JPH027384Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner, and in particular, the dehumidification circuit is moved up and down by dehumidified water discharged and stored in a tank. The present invention relates to a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner that can suppress malfunctions of floats and improve reliability as a control device as much as possible.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for this type of air conditioner, a lever-like shield plate is rotatably provided in a tank for storing dehumidified water, and
A float floating on the surface of the dehumidified water stored in the tank is attached to this shield plate, and the float moves upward as the water level of the dehumidified water rises to operate the shield plate, and the shield plate is used to open and close the dehumidification circuit. A ``drain treatment device'' (Utility Model Publication No. 45160/1983) has been proposed in which the dehumidification circuit is opened by engaging the switch.

However, this proposal had the following problems.

(1) A structure is adopted in which the shielding plate and the float that operate the switch are manufactured separately and attached to each other, and this mounting structure has a weak structural strength.

(2) The installation of the float on a wide shield plate is
It is almost a point joint, and the structural strength is weakened from this aspect as well.

(3) Furthermore, for installation, special machining work such as screw machining is required for the joint parts, which increases the cost of each component.

(4) In order to ensure the reliable operation of the switch, it is necessary that the float be installed at a constant position within the tank, which requires strict control of installation accuracy, which is complicated.

Furthermore, if sufficient control is not carried out, there will be variations in the operation of the switch for each product, making it impossible to ensure the reliability of the switch operation.

(5) Furthermore, the float adopted in this proposal is a hollow container with a bottom sealed off from the atmosphere in order to gain buoyancy, so the degree of sealing of this hollow space may be insufficient or there may be pins in some parts. If there are holes or holes in the float, the float will be cooled by the relatively low-temperature dehumidified water in the tank, and during long-term use, the moisture in the air inside the float will condense and form condensation inside the float. There is a problem in that water droplets accumulate in the lower part of the float and change the weight of the float itself. Additionally, if the float is made of styrofoam, the float itself will contain water, making it difficult to use for long periods of time.
The weight of the float itself will change. If the weight of the float itself changes under the above conditions, the amount of rise of the float relative to the level of the dehumidifying water will change depending on the weight, which may cause the switch to malfunction.

Here, there is a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner that improves or solves the above structural problems, as shown in FIG. 1.

A housing b that forms the outer shell of the air conditioner a and has a refrigeration cycle therein as a dehumidification circuit.
An evaporator d is provided in the upper chamber c, which is formed by dividing the interior into upper and lower sections, to cool and dehumidify the inhaled air, and this evaporator d has a drainage hole e formed to discharge dehumidified water. It is placed on the water receiving tray f. On the other hand, a lower chamber g formed inside the housing b is provided with a tank h whose upper side is open and faces the drain hole e of the water receiving tray f. Inside this tank h, there is an integrally formed bottomed cylindrical plastic or the like whose one end of its upper part is pivoted to the tank inner wall i and whose other end is engaged with an on/off switch j that opens and closes the dehumidification circuit. A float k is provided. When the level of the dehumidified water stored in the tank h rises, the float k rises and rotates around one end, and the other end disengages from the open/close switch j engaged with it. The dehumidification circuit was opened and the dehumidification operation was stopped. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, an operating lever l is mounted on the top, with one end pivoted to the inner wall of the tank and the other end engaged with an on/off switch, in order to perform the same function as the float k, and the entire lever is made of styrofoam. A float m formed by is also known.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) (1) In the case of a dehumidifying circuit switching device having a float k as shown in FIG. The entire body, including the other end that engages and operates, is formed into a bottomed cylinder shape that can be integrally molded, so it has high structural strength, and since it does not have a mounting structure, special processing is not required. However, since it is shaped like a cylinder with a bottom and is open at the top and closed at the bottom, dehumidified water or air is sucked into the float k from the upper opening and blocked by the evaporator d. There was a possibility that foreign matter such as dust could enter the system. If this happens, the weight of the dehumidified water and foreign matter accumulated inside the float k will not allow it to float up easily, preventing the dehumidifying operation from stopping, and dehumidifying water will continue to be discharged. It was thought that the water would overflow from the tank h.

(2) In the case of a dehumidifying circuit opening/closing device having a float m as shown in Fig. 2, since the float m itself is made of water-absorbing Styrofoam, its own weight may increase and it may not be easily floated up. In addition, it was thought that its durability would be reduced as much as possible by water absorption.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned problems and to effectively solve them.

