WO2025120768A1 - Indoor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An indoor unit according to the present invention comprises a housing that has a first air outlet and a second air outlet that blow air in different directions, a heat exchanger that is provided inside the housing so as to be opposite the first air outlet and the second air outlet, and a blocking part that blocks one of the first air outlet and the second air outlet.

Description

Indoor unit

This disclosure relates to an indoor unit that includes a housing having an air outlet through which air is blown out.

　Conventionally, indoor units of air conditioners equipped with a housing formed with an air outlet through which air is blown out are known. Patent Document 1 discloses an indoor unit of an air conditioner provided in an attic space and equipped with a housing formed with one air blowing opening. In the indoor unit of Patent Document 1, air is sucked in by a fan from an air intake opening formed on the rear side of the housing, and the air is heat exchanged by a heat exchanger arranged downstream of the fan in the air flow. The air that has been heat exchanged by the heat exchanger is blown out from an air blowing opening formed on the front side of the housing to adjust the air in the room.

JP 2017-48966 A

However, the indoor unit of the air conditioner in Patent Document 1 has one air outlet and can only blow air in one direction. Indoor units such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 are generally often installed on a dropped ceiling where one part of the ceiling is lower than the other. Here, it is possible to change the arrangement direction of the indoor unit in order to change the blowing direction of the outlet. However, if the depth of the dropped ceiling is narrow, it is difficult to change the arrangement direction of the indoor unit, and therefore it is also difficult to change the blowing direction of the outlet. For this reason, there is a demand for an indoor unit that can switch the blowing direction of air without changing the arrangement direction of the indoor unit.

This disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and provides an indoor unit that can switch the air blowing direction without changing the orientation of the housing.

The indoor unit of the present disclosure includes a housing in which a first air outlet and a second air outlet are formed, the first air outlet and the second air outlet being arranged to face each other, and a shielding section that shields either the first air outlet or the second air outlet.

The indoor unit disclosed herein allows the air blowing direction to be switched without changing the orientation of the housing.

1 is a circuit diagram showing an air conditioning apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an installation position of an indoor unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the indoor unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the indoor unit according to the first embodiment, as viewed from a direction different from that of FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a front view showing the indoor unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the indoor unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a top view showing a case where a shielding portion is provided at a first air outlet in the indoor unit pertaining to Embodiment 1. FIG. 11 is a top view showing a case where a shielding portion is provided at a second air outlet in the indoor unit pertaining to Embodiment 1.

Below, an embodiment of an indoor unit of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described below. Furthermore, in the following drawings, including FIG. 1, the sized relationships of the components may differ from the actual ones. Furthermore, in the following description, terms indicating directions are used as appropriate to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, but these terms are for the purpose of explaining the present disclosure and do not limit the present disclosure. Examples of terms indicating directions include "up," "down," "right," "left," "front," and "rear."

Embodiment 1.
Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an air conditioner 1 pertaining to embodiment 1. The air conditioner 1 is a device that adjusts the air in a space to be air-conditioned, and as shown in Fig. 1, is equipped with an outdoor unit 2 and an indoor unit 3. The outdoor unit 2 is equipped with, for example, a compressor 6, a flow path switching device 7, an outdoor heat exchanger 8, an outdoor blower 9, an expansion section 10, and a control box 50. The indoor unit 3 is equipped with, for example, a heat exchanger 11 and a blower 12.

The refrigerant circuit 4 is formed by connecting the compressor 6, the flow path switching device 7, the outdoor heat exchanger 8, the expansion section 10, and the heat exchanger 11 with the refrigerant piping 5. The compressor 6 draws in refrigerant in a low-temperature and low-pressure state, compresses the drawn refrigerant, and discharges it as refrigerant in a high-temperature and high-pressure state. The compressor 6 is, for example, a capacity-controllable inverter compressor. The flow path switching device 7 switches the direction in which the refrigerant flows in the refrigerant circuit 4, and is, for example, a four-way valve. The outdoor heat exchanger 8 exchanges heat between, for example, outdoor air and the refrigerant. The outdoor heat exchanger 8 acts as a condenser during cooling operation and as an evaporator during heating operation. The expansion section 10 is a pressure reducing valve or an expansion valve that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant and expands it. The expansion section 10 is, for example, an electronic expansion valve whose opening is adjustable.

