JP5640651B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an arrangement on the indoor unit side of wireless communication means (wireless module) that communicates with a wireless remote controller using radio waves.

Conventionally, what is shown in FIG. 8 is disclosed as an air conditioner which communicates with a remote controller via radio waves.
8A is a diagram in which the indoor unit is installed on the left side of the room (hereinafter, left side installation), FIG. 8B is a diagram in which the indoor unit is installed on the right side of the room (hereinafter, right side installation), and FIG. 8C. Is a wireless remote controller 85.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, an electronic control unit 82, a communication unit 83, and a communication unit on the left side of the indoor unit 81 are provided inside the indoor unit 81 of the air conditioner installed near the left wall 86 in the room. A fixing means 84 a, a communication means fixing means 84 b on the right side of the indoor unit, and an indoor heat exchanger 91 are provided, and the electronic control device 82 and the communication means 83 are connected by a connection line 90. The exchange of signals between the electronic control unit 82 and the communication unit 83 is performed via the interface unit 82a.

  Then, the control signal transmitted from the wireless remote controller 85 is received by the communication means 83, and the signal is transmitted to the interface means 82a in the electronic control device 82 through the connection line 90, and the interface means 82a shows in the electronic control device 82. A signal is transmitted to the control board that does not, and is reflected in the operating state of the air conditioner.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, when the indoor unit 81 is installed on the left side and the communication unit 83 is mounted on the fixing unit 84a, the communication unit 83 is an indoor unit such as the electronic control unit 82 or the heat exchanger 91. The communication means 83 may be remarkably deteriorated by being sandwiched between the wall 86 made of the above-described component and reinforced concrete, so that the communication means 83 is moved and fixed to the fixing means 84b on the side opposite to the wall 86, and the communication means By avoiding the state where 83 is sandwiched between the wall 86 and the indoor unit component such as the heat exchanger 91, the left side installation can be realized without reducing the reliability in communication with the wireless remote controller 85.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the indoor unit 81 is installed on the right side, the communication means 83 is fixed to the fixing means 84a opposite to the wall 87 made of reinforced concrete, and the communication means 83 is connected to the wall. The right side installation is realized without deteriorating the communication reliability with the wireless remote controller 85 by avoiding the state sandwiched between the indoor unit components such as 87 and the heat exchanger 91 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .)

  Because the wireless remote controller using radio waves communicates with the indoor unit in this way, it is affected by metal parts (heat exchanger, motor, indoor unit mounting plate) mounted on the indoor unit, etc. In some cases, radio waves did not reach the indoor unit. In the method of Patent Document 1, the left and right mounting positions of the communication means (wireless unit) are selected according to the mounting position of the indoor unit to improve communication with the wireless remote controller.

On the other hand, compared to infrared remote control, wireless remote control has not only the advantage of good operability due to the wide directivity of transmitted radio waves, but also strong against obstacles such as walls and furniture, and any position in the house The air conditioner can be operated even from the front.
For example, the wireless remote control has moved away from the indoor unit, such as controlling the air conditioner in the living room from the kitchen that is out of sight with the partition wall, controlling the air conditioner in the living room from the bedroom when getting up, and controlling the air conditioner in the child room from the kitchen on the first floor. A major feature of an air conditioner equipped with a wireless remote control is that it is located and can be controlled from outside the line of sight. On the other hand, unlike a wooden wall, a wall made of reinforced concrete used in a condominium or the like is expected to significantly attenuate radio waves, and there is a possibility that comfortable operation of an air conditioner cannot be expected.

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, it is effective when the indoor unit and the wireless remote controller are in the same room, but when trying to communicate with the indoor unit using the wireless remote controller from the adjacent room or the back room, the indoor unit The radio wave from the side opposite to the side on which the communication means is mounted is further attenuated due to the metal heat exchanger or fan motor in addition to attenuation by the wall, and the communication quality deteriorates. Even if communication means are arranged on either the left or right side of the indoor unit, there is a metal mounting plate that fixes the indoor unit to the wall behind the indoor unit, so that the radio waves from the back of the indoor unit are also attenuated. As a result, communication quality deteriorates.

  As described above, the configuration of Patent Document 1 has a problem that a significant limitation occurs in the operation control from the out-of-sight, which is a major feature of an air conditioner equipped with a wireless remote controller, and the feature of the wireless remote controller cannot be fully utilized. In addition, there is a problem that the cost of the air conditioner increases due to the configuration in which the communication means is selected and installed on the left and right when the air conditioner is installed, and the work at the time of installation takes time. In recent years, the demand for wireless devices has increased, and the radio frequency assigned to the devices has increased, and the problems described above have become more prominent due to the straightness of radio waves.

