Air conditioner indoor unit

Abstract

To provide an indoor unit for an air conditioner that can suppress deterioration of power consumption of the air conditioner by appropriately arranging an electrical equipment box that is placed above an air outlet provided in the housing and in a space in front of a heat exchanger inside the housing. [Solution] An indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner comprises a housing 2 having a front plate 2a, an upper plate 2b, a bottom plate 2c, a left side plate 2d, and a right side plate 2e, a heat exchanger 7 arranged within the housing 2, a blower fan 8 arranged within the housing 2 so as to be surrounded by the heat exchanger 7, and an electrical component box 20 that houses a control board 22 and electronic components 23 and is arranged in a space A above an air outlet 5 provided in the housing 2 and in front of the heat exchanger 7 within the housing 2. The electrical component box 20 is arranged so that its bottom surface 20a is higher than the bottom end 8a of the blower fan 8 and its rear surface 20b is inclined forward by 20 to 30 degrees with respect to a plane S that extends along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing 2.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, in the indoor unit of an air conditioner, efforts have been made to reduce the size of the indoor unit by placing an electrical equipment box containing a control board and electronic components in the space above the air outlet and in front of the heat exchanger (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] The indoor unit of the air conditioner shown in Patent Document 1 comprises a main casing, a heat exchanger arranged within the main casing, a blower fan arranged within the main casing so as to be surrounded by the heat exchanger, and an electrical equipment box arranged in the space above the air outlet provided in the main casing and in front of the heat exchanger within the main casing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-65893 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the indoor unit of the conventional air conditioner shown in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

[0006] That is, in the case of the indoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, an electrical equipment box is located in the space above the air outlet provided in the main casing and in front of the heat exchanger inside the main casing. However, due to the increasing need for more compact air conditioners in recent years, the space above the air outlet and in front of the heat exchanger has also become smaller. On the other hand, due to the need for higher performance and functionality in air conditioners, the size of the control board and the electrical equipment box that houses the control board and the like tend to become larger. As a result, the space required for the electrical equipment box becomes larger, and the space available for the heat exchanger located behind the electrical equipment box inside the main casing becomes smaller, resulting in issues such as reduced air conditioning performance and increased power consumption.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve this conventional problem, and its object is to provide an indoor unit for an air conditioner that can suppress a deterioration in the air conditioner's power consumption by appropriately arranging the electrical equipment box, which is located above the air outlet provided in the housing and in the space in front of the heat exchanger inside the housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides an indoor unit of an air conditioner comprising a housing having a front plate, an upper plate, a bottom plate, a left side plate, and a right side plate, a heat exchanger arranged within the housing, a blower fan arranged within the housing so as to be surrounded by the heat exchanger, and an electrical equipment box that houses a control board and electronic components and is arranged in a space above an air outlet provided in the housing and in front of the heat exchanger within the housing, wherein the electrical equipment box is arranged so that its bottom surface is higher than the bottom end of the blower fan and its rear surface is tilted forward by 20 to 30 degrees relative to a plane extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present invention, by appropriately arranging the electrical equipment box located above the air outlet provided in the housing and in the space in front of the heat exchanger inside the housing, it is possible to provide an indoor unit of the air conditioner that can suppress a deterioration in the power consumption of the air conditioner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1, viewed obliquely from above on the right side. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1, viewed obliquely from below on the left side. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line OO in FIG. [Figure 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view showing in detail the mounting state of the electrical component box in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 2 is a front view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1 with a front grill and a housing removed. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a right side view of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] 9 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical component box taken along the line PP in FIG. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical concept of the present invention, and the technical concept of the present invention does not limit the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, etc. of the components to the following embodiments. Furthermore, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, it should be noted that the relationship between thickness and planar dimensions, ratios, etc., differ from the actual ones, and the drawings also contain parts where the relationship and ratio of dimensions differ from each other.

[0012] 1 to 4, an indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner includes a housing 2. The housing 2 includes a front plate 2a extending longitudinally in the left-right direction, an upper plate 2b extending rearward from the upper end of the front plate 2a, a bottom plate 2c extending rearward from the lower end of the front plate 2a, a left plate 2d extending rearward from the left ends of the front plate 2a and the bottom plate 2c, and a right plate 2e extending rearward from the right ends of the front plate 2a and the bottom plate 2c. A front grill 3 is attached to the front plate 2a of the housing 2, and a base 6 is provided on the rear side of the housing 2.

