JP7620838B2 - Air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a main body with an air inlet and an air outlet, a heat exchanger, a crossflow fan, a rear guider, and a stabilizer arranged opposite the rear guider, and the air conditioner has a rear heat exchanger.

Typically, air conditioners are known that have an indoor unit that forms an air supply circuit that circulates air inside a main casing that has an intake port and an exhaust port, includes a crossflow fan in the air supply circuit, and has a heat exchanger disposed upstream of the crossflow fan, where air sucked in from the intake port by the rotation of the crossflow fan is passed through the heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then blows the air out of the exhaust port. A rear guider and a stabilizer are provided to form the air flow generated by the rotation of the crossflow fan.

Here, as an example of a conventional indoor unit, the air conditioner 1 disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The air conditioner 1 has an air inlet 2 on the top surface of the main body and an air outlet 3 on the front surface of the main body. A crossflow fan 4 is disposed in the center of the main body. A rear guider 5 is disposed behind the crossflow fan 4, a stabilizer 6 is disposed opposite the rear guider 5, and a heat exchanger 7 is disposed to sandwich the rear guider 5, the stabilizer 6, and the crossflow fan 4 from the front and rear. The heat exchanger 7 is composed of a front heat exchanger 7a and a rear heat exchanger 7b. The rear guider 5 has a rear guider flange 9 of uniform thickness above the water tray 8 for rectifying the air flowing into the crossflow fan 4.

When the cross-flow fan 4 of the air conditioner 1 is rotated in the above configuration, the air flowing in from the intake port 2 on the top of the main body passes through the front heat exchanger 7a and the rear heat exchanger 7b. The heat-exchanged air passes through the cross-flow fan 4 and is blown out from the outlet 3. At this time, the air that passes through the lower part of the rear heat exchanger 7b, which is below the rear guider tip 9a, flows along the rear guider flange opposing surface 9b that faces the rear heat exchanger, and at the rear guider flange tip 9a, it merges with the air that passes through the upper part of the rear heat exchanger 7b, which is above the rear guider tip 9a, and flows into the cross-flow fan 4.

Patent Publication 2015-55419

However, the shape of the rear guide flange is specified for the purpose of straightening the airflow on the crossflow fan side, and the airflow on the rear guide flange's opposing surface, which faces the rear heat exchanger of the rear guide flange, is not taken into consideration. As a result, when the air that has passed through the rear heat exchanger passes through the behind-the-brim air passage formed between the rear heat exchanger and the opposing surface of the rear guide flange, the wind speed increases and turbulence occurs, which may result in a deterioration of airflow performance. For example, if there is a contraction section in the behind-the-brim air passage where the air passage width is locally narrowed, the ventilation resistance may increase due to an increase in wind speed in the contraction section, the collision of airflow with the surface of the contraction section, and the merging of airflows of different directions, which may result in a deterioration of airflow performance.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems with the conventional technology, and aims to provide an air conditioner that can suppress the increase in wind speed and turbulence of the airflow caused by the surface facing the rear guide flange when the air that has passed through the rear heat exchanger flows through the rear flange air passage.

The air conditioner of the present invention comprises a main body having an air intake and an air outlet, a front heat exchanger arranged on the front side inside the main body, a rear heat exchanger arranged on the rear side inside the main body, a cross-flow fan, stabilizers and a rear guider arranged on the front and rear sides of the outer periphery of the cross-flow fan to form an air passage, and a rear guide flange part facing the rear heat exchanger on the rear guider, and is characterized in that in any cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner of the flange back air passage formed by the rear guide flange part facing surface, which is the surface facing the rear heat exchanger, and the rear heat exchanger, the distance between the closest point between the rear guide flange part facing surface and the rear heat exchanger is equal to or shorter than the distance between the rear guide flange part facing surface above the closest point of the flange back air passage and the rear heat exchanger.

This eliminates the contraction section in the air duct behind the brim, reducing turbulence in the airflow. Furthermore, the gradual expansion of the air duct behind the brim suppresses an increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the air duct behind the brim.