JP 2004-271153 A (page 3, FIG. 1)

  The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can efficiently receive radio waves from a wireless remote controller transmitted from multiple directions without being affected by the structure in the indoor unit. With the goal.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention according to claim 1
An indoor unit body in which a heat exchanger is housed in a housing having a suction port and a blower outlet at the lower front;
A metal mounting plate mounted on the back of the indoor unit main body for installing the indoor unit main body on a wall and provided with a notch through which a refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger is passed,
In an air conditioner equipped with a wireless remote controller that performs an air conditioning operation instruction using radio waves to the indoor unit body,
Inside the indoor unit main body, an electrical component box that stores electronic equipment that controls the indoor unit is disposed on at least one side of the heat exchanger,
When the wireless module that communicates with the wireless remote controller is below the electrical component box and at a position lower than the lower end of the heat exchanger , and the indoor unit body is mounted on the mounting plate, It arrange | positions in the position used as the front of a notch, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a drain pan that receives condensed water dripping from the heat exchanger is provided inside the indoor unit main body, and the wireless module is lower than a dew receiving surface of the drain pan. It is arranged at a position.

By using the above means, according to the air conditioner of the present invention,
In the invention according to claim 1, when the indoor unit body is mounted on the mounting plate, below the electrical component box arranged side by side with the heat exchanger and at a position lower than the lower end of the heat exchanger. By placing the wireless module in front of the notch, it reduces the shielding of radio waves from the wireless remote controller by the heat exchanger, electrical component box, and mounting plate , and improves the radio waves from outside the upper direction of the indoor unit Can be received.

  In the invention according to claim 2, since the wireless module is disposed at a position lower than the drain receiving surface of the drain pan, the influence of the radio wave shielding by the condensed water collected in the drain pan is reduced, and the radio remote control radio wave from a wide range is received. It can be received well.

It is a perspective view which shows the Example of the indoor unit of the air conditioner by this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the indoor unit by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross-section of the indoor unit by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the main structures of the indoor unit by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the display and communication unit mounted in the indoor unit by this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the display and communication unit by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of installation of the indoor unit by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional air conditioner.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail as examples based on the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an indoor unit 2 of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
The indoor unit 2 includes a front panel 11, a grill 12 that supports the front panel 11, a right side cover 14 that is disposed on the right of the grill 12, and a left side cover 15 that is disposed on the left of the grill 12. The upper surface cover 13 is provided above the right side cover 14 and the left side cover 15.

  The upper surface cover 13 is provided with holes partitioned by a plurality of lattices, and this is an upper suction port 35a for taking in air. Similarly, the grill 12 has a front suction port 35b in which a plurality of holes (not shown) are arranged, and these constitute the suction port 35. As will be described later, the front panel 11 is rotated forward, and air is also taken in from the grill 12 side. A display unit 16 is provided below the right side of the front surface of the grill 12 to display an operation state with light from a plurality of light emitting diodes that are lit through a translucent sheet. On the other hand, the indoor unit 2 receives radio waves from the wireless remote controller 4 and performs air conditioning operation.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit 2 and a perspective view showing a metal mounting plate 60 for installing the indoor unit 2 on a wall. The indoor unit 2 includes a metal heat exchanger 23, a blower fan 22, a blower fan motor 24 that drives the blower fan 22, and a wind direction disposed below the blower fan motor 24 on a plastic casing 21. The indoor unit main part 20 including the plate drive unit 28, the front substrate module 39 fixed to the lower front of the casing 21, and the grill 12 including the front panel 11 disposed on the front of the indoor unit main part 20 An electrical component box 40 fixed to the right side surface of the main unit 20 of the indoor unit, and a display / communication unit 50 disposed below the front surface of the electrical component box 40 and fixed to the front right side surface of the wind direction plate drive unit 28. The plastic right side cover 14 covering the electrical component box 40 from the right side, the plastic left side cover 15 covering the left side surface of the main unit 20 of the indoor unit, and the main indoor unit And a plastic top cover 13 for covering the upper surface of 20.
In addition, the heat exchanger 23 is displayed with the drawing cut in two places using a cut line, and the inside of the heat exchanger 23 is displayed in an easy-to-see manner.

The front substrate module 39 fixes various substrates inside and is provided with a human detection sensor 39a on the front surface and is covered with a substantially rod-like plastic case that is long on the left and right.
Further, a front drain pan portion 27 a that catches dew generated in the heat exchanger 23 is provided on the front surface side of the casing 21, and a similar rear drain pan portion is also provided behind the casing 21, although not shown.
Further, a right heat exchanger holder 25 for fixing the indoor unit 2 to a mounting plate 60 fixed to a wall (not shown) is provided on the right side above the rear portion of the heat exchanger 23. Similarly, a left heat source is provided on the left side. An exchanger holder 26 is provided.