[0013] 2, a plurality of intake ports 4 are formed in the upper plate portion 2b of the housing 2. As shown in Fig. 3, an air outlet 5 extending in the left-right direction is formed in the bottom plate portion 2c of the housing 2. The air outlet 5 is provided with an up-and-down air direction flap 30 that closes when the unit is not operating and opens when the unit is operating.

[0014] The housing 2 also accommodates a heat exchanger 7, a blower fan 8, a drain pan 9, a fan motor 11, a terminal block assembly 12, and an electrical component box 20.

[0015] 4, the heat exchanger 7 is configured by connecting a front-side lower heat exchanger 7a and a front-side upper heat exchanger 7b with a rear-side upper heat exchanger 7c and a rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d in an inverted V shape in side view. The front-side lower heat exchanger 7a, the front-side upper heat exchanger 7b, the rear-side upper heat exchanger 7c, and the rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d each extend in the left-right direction.

[0016] The blower fan 8 is a cross-claw fan formed in a substantially cylindrical shape that extends longitudinally along the left-right direction of the housing 2 and is arranged so as to be surrounded by the heat exchanger 7 from the front and rear. As shown in FIG. 7 , the fan motor 11 is arranged at the right end of the blower fan 8 and drives the blower fan 8. A fan cable W1, which serves as wiring that is connected to a control board 22 (described later) inside the electrical component box 20, is connected to the fan motor 11. The drain pan 9 is arranged below the heat exchanger 7 and receives condensation dripping from the heat exchanger 7 and discharges it to the outside.

[0017] 7, the terminal block assembly 12 is attached to the drain pan cover 10 and disposed below the fan motor 11, and a terminal block (not shown) connected to a power source (not shown) is provided inside the terminal block. An AC cable W2 is connected to the terminal block as wiring connected to a control board 22 (described later) of the electrical component box 20.

[0018] 4 and 5, the electrical component box 20 houses the control board 22 and a plurality of electronic components 23 mounted on the control board 22, and is attached to the tip 9a of the drain pan 9 in the space A above the air outlet 5 formed in the bottom plate portion 2c of the housing 2 and in front of the heat exchanger 7 inside the housing 2. The electrical component box 20 is also disposed close to the right end of the housing 2, as shown in FIG.

[0019] In the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner configured as described above, when the blower fan 8 is driven by the fan motor 11 and rotates, indoor air is drawn into the indoor unit 1 from the air inlet 4 via a filter (not shown). The air drawn into the indoor unit 1 then exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 7, becoming cold air and warm air, and this cold air and warm air then pass through the air outlet 5 and are blown out into the room.

[0020] Next, the detailed configuration of the electrical component box 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 8 to Fig. 10. Fig. 8 is a front view of the electrical component box, Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical component box, and Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical component box taken along line PP in Fig. 8. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the electrical equipment box 20 includes a box body 21 and a lid body 24. The box 21 includes a substantially rectangular bottom plate 21a that is elongated in the left-right direction (left-right direction in FIG. 8), a front plate 21b that rises from the front edge (left edge in FIG. 10) of the bottom plate 21a, a rear plate 21c that rises from the rear edge of the bottom plate 21a, a left plate 21d that rises from the left edge of the bottom plate 21a, and a right plate 21e that rises from the right edge of the bottom plate 21a, and is open on the upper side (upper side in FIG. 8). The right plate 21e is formed with a fan cable hole 21f through which the fan cable W1 is inserted and an AC cable hole 21g through which the AC cable W2 is inserted. The box 21 also contains a substantially rectangular control board 22 on which a plurality of electronic components 23 are mounted.