The heat exchanger 11 exchanges heat between, for example, indoor air and a refrigerant. The heat exchanger 11 acts as an evaporator during cooling operation and as a condenser during heating operation. The blower 12 is a device that sends indoor air to the heat exchanger 11.

(Operation mode, cooling operation)
Next, the operation modes of the air conditioner 1 will be described. First, the cooling operation will be described. In the cooling operation, the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 6 is compressed by the compressor 6 and discharged in a high-temperature, high-pressure gas state. The high-temperature, high-pressure gas state refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 passes through the flow switching device 7 and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 8 acting as a condenser, where it is heat-exchanged with outdoor air sent by the outdoor blower 9, condensing and liquefying. The condensed liquid state refrigerant flows into the expansion section 10, where it is expanded and decompressed to become a low-temperature, low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant. The gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant then flows into the heat exchanger 11 acting as an evaporator, where it is heat-exchanged with indoor air sent by the blower 12, evaporating and gasifying. At this time, the indoor air is cooled, and cooling is performed in the room. The evaporated refrigerant in a low-temperature, low-pressure gas state passes through the flow switching device 7 and is sucked into the compressor 6 .

(Operation mode, heating operation)
Next, the heating operation will be described. In the heating operation, the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 6 is compressed by the compressor 6 and discharged in a high-temperature, high-pressure gas state. The high-temperature, high-pressure gas state refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 passes through the flow path switching device 7 and flows into the heat exchanger 11 acting as a condenser, where it is heat exchanged with the indoor air sent by the blower 12, condensed and liquefied. At this time, the indoor air is warmed, and heating is performed in the room. The condensed liquid state refrigerant flows into the expansion section 10, where it is expanded and decompressed to become a low-temperature, low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant. The gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant then flows into the exterior heat exchanger 8 acting as an evaporator, where it is heat exchanged with the outdoor air sent by the exterior blower 9, evaporating and gasifying. The evaporated low-temperature, low-pressure gas state refrigerant passes through the flow path switching device 7 and is sucked into the compressor 6.

The air conditioner 1 does not have to have a flow path switching device 7. In this case, the air conditioner 1 becomes a dedicated cooling or heating unit.

(Indoor unit 3)
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the installation position of the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the indoor unit 3 is attached to, for example, an attic space 14 of a ceiling 15 in a room 19. The ceiling 15 is, for example, a dropped ceiling 16 with a portion lower than the other portion. The indoor unit 3 is installed in the attic space 14 located above the dropped ceiling 16, and the upper end of the indoor unit 3 and the ceiling 15 are located at approximately the same height. The ceiling 15 and the dropped ceiling 16 are connected by a wall 13 extending in the height direction, and an outlet grill 17 is provided on the wall 13 so as to correspond to a first outlet 31 (see Fig. 3) of the indoor unit 3.

The indoor intake air 18b flowing into the room 19 is taken in through the outlet grill 17 into the attic space 14, and the ceiling intake air 18d flowing into the attic space 14 is sucked into the indoor unit 3. The air sucked into the indoor unit 3 exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 11, and is blown out into the attic space 14 as ceiling outlet air 18c. The ceiling outlet air 18c passes through the outlet grill 17 and is blown out into the room 19 as indoor outlet air 18a.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment as viewed from a different direction than that of FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the indoor unit 3 includes a housing 20, a blower 12, a control box 50, a heat exchanger 11, and a shielding section 40 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

(Housing 20)
The housing 20 is a rectangular box having a rectangular shape when viewed from above. The housing 20 has a bottom plate 21, a front plate 22, side plates 23, a first back plate 24, a second back plate 25, a first top plate 26, and a second top plate 27. The bottom plate 21 constitutes the bottom surface of the housing 20 and has a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction. The portion of the bottom surface of the housing 20 where the bottom plate 21 is not provided is an intake port 30 through which air is sucked in.

