air conditioner

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner which is excellent in filter performance.SOLUTION: An air conditioner comprises a front panel 11 forming an outer shell of a front-face side of a housing (main body) 10, an indoor suction port 12, a filter 36 formed in a substantially square shape and removing dust in air passing therethrough, and a suction port panel 80 formed in a substantially square shape. The filter 36 has protrusions 36a which are formed on opposing two sides of peripheral edges. The suction port panel 80 comprises a first locking part 87, a second locking part 88, and leg parts 86 which extend in a front panel direction on two sides which face each other in parallel in a first direction, the first direction being a direction in which one of the protrusions 36a, 36b protrudes with the filter 36 being in an attached position. The front panel 11 comprises filter receiving parts 11b, 11c, a first lock receiving part 11d and a second lock receiving part 11e. Filter abutment parts 86b to abut on the filter 36 are disposed at end parts 86a of the leg parts 86 in the front panel 11 direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a household air conditioner. More specifically, it relates to a technique for suppressing the deflection of a filter provided in front of an indoor air intake in an air conditioner having an indoor air intake and an indoor air outlet.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, this type of air conditioner is provided with an indoor air intake (18) for sucking indoor air on the front side of a front panel (10) constituting an outer shell, and an indoor air outlet for blowing out the sucked air into the room. A filter (33) is provided at the indoor air intake to remove dust in the indoor air and prevent the intrusion of dust into the appliance. This filter is attached to the filter insertion / removal opening (14) of the front panel as follows. That is, a pair of protrusions (35) are formed on the upper edge of the filter on the left and right, and a pair of protrusions (36) are also formed on the lower edge on the left and right. After the protrusions on the upper edge are inserted into holes (40) formed in the upper part of the inner surface of the filter insertion / removal opening, with the entire filter elastically curved to the front side, the protrusions on the lower edge are inserted into holes (41) formed in the lower part of the inner surface of the filter insertion / removal opening. When the elastic curvature of the entire filter is released, the protrusions (35) on the upper edge and the upper holes (40) engage, and the protrusions (36) on the lower edge and the lower holes (41) engage and are maintained in that state, whereby the filter is attached to the filter insertion / removal opening. A detachable intake panel (50) is provided on the front side of this filter. (For example, see Patent Document 1.)

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the air conditioner shown in Patent Document 1, the curvature of the filter may not be completely resolved, and it may be used in a bent state. If it remains bent, a gap will form between the filter and the front panel, and dust may enter the appliance through this gap, potentially causing malfunctions in the appliance, so there was room for improvement.

[0005] This invention was made in view of the above background, and aims to provide an air conditioner that can prevent gaps between the filter and the front panel and suppress the intrusion of dust into the inside of the equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention has been made to achieve the above objective, and in claim 1, a main body, a front panel constituting the outer shell on the front side of the main body, and the front side of the front panel Distributed to The air intake system comprises an indoor air intake port, an indoor air outlet port for blowing out air drawn in from the indoor air intake port, a fan for drawing in air from the indoor air intake port and blowing it out from the indoor air outlet port, a filter that covers the indoor air intake port and is mounted on the front panel and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape to remove dust from the air passing through it, and an air intake panel that is positioned on the front side of the filter and is detachably configured and formed in a substantially rectangular shape, wherein the filter has projections formed on each of two opposing sides of its periphery, and the air intake panel has a first section provided on one side of its periphery. The filter comprises a stopper, a second locking portion provided on the other side of the periphery of the intake panel, and legs extending toward the front panel from each of two opposing sides of the periphery of the intake panel parallel to the first direction, where the direction in which one of the protrusions protrudes in the mounting position of the filter is defined as the first direction, the front panel comprises a filter receiving portion into which the pair of protrusions are inserted by the elastic deformation of the filter, a first locking receiving portion that receives the first locking portion, and a second locking receiving portion that receives the second locking portion, and the legs have a filter contact portion that abuts against the filter at the end in the direction of the front panel Furthermore, a panel contact portion is provided near the filter contact portion, which contacts the front panel. It was characterized by the following:

[0008] Claim 2 The panel contact portion and the filter contact portion are characterized in that they are provided on different planes.