By straightening the airflow flowing toward the tip of the rear guide flange in the brim-back air duct, the ventilation performance is improved. Furthermore, by suppressing the increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the brim-back air duct, ventilation resistance can be reduced, improving the ventilation performance.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a configuration of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a rear guide flange 106a and its periphery as an example of the configuration of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Cross-sectional view showing an air conditioner according to Patent Document 1

The first invention is an air conditioner comprising a main body having an air intake and an air outlet, a front heat exchanger arranged on the front side inside the main body, a rear heat exchanger arranged on the rear side inside the main body, a cross-flow fan, stabilizers and a rear guider arranged on the front and rear sides of the outer periphery of the cross-flow fan to form an air passage, and a rear guide flange portion facing the rear heat exchanger on the rear guider, and in any cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner of the flange back air passage formed by the rear guide flange portion facing surface, which is the surface facing the rear heat exchanger, and the rear heat exchanger, the distance between the closest point between the rear guide flange portion facing surface and the rear heat exchanger is equal to or shorter than the distance between the rear guide flange portion facing surface and the rear heat exchanger above the closest point of the flange back air passage.

This eliminates the contraction section in the behind-the-brim air passage where the air passage width is locally narrowed, reducing airflow turbulence and straightening the airflow flowing toward the tip of the rear guide brim, improving airflow performance. Furthermore, the gradual expansion of the behind-the-brim air passage suppresses an increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the behind-the-brim air passage, reducing the ventilation resistance in the behind-the-brim air passage and improving airflow performance.

The second invention is particularly characterized in that in the air conditioner of the first invention, the brim rear air passage satisfies LC ≧ LB ≧ LA, where LA is the distance between the rear heat exchanger and point A on the rear guide brim facing surface that is closest to the tip where the distance between the rear guide brim and the crossflow fan is the shortest, LB is the distance between the rear heat exchanger and any point B above point A on the rear guide brim facing surface and below the tip of the rear guide brim, and LC is the distance between the rear heat exchanger and any point C above point B on the rear guide brim facing surface and below the tip of the rear guide brim.

This eliminates the contraction section in the behind-the-brim air passage, reduces airflow turbulence, and straightens the airflow flowing toward the tip of the rear guide brim, improving airflow performance. Furthermore, the gradual expansion of the behind-the-brim air passage suppresses an increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the behind-the-brim air passage, reducing ventilation resistance in the behind-the-brim air passage and improving airflow performance.

The third invention is particularly characterized in that in the air conditioner of the first or second invention, the brim rear air duct satisfies LA ≧ LE ≧ LD, where LD is the distance between the intersection D of the rear guide brim portion and the water tray and the rear heat exchanger, and LE is the distance between an arbitrary point E on the opposing surface of the rear guide brim portion that is above the point D and below the LA and the rear heat exchanger.

This eliminates the contraction section in the behind-the-brim air passage, reduces airflow turbulence, and straightens the airflow flowing toward the tip of the rear guide brim, improving airflow performance. Furthermore, the gradual expansion of the behind-the-brim air passage suppresses the increase in wind speed of the airflow flowing through the behind-the-brim air passage, reducing ventilation resistance in the behind-the-brim air passage and improving airflow performance. In addition, the increase in wind speed and airflow turbulence are suppressed in the area where the behind-the-brim air passage formed by the rear guide brim facing surface and the rear heat exchanger becomes narrower, further improving airflow performance.

The fourth invention is particularly characterized in that the surface facing the rear guide flange in the air conditioner of any one of the first to third inventions is substantially flat.

This eliminates the contraction section in the air passage behind the brim, reduces airflow turbulence, and rectifies the airflow flowing toward the tip of the rear guide brim, improving ventilation performance.

The fifth invention is particularly characterized in that the air conditioner of any one of the first to fourth inventions has one or more convex portions on the surface facing the rear guide flange.

This reduces frictional resistance around the convex parts by creating a turbulent area around the convex parts, reducing ventilation resistance in the air passage behind the brim and improving ventilation performance.

The sixth invention is particularly characterized in that the air conditioner of any one of the first to fourth inventions has one or more recesses on the surface facing the rear guide flange.

This reduces frictional resistance around the recess by creating a turbulent area around the recess, reducing ventilation resistance in the air passage behind the brim and improving ventilation performance.

