JP7611046B2 - Ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit, ceiling-suspended structure for air conditioning unit, and ceiling-suspended construction method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit that is suspended from the ceiling of a building, a ceiling suspension structure for the air conditioning unit, and a ceiling suspension installation method.

For example, air conditioning equipment such as fan coil units that form the air outlets installed in buildings can have a mass of around 100 kg, and to install such air conditioning equipment in the ceiling of a room, it is suspended from the underside of the floor slab that makes up the ceiling via support members.

In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a single-point suspension method for ceiling-suspended equipment, which includes the steps of fixing a ceiling-mounted metal fitting with a hanging hook directly or indirectly attached thereto to the underside of the concrete framework of a building, attaching a frame having a sliding mechanism with a support column to the top surface of the ceiling-suspended equipment by ground assembly to form a ceiling-suspended unit, lifting the ceiling-suspended unit with a lifting tool supported by the hanging hook, connecting the support column to the ceiling-mounted metal fitting, and adjusting the horizontal position of the ceiling-suspended unit with the sliding mechanism to secure the sliding mechanism to the frame.

Patent No. 3923185

The technology described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 made it possible for a single worker to install ceiling-suspended equipment such as air conditioners on the ceiling, which was good workability given the technology available at the time.

However, in indoor ceilings, such as in living spaces such as rooms and offices, the underside of the ceiling slab cannot be exposed from a design standpoint, so ceiling panels are installed as needed. These ceiling panel materials are generally fixed from below to a lattice-shaped panel frame material that is supported at multiple points by hanging fittings.

When installing an air conditioner by suspending it from the ceiling surface under these conditions, it is necessary to properly suspend and install the air conditioner within a specified frame of panel frame material set in a lattice pattern. On the other hand, the ceiling surface may be formed, for example, from a deck plate with an uneven cross section. In such cases, the positions for attaching the metal fittings and components for suspending the air conditioner on the underside of the deck plate may be limited.

In light of the above, when air conditioning equipment is suspended from the underside of the ceiling slab and a lattice-shaped panel frame material is set up as described above, it can be difficult in practice to accurately fit the air conditioning equipment within the specified frame, even though the design has of course taken this into consideration, making it difficult to quickly and easily address misalignment, etc.

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and aims to solve the above problems by making it possible to adjust the position even when the air conditioner is hung from the ceiling.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an air conditioning unit suspended from a ceiling, comprising an air conditioner body, a frame material fixed to the air conditioner body so as to be movable relative to the air conditioner body in the X-Y directions on a horizontal plane, and a support column fixing bracket for fixing a support column for ceiling suspension provided on the ceiling, the support column and the support column fixing bracket being fixed so as to be movable in the θ direction on the horizontal plane .

According to the present invention, the air conditioner has a frame material that is fixed to the air conditioner body so that it can move relatively in the X-Y direction on a horizontal plane, and a support column fixing bracket for fixing a support column for ceiling suspension provided on the ceiling is fixed to this frame material. Therefore, even if the support column for ceiling suspension and the support column fixing bracket are fixed and the air conditioning unit is suspended, the position of the air conditioning unit can be adjusted in the X-Y direction from the support column, i.e., the suspension position.

In addition, since the support column and the support column fixing metal fitting are fixed so as to be movable in the θ direction on a horizontal plane, position adjustment is possible not only in the XY directions but also in the θ direction on a horizontal plane. An example of a fixing member that allows position adjustment in the θ direction is a loose flange that is bolted.

The frame material may, for example, have multiple vertical and horizontal frames that are fixed to the air conditioner body and arranged perpendicular to the top surface of the air conditioner body, and the vertical and horizontal frames have multiple long holes formed along the longitudinal direction, and the support column fixing brackets are fixed to the vertical or horizontal frames by fixing members that are inserted through the long holes.

In such cases, the frames are fixed by fixing members that pass through long holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the frames, so the fixing position of the fixing members can be moved appropriately within the long holes, thereby making it possible to adjust the relative positional relationship between the support pillar and the air conditioner body in that direction. This makes it possible to adjust the position even when the air conditioner is hung from the ceiling. Examples of fixing members include bolts, screws, and combinations of bolts and nuts. Furthermore, the mass of the frame material as a whole can be reduced by the amount of the long holes formed.