  The electrical component box 40 stores electronic devices such as a control board (not shown) and a power supply unit that control the indoor unit 2 inside a plastic case, and a shield plate 41 is disposed on the surface of the case except the front. This is intended to shield radio waves (unwanted radiation) generated from an internal control board or power supply, and to prevent the spread of fire at the time of ignition due to a failure of an electronic component. Therefore, the configuration is such that external radio waves are also blocked. Even when the shield plate 41 is not used, the external radio waves are similarly blocked by the wiring pattern of the internal control board.

The display / communication unit 50 is covered with a plastic case, and has a display function using a light emitting diode and a communication function for communicating with the wireless remote controller 4.
The wind direction plate drive unit 28 includes a left and right wind direction plate drive motor 28b and a vertical wind direction plate drive motor 28a that rotate a left and right wind direction plate and a vertical wind direction plate (not shown).

  The mounting plate 60 is formed by pressing a metal plate. A right heat exchanger mounting hook 61 is formed on the upper right side, and a left heat exchanger mounting hook 62 is formed on the left side. The indoor unit 2 is suspended and fixed to the mounting plate 60 by being fitted to the right heat exchanger holder 25 and the left heat exchanger holder 26 of the section 20 respectively.

  Further, there are arc-shaped notches on the left and right sides of the mounting plate 60, and a refrigerant pipe (not shown) is drawn out from either one side and connected to the outdoor unit. The right side is a notch 63 for right piping, and the left side is a notch 64 for left piping. Therefore, when the refrigerant pipe is pulled out from the left pipe cutout 64, there is no metal part made of a copper pipe or the like on the right pipe cutout 63 side.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of the indoor unit according to the present invention, and shows a cross section at substantially the left and right of the indoor unit 2 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air flow path connecting the suction port 35 and the blower port 34 includes fins arranged in parallel and heat transfer tubes arranged so as to be orthogonal to the fins. An inverted V-shaped heat exchanger 23 composed of an exchanger 23a and a rear heat exchanger 23b, and a blower fan 22 that sends out the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 23 into the room from the outlet 34. And are provided.

  In addition, a front drain pan portion 27a for receiving and storing condensed water dripping from the front heat exchanger 23a is provided below the front heat exchanger 23a, and below the rear heat exchanger 23b, A rear drain pan 27b is provided for receiving condensed water dripping from the rear heat exchanger 23b and storing the condensed water. Further, an air filter 30 is mounted on the inner surface of the upper cover 13 and the grill 12 connected to the upper cover 13, and dust in the air is removed by the air filter 30. A front substrate module 39 is fixed in front of the front drain pan portion 27a, and two refrigerant tubes 29 connected to the heat exchanger 23 are stored behind the casing 21.

  In addition, a plurality of left and right wind direction plates 32 that deflect the blown-out air blown in the left-right direction are provided in the blow-out passage that connects the blower fan 22 and the blow-out port 34, and the blow-out port 34 is pivotally supported rotatably. A vertical wind direction plate 31 is provided. The up-and-down wind direction plate 31 closes the air outlet 34 when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. Further, a diffuser 33 is provided below the left and right wind direction plates 32. The diffuser 33 is rotated almost horizontally during the cooling operation and downward during the heating operation, so that an optimum wind direction can be obtained for each operation. .

  The front panel 11 is mounted on the grill 12, and when the air conditioner is in operation, the front panel 11 slides upward to the position indicated by the front panel 11 ′, and the upper end rotates forward (outside). It is supposed to open. By opening the front panel 11, indoor air can be sucked not only from the top cover 13 side but also from the grill 12 side, thereby ensuring a sufficient amount of air suction and improving air conditioning capacity. It is like that. Further, when the air conditioner is stopped, the front panel 11 is closed and slides downward to prevent dust, dust, or foreign matter from entering the suction port 35 on the grill 12 side, and is formed on the grill 12. In addition, many piers are hidden from the user so as to enhance the beauty of the body.