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that each embodiment described below is an example, and the present invention is not limited to each embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of an air conditioner 100 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the periphery of a rear guide flange 106a of the air conditioner 100. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 has a main body having an air intake port 101 arranged on the top surface of the main body and an air outlet port 102 arranged on the front surface of the main body, a heat exchanger 104 that exchanges heat with the air taken in from the intake port 101, a crossflow fan 103 that exchanges heat in the heat exchanger 104 and generates an airflow to be blown out from the air outlet port 102, a rear guider 106 arranged downstream of the crossflow fan 103 to guide the air flow to the air outlet port 102, and a stabilizer 105 arranged opposite the rear guider 106. The heat exchanger 104 is arranged so as to sandwich the stabilizer 105, the rear guider 106, and the crossflow fan 103 from the front and rear, and the heat exchanger 104 is composed of a front heat exchanger 104a and a rear heat exchanger 104b. At the upper end of the rear guider 106, a rear guider flange 106a is formed to straighten the air flowing into the crossflow fan 103 above the water tray 107.

2, the rear guide flange 106a is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the rear heat exchanger 104b and the crossflow fan 103, and a tip 108 is formed at which the distance between the rear guide flange 106a and the crossflow fan 103 is the shortest, and the lower end of the rear heat exchanger 104b is arranged below the tip 108. The surface of the rear guide flange 106a facing the rear heat exchanger 104b is the rear guide flange facing surface 110, and in this embodiment, the rear guide flange facing surface 110 is approximately flat, but it may also be a spherical concave shape, a spherical convex shape, or a shape with a step so that the brim back air passage 109 widens toward the rear guide flange tip 106b.

The rear guide flange facing surface 110 and the rear heat exchanger 104b form the brim back air passage 109, and the part where the distance between the rear guide flange facing surface 110 and the rear heat exchanger 104b is the shortest is the closest part between the rear guide flange facing surface and the rear heat exchanger. The distance between the rear guide flange facing surface 110 and the rear heat exchanger 104b at the closest part is arranged to be equal to or shorter than the distance between the rear guide flange facing surface 110 and the rear heat exchanger 104b above the closest part of the brim back air passage 109.

Specifically, the brim back air passage 109 is defined as follows: LA is the distance between point A on the rear guide flange facing surface 110 closest to the tip 108 and the rear heat exchanger 104b; LB is the distance between any point B above point A on the rear guide flange facing surface 110 and below the tip 106b of the rear guide flange and the rear heat exchanger 104b; LB is the distance between any point B above point B on the rear guide flange facing surface 110 and below the tip 106b of the rear guide flange and the rear heat exchanger 104b; The distance between any point C below the end 106b and the rear heat exchanger 104b is LC, the distance between the intersection D of the rear guide flange 106a and the water tray 107 and the rear heat exchanger 104b is LD, and the distance between any point E above point D on the rear guide flange opposing surface 110 and below point A and the rear heat exchanger 104b is LE. The arrangement is such that LC ≧ LB ≧ LA ≧ LE ≧ LD.

This eliminates the narrowing of the air passage width locally in the brim-behind air passage 109, reducing turbulence of the airflow. Furthermore, the gradual expansion of the brim-behind air passage 109 suppresses an increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the brim-behind air passage 109.

The airflow flowing toward the rear guide flange tip 106b in the brim back air passage 109 is rectified, improving the airflow performance. Furthermore, the increase in the wind speed of the airflow flowing through the brim back air passage 109 is suppressed, reducing the ventilation resistance and improving the airflow performance.

(Embodiment 2)
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to this embodiment. Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 shown in Fig. 3. In Figs. 3 and 4, elements common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear guide flange facing surface 110 has a number of protrusions 111 on its surface. As shown in FIG. 4, small turbulent eddies are generated behind the protrusions 111, which suppress the separation of the airflow flowing through the brim back air passage 109 from the surface of the rear guide flange facing surface 110, reducing the frictional resistance on the surface of the rear guide flange facing surface 110, reducing the ventilation resistance in the brim back air passage 109, and improving the air blowing performance. In this embodiment, the shape of the protrusions 111 is a circular hill, but it may also be a cone, a triangular pyramid, a rectangle, etc. Also, in this embodiment, the arrangement of the protrusions 111 is a parallel arrangement, but it may also be a staggered arrangement, a random arrangement, etc.