The vertical and horizontal frames may also be fixed to each other by intersecting them in perpendicular directions. In this case, if the fixing members are used through the long holes along the length of each frame, the fixing position of the fixing members can be adjusted within the long holes, further expanding the range of adjustment.

The vertical and horizontal frames may be fixed to each other by fixing members that pass through the long holes. By adopting such a configuration, the upper surface of the air conditioner body can be effectively utilized.

Equipment necessary for operating the air conditioner main body may be fixed onto the frame material.
For example, by using an elevator-type lifting machine or the like for the air conditioner body, there is no need to hook wires or the like in a cross shape in a plan view for four-point support as described in Patent Document 1, and this makes it possible to effectively use the space above the air conditioner body. Moreover, since the devices used to operate the air conditioner body are installed in the air conditioning unit in advance, there is no need to install these devices on-site, and workability is good.
Examples of equipment used in the operation of the air conditioner main unit include a refrigerant switching device and various other devices, such as electrical equipment, signaling equipment, communication equipment such as modems, routers, and antennas.

The portion of the support pole fixing bracket through which the fixing member is inserted may be formed with a long hole. This allows the fixing position of the bolt or the like to be easily adjusted, and further expands the range in which the installation position of the air conditioning unit can be adjusted.

A fixing member that allows for position adjustment in the θ direction between the support column suspended from the ceiling and the upper surface of the support column fixing bracket may be provided. By adopting such a configuration, not only adjustment in the XY directions but also adjustment in the θ direction, i.e., angle adjustment in the horizontal plane, is possible. An example of a fixing member that allows for position adjustment in the θ direction is a loose flange that is bolted.

In another aspect, the present invention is characterized in that the air conditioning unit is suspended from the ceiling, the upper end of a support column is fixed to the underside of the ceiling, and the lower end of the support column is fixed to the support column fixing bracket.

In yet another aspect, the present invention is a ceiling hanging construction method for suspending the air conditioning unit from a ceiling, which includes the steps of fixing a support pole to the ceiling, lifting the air conditioning unit, and fixing the lower end of the support pole to the support pole fixing bracket.

In such a case, after the step of fixing the lower end of the support pillar to the support pillar fixing bracket, a step of relatively adjusting the relative positional relationship between the air conditioner body and the frame material in at least the X or Y direction on a horizontal plane may be included.
When the fixing members such as bolts and nuts are used for fixing, such adjustment may be performed by temporarily loosening the fixing members.

Furthermore, after the step of fixing the lower end of the support column to the support column fixing bracket, a step of relatively adjusting the relative positional relationship between the air conditioner main body and the frame material on a horizontal plane in at least one of the X direction, Y direction, or θ direction may be included. For example, if a loose flange is used to fix the frame material so as to allow rotation in the θ direction, the fixing member that fixes the loose flange may be temporarily loosened to adjust the position of the air conditioning unit in the θ direction.

According to the present invention, even when an air conditioner is installed by hanging it from the ceiling, it is easy to adjust the positional relationship with the hanging position of the air conditioner.

1 is a perspective view of a ceiling suspension structure of an air conditioning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of the ceiling suspension structure of the air conditioning unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the ceiling suspension structure of the air conditioning unit according to the embodiment. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner body and a decorative panel in an air conditioning unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a support column is fixed to the lower surface of a deck plate, illustrating a procedure of the ceiling suspension construction method according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a front view showing the construction procedure of the ceiling suspension construction method according to the embodiment, illustrating the state in which the air conditioning unit is being lifted. FIG. 13 is a front view showing the installation procedure of the ceiling hanging installation method according to the embodiment, illustrating how the decorative panel is attached to the underside of the air conditioner body. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the procedure of the ceiling suspension construction method according to the embodiment, illustrating how the decorative panel is attached to the underside of the air conditioner body. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the fastening state between the deck plate and the mounting bracket when a channel steel is used as the reinforcing member.

The following describes the embodiment with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 3 are a perspective view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, showing the outline of the configuration of a ceiling suspension structure 1 according to the embodiment. In the following description, elements that have substantially the same functional configuration are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations are omitted.