  On the other hand, the electrical component box 40 indicated by the dotted line is arranged on the right side of the heat exchanger 23, and the display / communication unit 50 is located on the front side below the electrical component box 40 (in FIG. 3). (Left direction) The wireless module 54 in the display / communication unit 50 is disposed below the lower end of the heat exchanger 23, particularly the front heat exchanger 23a, which is a metal that shields radio waves. Further, the wireless module 54 is disposed below the dew receiving surface of the front drain pan portion 27a (the bottom surface of the inner surface of the front drain pan portion 27a) in order to avoid shielding radio waves by the condensed water stored in the front drain pan portion 27a. Has been. Needless to say, the wireless module 54 is disposed below the lower end of the rear heat exchanger 23b and the rear drain pan 27b and the dew receiving surface.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the main structure of the indoor unit 2 according to the present invention. An electrical component box 40 having a shield plate 41 is fixed to the right side surface of the metal heat exchanger 23, and the side surface of the wind direction plate drive unit 28 is arranged so that the display / communication unit 50 faces obliquely downward at the lower front side thereof. It is fixed to. In addition, a front substrate module 39 is disposed at the front lower side of the heat exchanger 23. As described above, the wind direction plate drive unit 28 including the left and right wind direction plate drive motor 28b and the upper and lower wind direction plate drive motor 28a is disposed below the blower fan motor 24 (not shown). In the lower part, no metal parts other than the display / communication unit 50 are arranged.

  Accordingly, the range indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 4, that is, the radio wave shielding surface A represented on the front side of the electrical component box 40 and the heat exchanger 23, and the right side of the electrical component box 40 and the heat exchanger 23. The area surrounded by the shielding surface B of the radio wave that is present is that there is some metal or condensed water accumulated in the drain pan portion, and the radio wave from the wireless remote controller 4 may be blocked before reaching the display / communication unit 50 There is.

  However, in general, the indoor unit 2 is installed on a wall near the ceiling, and the radio remote controller 4 is operated by the user's hand, so that radio waves from the radio remote controller 4 reach diagonally upward from below. By arranging the display / communication unit 50 below the electrical component box 40, radio waves from below the indoor unit 2 can be received with high sensitivity in almost all directions.

  In addition, as will be described later, the display function and the communication function are combined into one unit, and the display / communication unit 50 is arranged in front of the electrical component box 40, so that the unit having the two functions is compactly arranged. can do. Furthermore, since an ion generator (not shown) is arranged on the opposite side of the display / communication unit 50 (on the left side when viewed from the front of the indoor unit 2), the radio module 54 that is vulnerable to charging can be moved away from the ion generator. Protect.

  As described above, by arranging the wireless module 54 below the electrical component box 40 disposed side by side with the heat exchanger 23, the radio wave from the wireless remote controller 4 by the heat exchanger 23 and the electrical component box 40 can be reduced. Shielding is reduced and radio waves from other than the upper direction of the indoor unit 2 can be received well.

  In addition, since the wireless module 54 is arranged at a position lower than the lower end of the front heat exchanger 23a, the influence of the radio wave shielding of the heat exchanger 23, which is a metal, is reduced, and the radio remote controller 4 can receive radio waves from a wide range. It can be received well.

  Further, since the wireless module 54 is disposed at a position lower than the dew receiving surface of the front drain pan portion 27a, the influence of the radio wave shielding of the condensed water accumulated in the front drain pan portion 27a is reduced, and a wireless remote controller from a wide range. 4 radio waves can be received well.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the display / communication unit 50 mounted on the indoor unit according to the present invention. 5A is a diagram viewed from a surface corresponding to the front surface of the indoor unit 2 (front surface of the display / communication unit 50), and FIG. 5B is a surface corresponding to the rear surface of the indoor unit 2 (display / communication). It is the figure seen from the back surface of the unit 50).

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the front surface of the display / communication unit 50 forms a case with a plastic rear cover 51 and a front cover 52. Twelve LED windows 52b are provided below the front cover 52, and light from a light-emitting diode (not shown) is visible from the LED window 52b as will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, below the rear cover 51 of the display / communication unit 50, there are two fixing arms 51a for fixing the display / communication unit 50 to the right side surface of the wind direction plate drive unit 28. A fixed arm 51b is provided. Further, as described later, the rear cover 51 has a structure with a bulge for storing the wireless module as will be described later. Further, the rear cover 51 is partially cut off on the left side, and the connector 53a inside the display / communication unit 50 is exposed.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the display / communication unit 50 according to the present invention. A display substrate 53 on which a wireless module 54 is mounted is stored in a case constituted by the rear cover 51 and the front cover 52. Twelve light emitting diodes 53b are mounted on the back surface of the display substrate 53 (corresponding to the front surface of the indoor unit 2). Each light emitting diode 53b is arranged at a position corresponding to the LED window 52b. The wireless module 54 is electrically connected to the display substrate 53 via the connector 53c and is mechanically fixed.