[0021] The lid body 24 covers the upper side of the box body 21, and as shown in Figure 10, is provided with a front inclined plate portion 24a that slopes upward from the front side (the left side in Figure 10) toward the rear side, a rear inclined plate portion 24b that slopes downward from the upper end of the front inclined plate portion 24a toward the rear side, a rear plate portion 24c that slopes vertically downward from the rear end of the rear inclined plate portion 24b, a left side plate portion 24d that closes the left end sides of the front inclined plate portion 24a, the rear inclined plate portion 24b, and the rear plate portion 24c, and a right side plate portion 24e that closes the right end sides of the front inclined plate portion 24a, the rear inclined plate portion 24b, and the rear plate portion 24c. As shown in Figure 10, the cross-sectional shape of this lid body 24 cut along the cutting line PP shows that the part covering the top of the box body 21, i.e., a triangular roof with two sides made up of the front inclined plate portion 24a and the rear inclined plate portion 24b, is formed. 10, the lid 24 covers the upper side of the box 21 that houses the control board 22 and the plurality of electronic components 23, thereby forming the electrical component box 20.

[0022] As described above, the electrical equipment box 20 configured in this manner is disposed in the space A above the air outlet 5 formed in the bottom plate portion 2c of the housing 2 and in front of the heat exchanger 7 inside the housing 2. Here, due to the increasing need for smaller air conditioners in recent years, the space (space A) above the air outlet 5 and in front of the heat exchanger 7 also tends to become smaller. On the other hand, due to the need for higher performance air conditioners, the size of the control board 22 and electronic components 23 tends to become larger, and the size of the electrical component box 20 that houses the control board 22 and electronic components 23 also tends to become larger. As a result, a large space (space A) is required to place the electrical component box 20, and the space for placing the heat exchanger 7 located behind the electrical component box 20 within the housing 2 (the dimension H in the front-to-rear direction of the heat exchanger 7 in FIG. 4) becomes smaller. As a result, the heat exchanger 7 itself becomes smaller, its heat exchange capacity decreases, and the power consumption of the air conditioner increases. Therefore, when disposing the electrical component box 20 in the space A above the air outlet 5 and in front of the heat exchanger 7 inside the housing 2, some ingenuity is required.

[0023] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the electrical equipment box 20 is arranged in the space A so that the lower end surface 20a is positioned above the lower end 8a of the blower fan 8, specifically, so that the lower end surface 20a of the electrical equipment box 20 is positioned δ above the lower end 8a of the blower fan 8. 4 and 5, the electrical component box 20 is disposed with its rear surface 20b tilted forward at an inclination angle θ of 20° to 30° with respect to a plane S extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing 2. Here, in the electrical equipment box 20 shown in Figures 8 to 10, the lower side of the electrical equipment box 20 is positioned rearward, the bottom surface 21h of the bottom plate portion 21a of the box body 21 is positioned as the rear surface 20b of the electrical equipment box 20, and the rear surface 20b is tilted forward at an inclination angle θ with respect to a plane S extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing 2, and the front surface 24f of the front inclined plate portion 24a is positioned as the lower end surface 20a of the electrical equipment box 20.

[0024] The reason why the lower end surface 20a of the electrical component box 20 is disposed at a position higher than the lower end 8a of the blower fan 8 is as follows. To improve the air conditioning performance, it is necessary to increase the size of the heat exchanger 7, and for that purpose, a rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d is added below the rear-side upper heat exchanger 7c. Furthermore, with the addition of the rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d, it is necessary to position the air outlet 5 slightly higher and direct the airflow in a more horizontal, front-to-rear direction so that the air passes through the rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d. Since the stabilizer (not shown) that forms the air outlet 5 is positioned slightly higher, the electrical component box 20 is placed in the limited space (space A) in front of the front-side lower heat exchanger 7a, and therefore the lower end surface 20a of the electrical component box 20 is also positioned higher, and the lower end surface 20a of the electrical component box 20 is positioned above the lower end 8a of the blower fan 8.

[0025] The reason why the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 is arranged with an inclination angle θ of 20° to 30° forward with respect to a plane S extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing 2 is as follows. When the electrical component box 20 is placed in the space A with the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 tilted forward with respect to the plane S at an inclination angle θ=0° (with the rear surface 20b parallel to the plane S) while maintaining the dimension L in the front-to-rear direction of the housing 2, the height of the electrical component box 20 (the height from the bottom surface 21h of the bottom plate portion 21a to the intersection of the front inclined plate portion 24a and the rear inclined plate portion 24b in FIG. 10 ) reduces the space available for placing the heat exchanger 7 located behind the electrical component box 20. As a result, the size of the heat exchanger 7 is reduced, the heat exchange capacity of the heat exchanger is reduced, and the power consumption of the air conditioner increases. In fact, as a result of research conducted by the present inventors, when the inclination angle θ=0°, power consumption increased by approximately 5% compared to when the inclination angle θ=25°.

