JPH056093B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a blowing direction switching device that is used in an air conditioner or the like and is configured to switch the flow direction of air blown by a fan into different directions. [Prior Art] Some air conditioners are designed to blow out conditioned air by switching the blowing directions in different directions. For example, an indoor unit of an air conditioner may be embedded in a wall that partitions adjacent rooms, and the air blown from this indoor unit may be switched and supplied to one of the adjoining rooms, or to both rooms. A mode of use such as simultaneous supply may be adopted. In this type of indoor unit, air is blown by a fan installed in the air passage, and a blowing direction switching device is installed in which the air is blown in different directions by a damper installed in the air passage. It becomes necessary. Conventionally, the blowing direction switching device was
A flow direction control device as described in Japanese Patent No. 10080 is known. [Problems to be solved by the invention] However, the flow direction control device described in the above-mentioned publication not only has a complicated structure, but also cannot be applied to the wall-storable indoor unit with a limited depth dimension. There is no installation space and it cannot be used. If you have outlets in a small space with blowing directions that differ, for example, by 180 degrees from each other, and you try to control switching so that the damper blows air out of one or both of these outlets, the air passages will become difficult. This causes sharp bends and sudden changes in the passage area, creating air stagnation areas that increase flow resistance, increase air blowing loss, and significantly reduce air blowing efficiency. Further, in the above case, since the damper forcibly changes the direction of the wind, the amount of air colliding with the damper is large, which may generate vibrations and air blowing noise. The present invention aims to provide a blowing direction switching device that does not require a large space, has low blowing loss, has good blowing efficiency, and generates little vibration and noise. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides an air passage with a smoothly curved curved passage, one air outlet is provided at the downstream end of this curved passage, and the other air outlet is provided on the outside of the bend of the curved part. The outlet is open and a damper is provided at this curved part. [Function] According to the present invention, by switching the damper provided on the curved portion, the air blown from the fan is blown out from either one or both of the outlets. In this case, the other outlet and the damper are installed in a smoothly curved curved part, so the air flow does not change direction suddenly and the passage area does not change suddenly. Air blowing loss is reduced, air blowing efficiency is improved, and there is no need to worry about generating vibration or noise. Moreover, the air passage is a smoothly curved passage, and since the damper is provided in this curved part, the air passage is compact, and the installation space is small. [Example] The present invention will be described below based on an example shown in the drawings. This embodiment shows an example in which the system is applied to a wall-storable indoor unit of an air conditioner. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the entire wall-storable indoor unit, and Figs. 3 to 5 are FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled state of the device in different operating states. In these figures, 1 is a cabinet-shaped casing that constitutes the main body of the air conditioner;
It is housed in a wall (not shown) that separates adjacent rooms. This casing 1 has an open front and a plurality of shelves 2a, 2b, 2 inside.
A plurality of spaces 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are vertically divided by c. The above plurality of shelves 2a, 2
Through holes 4a, 4b and 4c are formed in b and 2c, respectively. The uppermost space 3a and the lowermost space 3d are provided with a unit (hereinafter referred to as a blower unit) 20a of a blowing direction switching device according to the present invention, which will be described later.
20b is accommodated. The front openings of the uppermost space 3a and the lowermost space 3d are air outlets 5aa and 5ab, and air outlet grills 6a and 6b are removably attached to these front air outlets 5aa and 5ab, respectively. installed. Further, rear air outlets 5ba and 5bb are opened in the rear walls of the uppermost space 3a and the lowermost space 3d, respectively. The second space 3b from the top is provided with a control unit 7 for the air conditioner, and although not shown, the control unit 7 is equipped with a power switch, an air conditioning function changeover switch, a remote control panel, a display unit, etc. There is. A heat exchanger 8 is housed in the third space 3c from the top, and a filter 9 is provided on the front side of the heat exchanger 8. The mounting portion of the filter 9 is a suction port 10, and a suction port grill 11 is attached to the front surface of the suction port 10. The top space 3a and the bottom space 3d
The blower units 20a and 20b housed in the will be explained. These upper and lower blower units 20a,
Therefore, the explanation will be based on the upper blower unit 20a shown in FIG. 1, and the explanation of the lower blower unit 20b will be omitted by adding a ruby b to the same number. The blower unit 20a has a box-shaped unit case 21a made of sheet metal that is removably inserted into the uppermost space 3a of the cabinet-shaped casing 1 through the air outlet 4aa on the front surface. is opened, an introduction hole 22a is provided on the bottom surface, and a discharge hole 23a is provided on the back surface.
has been opened. The introduction hole 22a on the lower surface communicates with the through hole 4a formed in the shelf 2a of the cabinet type casing 1, and the discharge hole 23a on the back surface communicates with the rear air outlet 5ba opened in the rear wall of the cabinet type casing 1. It's summery. Inside the unit case 21a, there are passage forming members 24aa, 24ab, made of styrofoam, etc.
