air conditioner

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner capable of maintaining an air volume while diffusing an air flow blown out from a Sirocco fan in a rotary shaft direction without collision or abrupt deflection.SOLUTION: In an air conditioner, straightening grooves 60 toward an area where a Sirocco fan 52 is not disposed with respect to an intersecting line are formed on an inner wall of an upper surface part 61 when setting the intersecting line of the upper surface part 61 to a surface perpendicular to a rotary shaft 53 and located between a first side surface part 63 and a second side surface part 64. Thereby, an air flow exhausted in a diameter direction from the Sirocco fan 52 is guided in a direction of the straightening grooves 60, and also an air flow adjacent to the straightening grooves 60 can be induced by the guided air flow.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner including a sirocco fan and a scroll casing. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, air blown out from the scroll casing flows straight into the heat exchanger, creating areas in the heat exchanger where the air speed is high and areas where it is low, resulting in uneven air speed distribution and reduced heat exchange efficiency. To address this issue, a straightening plate is provided in the blower section to diffuse the blown air in the direction of the rotation axis, thereby suppressing uneven air speed distribution in the heat exchanger (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-16780 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure solves the conventional problems by providing an air conditioner that can diffuse the airflow from a sirocco fan in the direction of the rotation axis without collision or sudden deflection, while maintaining air volume. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the problems of the related art, the air conditioner of the present disclosure includes: a scroll casing including a plurality of sirocco fans that exhaust air in a radial direction; an opening that houses the sirocco fans and through which air is drawn in from the rotation axis direction by the rotation of the sirocco fans; and a blower section that is surrounded on the left and right by an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion. , suckan air conditioner including an air inlet and an air blowing chamber that houses the scroll casing; a heat exchanger that receives air blown out from an outlet at the open end of the air blowing section of the scroll casing; a heat exchanger chamber that houses the heat exchanger; and a partition plate that separates the air blowing chamber from the heat exchanger chamber, wherein, when an intersection line between the top surface and a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis between the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion is set on the inner wall of the top surface portion, a straightening groove is formed that faces an area where the sirocco fan is not disposed with respect to the intersection line. The flow straightening grooves are formed only on the linear portion of the upper surface leading to the air outlet, and are not formed on any curved surface portion other than the linear portion leading to the air outlet of the upper surface. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] In the air conditioner of the present disclosure, by providing a straightening groove on the inner wall of the upper surface of the scroll casing, the airflow exhausted radially from the centrifugal fan is guided in the direction of the straightening groove rather than being suddenly deflected by a collision in a highly straight-line state, and the airflow near the straightening groove can be attracted by the guided airflow, so that the airflow blown out from the centrifugal fan can be diffused in the direction of the rotation axis without collision or sudden deflection, while maintaining the air volume. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rotation axis direction of a sirocco fan of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment taken along a side surface of the housing. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a sirocco fan of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment, taken along a rotation axis thereof; [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rotation axis direction of a sirocco fan of a scroll casing of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a scroll casing of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] (Findings that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time the inventors came up with the idea for this disclosure, there was a technology in place that provided a straightening plate in the blower section to diffuse the blown air in the direction of the rotation axis, thereby suppressing uneven wind speed distribution to the heat exchanger. However, the inventors discovered a problem in that when a straightening plate is provided in the air blowing section near the open end of the scroll casing, the blown airflow collides with the straightening plate or is suddenly deflected, resulting in pressure loss and a decrease in air volume.In order to solve this problem, the inventors came up with the subject matter of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure provides an air conditioner that can diffuse the airflow blown from a sirocco fan in the direction of the rotation axis without collision or sudden deflection, and can maintain the air volume.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters or redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) [1-1.Configuration] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a sirocco fan of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, taken in the direction of the rotation axis. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a side surface of a housing of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a cross-section of a sirocco fan of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, taken in the direction of the rotation axis. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a scroll casing of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, taken in the direction of the rotation axis of the sirocco fan. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a scroll casing of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure.

[0011] 1 and 2, one side of air conditioner 50 of this embodiment is provided with an intake port 59 for taking in air. Inside air conditioner 50 are provided sirocco fan 52 that exhausts air in a radial direction, electric motor 54, fan opening 57 that houses sirocco fan 52 and draws air in from the direction of the rotation axis as sirocco fan 52 rotates, and scroll casing 56 that has upper surface 61, lower surface 62, and blower section 65 that is surrounded on the left and right by first side surface 63 and second side surface 64. The electric motor 54 is connected to the sirocco fan 52 through a rotating shaft 78 thereof, and drives the sirocco fan 52 to rotate.

