer ring and an inner ring. The outer ring has a protrusion that protrudes from its inner peripheral surface toward the inner ring, and the rolling elements are sandwiched between the protrusion and the inner ring when rotating. This allows the protrusion to act as a stopper even if the rolling elements are subjected to a force from the inner ring that pushes them back in the direction opposite to the first direction. This ensures that the rotation of the outer ring 60 is transmitted reliably to the inner ring 61, preventing dust from being left behind.

[0013] The protrusion protrudes from one end of the base end and has a concavely curved first side surface, which has an outer ring-side abutment portion that abuts against the rolling element in a rotating state. The rolling element, pushed back by the inner ring, rolls on the first side surface toward the tip of the protrusion, but the slope of the first side surface becomes steeper toward the tip of the protrusion, preventing the rolling. When the rolling element abuts against the outer ring-side abutment portion, the rolling element enters a rotating state and is no longer pushed back by the leg. Therefore, the rolling element is firmly sandwiched between the protrusion and the leg, reliably transmitting rotation from the outer ring to the inner ring and preventing dust from being left behind.

[0014] In addition, the outer ring contact portion has a surface with the same curvature as the rolling element. This allows the outer ring contact portion and the rolling element to come into surface contact, increasing the contact area and stabilizing the rotation. This ensures that the rotation of the outer ring is transmitted reliably to the inner ring, rotating the cleaning element and preventing dust from being left behind.

[0015] The inner ring also has legs extending toward the outer ring, each of which has an inner ring-side contact portion that contacts the rolling elements during rotation, and the inner ring-side contact portion is convexly curved. This ensures that the force the rolling elements receive from their contact points with the inner ring-side contact portion is directed toward the outer ring-side contact portion, firmly clamping the rolling elements between the protrusions and the legs. This ensures that the rotation of the outer ring is transmitted reliably to the inner ring, preventing dust from being left behind.

[0016] The protrusion also has a second side surface that protrudes from the other end of the base end, and the interior angle formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring and the second side surface is 90 degrees or less. This allows the second side surface to support and reinforce the protrusion even if the rolling element is pressed against the first side surface. This prevents the protrusion from being damaged and causing the cleaning element to stop rotating.

[0017] In addition, the aforementioned air filter cleaning unit is attached to the intake port that draws air into the air conditioner body. This makes it easy to remove dust that has accumulated on the air filter, preventing a decrease in the amount of air drawn into the body and preventing abnormally high temperatures inside the body and a decline in air conditioning performance. [Example]

[0018] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] 1 is a rear view of an air conditioner equipped with the air filter cleaning unit of this embodiment. Here, a heating device will be used as an example of an air conditioner, but other air conditioners may also be used. The air filter cleaning unit 1 can also be used in air conditioners for purposes other than heating, as long as the air conditioner has an air intake 12 that draws air into the main body 11.

[0020] The heating device takes in indoor air into the main body 11 through an air intake 12 provided on the back, heats the taken-in air with a heat source provided inside the main body 11 to turn it into warm air, and discharges the air into the room through an air outlet (not shown) provided on the front. An air filter cleaning unit 1 is attached to the air intake 12, and dust adhering to the air filter 2 is removed by manually sliding the air filter 2 up and down. Note that the sliding direction of the air filter 2 is not limited to up and down, and it may also be slid left and right.

[0021] 2 is an exploded view of the air filter cleaning unit of this embodiment. The air filter cleaning unit 1 includes an air filter 2, a filter guide 3 that slidably holds the air filter 2, cleaning means 4 that removes dust from the air filter 2, and a dust box 5 that collects the removed dust.

[0022] The air filter 2 has a mesh-like collection member 20 that captures dust in the air, and a frame 21 to which the collection member 20 is attached and which is held by the filter guide 3. The frame 21 has a handle 24 on the top edge that serves as a handle when sliding the air filter, and a rack 25 on the left edge that extends in the sliding direction.

[0023] The cleaning means 4 is provided with two types of cleaning means with different purposes. One is the first cleaning means 40, which has the role of removing dust adhering to the air filter 2. The other is the second cleaning means 41, which has the role of transporting the dust removed by the first cleaning means 40 to the dust box 5. Although the present embodiment is provided with the first cleaning means 40, it is also possible to provide only the second cleaning means 41. In that case, the second cleaning means 41 also has the role of removing dust adhering to the air filter 2.

[0024] The first cleaning means 40 is a sheet-like member extending in the width direction of the air filter 2, and is provided so as to abut across the entire width of the air filter 2. Dust adhering to the air filter 2 comes into contact with the first cleaning means 40 as the air filter 2 slides, and is removed from the air filter 2.

