Patent Grant
9581379
This application is a U.S. national stage application of PCT/JP2012/002414 filed on Apr. 6, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus.
In one example, a floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus (an indoor unit) that is installed on the floor of a room or on any other like place has an air outlet, from which conditioned air is fed, in the upper portion of its body in the height direction. In an example of such a known floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus, a flat-plate-like heat exchanger is provided obliquely such that the upper portion of the heat exchanger is inclined toward the front side of the body and the lower portion of the heat exchanger is inclined toward the rear side of the body. Furthermore, the pitch of an air inlet grill is narrower in its areas closer to the center of rotation of a fan, that is, is wider in its areas farther from the center of rotation of the fan (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
In another example, a drain pan provided below a heat exchanger is formed integrally with a cabinet. An air outlet is provided in the upper portion of the cabinet. The heat exchanger has a plate shape and is inclined downward such that the front side thereof faces toward the floor surface. An air inlet is provided below the air outlet. The air inlet is inclined downward so as to face toward the floor. A fan is provided at a position higher than a half of the height of the cabinet (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).
In another air-conditioning apparatus, a fan is provided in an upper portion of the unit. A V-shaped heat exchanger is provided below the fan. An air outlet and an air inlet are provided in the upper front portion and in the lower portion, respectively, of the unit (see, for example, Patent Literature 3).
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-058695 (p. 3, and FIGS. 1 and 2)
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-237058 (p. 4 and FIG. 1)
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-272884 (p. 5 and FIG. 2)
In the air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, for example, the flat-plate-like heat exchanger is inclined. Therefore, for example, to reliably provide a satisfactory heat exchange area so as to increase the capacity, the body of the air-conditioning apparatus is long in the height direction. Accordingly, the size of the air-conditioning apparatus is large. Hence, if the floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus is installed in a space below a bay window or a high window as in a typical case, the air-conditioning apparatus may cover the window. That is, a limitation for installation is imposed, reducing the ease of construction.
The air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 2 has, for example, the following problems.
(1) The plate-like heat exchanger is inclined, and the rear side of the cabinet, which forms a wall of an air passage extending from the heat exchanger to the fan, is long. Therefore, cold air is condensed on the wall surface because the cold air comes into contact with the rear surface of the cabinet or because the flow of the cold air is unstable. Hence, a dew-collecting passage needs to be provided separately.
(2) The air inlet is provided below the air outlet. The air inlet is inclined downward so as to face toward the floor. The fan is provided at a position higher than a half of the height of the cabinet. Therefore, air near the floor is easily taken in, and an ascending air current can easily be produced. However, simply providing the fan in the upper portion of the cabinet is not enough. Since the fan has a heavy weight and rotates, the body of the air-conditioning apparatus is often shaken due to vibrations or the like and swings unstably. Hence, if the rear side of the body of the air-conditioning apparatus is not fixed, the air-conditioning apparatus may fall or high noise may be generated due to the swing.
Meanwhile, the air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 3 has, for example, the air outlet in the upper front portion of the unit and is incapable of blowing air upward. Therefore, if the air-conditioning apparatus is simply used as a floor-standing apparatus, it is not possible in heating to, for example, circulate air through the entire room by blowing air upwards. Moreover, humans may feel uncomfortable as air blown frontwards directly strikes their bodies.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and provides a stable floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus having an increased capacity with respect to the size of the body thereof.
A floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention includes a lower air inlet having an air inlet opening configured to allow air to flow into a body from the lower portion of the body on the side of its front face, an air outlet having an air outlet opening configured to allow air in the body to flow out of the body and rise, a heat exchanger that is provided in the body and configured to condition air, a crossflow fan that is provided in the body and configured to produce a flow of air in which the air that has flowed into the body passes through the heat exchanger and is guided to the air outlet, a drain pan that is provided below the heat exchanger in a height direction of the body and configured to receive water generated by dew condensation, and a lower diffuser provided in a lower portion of the air outlet in the body so as not to be oriented toward the air outlet. The crossflow fan is provided at a position below the air outlet in the height direction of the body and on a side of rear face with respect to a center of the body in a depth direction. The heat exchanger includes a front heat exchanger provided on the side of the front face and a rear heat exchanger provided on the side of rear face, a pair of which form a V shape with their lower ends being in contact with each other, and are arranged so that the crossflow fan is positioned between the front heat exchanger and the rear heat exchanger.
