Patent Application
20220090818
The present disclosure relates to an indoor unit that is included in an air-conditioning apparatus, and that includes a wind direction vane, a vane motor, an air passage wall, and a shaft joint member, and relates to the air-conditioning apparatus.
For example, in many indoor units of air-conditioning apparatuses, a wind direction vane that changes the direction of conditioned air blown out from an air outlet is provided at an air outlet for the conditioned air. The wind direction vane includes a blade-like plate portion that guides conditioned air blown out from the air outlet. Vane shafts are provided at both ends of the plate portion as the center of rotation.
A main body of the indoor unit is provided with an air passage wall that isolates an air passage for conditioned air in the body from the outside where no conditioned air flows. The air passage wall has through-hole portions that serve as bearing portions associated with the respective vane shafts.
A vane motor is provided at one end portion of the wind direction vane, and the vane motor drives the wind direction vane to rotate the wind direction vane. The vane shaft and a rotary shaft of the vane motor are connected to each other by a shaft joint member.
In such an indoor unit, cool air cooled by a heat exchanger flows toward the outside from a through-hole through which the vane shaft extends. Then, the cool air may reach the vane motor. In such a case, dew is formed on the vane motor. The dew formed on the vane motor may drop from the indoor unit.
In the past, as measures against the above dropping of dew, a flange portion has been provided at the shaft joint member to seal the gap between the shaft joint member and the air passage wall. In this case, the length of a gap between the flange portion and a protruding end portion of the air passage wall is set smaller than the length of an annular gap formed between the shaft and the bearing portion of the air passage wall. In an adopted method, the gap between the flange portion and the protruding end portion of the air passage wall is seated, thereby preventing cool air that flows between the shaft and the barding portion of the air passage wall from entering the gap between the flange portion and the protruding end portion of the air passage wall (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-124951
However, in the technique disclosed in the above Patent Literature 1, the length of the gap between the flange portion and the protruding end portion of the air passage wall is reduced to achieve a sealed state between the flange portion and the protruding end portion of the air passage wall. Therefore, during rotation of the wind direction vane, the flange portion and the protruding end portion may come into contact with each other, as a result of which a malfunction may occur in the wind direction vane.
The present disclosure is applied to solve the above problem, and relates to an indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus and an air-conditioning apparatus in which dew can be prevented from adhering to a vane motor without adversely affecting the action of the wind direction vane.
An indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a wind direction vane configured to rotate about a vane shaft to change a flow direction of conditioned air that is blown out from an air outlet provided at an air passage for the conditioned air that is provided in a housing; a vane motor including a rotary shaft, and configured to drive the wind direction vane to rotate the wind direction vane; an air passage wall that isolates the air passage from an outside where no conditioned air flows; and a shaft joint member configured to connect one end portion of the vane shaft and one end portion of the rotary shaft, the vane shaft extending outward from the air passage wall. Between the vane shaft and the air passage wall, an annular gap is provided, The shaft joint member includes a flange portion between the air passage wall and the vane motor, and the flange portion radially extends outward from a center, thereby causing air that flows toward the vane motor through the annular gap to be diffused outward relative to a direction toward the vane motor.
An air-conditioning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes the above indoor unit.
In the indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus and the air-conditioning apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the shaft joint member includes the flange portion between the air passage wall and the vane motor. The flange portion radially extends outward from the center, thereby causing air that flows toward the vane motor through the annular gap to be diffused outward relative to the direction toward the vane motor, Therefore, the air that flows toward the vane motor through the annular gap is caused to avoid the vane motor by the flange portion, and is diffused outward relative to the direction toward the vane motor. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent dew from adhering to the vane motor without adversely affecting the action of the wind direction vane.
The embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the figures. In each of the figures, components that are the same as or equivalent to those in a previous figure or figures are denoted by the same reference signs. The same is true of the entire text of the specification. In sectional views, hatching is omitted as appropriate in view of visibility. Furthermore, configurations of the components described in the entire text of the specification are merely examples. That is, the actual configurations of the components not limited to the configurations of the components described in the entire text of the specification.
The outdoor unit 101 includes a compressor 105, a four-way valve 106, an outdoor heat exchanger 107, and an expansion valve 108.