[0025] The second cleaning means 41 includes a rotating shaft 42 and a nylon brush 43 spirally disposed around the rotating shaft 42, with a clutch 6 attached to one end of the rotating shaft 42. The clutch 6 is a one-way clutch having a gear 6A whose outer circumferential surface meshes with the rack 25, and when the rack 25 moves due to the action of sliding the air filter 2 up and down, the second cleaning means 41 is rotated or stopped accordingly. The detailed structure of the clutch 6 will be described later. Dust removed from the air filter 2 by the first cleaning means 40 adheres to the brush 43 and is transported to the dust box 5 by the rotation of the second cleaning means 41.

[0026] The dust box 5 is composed of a dust box main body 50 and a dust case 51 that can be attached to and detached from the dust box main body 50. The dust box main body 50 is fixed to the filter guide 3, and the cleaning means 4 is attached inside. The dust case 51 is provided with a comb portion (not shown) that removes dust from the second cleaning means 41, and dust carried into the dust box is dropped from the second cleaning means 41 by the comb portion and accumulates in the dust case 51. The accumulated dust can be discarded by removing the dust case 51.

[0027] A heating device equipped with the above-described air filter cleaning unit 1 is operated with the air filter 2 covering the air intake 12 (Fig. 1). To clean the air filter 2, the operation of the heating device is stopped, and the air filter 2 is held by the handle 24 and slid along the filter guide 3. This removes dust adhering to the air filter 2, preventing a decrease in the amount of air taken into the main body 11 and preventing abnormally high temperatures inside the main body 11 and a decrease in heating performance.

[0028] Furthermore, by configuring the second cleaning means 41 to switch between rotating and non-rotating states in response to the manual operation of sliding the air filter 2, dust on the air filter 2 can be removed without using a drive source to drive the air filter 2 or the second cleaning means 41. This makes it possible to provide an air filter cleaning unit at low cost. Note that, although the air filter 2 is slid in this embodiment, the cleaning means 4 may also be slid via the dust box 5.

[0029] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the clutch of this embodiment, where (A) shows the rotating state and (B) shows the non-rotating state. Note that in the figure, reference numerals are assigned to only some of the components that are provided in multiple locations, and reference numerals are omitted for the others. The clutch 6 includes an outer ring 60 that rotates as the air filter 2 is manually slid, an inner ring 61 that is disposed inside the outer ring 60 and to which the rotating shaft 42 of the second cleaning means 41 is connected, and a rolling element 62 that is disposed between the outer ring 60 and the inner ring 61.

[0030] The outer ring 60 is annular, and its outer peripheral surface forms the gear 6A as described above. On its inner peripheral surface, a plurality of triangular protrusions 60A protruding toward the inner ring 61 are arranged in the circumferential direction.

[0031] The inner ring 61 has legs 61A extending toward the outer ring 60. Any number of legs 61A can be provided, and three are provided in this embodiment. Each leg 61A is provided with an inner ring side abutment portion 613, which will be described later, and the rolling elements 62 abut against the inner ring side abutment portion 613 in the rotating state.

[0032] The rolling elements 62 are arranged one by one between the leg portions 61A, and roll in the space between the outer ring 60 and the inner ring 61. In this embodiment, the rolling elements 62 are balls, but they may also be cylindrical or truncated conical rollers.

[0033] In the air filter cleaning unit 1 described above, when the air filter 2 is moved upward, the outer ring 60 rotates in the first direction R1. As a result, the rolling elements 62 are sandwiched between the protrusions 60A of the outer ring 60 and the legs 61A of the inner ring 61 and enter a rotating state, and the rotation of the outer ring 60 is transmitted to the inner ring 61 via the rolling elements 62. At this time, a force sufficient to rotate the second cleaning means must be transmitted from the outer ring 60 to the inner ring 61, and the rolling elements 62 are subjected to a reaction force from the legs 61A. Without the protrusions 60A, the rolling elements 62 would be pushed back by the legs 61A, potentially preventing rotation from being transmitted from the outer ring 60 to the inner ring 61. When the protrusions 60A are provided as in this embodiment, the protrusions 60A function as stoppers to prevent the rolling elements 62 from being pushed back by the legs 61A. This ensures that the rotation of the outer ring 60 is transmitted to the inner ring 61, preventing dust from being left behind. The second cleaning means 41 rotates, and the dust removed from the air filter 2 is collected in the dust box 5.

[0034] Furthermore, when the air filter 2 is moved downward, the outer ring 60 rotates in the second direction R2. As a result, the rolling elements 62 sandwiched between the outer ring 60 and the inner ring 61 are released, and only the outer ring 60 rotates, while the inner ring 61 is placed in a non-rotating state. This prevents dust accumulated in the dust box 5 from being carried out by the second cleaning means 41 and re-adhering to the air filter 2.

[0035] Here, the inner ring side contact portion 613 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates the force applied to the rolling element from the legs. In this embodiment, the inner ring-side contact portion 613 has a convexly curved shape. When the rolling element 62 and the inner ring-side contact portion 613 come into contact at point P, the rolling element 62 receives a force from the legs 62. This force acts from point P toward the center of the rolling element 62, and the direction of the force is indicated by arrow A in the figure. By making the inner ring-side contact portion 613 convex, arrow A points toward the outer ring-side contact portion 603 where the rolling element 62 and the outer ring 61 come into contact, allowing the rolling element 62 to be firmly sandwiched between the outer ring 60 and the legs 62. This stabilizes the rotational state of the clutch 6 and more reliably transmits the rotation of the outer ring 60 to the inner ring 61, preventing dust from being left behind.