24ac is fixed with an adhesive or a bracket (none of which is shown), and these passage forming members 24aa, 24ab, 24ac constitute a smoothly curved air passage 25a having a substantially S-shape. The upstream end of the air passage 25a, that is, the suction port 26a, is connected to the lower surface introduction hole 22a of the unit case 21a, and the downstream end of the air passage 25a, that is, the air outlet 27a is connected to the unit case 21.
It is open to the front opening of a. And abbreviated S
The curved portion of the air passage 25a, which is curved in the shape of a letter, is open at the outer surface of the curve, and another air outlet 28a is opened there. This outlet 28a is connected to the rear outlet hole 23 of the unit case 21a.
It is electrically connected to a. A damper 29a is provided on the outside of the curved portion of the air passage 25a where the other outlet 28a is opened, and this damper 29a is connected to the link 30a and servo motor shown in FIG. 31a, it can be stopped arbitrarily within the range of A or B. A cross flow fan 32a is attached to the suction port 26a of the air passage 25a. The cross flow fan 32a is supported by a bearing 33a fixed to the unit case 21a and a drive motor 34a, and is rotated by the drive motor 34a. The blower unit 20a with such a configuration is
Mounting brackets 35a formed on the unit case 21a allow the cabinet type casing 1
It is removably attached to the uppermost space 3a. The operation of the embodiment with such a configuration will be explained. The air conditioner is operated by operating the control unit 7, which includes a power switch, a heating/cooling function selector switch, and a power switch (not shown).
Select and operate the remote control panel, etc. to set the desired mode and perform heating or cooling operation. During such operation, the ventilation units 20a, 2 installed above and below
At least one of the cross flow fans 32a, 32b of the casing 1 is rotated, and the rotation of these cross flow fans 32a, 32b introduces air from one room through the suction port 10 opened at the front surface of the casing 1. The introduced air is purified by passing through a filter 9, and then passes through a heat exchanger 8,
This heat exchanger 8 exchanges heat and warms or cools. This air flows vertically between the back of the heat exchanger 8 and the back wall of the casing 1, and
Each suction port 26a, 26b of the ventilation unit 20a, 20b is inserted through the through holes 4a, 4b, 4c provided in c.
is attracted to. In each of the blower units 20a and 20b, referring to the upper blower unit 20a shown in FIG.
Air is blown along a. Here, the damper 2 is controlled by the servo motor 31a.
When the damper 29a is set at the position A shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, and therefore at the position shown in FIG. 3, the damper 29a closes the other outlet 28a.
Air is discharged from one outlet 27a. That is, in the case of an air conditioner, the front air outlets 5aa, 5ab of the casing 1 are connected to the air outlet grille 6a,
Air will be sent to one room via 6b. On the other hand, the damper 29 is driven by the servo motor 31a.
When the damper 29a is operated to the position B shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, and therefore to the position shown in FIG. 4, the damper 29a closes one outlet 27a and opens the other outlet 28a. Air is blown from the other outlet 28a
From there, it is discharged through the discharge port 23a and the back air outlet 5ba. That is, in the case of an air conditioner, air is supplied to the other room from the rear outlet ports 5ba and 5bb of the casing 1. Furthermore, the damper 2 is driven by the servo motor 31a.
9a is operated to the position shown in FIG. 5, the damper 29a opens both the one outlet 27a and the other outlet 28a, so air is blown from the front outlet 5.
It is discharged through aa and the back outlet 5ba.
That is, in the case of an air conditioner, the front air outlets 5aa, 5ab and the back air outlet 5 of the casing 1
Air is supplied to both adjacent rooms through ba and 5bb. The above-mentioned air blower unit 20 exhibits such an action.