The ceiling suspension structure 1 according to the embodiment has an air conditioning unit 30 suspended from a deck plate 10 on the underside of the slab that constitutes the ceiling via support columns 20. The deck plate 10 has a so-called corrugated plate structure in which the unevenness continues in one direction.

The support column 20 is fixed to the underside of the deck plate 10 via the mounting bracket 21. More specifically, the support column 20 is fixed to the center of the mounting bracket 21 by welding or the like in advance. The mounting bracket 21 also has a flat plate portion 22 and four approximately triangular support plate portions 23 fixed between the flat plate portion 22 and the support column 20. The flat plate portion 22 is fixed to the upper portion 11 of the deck plate 10 by a fixing member 24 consisting of a bolt, a nut, or the like. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a steel pipe is placed between the upper portion 11 of the deck plate 10 and the flat plate portion 22 as a reinforcing member H also serving as a spacer, and this steel pipe is used as a sleeve. The flat plate portion 22 of the mounting bracket 21 and the upper portion 11 of the deck plate 10 are fixed by inserting the bolt of the fixing member 24 through the steel pipe. This allows the reinforcing member H to function as a spacer that fills the gap between the underside of the upper portion 11 of the deck plate 10 and the upper surface of the flat portion 22 of the mounting bracket 21, and also to reinforce the fixed portion of the mounting bracket 21 to the deck plate 10. For convenience of illustration, some of the lines indicating hatching may be omitted in Figure 2 and subsequent figures.

At the lower end of the support column 20, for example, a loose flange 25 is provided as a member that allows adjustment of the air conditioning unit 30 in the θ direction.

The air conditioning unit 30 has an air conditioner body 31, and on the top surface of the air conditioner body 31, a horizontal frame 32 and a vertical frame 33, each having an angled cross section, are provided so as to intersect at right angles. More specifically, the horizontal frame 32 has a plurality of long holes 32a, 32b of different lengths formed along the longitudinal direction. The vertical frame 33 also has a plurality of long holes 33a, 33b of different lengths formed along the longitudinal direction.

In this example, for example, three vertical frames 33 are arranged on four horizontal frames 32, and each long hole, for example long holes 32a near both ends of the horizontal frames 32 and long holes 33b located toward the center of the vertical frames 33, are fastened and fixed with fixing members 35 consisting of bolts, nuts, etc., so that the three vertical frames 33 are integrated on the four horizontal frames 32.

The four horizontal frames 32 and three vertical frames 33 integrated in this way are fixed to the air conditioner body 31 by inserting a mounting rod 37 with threads on both ends between the long holes 33a at the ends of the vertical frames 33 located at both ends and brackets 36 fixed to the corners of the air conditioner body 31, and tightening nuts 38 on each protruding end.

A support pole fixing bracket 40 is fixed on the two horizontal frames 32, 32 located in the center. The support pole fixing bracket 40 has a centrally located columnar portion 41, a flat plate portion 42, and two roughly triangular support plate portions 43 fixed between the flat plate portion 42 and the columnar portion 41. The support pole fixing bracket 40 is fixed on the two horizontal frames 32, 32 by inserting and fixing the fixing members 44 through the long holes 42a formed near the four corners of the flat plate portion 42 and the long holes 32b of the horizontal frames 32.

At the upper end of the columnar portion 41, for example, a loose flange 45 is provided as a member that allows adjustment of the air conditioning unit 30 in the θ direction.

In this embodiment, a refrigerant switching device 50, for example, is provided on the two vertical frames 33, 33 on one side as a device used when operating the air conditioner main body 31. When placing and fixing the refrigerant switching device 50 on the two vertical frames 33, 33, for example, brackets 51 each having a through hole are fixed to two opposing faces of the refrigerant switching device 50, and a mounting rod 52 having a configuration similar to the mounting rod 37 described above is inserted between the long hole of the bracket 51 and the long hole 33a of the vertical frame 33, and each protruding end is fastened and fixed with a fixing member 53 such as a nut, for example.

A decorative panel 60 having an air outlet is detachably provided on the underside of the air conditioner body 31. As shown in FIG. 5, this decorative panel 60 has triangular openings 61 at the four corners, and a support part 62 is provided near the center of the opening 61. A locking member 63 is provided on the support part 62 so that it can rotate freely, as shown by the reciprocating arrow in the figure. In this case, the locking member 63 may be biased toward the center (air conditioner body 31 side) by a spring member or the like.