(Embodiment 3)
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to this embodiment. Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 shown in Fig. 5. In Figs. 5 and 6, elements common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rear guide flange facing surface 110 has a number of recesses 112 on its surface. As shown in FIG. 6, small turbulent eddies are generated behind the recesses 112, which suppress the separation of the airflow flowing through the brim back air passage 109 from the surface of the rear guide flange facing surface 110, reducing the frictional resistance on the surface of the rear guide flange facing surface 110, reducing the ventilation resistance in the brim back air passage 109, and improving the air blowing performance. In this embodiment, the shape of the recesses 112 is approximately spherical, but it may be conical, triangular pyramidal, rectangular, etc. Also, in this embodiment, the recesses 112 are arranged in a parallel arrangement, but they may be arranged in a staggered arrangement, random arrangement, etc.

(Embodiment 4)
7 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 7, elements common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 has a plurality of slits 113 on its surface that are parallel to the rotation axis of the crossflow fan 103 as an alternative form of the recess 112. This makes it possible to prevent defects in the resin molding, such as sink marks, when the rear guide flange portion 106a is produced by resin molding.

(Embodiment 5)
8 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 8, elements common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 8, the rear guide flange facing surface 110 has multiple slits 113 on its surface that are perpendicular to the rotation axis of the crossflow fan 103 as an alternative form of the recess 112. This makes it possible to prevent defects in the resin molding such as sink marks when the rear guide flange 106a is produced by resin molding. In addition, the length of the slits 113 is relatively short, improving workability such as cutting when producing the molding die.

(Embodiment 6)
9 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 9, elements common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rear guide flange portion facing surface 110 has multiple ribs 114 on its surface as an alternative form of the convex portion 111. This reinforces the rear guide flange portion 106a and prevents the rear guide flange portion 106a from vibrating due to airflow collisions or motor vibrations during operation, thereby providing stable air blowing performance.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is suitable for use in domestic and commercial air conditioning because it can improve airflow performance by adjusting the airflow through the brim-back air duct and reducing the ventilation resistance in the brim-back air duct.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Air conditioner 101 Intake port 102 Outlet port 103 Cross flow fan 104 Heat exchanger 104a Front heat exchanger 104b Rear heat exchanger 105 Stabilizer 106 Rear guider 106a Rear guider flange 106b Rear guider flange tip 107 Water tray 108 Tip 109 Back-of-flange air passage 110 Rear guider flange facing surface 111 Convex portion 112 Concave portion 113 Slit 114 Rib

Claims (3)

A main body having an air inlet and an air outlet;
A front heat exchanger disposed on a front side inside the main body;
A rear heat exchanger disposed on a rear side inside the main body;
A crossflow fan,
a stabilizer and a rear guider disposed on a front side and a rear side of an outer periphery of the cross flow fan to form an air passage;
a rear guide flange portion facing the rear heat exchanger in the rear guider;
Equipped with
the rear guide flange portion has a tip end portion that is the shortest distance from the cross flow fan, and a lower end of the rear heat exchanger is disposed below the tip end portion,
In any cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner of the brim back air passage formed by the rear guide flange portion facing surface, which is the surface facing the rear heat exchanger, and the rear heat exchanger, the rear guide flange portion facing surface has a closest point where the rear guide flange portion facing surface and the rear heat exchanger are closest, and the distance between the rear guide flange portion facing surface and the rear heat exchanger is configured to be the same or gradually smaller from the tip of the rear guide flange portion to the closest point,
The air conditioner is characterized in that the surface facing the rear guide flange is provided with a recess that is approximately spherical, conical, triangular pyramid or rectangular . The air conditioner of claim 1, characterized in that the brim rear air passage satisfies LC≧LB≧LA when the distance between the rear heat exchanger and point A on the rear guide brim facing surface closest to the tip where the distance between the rear guide brim and the crossflow fan is shortest is LA, the distance between the rear heat exchanger and any point B above point A on the rear guide brim facing surface and below the tip of the rear guide brim is LB, and the distance between the rear heat exchanger and any point C above point B on the rear guide brim facing surface and below the tip of the rear guide brim is LC. The air conditioner described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the distance between the rear heat exchanger and point A on the opposing surface of the rear guide flange that is closest to the tip where the distance between the rear guide flange and the crossflow fan is shortest is LA, the distance between the intersection D of the rear guide flange and the water tray is LD, and the distance between the rear heat exchanger and any point E above point D and below point A on the opposing surface of the rear guide flange is LE, LA ≧ LE ≧ LD.

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