In a and 20b, since the air passage 25a is formed into a smoothly curved substantially S-shape, the air sent out from the cross flow fan 32a flows smoothly. One outlet 27a is provided at the downstream end of the substantially S-shaped air passage 25a, and the other outlet 28a is provided on the outer surface of a smoothly curved portion of the substantially S-shaped air passage 25a. Since the damper 29a is installed, the air will be blown smoothly no matter how the air blowing direction is selected. That is, when blowing air from one outlet 27a,
Since the damper 29a closes the other outlet 28a that is open on the outer surface of the smoothly curved curved part, the damper 29a is located in the tangential direction of the curved part, and the air passage from the cross flow fan 32a to the one outlet 27a is closed. 25a is approximately S-shaped and smoothly curved. Therefore, there are no places where the passage suddenly curves or where the cross-sectional area suddenly changes, so there are no places where air stagnates in the middle, and there is little resistance to blowing air. Furthermore, when blowing air from the other outlet 28a, the damper 29a is located in the tangential direction of the smoothly curved curved part and closes the opening toward the one outlet 27a. Air passage 2 leading to outlet 28a
5a has a smoothly curved semi-S shape, and in this case as well, there are no sudden bends in the passage or places where the cross-sectional area suddenly changes, so there is no air stagnation in the middle, and the air resistance is low. few. Because of this, air is blown smoothly and the efficiency of air blowing is improved. In addition, the damper 29a is located in the tangential direction of the curved portion as described above, and even when the flow direction is set in both directions as shown in FIG. and make less noise. Furthermore, the air passage 25a is formed into a substantially S-shape,
One outlet 27a is formed at the downstream end of this S-shaped air passage 25a, the other outlet 28a is provided on the outer surface of a smoothly curved part, and a damper 29a for this curved part is installed, so that the blower unit 20
The depth dimension l of a and 20b can be reduced. Therefore, even when applied to a wall-storable indoor unit of an air conditioner, the depth space is small and the structure can be made thin. Further, since the blowing directions are different by 180 degrees, the upper blower unit 20a and the lower blower unit 20b can be used in common by having the same structure inserted upside down. In order to install the air blower units 20a and 20b in the uppermost space 3a and the lowermost space 3d of the casing 1, it is possible to assemble the blower units 20a and 20b externally in advance and slide them into the spaces 3a and 3d. Since it can be assembled, there is no need for assembly, and since it is removable, maintenance is easy. Note that the present invention is not limited to application to the wall-storable indoor unit of the air conditioner shown in the above embodiment. In addition, the passage forming members 24aa, 24ab, 24ac
is not limited to being made of styrofoam, but may be made of other resins or sheet metals. Furthermore, the damper 29a is driven by a servo motor 31a.
It is not limited to being operated by a hydraulic cylinder or a manual type. Furthermore, the air passage 25a is not limited to a substantially S-shape, and may be, for example, U-shaped. [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, by switching the damper provided on the curved portion, the air blown from the fan is blown out from either one or both of the outlets. In this case, the other outlet and the damper are installed in a smoothly curved curved part, so the air flow does not change direction suddenly and the passage area does not change suddenly. Air blowing loss is reduced, air blowing efficiency is improved, and there is no need to worry about vibration or noise. Moreover, the air passage is a smoothly curved passage, and since the damper is provided in this curved part, the air passage is compact, and the installation space is small.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a blower unit, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the entire indoor unit of an air conditioner, and Figs. 3 to 5. The figures show the assembled state of the indoor unit, and are sectional views in different operating states. 1...Casing, 2a-2c...Shelf, 5aa, 5
ab...Front outlet, 5ba, 5bb...Back outlet, 7
...Control unit, 8...Heat exchanger, 9...Filter, 10...Suction port, 20a, 20b...Blower unit (blow direction switching device), 21a...Unit case, 22a...Inlet port, 23a...Discharge port, 25a...
Air passage, 26a... Suction port, 27a... One outlet, 28a... Other outlet, 29a... Damper, 3
1a...Servo motor, 32a...Cross flow fan, 34a...Motor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A blowing direction switching device in which air is blown by a fan provided in an air passage, and the flow direction of the air is blown in different directions by a damper provided in the air passage, comprising: The passage is a curved passage that curves smoothly, one outlet is provided at the downstream end of this curved passage, the other outlet is opened on the outside of the bend of the curved part, a damper is provided in this curved part, and the damper A blowing direction switching device characterized in that the blowing direction is controlled by.