The locking member 63 of the decorative panel 60 can be locked to a hook 39 provided on the air conditioner body 31, and the decorative panel 60 is fixed to the air conditioner body 31 by locking the locking member 63 to the hook 39. To release the lock, simply insert your hand through the opening 61 to release the lock of the locking member 63. The opening 61 can be covered with an appropriate cover plate (not shown).

The ceiling suspension structure 1 according to the embodiment has the above configuration, and the method of construction will be described below. First, as shown in FIG. 6, the mounting bracket 21, which is integrated with the support column 20, is fixed to the deck plate 10 on the underside of the slab by the fixing member 24.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the air conditioning unit 30 is lifted. The air conditioning unit 30 itself is not produced on-site, but is prefabricated as a unit, for example, at an assembly factory. That is, the horizontal frame 32 and vertical frame are fixed to the air conditioner main body 31, the support column fixing brackets 40 are fixed to the horizontal frame 32, the refrigerant switching device 50 is fixed, and the refrigerant piping 54 of the refrigerant switching device 50 is connected to the air conditioner main body 31 in advance. Therefore, the completion of the air conditioning unit 30 by assembling these components can be carried out in a place where the work can be easily performed, and the work required after transporting it to the site and lifting it is greatly reduced.

After the air conditioning unit 30 is transported to the site, it is lifted up onto the deck plate 10 using a lifting machine such as a jack. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the loose flange 25 at the lower end of the support column 20 is butted against the loose flange 45 at the upper end of the columnar portion 41 of the support column fixing bracket 40, and the loose flanges 25, 45 are fixed in place using fixing members 65 such as bolts and nuts.

Then, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the decorative panel 60 is pushed up and the locking member 63 of the decorative panel 60 is locked to the hook 39 provided at the corner of the air conditioner body 31, completing the ceiling hanging structure 1 as shown in Figure 1.

As mentioned above, when installing an air conditioner by suspending it from a ceiling surface, it is necessary to properly suspend and install the air conditioner body 31 within a predetermined frame 71 in the panel frame material 70, which is set in a lattice pattern, as shown in FIG. 9. In addition, since the ceiling surface is formed of a deck plate 10 with an uneven cross section, when mounting brackets 21 are attached to the underside, they must be fixed to the upper part 11 of the deck plate 10, which limits the degree of freedom in the fixing position of the mounting brackets 21. Therefore, it was previously difficult to properly suspend the air conditioner body 31 within a predetermined frame 71 in the panel frame material 70.

However, according to the ceiling suspension structure 1 of the embodiment, the horizontal frame 32 and vertical frame 33 fixed to the air conditioner body 31 are fixed with fixing members via long holes, and the support column fixing bracket 40 is also fixed to the horizontal frame 32 with fixing members 44 via long holes 32a formed in the horizontal frame 32. Therefore, even after the columnar portion 41 of the air conditioning unit 30 is fixed to the support column by lifting it up, fine adjustments in the X and Y directions shown in FIG. 1 can be made by once loosening the fixation by these fixing members. Therefore, the position of the air conditioner body 31 in the air conditioning unit 30 can be easily and quickly adjusted on-site.

Furthermore, by temporarily loosening the fixation of the loose flanges 25, 45, it is also possible to adjust the position of the air conditioner body 31 in the θ direction shown by the reciprocating arrow in Figure 1. Therefore, with the ceiling suspension structure 1 according to the embodiment, adjustments in the X direction, Y direction, and θ direction in the horizontal plane are possible, and can be easily performed.

Furthermore, the horizontal frames 32 and vertical frames 33, which allow for position adjustment in the X and Y directions, are arranged in perpendicular directions, and bolts or other fixing members are inserted through the long holes 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b formed in the longitudinal direction of each frame, and the range of adjustment can be set by appropriately adjusting the length of these long holes. Moreover, by forming these long holes in the horizontal frames 32 and vertical frames 33, the mass of the horizontal frames 32 and vertical frames 33 can be reduced accordingly, which in turn reduces the burden of lifting the air conditioning unit 30.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a steel pipe is placed between the upper portion 11 and the flat portion 22 of the deck plate 10 as a reinforcing member H. However, as shown in FIG. 10, a so-called channel steel may be used as the reinforcing member H instead of a steel pipe.