In the floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention, the crossflow fan is provided on the rear side of the unit. Therefore, falling toward the front side can be prevented and the apparatus can stably be placed on the floor. Furthermore, since the apparatus can stably be set, vibrations due to driving of the fan during the operation can be reduced to, in turn, reduce, for example, noise generated by the vibrations transmitted into the room. Furthermore, since the heat exchanger includes the front heat exchanger and the rear heat exchanger, a pair of which form a V shape, the heat exchange performance can be increased by increasing the heat exchange area while the height of the body is kept low, as compared to the case where a flat-plate-like heat exchanger is provided. Thus, energy can be saved. Furthermore, the taken air can be split by the drain pan so as to flow into the front heat exchanger and into the rear heat exchanger. Therefore, the drift of air can be suppressed, and the distribution of the amount of air taken into the fan can be uniformed. Thus, noise can be reduced. Furthermore, the torque of a fan motor can be reduced to save energy.
An air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
Referring to
A heat exchanger 9 includes a front heat exchanger 9b and a rear heat exchanger 9c. The front heat exchanger 9b is positioned on the front side (on the side of the body front face 1a) with respect to the crossflow fan 7 in the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. The rear heat exchanger 9c is positioned on the rear side (on the side of the body rear face 1d) with respect to the crossflow fan 7 in the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. The front heat exchanger 9b and the rear heat exchanger 9c are in contact with or close to each other at the respective lower ends thereof, thereby forming a V-shaped projection 9a. That is, the front heat exchanger 9b and the rear heat exchanger 9c are arranged in a substantially normal V shape with the crossflow fan 7 positioned between them. In the heat exchanger 9 according to Embodiment 1, the front heat exchanger 9b has a larger area that allows passage of air than the rear heat exchanger 9c.
A drain pan 11 receives and temporarily stores condensed water generated by the heat exchanger 9. The drain pan 11 is provided below the V-shaped projection 9a of the heat exchanger 9 and has a concave shape that covers the V-shaped projection 9a. To allow air to flow into the front heat exchanger 9b and into the rear heat exchanger 9c, a front air passage opening 12a is provided between a drain-pan front side wall 11b of the drain pan 11 and the front panel 6 in the depth direction of the air-conditioning apparatus, and a rear air passage opening 12b is provided between a drain-pan rear side wall 11c of the drain pan 11 and a rear air passage wall 13 of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. A shortest distance C1 between the drain-pan front side wall 11b and the front panel 6 that corresponds to the shortest opening size of the front air passage opening 12a and a shortest distance C2 between the drain-pan rear side wall 11c and the rear air passage wall 13 that corresponds to the shortest opening size of the rear air passage opening 12b satisfy a relation C1>C2. To obtain this relation, the area of the air passage on the front side is made larger.
The height (vertical dimension) of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 is defined as an air-conditioning-apparatus-body height H. Also, the vertical distance between a fan axis of rotation center O defined on the impeller 7a of the crossflow fan 7 and a lower end 9d of the heat exchanger 9 is defined as a vertical distance F. The outside diameter of the crossflow fan 7 (impeller 7a) is defined as a fan outside diameter D. In Embodiment 1, the vertical distance F, the fan outside diameter D, and the air-conditioning-apparatus-body height H are 280 mm, 115 mm, and 600 mm, respectively. In this case, the vertical distance F is about 2.4 times the fan outside diameter D. Preferably, the vertical distance F is equal to or smaller than the product of the fan outside diameter D multiplied by four. This is for the following reason. If the extreme lower end of the heat exchanger 9 and the crossflow fan 7 are too far from each other, the air does not reach the extreme lower end, failing in heat exchange in that case. Consequently, the heat exchange efficiency is reduced.