[0037] Next, the shape of the protrusion 60A will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0038] 5 is an enlarged view of the protrusion in this embodiment. Protrusion 60A protrudes from one end of the base end and has a first side surface 601 on which rolling elements 62 rest in a rotating state, and a second side surface 602 protruding from the other end of the base end. In the drawing, the base end is indicated by a dashed line.

[0039] The first side surface 601 has a concavely curved shape, and the slope becomes steeper toward the tip of the protrusion 60A. The first side surface 601 is provided with an outer ring-side contact portion 603 that contacts the rolling element 62 during rotation. When the outer ring 60 rotates in the first direction R1, the rolling element 62 receives a force pushing back from the leg portion 61A and rolls on the first side surface 601 toward the tip of the protrusion 60A. As the slope of the first side surface 601 becomes steeper, the rolling element 62 becomes more difficult to roll. When the rolling element 62 contacts the outer ring-side contact portion 603, the rolling element 62 is no longer pushed back by the leg portion 60A. Therefore, the rolling element 62 is pressed against the leg portion 61A and is firmly sandwiched between the protrusion 60A and the leg portion 61A. This makes it possible to stabilize the rotational state of the clutch 6, thereby ensuring that rotation is transmitted from the outer ring 60 to the inner ring 61 and preventing dust from being left behind.

[0040] Furthermore, it is preferable that the outer ring side contact portion 603 has a surface with the same curvature as the rolling element 62. This increases the contact area due to surface contact between the outer ring side contact portion 603 and the rolling element 62, stabilizing the rotational state of the clutch 6 and enabling rotation to be reliably transmitted to the inner ring 61, thereby preventing dust from being left behind.

[0041] Furthermore, it is preferable that the interior angle θ between the inner circumferential surface of the outer ring 60 and the second side surface 602 of the protrusion 60A is 90 degrees or less. The interior angle θ here refers to the angle on the inside of the protrusion 60A, among the angles formed by the tangent L to the inner circumferential surface at the other end of the base end and the second side surface 602. By setting the interior angle θ to 90 degrees or less, even if the rolling element 62 is pressed against the first side surface 601 by the leg portion 61A during rotation, the second side surface 602 provides support and reinforces the protrusion 60A. This makes it possible to prevent the second cleaning means 41 from becoming unable to rotate due to damage to the protrusion 60A.

[0042] Although the shape of the protrusion 60A is triangular in this embodiment, the above-described effects can be achieved as long as it has the first side surface 601 and the second side surface 602. Therefore, the tip of the protrusion 60A may be trapezoidal with a flat surface. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Air filter cleaning unit 2 Air Filter 6. Clutch 11 Main unit 12 Air intake 41 Second cleaning means (cleaning body) 42 Rotation axis 60 outer ring 60A protrusion 601 1st aspect 602 Second aspect 603 Outer ring contact part 61 Inner circle 61A Legs 611 Inner ring contact part 62 rolling elements

Claims

1. an air filter that captures dust in the air; a cleaning body for removing dust from the air filter; an air filter cleaning unit including a clutch that allows the cleaning body to rotate only in a first direction among the circumferential directions, The clutch is an outer ring that rotates in accordance with a manual sliding action of the air filter or the cleaning body; an inner ring disposed inside the outer ring and connected to a rotation shaft of the cleaning element; When the outer ring rotates in the first direction, a rotation state is established in which rotation is transmitted from the outer ring to the inner ring. Air filter cleaning unit.

2. The clutch includes a rolling element disposed between the outer ring and the inner ring, the outer ring has a protrusion that protrudes from an inner circumferential surface toward the inner ring, The rolling element is sandwiched between the protrusion and the inner ring in the rotating state.

2. The air filter cleaning unit according to claim 1.

3. the protrusion protrudes from one end of the base end and has a first side surface that is concavely curved; The first side surface has an outer ring side contact portion that contacts the rolling element in the rotating state.

3. The air filter cleaning unit according to claim 2.

4. The outer ring side contact portion is formed of a surface having the same curvature as the rolling element.

4. The air filter cleaning unit according to claim 3.

5. the inner ring has a leg portion extending toward the outer ring, the leg portion has an inner ring side abutment portion that abuts against the rolling element in the rotating state, The inner ring side contact portion is curved in a convex shape.

5. The air filter cleaning unit according to claim 4.

6. The protrusion is a second side surface protruding from the other end of the base end; The interior angle formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring and the second side surface is 90 degrees or less.

6. The air filter cleaning unit according to claim 5.

7. It has an intake port that takes in air into the main body, The air filter cleaning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is attached to the air intake. Air conditioner.

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