[0012] Sirocco fan 52 is a centrifugal fan and includes a main plate 80. When sirocco fan 52 is operating, air is drawn in through suction port 59, flows into scroll casing 56 through fan opening 57 in the direction of the rotation axis, and is blown out from blower section 65 to heat exchanger 69. The conditioned air that has undergone heat exchange in heat exchanger 69 is then discharged from outlet 58.

[0013] The air conditioner 50 is also composed of an air intake chamber 67 that houses the intake port 59 and the scroll casing 56, a heat exchanger chamber 68 that houses a heat exchanger 69 that receives air blown out from the outlet 57 at the open end 66 of the air blowing section 65 of the scroll casing 56, and an outlet 70 that expels air that has passed through the heat exchanger 69. The blower chamber 67 and the heat exchanger chamber 68 are separated by a partition plate 55 .

[0014] Here, the air blown out from the blower section 65 of the scroll casing 56 flows straight toward the air inlet surface of the heat exchanger 69, and there are areas in the heat exchanger 69 where the air passing through has a high wind speed and areas where the air speed is low, resulting in an uneven distribution of the air speed, and therefore a decrease in the heat exchange efficiency. In this embodiment, by providing a rectifying plate 72 in the blowing section 65 of the scroll casing 56, the airflow blown out from the blowing section 65 is diffused in the direction of the rotation shaft 53, thereby suppressing unevenness in the magnitude of the airflow speed toward the heat exchanger 69. However, if the rectifying plate 72 is provided in the blowing section 65 near the open end 66 of the scroll casing 56, the blown out airflow collides with the rectifying plate 72 and is suddenly deflected, causing a pressure loss and a decrease in air volume.

[0015] Therefore, in this embodiment, flow regulating grooves 60 are provided on the inner wall of the upper surface portion 61 . As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when an intersection line 81 is set between the upper surface 61 and a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis 53 between the first side surface portion 63 and the second side surface portion 64 in the straightening groove 60, the straightening groove 60 provided between the intersection line 81 and the first side surface portion 63 forms a groove directed toward the first side surface portion 63, and the straightening groove 60 provided between the intersection line 81 and the second side surface portion 64 forms a groove directed toward the second side surface portion 64. The flow straightening grooves 60 are formed only in the straight portion leading to the air outlet of the upper surface portion 61. The airflow caused by the sirocco fan 52 is turbulent in the curved surface portion other than the straight portion of the upper surface portion 61, and if the flow straightening grooves 60 are formed in this curved surface portion, the flow straightening effect is not easily achieved.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 4, the flow adjustment grooves 60 are formed symmetrically about the intersection line 81 in the width direction of the scroll casing, but this is not limitative and they may be formed asymmetrically. For example, a gap is formed between each of the sirocco fans 52, and in particular, the gap between each of the sirocco fans 52 on which an electric motor is installed is formed large. Therefore, more flow straightening grooves 60 may be formed on the side of each sirocco fan 52 where the gap is larger, and the position of intersection line 81 may be shifted so that the airflow flows more toward the side where the gap of sirocco fan 52 is larger.

[0017] [1-2. Effect] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, by providing the straightening grooves 60, the airflow exhausted radially from the sirocco fan 52 is guided in the direction of the straightening grooves 60, and the airflow near the straightening grooves 60 is attracted by the guided airflow, so that it is deflected in the direction of the rotation axis 53 without collision or sudden deflection. Since the deflection does not involve collision or sudden deflection, the airflow blown from blower 65 can be diffused in the direction of rotation shaft 53 while maintaining the air volume. This makes it possible to make the airflow blown from the sirocco fan 52 uniform, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 69.