Regarding the air inlet 2, the position of the lower air inlet 2a is determined such that, in a state where, for example, the air-conditioning apparatus is installed in a room, the heat exchanger 9 and the drain pan 11 cannot be seen through the lower air inlet 2a when the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 is seen from the front or obliquely. Hence, in Embodiment 1, an upper end position 2a1 of the lower air inlet 2a is below a drain-pan lower end 11a.
The front air inlet 2b is provided in the front panel 6 so as to open to the exterior across the interval, in the height direction of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1, between two horizontal tangent lines L1 and L2 that are tangent to a circle D1 defining the fan perimeter.
Therefore, the open portion of the front air inlet 2b in the height direction is positioned between the upper and lower ends of the impeller 7a of the crossflow fan 7. The front air inlet 2b is provided with an air-guiding wall 6b. The air-guiding wall 6b first extends substantially horizontally from the lower portion of a front-panel opening 6a, then curves upward, and further extends along the front panel 6 so as to have a substantially L shape. In the air outlet 3, a lower diffuser 3a that forms an air-outlet lower portion of the stabilizer 7b extends horizontally, and a downstream-side end 3b has an arc-shaped recess 3c.
A filter 14 removes dust and the like from air that flows from the lower air inlet 2a into the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. The filter 14 includes a front-heat-exchanger-side filter 14a and a rear-heat-exchanger-side filter 14b that are separate from each other and provided in the respective air passages to the front heat exchanger 9b and to the rear heat exchanger 9c. In Embodiment 1, the rear-heat-exchanger-side filter 14b has a higher collection efficiency than the front-heat-exchanger-side filter 14a. By providing constituent devices in the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 as described above, the center of gravity of the air-conditioning apparatus is defined at least near the center in the depth direction of the air-conditioning apparatus, forming a stable arrangement.
The operation of the floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus configured as described above will now be described on the basis of the flow of air. As illustrated in
In the floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus configured as described above, the crossflow fan 7 and the fan motor are positioned on the rear side in the depth direction with respect to the depth-direction center of the body. Thus, the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 becomes less liable to fall frontwards (toward the front side). Also, the occurrence of vibrations during the operation can be suppressed to reduce noise generated by the vibrations transmitted into the room 10. Furthermore, since the heat exchanger 9 (the front heat exchanger 9b and the rear heat exchanger 9c) is arranged obliquely in the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1, the ratio of the heat exchange area to the height can be increased, whereby the heat exchange performance is increased. Consequently, energy can be saved. Furthermore, since the heat exchanger has a V shape and allows air to flow from the front side and from the rear side with respect to the drain pan 11 provided below the heat exchanger, the drift of air is suppressed. Furthermore, the distribution of the amount of air taken into the crossflow fan 7 (impeller 7a) can be uniformed to keep the noise level low, and reduce the torque of the fan motor. Furthermore, since the front panel 6 is a flat panel and has only a few (no) grating bars, dust and the like can easily be removed from the front panel 6, even if any such dirt adheres to it. Furthermore, since the inside of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 cannot be seen, properties of design can be improved. Furthermore, even if dew condensation occurs on the lower diffuser 3a in the lower portion of the air outlet 3, the dew water is prevented from dropping to the outside of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. Thus, the floor 10a is prevented from being contaminated and is kept with high quality. Since the air outlet 3 opens from the front face to the upper portion, the direction in which air flows can be smoothly controlled over the range from the floor surface to the ceiling. Thus, effects such as an even temperature distribution over the entire room 10 and a reduction in discomfort that humans feel when the air directly strikes their bodies are produced, increasing comfort. With the aforementioned arrangement, a low-noise, energy-saving, good-design, high-quality, highly comfortable, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus can be provided.