That is, each is placed between the underside of the upper part 11 of the deck plate 10 and the upper surface of the flat part 22 of the mounting bracket 21, one of the opposing surfaces of the channel steel is butted against the underside of the upper part 11 of the deck plate 10, the bolt material 24a of the fixing member 24 is passed through, and the protruding end is fastened with the nut material 24b, while the other opposing surface of the channel steel is butted against the flat part 22, the bolt material 24a of the fixing member 24 is passed through, and the protruding end of the bolt material 24a is fastened with the nut material 24b to fix it. In this way, the reinforcing member H functions as a spacer that fills the gap between the underside of the upper part 11 of the deck plate 10 and the upper surface of the flat part 22 of the mounting bracket 21, and it is possible to reinforce the fixing part of the mounting bracket 21 to the deck plate 10.

This invention is useful when suspending air conditioning equipment from a ceiling surface.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Ceiling suspension structure 10 Deck plate 11 Upper portion 20 Support column 21 Mounting bracket 24 Fixing member 25 Loose flange 30 Air conditioning unit 31 Air conditioner body 32 Horizontal frame 32a, 32b Long hole 33 Vertical frame 33a, 33b Long hole 40 Support column fixing bracket 50 Refrigerant switching device 60 Decorative panel 70 Panel frame material H Reinforcement member

Claims (9)

An air conditioning unit suspended from a ceiling,
The air conditioner body,
A frame member fixed to the air conditioner body so as to be movable relative to the air conditioner body in the XY direction on a horizontal plane;
A support pole fixing metal fitting for fixing a support pole for ceiling suspension provided on the ceiling is fixed to the frame material,
A ceiling-mounted air conditioning unit , characterized in that the support column and the support column fixing bracket are fixed so as to be movable in a θ direction on a horizontal plane . The frame material is
A plurality of vertical frames and horizontal frames are fixed to the air conditioner body and arranged perpendicular to an upper surface of the air conditioner body,
The vertical frame and the horizontal frame are formed with a plurality of long holes along the longitudinal direction,
2. The ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit according to claim 1 , wherein the support column fixing metal fitting is fixed to the vertical frame or the horizontal frame by a fixing member which is inserted through the long hole and fixed. 3. The ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit according to claim 2 , wherein the vertical frame and the horizontal frame are fixed to each other by fixing members that pass through the elongated holes. An air conditioning unit suspended from a ceiling,
The air conditioner body,
A frame member fixed to the air conditioner body so as to be movable relative to the air conditioner body in the XY direction on a horizontal plane;
A support pole fixing metal fitting for fixing a support pole for ceiling suspension provided on the ceiling is fixed to the frame material,
A ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit, characterized in that equipment used to operate the air conditioner main body is fixed onto the frame material. 4. A ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein equipment used to operate the air conditioner main body is fixed onto the frame material. A structure in which the ceiling-suspended air conditioning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is suspended from a ceiling,
The upper end of the support column is fixed to the lower surface of the ceiling,
A ceiling suspension structure for an air conditioning unit, characterized in that a lower end of the support pole is fixed to the support pole fixing bracket. A ceiling suspension installation method for suspending the ceiling suspension air conditioning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 from a ceiling,
Fixing the support column to the ceiling;
lifting the air conditioning unit;
and fixing the lower end of the support pole to the support pole fixing bracket. After the step of fixing the lower end of the support pole and the support pole fixing metal fitting,
8. The ceiling suspension construction method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of relatively adjusting a relative positional relationship between the air conditioner body and the frame material in at least the X or Y direction on a horizontal plane. A ceiling suspension installation method for suspending the ceiling suspension air conditioning unit according to claim 1 from a ceiling, comprising:
Fixing the support column to the ceiling;
lifting the air conditioning unit;
and a step of fixing the lower end of the support pole and the support pole fixing metal fitting,
After the step of fixing the lower end of the support pole and the support pole fixing metal fitting,
A ceiling suspension construction method comprising a step of relatively adjusting the relative positional relationship between the air conditioner body and the frame material in at least one of the X direction, Y direction, and θ direction on a horizontal plane.

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