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent malfunctions of the float, which is moved up and down by dehumidified water discharged and stored in a tank, to improve the reliability of the control device as much as possible, and to achieve high productivity. An object of the present invention is to provide a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner equipped with a float having good durability.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) The present invention provides a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner that opens and closes an on-off switch for opening and closing the dehumidification circuit according to the amount of water in a tank that stores dehumidified water. , a float formed by a container with an inverted U-shaped cross section and a hollow chamber with an open bottom facing the dehumidified water side that is installed in a tank and stored, A lever extends and is rotatably supported on the inner wall of the tank, and a lever that extends integrally from one side above the float on the opposite side of the lever and is supported on one peripheral edge of the tank to maintain the float at a constant height. It is comprised of an operating rod that operates an open/close switch installed outside the float according to the amount of vertical movement of the float while holding the float.

(Function) To describe the function of the present invention, a lever that is pivotally supported on the inner wall of the tank and an operating rod that is supported on one peripheral edge of the tank and that operates an on/off switch according to the amount of vertical movement of the float are connected above the float. By positioning them on one side and integrally molding them and the float into a structure that can be molded, the joint structure is eliminated, the structural strength is improved, and problems with special processing and installation accuracy are solved. This will construct a float that is inexpensive and easy to mass produce, and will improve its reliability as a control device.

In addition, by forming the float as a container with a U-shaped cross section and a hollow chamber with an open bottom facing the dehumidified water stored in the tank, the dehumidified water that rises in water level can be absorbed by the float. This seals air in the hollow chamber to obtain buoyancy while preventing dehumidified water and foreign matter from entering and staying in the float, thereby ensuring reliable operation of the open/close switch by the float.

(Embodiment) Next, a preferred embodiment of the dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the housing 2 forming the outer shell of the air conditioner 1 is divided into upper and lower sections by a partition plate 3, and an upper chamber 4 includes a refrigeration cycle as a dehumidification circuit. An evaporator 5, a condenser 6, and a fan 7 are successively installed. In addition, this upper chamber 4 is formed as a series of air flow paths for sucking in the atmosphere and discharging dehumidified atmosphere, and has an atmosphere inlet 8 and a dehumidified atmosphere outlet at the front side of the evaporator 5 and the rear side of the fan 7 of the housing 2, respectively. 9 is formed, and by driving the fan 7, air is forcibly supplied and exhausted.
The evaporator 5 and condenser 6 provided in the upper chamber 4 configured as described above are placed on a water receiving tray 10 provided on the partition plate 3 in an overlapping manner. This water receiving tray 10 has a drainage hole 11 communicating with a hole 3a formed in the partition plate 3, and is formed inside the housing 2 by collecting dehumidified water dripping from the evaporator 5 that cools and dehumidifies the atmosphere. It is configured to discharge to the lower chamber 12 side.

On the other hand, as shown in the figure, in the lower chamber 12 of the housing 2, a tank seat 13 is formed by folding back the side wall of the housing on the side of the air intake port 8, and a tank 14 seated on the tank seat 13 is placed between the inside and outside of the housing 2. An opening 15 is formed for putting in and taking out. This tank 14 has a drainage hole 11 for storing dehumidified water discharged from the water receiving tray 10.
It is open to the public. Inside this tank 14, there is a hollow chamber 16a whose lower surface is open facing the dehumidified water stored therein, and the dehumidified water is floated above the surface of the water and moves up and down according to the amount or level of the water. A float 16 formed by a container having an inverted U-shaped cross section is provided. This float 16 is made to float above the water surface by the air trapped in the hollow chamber 16a by the dehumidified water rising in the tank 14 and the volume displaced by a part of the submerged float 16. In particular, as the material for the float 16, a synthetic resin material is used, which has a relatively low specific gravity, is inexpensive, has good productivity, and is highly durable and water resistant. Further, the float 16 is integrally extended from one side of the upper part of the tank inner wall 14a.
A lever 17 is rotatably supported on the lever 17, and a lever 17 integrally extends from the upper side on the opposite side and is supported on one peripheral edge of the tank 14 to hold the float 16 at a constant height. It has an operating rod 19 that opens and closes an on-off switch 18 installed outside the tank 14 according to the amount of vertical movement of the tank 14. A lever 17 on which a float 16, which is floated up and raised by the dehumidified water rising in the tank 14, is pivotally supported.
The actuation rod 19 on the opposite side thereof is rotated by the movement of the actuating rod 19. The open/close switch 18, which is operated by the operating rod 19, opens and closes the dehumidification circuit. Normally, when the operating rod 19 is engaged, the dehumidifying circuit is closed, and the other operating rod 19 is closed. When the dehumidifying circuit is rotated and separated from this, the dehumidifying circuit is opened and its operation is stopped.