[0018] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, in this embodiment, when an intersection line 81 between the upper surface portion 61 and a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis 53 between the first side surface portion 63 and the second side surface portion 64 is set on the inner wall of the upper surface portion 61, a straightening groove 60 is formed toward the area where the sirocco fan 52 is not positioned relative to the intersection line 81. Thus, by providing the flow straightening grooves 60 on the inner wall of the top surface 61 of the scroll casing 56, the airflow exhausted radially from the sirocco fan 52 can be guided in the direction of the flow straightening grooves 60, and the airflow near the flow straightening grooves 60 can be attracted by the guided airflow. Therefore, the airflow blown out from the blower 65 can be diffused in the direction of the rotation shaft 53 without collision or sudden deflection of the airflow, and the air volume can be maintained across the entire width of the heat exchanger 69.

[0019] In addition, in this embodiment, the straightening groove 60 provided between the intersection line 81 and the first side surface portion 63 forms a groove directed toward the first side surface portion 63, and the straightening groove 60 provided between the intersection line 81 and the second side surface portion 64 forms a groove directed toward the second side surface portion 64. This allows the airflow exhausted radially from sirocco fan 52 to be guided to both sides in the width direction around intersection line 81. Therefore, the volume of the blown airflow can be maintained across the entire width of heat exchanger 69.

[0020] Note that the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the straightening groove 60 is provided from the upstream side to the opening end 66, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the end of the straightening groove 60 on the opening end 66 side may be located between the upstream side and the opening end 66. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the end of the straightening groove 60 is located at the opening end 66, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the end of the straightening groove 60 or an extension of the end may be located at the first side portion 63 and the second side portion 64.

[0021] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the upstream end of the straightening groove 60 is located upstream of the rotating shaft 53 of the sirocco fan 52, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the upstream end may be located anywhere on the upper surface portion 61. Moreover, in the above-described first embodiment, an example is shown in which the shape of the rectifying grooves 60 is rectangular, as shown in Fig. 5. This allows the air flowing into the rectifying grooves 60 to be enclosed and prevented from flowing out of the rectifying grooves 60. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and various widths, depths, cross-sectional shapes, and end shapes may be adopted as long as they are capable of guiding the airflow.

[0022] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the flow straightening groove 60 is arranged linearly from the upstream side to the opening end 66 side, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and various curves, curvatures, and angles may be adopted as long as the airflow can be guided from the upstream side to the opening end 66 side. Furthermore, in the above-described first embodiment, an example is shown in which the end faces of the upstream side and the opening end 66 side of the flow straightening groove 60 have a shape that maintains a cross-sectional shape, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the end faces of the upstream side and the opening end 66 side of the flow straightening groove 60 may be joined to the top surface portion 61 of the scroll casing 56 in various shapes. For example, the corner formed by the end face on the opening end 66 side and the top surface portion 61 is chamfered. This allows the airflow in the flow straightening groove 60 to flow out of the flow straightening groove 60 in the blowing direction without colliding with the end faces, making it possible to suppress a decrease in air volume due to pressure loss.

[0023] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the same shape of the flow straightening groove 60 is maintained from the upstream side to the opening end 66 side, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the width, depth, cross-sectional shape, and end shape of the flow straightening groove 60 may be changed any number of times from the upstream side to the opening end 66 side, as long as the airflow can be guided from the upstream side to the opening end 66 side. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which straightening grooves 60 of the same angle and shape are arranged in a row from the straightening grooves 60 on the first side surface portion 63 and the second side surface portion 64 side to the straightening grooves 60 on the intersection line 81 side, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and different shapes and combinations of angles, curvatures, and lengths may be adopted.

[0024] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the straightening grooves 60 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the intersection line 81, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and different combinations of shapes, numbers, angles, lengths, and arrangements may be adopted. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, intersection line 81 is located at the center of scroll casing 56 in the direction of rotation axis 53, and straightening grooves 60 are formed toward first side surface portion 63 and second side surface portion 64. The airflow sucked in from fan opening 57 is concentrated at the center of sirocco fan 52 in the direction of rotation axis 53 due to inertial force, and therefore the air volume at the center of scroll casing 56 in the direction of rotation axis 53 increases. By locating intersection line 81 at the center of scroll casing 56 in the direction of rotation axis 53, much of the airflow exhausted from sirocco fan 52 can be diffused in the direction of rotation axis 53. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0025] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, an example is shown in which the flow straightening grooves 60 are both between the intersection line 81 and the first side surface portion 63 and between the second side surface portion 64. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The intersection line 81 may be located on either the first side surface portion 63 or the second side surface portion 64, and the flow straightening grooves 60 may only be located on one of the side surfaces. For example, if the heat exchanger 69 that receives the airflow blown from the blower 65 is only located on the first side surface portion 63 side of the scroll casing 56 or is biased toward the first side surface portion 63, the intersection line 81 is located on the second side surface portion 64, and all the flow straightening grooves 60 are formed facing the first side surface portion 91. This allows the blown airflow to be diffused toward the heat exchanger 69.