The front plate 22 is a rectangular member extending upward from the front side of the portion that forms the suction port 30. The side plate 23 extends upward from the widthwise end of the portion that forms the suction port 30 and is connected to the side edge of the front plate 22, constituting one side of the housing 20. The side plate 23 is a rectangular member that is long in the depth direction. The first back plate 24 is a rectangular member that extends upward from the rear side of the portion that forms the suction port 30 and is connected to the side edge of the side plate 23. The second back plate 25 is a rectangular member that extends upward from the rear side edge of the bottom plate 21. The first back plate 24 and the second back plate 25 constitute the rear of the housing 20. The first top plate 26 connects the upper edge of the front plate 22, the upper edge of the side plate 23, and the upper edge of the first back plate 24. The first top plate 26 is a square member. The second top plate 27 is a rectangular member that extends horizontally from the upper edge of the second back plate 25. The first top plate 26 and the second top plate 27 form the top surface of the housing 20.

The inside of the housing 20 is formed with an air blowing chamber 28 and a heat exchange chamber 29. The air blowing chamber 28 is a space surrounded by the front plate 22, the side plate 23, the first back plate 24, and the first top plate 26, and houses the control box 50 and the blower 12. The heat exchange chamber 29 is a space surrounded by the bottom plate 21, the second back plate 25, and the second top plate 27, and houses the heat exchanger 11. The bottom surface of the air blowing chamber 28 is open, and as described above, forms the intake port 30 through which air is sucked in. The intake port 30 may be formed on the top surface of the air blowing chamber 28. In other words, the intake port 30 may be formed on either the top or bottom of the housing 20.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment. The front and side of the heat exchange chamber 29 are open, and respectively form a first air outlet 31 through which air is blown out and a second air outlet 32 through which air is blown out. As shown in FIG. 5, the first air outlet 31 is formed on the front side of the housing 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the second air outlet 32 is formed on the side side of the housing 20. In this way, the first air outlet 31 and the second air outlet 32 have different directions from which air is blown out. Note that, although the first embodiment shows an example in which two air outlets are formed, three or more air outlets may be formed.

(Blower 12)
3 and 4, the blower 12 is, for example, a large-diameter sirocco fan, and is provided in the blower chamber 28. The blower 12 is disposed so as to draw in air from an intake port 30 formed in the bottom surface of the housing 20. That is, the blower 12, which is a sirocco fan, is disposed in the blower chamber 28 with the casing facing sideways.

(Control Box 50)
3 and 4, the control box 50 is a rectangular parallelepiped box that houses a control unit (not shown) that controls each device of the air conditioning apparatus 1. The control box 50 is provided in the air blowing chamber 28, closer to the front than the blower 12. The front side of the control box 50 is the front panel 22, and by removing the front panel 22, it is possible to perform maintenance on the control unit inside the control box 50.

(Heat exchanger 11)
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the heat exchanger 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is provided in the heat exchange chamber 29. In the first embodiment, the heat exchanger 11 is vertically erected with respect to the bottom surface of the heat exchange chamber 29, but the heat exchanger 11 may be provided in a state inclined with respect to the vertical, or may be provided in a state bent midway. The heat exchanger 11 is disposed so as to face both the first blowing outlet 31 and the second blowing outlet 32. For example, the heat exchanger 11 is disposed in the heat exchange chamber 29 so as to extend from an end of the first blowing outlet 31 opposite to the second blowing outlet 32 side to an end of the second blowing outlet 32 opposite to the first blowing outlet 31. In the first embodiment, the heat exchanger 11 is disposed on a straight line connecting two diagonally positioned corners among the four corners of the heat exchange chamber 29. The position at which the heat exchanger 11 is installed can be changed as appropriate as long as the air sent from the blower 12 is configured to be entirely heat exchanged in the heat exchanger 11 .

