JPH085123A - Device for detecting soiling of air filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device for detecting soiling of air filter easily judge soiling thereof. CONSTITUTION:When an air filter 12 provided at an air intake port 10 of an air conditioner is soiled by dust contained in the air to be clogged thereby, pressure loss of the air filter 12 is increased to increase forces, by which the air filter 12 is attracted toward the fan 14 owing to an suction force of the fan 14. At this time, when a coil spring 30 supporting the air filter 12 is compressed and an amount of the compression reaches a predetermined value, a switch 32 is made closed to generate a signal, by which a control device 22 puts on a lamp 31. Accordingly, it is possible to easily judge soiling of the air filter 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air filter dirt detecting device, and more particularly to an air filter dirt detecting device provided at an air intake of an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows the inside of a conventional air conditioner on the indoor unit side. Air is sucked into the fan 14 from the air intake port 10 through the air filter 12. When the air passes through the air filter 12, dust and the like contained in the air are removed and purified air is obtained. Next, the air is discharged from the fan 14 and then discharged from the air discharge port 18 via the heat exchanger 16. The flow of air in this air conditioner is shown by arrows in FIG.

The air filter 12 described above includes a mounting frame 20.
Is attached to the air intake. Further, heat exchange of air is performed in the heat exchanger 16 and becomes cold air or warm air required for air conditioning.

A control device 22 is provided to control the air conditioner, and a power source 24 and the like are connected to the control device 22.

[0005]

In the above conventional air conditioner, since the air filter 12 provided at the air intake port 10 removes dust and the like in the air, when the air conditioner is operated for a long time, The dirt such as dust accumulates on the filter 12. For this reason, the pressure loss of the air filter 12 increases, the intake amount of air decreases, the operating efficiency of the air conditioner decreases, and the air filter 1 further decreases.
If the pressure loss of 2 increases, the operation of the fan 14 may be abnormal.

However, in the case of an air conditioner installed at a high place such as a ceiling, it is often difficult to visually check the dirt of the air filter. For this reason,
There was a problem that the replacement time of the air filter was delayed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air filter contamination detection device which can easily determine contamination of an air filter.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fan for sucking air from an air intake port and discharging the air from the air discharge port, and a fan provided for the air intake port. And an air filter dirt detection device provided in an air conditioner having an air filter for purifying the sucked air, wherein the air filter detects a force sucked by the fan in accordance with a pressure loss of the air filter. An elastic member that resists, a switch that closes when the air filter moves a predetermined distance in the direction of the fan against the resistance force of the elastic member, and a display unit that operates when the switch is closed. And are included.

[0009]

According to the above construction, when dirt accumulates on the air filter and pressure loss increases, the distance that the air filter moves in the direction of the fan against the resistance of the elastic member increases and the switch closes. As a result, the display means is activated by this, and the contamination of the air filter can be easily determined.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an inside of an indoor unit of an air conditioner provided with an air filter dirt detection device according to the present invention. The same members as those in the conventional example shown in FIG. The description is omitted.

The air filter 12 provided at the air intake port 10 is supported on the mounting frame 20 by a coil spring 30 which is an elastic member of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a force is applied to the air filter 12 by a coil spring 30 in a direction away from the fan 14.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the structure around the coil spring 30. As shown in FIG. 2, a switch 32 is provided near the coil spring 30. The switch 32 is configured to be closed when the coil spring 30 is pressed by the air filter 12 and contracts, and when the air filter 12 moves toward the switch 32 by a predetermined distance.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the panel plate 33 of the air conditioner is provided with a transparent plate 37, on which a lamp 31 of a prominent color such as red is provided.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

Since the air sucked by the fan 14 passes through the air filter 12, the air filter 12
Are always attracted toward the fan 14 by the suction force of the fan 14. With respect to this suction force, a force in the opposite direction is applied to the air filter 12 by the coil spring 30, and this acts as a resistance force to the suction force of the fan and prevents the air filter 12 from moving toward the fan 14. I'm out.

However, when the air conditioner is used for a long period of time, dirt such as dust and dirt contained in the air adheres to the air filter 12, and pressure loss of the air filter 12 increases. For this reason, the resistance of the air passing through the air filter 12 increases, and the air filter 12 moves to the fan 14
The force attracted in the direction of is also increased. As a result, in this embodiment, the coil spring 30 is compressed, and when the air filter 12 moves toward the fan 14 by a predetermined value or more, the switch 32 is closed.

This situation will be described with reference to FIG. The switch 32 is composed of two contacts 34 and 36, and the contact 34 on the coil spring 30 side is the coil spring 30.
40 fixed to the support plate 38 of the air filter 12 side of the
It is provided at the tip of. The shaft 40 is provided so as to penetrate the center of the support plate 42 of the coil spring 30 on the switch 32 side. The support plate 42 is fixed to the mounting frame 20 of the air filter 12.

In the above structure, when the air filter 12 moves upward (in the direction of the arrow) in FIG. 2, the support plate 38 also moves upward and the coil spring 30 is compressed. At this time, since the shaft 40 penetrates the center of the support plate 42, it moves upward together with the support plate 38. Therefore, the contact 34 will be lifted up by the shaft 40 in FIG.
The coil spring 30 is further compressed, and the contact 34 and the contact 36
When the contact 34 is lifted up by the initial clearance t, the contact 34 and the contact 36 are closed.

The elastic member and the switch according to the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned structure, and for example, a leaf spring or the like can be used as the elastic member.

FIG. 3 shows an example of using a leaf spring as the elastic member of the present invention. In the figure, a leaf spring 44 is provided on the coil spring 30. In operation, when the air filter 12 is lifted upward in the figure, the coil spring 30 is compressed and the leaf spring 44 is also deflected upward in the figure, and when the amount of deflection reaches a predetermined value, the contact point 34 and the contact point 36. Will be closed.

When the switch 32 is closed, as shown in FIG.
Is transmitted to When the control device 22 receives the signal indicating that the switch 32 is closed, the control device 22 sends a signal through the electric wiring 48 to turn on the lamp 31. Since this light is confirmed through the transparent plate 37, clogging of the air filter 12 can be known.

The device for notifying the clogging of the air filter 12 is not limited to the lamp 31.
For example, a method of notifying the clogging of the air filter 12 by a buzzer or a voice can be used. The content of the voice may be, for example, "The air filter is dirty. Please clean it quickly."

[0024]

As described above, when the air filter is clogged due to dirt in the air or the like, the clogging is notified by a recognizable means such as a lamp, so that the contamination of the air filter can be easily determined. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of an air conditioner provided with an air filter dirt detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a periphery of an elastic member and a switch of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of another example around the elastic member and the switch of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Air Intake Port 12 Air Filter 14 Fan 16 Heat Exchanger 18 Air Discharge Port 20 Mounting Frame 22 Control Device 30 Coil Spring 31 Lamp 32 Switch 33 Panel Plate 34, 36 Contact 37 Transparent Plate 38, 42 Support Plate 40 Shaft 44 Leaf Spring 46, 48 electrical wiring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fan for sucking air from the air intake port and discharging the air from the air discharge port, and an air filter provided at the air intake port for purifying the sucked air. An air filter dirt detection device provided in an air conditioner, wherein the air filter resists a force sucked by the fan according to a pressure loss of the air filter, and the air filter is a resistance member of the elastic member. An air filter dirt detection device comprising: a switch that is closed when a predetermined distance is moved in the direction of the fan against the force; and a display unit that is activated when the switch is closed.