In the air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 1, the vertical distance F in the height direction of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 is equal to or smaller than the product of the fan outside diameter D multiplied by four, and the air inlet 2 includes the front air inlet 2b and the lower air inlet 2a. Hence, for example, air flows in from the front air inlet 2b, and there is no chance that air taken in from the lower air inlet 2a may rise to an area near the crossflow fan 7 at once and be abruptly taken into the crossflow fan 7. Air is also allowed to flow toward the rear heat exchanger 9c provided on the rear side with respect to the crossflow fan 7. Moreover, the air velocity distribution in the heat exchanger 9 can be uniformed to increase the heat exchange performance. Furthermore, since the amount of air that is blown for heat exchange is reduced, the power consumption of the fan motor can be reduced. Furthermore, since the flow rate of the refrigerant that is used for heat exchange can also be reduced, the power consumption of a compressor (not illustrated) that circulates the refrigerant through a refrigerant circuit is reduced. Thus, energy can be saved.
In the air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 1, the front-panel opening 6a of the front panel 6 is provided within the area defined between the two horizontal tangent lines L1 and L2 that are tangent to the circle D1 defining the fan perimeter and represent the upper limit position and the lower limit position, respectively, in the height direction of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. Therefore, even if dust and the like accumulate on the filter 14 and the load increases, air can easily flow toward an area near the circular vortex and stabilizes the circular vortex. This can prevent the occurrence of a counterflow of taken air. Accordingly, in a cooling operation, for example, high-temperature air that is present in the room 10 does not flow reversely toward the crossflow fan 7, preventing the occurrence of dew condensation. This makes it possible to provide a high-quality, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus.
The front air inlet 2b of the air-conditioning apparatus according to Embodiment 1 is provided with the air-guiding wall 6b. Therefore, for example, when seen from the front, from above in the installed state, or from any other like side of the air-conditioning apparatus, the inside of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 cannot be seen through the open portion. Thus, a good-design, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus can be provided.
In the heat exchanger 9 according to Embodiment 1, the front heat exchanger 9b has a larger heat exchange area than the rear heat exchanger 9c. Since the heat exchange area of the front heat exchanger 9b provided on the side of the fan where the circular vortex occurs is larger than that of the rear heat exchanger 9c, the amount of air to be taken in is increased and the circular vortex is stabilized. Therefore, the behavior in the crossflow fan 7 is stabilized, and no abnormal sound is generated due to fluid factors. Furthermore, the flow of air passing below the front heat exchanger 9b is not pushed away by the flow of air from the rear heat exchanger 9c. Therefore, the air velocity distribution in the heat exchanger 9 can be uniformed to increase the heat exchange performance. Under such circumstances, since the flow rate of the refrigerant that is used for heat exchange can also be reduced to, in turn, reduce the power consumption of the compressor (not illustrated) that circulates the refrigerant through the refrigerant circuit. Thus, energy can be saved. This makes it possible to provide a high-quality, energy-saving, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus in which the generation of an abnormal sound is suppressed.
In Embodiment 1, the upper end position 2a1 of the lower air inlet 2a is positioned below the drain-pan lower end 11a so that the heat exchanger 9 and the drain pan 11 cannot be seen through the lower air inlet 2a. This makes it possible to provide a good-design, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus.
In Embodiment 1, the shortest distance C1 between the drain-pan front side wall 11b and the front panel 6 (the front air passage wall) and the shortest distance C2 between the drain-pan rear side wall 11c and the rear air passage wall 13 satisfy a relation C1>C2. Thus, the air passage on the front side can have a large area. Therefore, the taken air easily flows toward the front side, and the distribution of the amount of air taken into the crossflow fan 7 (impeller 7a) can be uniformed to keep the noise level low, and reduce the torque of the fan motor, whereby the power consumption is reduced. This makes it possible to provide a low-noise, energy-saving, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus.
In Embodiment 1, the lower air inlet 2a opens to the lower face of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 so as to face the floor 10a, and the frames 1f are provided at the two respective ends of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 in front view of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1. Therefore, dust and the like on the surface of the floor 10a is also taken in. Furthermore, when the air-conditioning apparatus is installed on the wall 10b near the floor 10a, air is also taken in from below. In such a case, since the area of the air inlet is increased so as to reduce the draft resistance, a low-noise, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus can be provided.