[0026] Furthermore, even if the electrical component box 20 is placed in the space A with the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 tilted forward at an inclination angle θ of 60° with respect to the plane S while maintaining the dimension L in the front-to-rear direction of the housing 2, the space for arranging the heat exchanger 7 located behind the electrical component box 20 becomes smaller. As a result, the size of the heat exchanger 7 becomes smaller, the heat exchange stress of the heat exchanger decreases, and the power consumption of the air conditioner increases. In fact, as a result of investigations by the present inventors, when the inclination angle θ is 60°, the power consumption increases by about 5% compared to when the inclination angle θ is 25°.

[0027] Furthermore, if the electrical component box 20 is placed in the space A with the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 tilted forward at an inclination angle θ=90° with respect to the plane S while maintaining the dimension L in the front-to-rear direction of the housing 2, the length of the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 reduces the space available for placing the heat exchanger 7 located behind the electrical component box 20. As a result, the size of the heat exchanger 7 is reduced, the heat exchange capacity of the heat exchanger is reduced, and the power consumption of the air conditioner is increased. In fact, as a result of an investigation by the present inventors, when the inclination angle θ=90°, power consumption is increased by approximately 10% compared to when the inclination angle θ=25°.

[0028] On the other hand, if the electrical component box 20 is placed in the space A with the rear surface 20b of the electrical component box 20 tilted forward at an inclination angle θ of 20° to 30° with respect to the plane S while maintaining the dimension L in the front-to-rear direction of the housing 2, the space for arranging the heat exchanger 7 located behind the electrical component box 20 does not become smaller. As a result, the size of the heat exchanger 7 is also large, the heat exchange capacity of the heat exchanger does not decrease, and the power consumption of the air conditioner does not increase. In fact, as a result of investigations by the present inventors, when the inclination angle θ is 20° to 30°, the increase in power consumption is about 0% to 1%, with the increase being 0% when the inclination angle θ is 25°. As a result, the electrical component box 20 is arranged with the rear surface 20b tilted forward at an inclination angle θ of 20° to 30° with respect to a plane S extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing 2.

[0029] In consideration of the increase in power consumption, it is preferable to position the electrical equipment box 20 with its rear surface 20b tilted forward with respect to the plane S at an inclination angle θ=24° to 26°, and it is even more preferable to position it with the rear surface 20b tilted forward with an inclination angle θ=25°.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 4, when the dimension of the housing 2 in the front-rear direction is L and the dimension of the heat exchanger 7 in the front-rear direction is H, the relationship between L and H is preferably H / L is 0.7 or greater. In fact, in this embodiment, H / L is 0.78. By setting H / L to 0.7 or greater, the size of the heat exchanger 7 can be increased, preventing a decrease in air conditioning performance and suppressing an increase in power consumption. Note that there is no particular upper limit for H / L, but considering the installation space for the electrical component box 20, it is preferable to set it to 0.87.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, when the outer diameter of the blower fan 8 is F and the dimension of the housing 2 in the front-to-rear direction is L, the relationship between F and L is preferably F / L is 0.38 or greater. In fact, in this embodiment, F / L is 0.39. By making F / L 0.38 or greater, the outer diameter F of the blower fan 8 can be increased to increase the blowing capacity and prevent a decrease in air conditioning performance. Note that there is no particular upper limit for F / L, but since noise occurs when the heat exchanger 7 and the blower fan 8 are placed too close to each other, it is desirable to set the upper limit to 0.52, taking into account the clearance between them.