[0009] Claim 3 The panel contact portion is characterized by being provided to protrude from the filter contact portion toward the front panel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this invention, the gap between the filter and the front panel due to the deflection of the filter can be narrowed, and an air conditioner with improved filter performance against dust can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Perspective view of an air conditioner illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] Front view of an air conditioner illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention [Figure 3] AA schematic plan view illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention [Figure 4] A diagram illustrating the refrigeration cycle of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] A schematic functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] Perspective view of the filter used in the first embodiment of the present invention [Figure 7] Perspective view of the suction panel used in the first embodiment of the present invention [Figure 8] A perspective view showing some of the components of an air conditioner illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention, in an exploded view. [Figure 9] A perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the mounting location of the filter in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] A perspective view showing an enlarged view of another part of the filter mounting location in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] Another perspective view of an air conditioner illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12]End view showing an enlarged part of the leg portion of the suction port panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] A first embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[0013] 1 is an air conditioner, 10 is a housing (main body) constituting the appearance of the air conditioner 1, and 11 is a front panel constituting the outer shell on the front side of the housing 10. The housing 10 is fixed with fastening members such as screws using a mounting frame 72 so as to be fitted into a window frame of a house, and the front panel 11 side is located indoors and the rear frame 20 side is located outdoors. The front panel 11 includes an indoor suction port 12 that sucks indoor air into the front of the main body, an indoor blowout port 13 that is arranged vertically on the front side of the main body adjacent to the indoor suction port 12 and blows out the air sucked in by the indoor suction port 12, and an operation unit 14 having a plurality of switches that enable instructions by a user such as an operation start instruction and a change in set temperature.

[0014] The operation unit 14 is provided with an operation switch 14a that can start and stop the operation, and an operation changeover switch 14b that switches between a cooling operation and a dehumidifying operation. Details of the cooling operation and the dehumidifying operation will be described later.

[0015] 30 is an indoor side blower chamber located on the rear side of the front panel 11 and formed inside the housing 10. Inside the indoor air supply chamber 30, there is an indoor fan 31 as a blower fan that blows the indoor air sucked in from the indoor suction port 12 through the evaporator 33 and out from the indoor blowout port 13, an indoor motor 32 that drives the indoor fan 31 at a predetermined rotational speed, a plurality of fins, a plurality of heat transfer tubes parallel to the left-right direction penetrating through the plurality of fins, and a hairpin portion connecting the left and right ends of each heat transfer tube. An evaporator 33 is constituted by the heat transfer tubes and the hairpin portion, and a low-temperature refrigerant flows through the heat transfer tubes and the hairpin portion. There is also a heat exchange temperature sensor 34 that abuts on the surface of the heat transfer tube located near the outlet of the refrigerant that constitutes the evaporator 33, a room temperature sensor 35 installed in a fixed frame (not shown) that is a part of the front panel 11 between the indoor suction port 12 and the evaporator 33 and detects the temperature of the indoor air blown by the indoor fan 31, a filter 36 attached to the front side of the indoor suction port 12 and collecting dust contained in the sucked air, and an indoor ventilation path 37 through which the indoor air passes when the indoor fan 31 is driven.

[0016] 40 is an outdoor air supply chamber formed inside the housing 10 and located on the front side of the rear frame 20. Inside the outdoor air supply chamber 40, there is an outdoor fan 41 that blows the outdoor air sucked in from the outdoor suction port 21 through the condenser 43 and out from the outdoor blowout port 22, an outdoor motor 42 that drives the outdoor fan at a predetermined rotational speed, a condenser 43 through which a high-temperature refrigerant flows in the heat transfer tubes penetrating through a plurality of fins, and an outdoor ventilation path 44 through which the outdoor air passes when the outdoor fan 41 is driven.

[0017] There is a machine room (not shown) below the indoor air supply chamber 30. Inside the machine room, there are provided a compressor 51 capable of switching the ON / OFF state to compress the refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure state, and a decompression device 52 that decompresses the refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure state. A refrigeration cycle 54 in which the refrigerant can circulate is formed by sequentially connecting the compressor 51, the condenser 43, the decompression device 52, and the evaporator 33 with a refrigerant pipe 53. Further, inside the machine room, a control unit 55 having a switch circuit and the like on a control board is installed. The control unit 55 controls each actuator such as the compressor 51 to be driven with a predetermined operation based on an instruction at the operation unit 14.

[0018] Inside the enclosure 10, the indoor ventilation chamber 30 and the outdoor ventilation chamber 40 are separated by a partition wall 60, so that the indoor air and outdoor air do not mix.

[0019] Furthermore, the indoor ventilation chamber 30 and the machine room are separated by upper and lower partition plates (not shown), and the indoor motor 32 and a drain pan (not shown) are fixed on these upper and lower partition plates.

[0020] The air conditioner 1 includes a filter 36 that is mounted on the front panel 11 and covers the indoor intake port 12, and is formed in a roughly rectangular shape to remove dust from the air passing through it, and an intake port panel 80 that is positioned on the front side of the filter 36 and is removable, and is also formed in a roughly rectangular shape. Furthermore, an air passage 81 is provided between the intake panel 80 and the filter 36.