(Shielding part 40)
Fig. 7 is a top view showing a case where a shielding part 40 is provided at the first air outlet 31 in the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment. The shielding part 40 is a rectangular member that shields either the first air outlet 31 or the second air outlet 32. The shielding part 40 is a metal sheet, but may be other members. As shown in Fig. 7, when the shielding part 40 is provided so as to shield the first air outlet 31, the air that has passed through the heat exchanger 11 is blown out from the second air outlet 32 into the room.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing a case where a shielding section 40 is provided at the second air outlet 32 in the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, when the shielding section 40 is provided so as to shield the second air outlet 32, the air that has passed through the heat exchanger 11 is blown out into the room from the first air outlet 31.

In this way, the shielding part 40 is a removable member that shields either the first air outlet 31 or the second air outlet 32. Note that, although the first embodiment illustrates a case in which the shielding part 40 is manually attached and detached, the shielding part 40 may be attached and detached automatically by providing a sliding part or the like on the housing 20. Also, when three or more air outlets are formed, multiple shielding parts 40 are required. In this case, the shielding part 40 may shield multiple of the three or more air outlets and leave one air outlet open, or it may leave two or more air outlets open.

According to the first embodiment, the shielding portion 40 blocks either the first air outlet 31 or the second air outlet 32. Here, the first air outlet 31 and the second air outlet 32 each have a different air outlet direction. In this way, the air outlet direction can be changed depending on whether the first air outlet 31 or the second air outlet 32 is blocked. Therefore, the indoor unit 3 can switch the air outlet direction without changing the arrangement direction of the housing 20.

1 Air conditioning unit, 2 Outdoor unit, 3 Indoor unit, 4 Refrigerant circuit, 5 Refrigerant piping, 6 Compressor, 7 Flow switching device, 8 Outdoor heat exchanger, 9 Outdoor blower, 10 Expansion section, 11 Heat exchanger, 12 Blower, 13 Wall, 14 Attic space, 15 Ceiling, 16 Dropped ceiling, 17 Outlet grill, 18a Indoor outlet air, 18b Indoor intake air Air, 18c Air blown into ceiling, 18d Air sucked into ceiling, 19 Room, 20 Housing, 21 Bottom plate, 22 Front plate, 23 Side plate, 24 First back plate, 25 Second back plate, 26 First top plate, 27 Second top plate, 28 Blower chamber, 29 Heat exchange chamber, 30 Intake port, 31 First blower outlet, 32 Second blower outlet, 40 Shielding section, 50 Control box.

Claims (6)

a housing in which a first air outlet and a second air outlet are formed, the first air outlet and the second air outlet having air blown out in different directions;
a heat exchanger provided inside the housing and arranged to face the first air outlet and the second air outlet;
a shielding portion that shields either the first air outlet or the second air outlet. The housing has a rectangular shape when viewed from above,
Inside the housing,
The indoor unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchange chamber in which the first air outlet is formed on a front side and the second air outlet is formed on a side side. The heat exchanger includes:
The indoor unit according to claim 2 , wherein the heat exchange chamber is provided so as to extend from an end of the first air outlet opposite to the second air outlet side to an end of the second air outlet opposite to the first air outlet side. The heat exchanger includes:
The indoor unit according to claim 3 , wherein the heat exchange chamber is arranged on a straight line connecting two diagonally opposite corners among the four corners of the heat exchange chamber. The heat exchanger further includes a blower provided inside the housing and configured to blow air to the heat exchanger,
The blower is
The indoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indoor unit is arranged to draw in air from an intake port formed in the vertical direction of the housing. Inside the housing,
An air blowing chamber is formed in which the air blower is provided,
The indoor unit according to claim 5 , wherein a control box having a control unit for controlling the equipment is provided in the blower chamber.

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