[0032] The electrical component box 20 includes a box body 21 that is open at the top and a lid body 24 that covers the top of the box body 21, and the lid body 24 has a triangular cross section when cut along the vertical direction. The electrical component box 20 is arranged with the lower side of the box body 21 facing rearward and the bottom surface 21h of the box body 21 serving as the rear surface 20b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 , when the electrical component box 20 is arranged in the space A, the triangular rear inclined plate portion 24b of the lid body 24 fits along the front plate portion 2a of the housing 2, allowing the electrical component box 20 to be appropriately arranged within the limited space A.

[0033] Furthermore, among the multiple electronic components 23 housed inside the electrical equipment box 20, a specific electronic component 23, for example, an electrolytic capacitor, has a height of 20 mm or more and is mounted on the control board 22, and is arranged vertically from the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21h) side. If a tall component having a height of 20 mm or more is mounted on the control board 22 and placed upright on the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21h), the height of the electrical component box 20 (the height from the rear surface 20b (bottom surface 21h) to the intersection of the front inclined plate portion 24a and the rear inclined plate portion 24b in FIG. 5) becomes large, making it difficult to place the electrical component box 20 within the limited space A. However, in the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the electrical component box 20 is placed with the rear surface 20b tilted forward at an inclination angle θ of 20° to 30° with respect to a plane S extending in the up-down and left-right directions of the housing 2. Therefore, even if the height of the electrical component box 20 becomes large, the electrical component box 20 can be placed within the limited space A without any problems.

[0034] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications and improvements can be made. For example, the heat exchanger 7 is not limited to a configuration in which the front-side lower heat exchanger 7a and the front-side upper heat exchanger 7b are connected to the rear-side upper heat exchanger 7c and the rear-side lower heat exchanger 7d so as to form an inverted V shape when viewed from the side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1. Air conditioner indoor unit 2. Case 2a Front plate part 2b Upper plate 2c Bottom plate part 2d Left side plate 2e Right side plate 3 Front Grill 4 Intake port 5 Air outlet 6 Base 7 Heat exchanger 7a Front lower heat exchanger 7b Front side upper heat exchanger 7c Rear side upper heat exchanger 7d Rear side lower heat exchanger 8. Blower fan 9 Drain pan 10 Drain pan cover 11 Fan motor 12 Terminal block assembly 20 electrical component boxes 20a Lower end face 20b after 21 Box 21a Base plate 21b Front panel 21c Rear panel 21d Left side panel 21e Right side panel 21f ファンケーブルAcupoint 21g AC ケーブルAcupoint 21h Bottom surface of the bottom plate 22 control substrate 23 Electronic components 24. Cover 24a Forward Inclined Plate Section 24b Rear Inclined Plate Section 24c Rear Panel 24d Left side panel 24e Right side panel 24f Front of the front inclined plate 30. Wind direction board A space S-plane W1 ファンケーブル W2 AC ケーブル

Claims

1. An indoor unit of an air conditioner comprising: a housing having a front plate portion, an upper plate portion, a bottom plate portion, a left side plate portion, and a right side plate portion; a heat exchanger disposed within the housing; a blower fan disposed within the housing so as to be surrounded by the heat exchanger; and an electrical equipment box accommodating a control board and electronic components, and disposed in a space above an air outlet provided in the housing and in front of the heat exchanger within the housing, The electrical equipment box is arranged such that its lower end surface is positioned above the lower end of the blower fan, and its rear surface is tilted forward by 20 to 30 degrees with respect to a plane extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing.

2. 2. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein, when the dimension of the housing in the front-to-rear direction is L and the dimension of the heat exchanger in the front-to-rear direction is H, H / L is 0.7 or more.

3. 3. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein F / L is 0.38 or more, where F is an outer diameter of the blower fan.

4. The indoor unit of an air conditioner as described in claim 1, characterized in that the electrical equipment box is arranged with the rear surface tilted forward by 24 to 26 degrees with respect to a plane extending along the vertical and horizontal directions of the housing.

5. 2. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the electrical equipment box comprises a box body that is open at the top and a lid body that covers the top of the box body, the lid body having a triangular cross-sectional shape when cut along the vertical direction, and the electrical equipment box is arranged with the lower side of the box body facing rearward and the bottom surface of the box body facing rearward.

6. 2. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the electronic components housed inside the electrical component box have a height of 20 mm or more and are arranged vertically from the rear side.

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