[0021] Next, the detailed configuration will be explained with reference to Figures 6 to 12.

[0022] As shown in Figure 6, the filter 36 has a roughly rectangular shape and is composed of a roughly rectangular filter member 36c, a frame 36d around the periphery of the filter member 36c, and a grid-like reinforcing member 36e that reinforces the frame 36d. The filter 36 is provided with projections 36a and 36b formed on each of two opposing sides of its periphery. Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, the upper edge of the filter 36 is provided with a pair of projections 36a on the left and right, and the lower edge is provided with a pair of projections 36b on the left and right.

[0023] As shown in Figure 7, the suction port panel 80 is equipped with support columns 84 and 85, and further includes a locking portion extending toward the front panel 11 on the front panel 11 side of the suction port panel 80. Specifically, it includes a first locking portion 87 provided on one side of the periphery and a second locking portion 88 provided on the other side of the periphery of the suction port panel 80. Furthermore, when the direction in which one of the protrusions 36a protrudes in the mounting position of the filter 36 is defined as the first direction, the suction port panel 80 is provided with legs 86 extending toward the front panel 11 at the midpoint of each of the two opposing sides of the periphery parallel to the first direction. With the intake panel 80 installed, air is drawn into the indoor intake port 12 through the gaps between the support columns 84 and 84, the gaps between the support columns 84 and the legs 86, the gaps between the legs 86 and 86, the gaps between the legs 86 and the support columns 85, and the gaps between the support columns 85. Therefore, the legs 86 do not obstruct the entry of air into the indoor intake port 12.

[0024] As shown in Figures 8 to 10, the front panel 11 is equipped with a filter insertion / removal opening 11a, which is a rectangular frame for housing the filter 36, and a filter receiving section 11b with a hole shape into which a projection 36a for attaching the filter 36 is inserted into the filter insertion / removal opening 11a, and a filter receiving section 11c with a hole shape into which the projection 36b is inserted. Furthermore, the front panel 11 includes a first locking receiving portion 11d that receives a first locking portion 87 for attaching the suction port panel 80, and a second locking receiving portion 11e that receives a second locking portion 88.

[0025] As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the leg portion 86 is provided with a filter contact portion 86b at the end portion 86a in the direction of the front panel 11, which is a surface that contacts the filter 36. Furthermore, the leg portion 86 is provided with a panel contact portion 86c, which is a surface that contacts the front panel 11, near the filter contact portion 86b. More specifically, the surface of the panel contact portion 86c and the surface of the filter contact portion 86b are on different planes, and the panel contact portion 86c is provided so as to protrude from the filter contact portion 86b toward the front panel 11.

[0026] Next, the operation during cooling operation in this embodiment will be described.

[0027] When the user operates the operation switch 14a on the control unit 14 and sets the cooling operation using the operation changeover switch 14b, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the ON state and operates the indoor motor 32 and outdoor motor 42 so that the indoor fan 31 and outdoor fan 41 are driven at a predetermined rotational speed. As a result, the refrigerant circulates within the refrigeration cycle 54 in the direction indicated by arrow B in Figure 4, so that low-temperature refrigerant flows through the evaporator 33 and high-temperature refrigerant flows through the condenser 43. Indoor air drawn in through the indoor intake port 12 is cooled by the evaporator 33 and then blown into the room through the indoor outlet port 13, thereby enabling indoor cooling. Furthermore, the outdoor air drawn in from the outdoor intake port 21 is heated by the condenser 43 and blown outside through the outdoor outlet port 22, thereby cooling the refrigerant flowing inside the condenser 43 and improving the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle 54.

[0028] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0029] As described above, the front panel 11, filter 36, and intake panel 80 are configured, so the attachment of the detachable filter 36 and intake panel 80 is as follows. In other words, when attaching the filter 36 to the front panel 11, with the intake panel 80 removed, the projections 36a on the left and right sides of the upper edge of the filter 36 are inserted into the hole-shaped filter receiving portion 11b provided in the filter inlet / outlet 11a. Then, with the entire filter 36 curved from the upper edge to the lower edge by elastic deformation, the projections 36b on the lower edge of the filter 36 are inserted into the hole-shaped filter receiving portion 11c provided in the filter inlet / outlet 11a. In this way, the filter 36 is fixed in the filter inlet / outlet 11a in a curved state or in an uncurved state.