A drain hole 20 is formed in the tank seat 13 and has a relatively larger diameter than the drain hole 11 of the water receiving tray 10 . As shown in FIG. 5, when the tank 14 is pulled out to discard the dehumidified water in the tank 14 when it is full, a small amount of residual dehumidified water that drips from the drain hole 11 is removed from the tank seat 1. housing 2
Provided to prevent leakage to the outside. The residual dehumidified water dripping from the drain hole 11 and staying on the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 through the drain hole 20 is evaporated and removed by the heat dissipated from the compressor 21 provided in the lower chamber 12. It is composed of

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operating rod 19 of the float 16 is normally installed in the tank 14 that stores dehumidified water.
is engaged with the on/off switch 18, the dehumidification circuit is closed, and dehumidification operation is performed. During this dehumidification operation, dehumidified water dripped from the evaporator 5 and collected in the water receiving tray 10 is discharged from the drain hole 11 and stored in the tank 14, gradually increasing the amount of water. When the dehumidified water has been stored to a certain extent, the float 1, which is supported on one peripheral edge of the tank 14 by an operating rod 19 and held at a constant height,
6 floats to the surface of the water and then rises. Along with this, a lever 17 pivotally supported on the tank inner wall 14a
This will gradually rotate the operating rod 19 on the opposite side upward. As shown in FIG. 4, when the amount of dehumidified water in the tank 14 becomes full, the operating rod 19
is removed from the on-off switch 18 to open the dehumidification circuit and stop the dehumidification operation. Here, float 1
6 is integrally molded, it is inexpensive and highly suitable for mass production, and eliminates the conventional mounting structure, improving its structural strength, as well as reducing the need for special machining work and the switch operation due to mounting accuracy. It is possible to solve the problem of variations in the amount of data and improve the reliability of the control device. In addition, by forming the float 16 with a container with an inverted U-shaped cross section, the upper surface of which is closed and the lower surface is open facing the dehumidified water stored in the tank 14, it is possible to prevent intruding dust and water from entering the container. Foreign matter such as dehumidified water discharged from the tank 10 or condensed in the float 16 will not stay in the float 16 and prevent the float 16 from moving upward, and the dehumidified water in the tank 14 will be reliably filled when the tank 14 is full. The on/off switch 18 can be operated at any time, and dehumidified water will not overflow from the tank 14 due to malfunction of the float 16. The float 16 is made of a synthetic resin material with high durability and water resistance, so it is inexpensive and has good productivity.

When the dehumidified water in the tank 14 becomes full, it is pulled out from inside the housing 2 and the dehumidified water is discarded. At this time, the residual dehumidified water dripping from the drain hole 11 is retained on the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 through the drain hole 20 of the tank seat 13, as shown in FIG.
It can be removed by the heat dissipated from the compressor 21 during the next dehumidifying operation.

When performing dehumidification operation again, simply remove tank 1.
4 is seated on the tank seat 13, the float 16
The operating rod 19 engages with the open/close switch 18 to close the dehumidifying circuit, and dehumidifying operation can then be performed. Note that the float 16 may be integrally molded from aluminum.

[Effects of the invention] According to the invention, the following excellent effects are achieved.

(1) By forming the float as a container with an inverted U-shaped cross section and a hollow chamber with an open bottom facing the dehumidified water stored in the tank, it prevents intruding dust and water from entering the water pan. The upward movement of the float will not be hindered by foreign matter such as dehumidified water discharged from the tank or condensed inside the float, and the control device can reliably operate the open/close switch according to the amount of dehumidified water in the tank. As a result, reliability can be improved.

(2) A lever that is pivotally supported on the inner wall of the tank and an operating rod that is supported on one periphery of the tank and that operates the open/close switch according to the amount of vertical movement of the float are located on one side above the float. By integrally molding these and the float into a structure that can be molded, it is possible to eliminate the conventional joint structure, improve the structural strength, and eliminate the need for special machining work and the possibility of opening/closing switches due to variations in installation accuracy. It can solve the problem of variations in operation, improve reliability as a control device, and is inexpensive and suitable for mass production.

(3) The structure is simple and can be easily adopted.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view showing a conventional dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing another float employed in a conventional dehumidifying circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner, and Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner according to the present invention;
Figure 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing its operating state;
The figure is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which the tank is pulled out. In the figure, 1 is an air conditioner, 14 is a tank, 14a
16 is an inner wall of the tank, 16 is a float, 16a is a hollow chamber, 17 is a lever, 18 is an on/off switch, and 19 is an operating rod.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner that opens and closes an on/off switch for opening and closing the dehumidification circuit according to the amount of water in a tank storing dehumidified water, the lower surface is open facing the side of the dehumidified water installed in the tank and stored. A float formed by a container having an inverted U-shaped cross section and a hollow chamber; a lever integrally extending from one side above the float and rotatably supported on the inner wall of the tank; It is integrally extended from one side above the float on the opposite side of the lever, is supported on one peripheral edge of the tank, and is installed outside of the float according to the amount of vertical movement of the float while maintaining the float at a constant height. 1. A dehumidification circuit opening/closing device for an air conditioner, comprising: an operating rod for operating the above-mentioned opening/closing switch.