  In addition, a connector 53a is mounted on the display substrate 53, and various signals and power sources are connected to a control substrate in the electrical component box 40 through wires. The fixing arm 51a is provided with a fixing hole 51d, and the fixing arm 51b is provided with a fixing hole 51c. Further, locking holes 51e are provided on the left and right sides of the rear cover 51, and locking claws 52a corresponding to these locking holes 51e are provided on the left and right sides of the front cover 52, respectively. Each cover is fixed by engaging the locking claw 52a.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an installation example of the indoor unit 2 according to the present invention, and shows a state in which the second floor portion of the two-story house is viewed from obliquely above. The indoor unit 2 is installed above the wall A via a mounting plate 60. A wall C is vertically provided on the central back side of the wall A. A wall B is provided in front of the left side of the wall A, and the left side of the wall B is an adjacent room. And it is the left direction from the center back side of the wall A, and the back direction is the outer side of a house. Note that the right side of the wall A is cut off halfway, and the back of the right side of the wall A is a continuation of the room in which the indoor unit 2 is installed.

  The indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 installed on the back surface (outdoor) of the indoor unit 2 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 5 connected to a refrigerant pipe 29 provided in the indoor unit 2 to constitute the air conditioner 1. doing. The refrigerant pipe 5 is piped outside the house through the left pipe cutout 64 of the mounting plate 60. On the other hand, the indoor unit 2 is blocked in front of the right pipe notch 63, but there are no metal parts below the electrical component box 40 as shown in FIG. There is only a communication unit 50.

  Therefore, when the wireless remote controller 4 is operated by moving it to various places in the house, it is stored in the metal parts or drain pan portion of the indoor unit that shields radio waves in the direction from the wireless remote controller 4 to the display / communication unit 50. Because there is no condensed water, not only radio waves from the wireless remote control 4 that is in the same room as the indoor unit 2, but also remote control radio waves from the first floor, remote control radio waves from the adjacent room, and remote control radio waves from the back of the indoor unit 2 are highly sensitive. Can be received.

  In addition, when a refrigerant pipe is pulled out from the notch 63 side for right piping, possibility that the back side of the indoor unit 2 is a house outdoor is high. For this reason, although the radio wave from the back of the indoor unit 2 is attenuated due to the refrigerant pipe, it is rare to control the indoor unit 2 from outside the house, which does not cause a substantial problem.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Indoor unit 3 Outdoor unit 4 Wireless remote controller 5 Refrigerant pipe 11 Front panel 12 Grill 13 Top cover 14 Right side cover 15 Left side cover 16 Display part 20 Indoor unit main part 21 Casing 22 Blower fan 23 Heat exchanger 23a Front heat exchanger 23b Rear heat exchanger 24 Blower fan motor 25 Right heat exchanger holder 26 Left heat exchanger holder 27a Front drain pan portion 27b Rear drain pan portion 28 Wind direction plate drive unit 28a Vertical wind direction plate drive motor 28b Left and right wind direction plates Drive motor 29 Refrigerant pipe 30 Air filter 31 Vertical wind direction plate 32 Left and right wind direction plate 33 Diffuser 34 Air outlet 35 Air inlet 35a Upper air inlet 35b Front air inlet 39 Front substrate module 39a Human detection sensor 40 Electrical component box 41 Shield plate 50 Display・ Communication unit 5 Rear cover 51a Fixed arm 51b Fixed arm 51c Hole 51d Hole 51e Locking hole 52 Front cover 52a Locking claw 52b LED window 53 Display board 53a Connector 53b Light emitting diode 54 Wireless module 60 Mounting plate 61 Right heat exchanger mounting hook 62 Left heat Exchanger mounting hook 63 Notch for right piping 64 Notch for left piping

Claims (2)

An indoor unit body in which a heat exchanger is housed in a housing having a suction port and a blower outlet at the lower front;
A metal mounting plate mounted on the back of the indoor unit main body for installing the indoor unit main body on a wall and provided with a notch through which a refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger is passed,
In an air conditioner equipped with a wireless remote controller that performs an air conditioning operation instruction using radio waves to the indoor unit body,
Inside the indoor unit main body, an electrical component box that stores electronic equipment that controls the indoor unit is disposed on at least one side of the heat exchanger,
When the wireless module that communicates with the wireless remote controller is below the electrical component box and at a position lower than the lower end of the heat exchanger , and the indoor unit body is mounted on the mounting plate, An air conditioner characterized by being arranged at a position in front of the notch .   The indoor unit main body is provided with a drain pan that receives condensed water dripped from the heat exchanger, and the wireless module is disposed at a position lower than a dew receiving surface of the drain pan. The air conditioner according to claim 1.

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