[0030] Next, when attaching the suction port panel 80 to the front panel 11, the hook-shaped first locking portion 87 on the upper edge of the suction port panel 80 is hooked onto the similarly hook-shaped first locking receiving portion 11d on the front panel 11, and the suction port panel 80 is rotated using the first locking portion 87 as the pivot point, and the lower part of the suction port panel 80 is pressed towards the front panel 11, at which point the claw-shaped second locking portion 88 of the elastic piece on the lower edge of the suction port panel 80 engages with the claw-shaped second locking receiving portion 11e of the elastic piece on the front panel 11, thereby fixing the suction port panel 80 to the front panel 11. At this time, the filter contact portion 86b of the leg portion 86 provided on the intake panel 80 presses the filter 36 against the filter inlet / outlet 11a without any gaps, and the intake panel 80 is fixed to the front panel 11 with the curvature of the filter 36 eliminated.

[0031] As a result, even if the curvature of the filter 36 fixed to the filter inlet / outlet 11a is not eliminated, the gap between the filter 36 and the front panel 11 can be narrowed, reliably preventing dust from entering the inside of the air conditioner 1 and improving the filter performance against dust. Furthermore, even with vibration sources from the indoor motor 32, outdoor motor 42, and compressor 51, the gap between the filter 36 and the front panel 11 can be narrowed, thereby effectively suppressing rattling noises generated in the gap between the filter 36 and the front panel 11.

[0032] Furthermore, a panel contact portion 86c, which is a surface that contacts the front panel 11, is provided on the leg portion 86 near the filter contact portion 86b. As a result, the legs 86 can support the intake panel 80, improving its resistance to external forces from the front, and thus improving the strength of the intake panel 80. Furthermore, even if the filter 36 is forgotten to be installed during maintenance, the panel contact portion 86c will be in contact with the front panel 11, so there is no risk of the intake panel 80 bending, and its resistance to external forces from the front can be reliably ensured.

[0033] The projections 36a and 36b may be one or two on each side. Although the suction panel 80 and filter 36 were described using a vertically elongated rectangle as an example, they may also be horizontally elongated rectangles. Although the explanation described an example where the first locking portion of the suction port panel 80 is located on the upper edge of the suction port panel 80 and the second locking portion is located on the lower edge of the suction port panel 80, the first locking portion may be located on one of the left or right sides of the suction port panel 80, and the second locking portion on the other side. Furthermore, as another example, the first locking portion may be located on the upper edge of the suction port panel 80, and the second locking portions may be located on the left and right sides, respectively. Although the first embodiment was described using a window air conditioner with a cooling function, it may also be applied to an air purifier in which the indoor intake port 12 is located at the front and air is drawn in through a filter 36.

[0034] The other configurations used in this embodiment are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1: Air conditioner 11: Front Panel 11b: Filter receiving section 11c: Filter receiving section 11d: 1st locking receiver 11e: Second locking receiver 12: Indoor intake port 13: Indoor air outlet 36: Filter 36a:Protrusion 36b:Protrusion 80: Intake panel 86: Legs 86a: End 86b: Filter contact area 86c: Panel contact area 87: First locking section 88: Second locking section

Claims

1. The main unit and The front panel that constitutes the outer shell on the front side of the main body, The interior air intake is located on the front side of the aforementioned front panel, An indoor air outlet that blows out the air drawn in from the aforementioned indoor air intake, A fan that draws in air from the indoor intake and blows it out from the indoor outlet, A filter, which covers the indoor air intake and is attached to the front panel, is formed in a roughly rectangular shape to remove dust from the air passing through it, The suction port panel, which is positioned on the front side of the filter, is detachable, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, Equipped with, The aforementioned filter is The periphery of the filter has protrusions formed on each of two opposing sides, Equipped with, The aforementioned intake panel is A first locking portion is provided on one side of the periphery of the aforementioned suction port panel, A second locking portion is provided on the other side of the periphery of the aforementioned suction port panel, When the direction in which one of the protrusions protrudes in the mounting position of the filter is defined as the first direction, The periphery of the intake panel has legs extending toward the front panel on each of the two opposing sides parallel to the first direction, Equipped with, The aforementioned front panel is A filter receiving portion into which the pair of protrusions are inserted due to the elastic deformation of the filter, A first locking receiving portion that receives the first locking portion, A second locking receiving portion that receives the second locking portion, Equipped with, The aforementioned leg portion is The end in the front panel direction has a filter contact portion that contacts the filter, A panel contact portion that contacts the front panel is provided near the filter contact portion. An air conditioner characterized by the following features.

2. The panel contact portion and the filter contact portion are provided on different planes. The air conditioner according to feature 1.

3. The panel contact portion is provided so as to protrude from the filter contact portion toward the front panel. The air conditioner according to feature 2.

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