[0026] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the flow straightening grooves 60 on the furthest first side surface portion 63 and second side surface portion 64 are disposed from the fan opening portion 57 to the first side surface portion 63 and second side surface portion 64 side, but the present disclosure is not limited to this and the flow straightening grooves 60 may be disposed at any position on the upper surface portion. For example, all of the flow straightening grooves 60 are disposed so as to be closer to the center than the position on the first side surface portion 63 and second side surface portion 64 furthest from the center in the direction of the rotation axis 53 of the scroll casing 56. This allows the flow straightening grooves 60 to be molded using a single mold without interfering with the openings when the scroll casing 56 is molded from resin.

[0027] Furthermore, any manufacturing method, assembly method, material, or raw material may be used to provide the flow straightening grooves 60. For example, the flow straightening grooves 60 may be provided by attaching a detachable attachment-type groove to the upper surface portion 61. This allows the shape of the flow straightening grooves 60 to be changed to an attachment-type groove, and the direction of diffusion of the blown airflow can be changed depending on the attachment position and conditions of the scroll casing 56 relative to the heat exchanger 68.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which scroll casing 56 containing two connected sirocco fans 52 is arranged around the center in the direction of rotation axis 53, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and sirocco fans 52 and scroll casings 56 of various shapes, numbers, combinations, and arrangements may be adopted. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the I-shaped heat exchanger 69 is positioned so that the distance from the side of the scroll casing 56 where the outlet 58 is located is large, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and heat exchangers 69 of various shapes and positions may be adopted. [Industrial Applicability]

[0029] As described above, the air conditioner according to the present disclosure can maintain air volume while diffusing the airflow blowing out from the scroll casing in the direction of the rotation axis, and therefore can be used in refrigeration cycle devices such as ceiling-mounted duct-type indoor units, ceiling-suspended indoor units, and floor-standing indoor units, as well as in drying devices and intake and exhaust ventilation devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 50 Air conditioner 51 Case 52 Sirocco fan 53 Rotation axis 54 Electric motor 55 Divider 56 Scroll casing 57 Opening 58 Air outlet 59 Intake port 60 Rectifying groove 61 Top part 62 Bottom part 63 First side part 64 Second side part 65 Blower 66 Open End 67 Ventilation room 68 Heat exchange room 69 Heat exchanger 70 outlet 71 Main plate 72 Rectifying groove 81 Intersection line 86 Enlarged cross-sectional view of Example 1

Claims

1. a plurality of sirocco fans that exhaust air in a radial direction; a scroll casing that houses the sirocco fan and includes an opening that draws air from the rotation axis direction by rotation of the sirocco fan, and includes an air blower that is surrounded on the left and right by an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion; an air blowing chamber containing the suction port and the scroll casing; a heat exchanger that receives air blown out from an outlet at an open end of the blower section of the scroll casing; a heat exchanger chamber that houses the heat exchanger; In an air conditioner provided with a partition plate that separates the air blower chamber and the heat exchanger chamber, an intersecting line between the upper surface portion and a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis between the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion is set on an inner wall of the upper surface portion, the intersecting line being directed toward an area where the sirocco fan is not disposed, the flow straightening grooves are formed only in a linear portion of the upper surface portion leading to the air outlet, and are not formed in any curved surface portion other than the linear portion leading to the air outlet of the upper surface portion. An air conditioner characterized by the above.

2. The air conditioner described in claim 1, characterized in that the straightening groove provided between the intersection line and the first side portion forms a groove directed toward the first side portion, and the straightening groove provided between the intersection line and the second side portion forms a groove directed toward the second side portion.

3. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the position of the intersection line is shifted so that more straightening grooves are formed on the side of the sirocco fan where the gap is larger.

4. the flow straightening groove has a shape extending from its upstream end to the open end of the air blower, An air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the corner formed by the end face on the opening end side of the straightening groove and the upper surface portion is chamfered to suppress a decrease in air volume due to pressure loss.

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