In Embodiment 1, the downstream-side end 3b of the lower diffuser 3a at the air outlet 3 has the recess 3c. Therefore, even if dew condensation occurs on the lower diffuser 3a, the dew water can be retained in the recess 3c. Hence, the dew water can be prevented from being discharged to the outside, increasing the quality. Thus, a high-quality, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus can be provided.
In Embodiment 1, the filter 14 includes the filters that are separate from each other and are provided in the respective air passages to the front heat exchanger 9b and to the rear heat exchanger 9c. The filter 14 on the side of the rear heat exchanger 9c is finer and has a higher collection efficiency than the filter 14 on the side of the front heat exchanger 9b. Thus, a high-quality, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus configured to collect not only dust balls on the floor surface but also fine dirt and the like can be provided.
Furthermore, since the center of gravity of the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 is defined at least near the center of the air-conditioning apparatus in the depth direction, the air-conditioning apparatus can be installed and fixed by simply placing the air-conditioning apparatus on the floor 10a. For example, since the air-conditioning apparatus stands by itself even without being fixed to the wall 10b on the rear side thereof, the limitation for installation is eliminated, increasing the ease of installation. Moreover, vibrations that may occur during the operation can be reduced. Thus, an easy-to-construct, high-quality, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus can be provided.
Even when the air-conditioning apparatus is attached to the wall 10b as in Embodiment 1, if the rear air passage wall 13 is closed with the rear panel 15 being attached to the air-conditioning-apparatus body 1, the same installation as in Embodiment 1 is realized. Thus, the limitations for installation are reduced. This makes it possible to provide an energy-saving, easy-to-construct, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus.
As an application of the air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention, a floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus is provided in which an air-conditioning-apparatus body 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is horizontally elongated in front view and is placed on a floor surface or on a wall near the floor surface; the fan is a crossflow fan extending in the horizontal direction in which the air-conditioning-apparatus body is elongated; and at least the air outlet, the fan, and the fan motor are provided in an upper portion of the air-conditioning-apparatus body in the height direction. In such an air-conditioning apparatus, a large-capacity heat exchanger can be provided without increasing the size of the body. Furthermore, the draft resistance in the air passage is reduced, and the air passage has such a shape as to stabilize the operation of the fan. Thus, an energy-saving, silent, highly comfortable, easy-to-construct, high-quality, floor-standing air-conditioning apparatus is provided.
air-conditioning-apparatus body 1a body front face 1b body side face 1c body upper face 1d body rear face 1e body lower face 1f body frame 2a lower air inlet 2a1 upper end position of lower air inlet 2a 2b front air inlet 3 air outlet 3a lower diffuser 3b downstream-side end 3c recess 4 air vane 5 rear attaching plate 6 front panel 6a front-panel opening 6b air-guiding wall 7 crossflow fan 7a impeller 7b stabilizer 7c guide wall 7d ring 7e blade 9 heat exchanger 9a V-shaped projection 9b front heat exchanger 9c rear heat exchanger 9d lower end of heat exchanger 10 room 10a floor 10b wall 11 drain pan 11a drain-pan lower end 11b drain-pan front side wall 11c drain-pan rear side wall 12a front air passage opening 12b rear air passage opening 13 rear air passage wall surface 14 filter 14a front-heat-exchanger-side filter 14b rear-heat-exchanger-side filter 14c rear-panel filter 15 rear panel 16 rear air-inlet opening 17 outdoor-unit-connection-pipe-storing space A direction of fan rotation C1 shortest distance between drain-pan front side wall 11a and front panel 6 C2 shortest distance between drain-pan rear side wall 11c and rear air passage wall 13 D fan outside diameter D1 circle defining fan perimeter E1 inlet-side air passage E2 outlet-side air passage F vertical distance between fan axis of rotation center O and lower end 9d of heat exchanger 9 H air-conditioning-apparatus height L1, L2 two horizontal tangent lines tangent to circle D1 defining fan perimeter O fan axis of rotation center
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/002414 | 4/6/2012 | WO | 00 | 12/23/2014 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2013/150568 | 10/10/2013 | WO | A |
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| Entry |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150211782 A1 | Jul 2015 | US |