The compressor 105 compresses sucked refrigerant, and discharges the compressed refrigerant. The compressor 105 may change the amount of refrigerant that is sent out from the compressor 105 per unit time, by arbitrarily changing the operating frequency with an inverter circuit, for example.
The four-way valve 106 is a valve that switches the flow direction of refrigerant between the flow direction of the refrigerant in a cooling operation and that in a heating operation, for example.
The outdoor heat exchanger 107 causes heat exchange to be performed between refrigerant and outdoor air. During the cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 107 operates as a condenser to condense and liquefy the refrigerant.
During the heating operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 107 operates as an evaporator to evaporate and vaporize the refrigerant.
The expansion valve 108 is a flow control valve, and reduces the pressure of refrigerant to expand the refrigerant. In the case where the expansion valve 108 is an electronic expansion valve, for example, the opening degree of the expansion valve 108 can be adjusted based on an instruction given by a controller (not illustrated) or other devices.
The indoor unit 102 includes an indoor heat exchanger 109. The indoor heat exchanger 109 causes heat exchange to be performed between air to be conditioned and refrigerant, for example. During the cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 109 operates as an evaporator to evaporates and vaporize the refrigerant. During the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 109 operates as a condenser to condense and liquefy the refrigerant.
Because of provision of the above configuration, the air-conditioning apparatus 100 can perform either the cooling operation or the heating operation by switching the flow direction of refrigerant using the four-way valve 106 of the outdoor unit 101.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The vane motor 7 includes a rotary shaft 7a, and drives the wind direction vane 3 to rotate the wind direction vane 3. The vane motor 7 may be a stepping motor, for example. An outer shell portion of the vane motor 7 is made of metal.
The air passage wall 8 isolates the air passage in the housing 1 from the outside of the housing 1 where no conditioned air flows. Part of the air passage wall 8 includes a bush 10 that is attached to the air passage wall 8 itself as a bearing of the vane shaft 6. The bush 10 is fitted in an opening portion 8a formed in the air passage wall 8. The bush 10 of the air passage wall 8 includes a cylindrical portion 10a that extends outward from part of the air passage wall 8 by which the air passage in the housing 1 is isolated, and the cylindrical portion 10a covers the periphery of the vane shaft 6. Between the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10 fitted in the air passage wall 8, an annular gap 11 is provided.
The motor fixing plate 12 is provided between the shaft joint member 9 and the vane motor 7. At the motor fixing plate 12, a first stopper 12a and a second stopper 12b are provided to restrict a rotation range of the wind direction vane 3. The first stopper 12a and the second stopper 12b protrude toward the air passage wall 8. The vane motor 7 is fixed to the motor fixing plate 12 by screws 7b. The motor fixing plate 12 is fixed to the housing 1 by screws 12c. The motor fixing plate 12 is made of metal.
As illustrated in
The distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a is smaller than a sliding distance B2 by which the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10, which forms part of the air passage wall 8, are caused to slide over each other. However, the distance B1 is great to some extent. If the distance B1 is excessively small, the flange portion 9a is located closer to the air passage wall 8, and there is a possibility that the flange portion 9a will come into contact with the air passage wall 8. In this case, it is necessary to determine the dimension of the shaft joint member 9, including the flange portion 9a, in consideration of fixation of the vane motor 7 to the motor fixing plate 12 and also necessary to manage the dimensions of a plurality of components. In contrast, in Embodiment 1, in the case where the distance B1 is reliably ensured, there is little possibility that the flange portion 9a will come into contact with the air passage wall 8, and it therefore suffices to manage only the dimensions of the inside diameters of the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10. Thus, in Embodiment 1, the number of dimensions of components that need to be managed is small and a high productivity is achieved. Furthermore, the variance between the dimensions to be managed is also small, and it is therefore possible to reduce adhesion of dew to the vane motor 7 with a simple structure, and improve the reliability of the product. It is preferable that the space distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a be greater than the sliding distance B2 by which the vane shaft 6 and the air passage wall 8 are caused to slide over each other.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the case where only the dimensions of the inner diameters of the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10 are managed, since the bush 10 is a component separate from the air passage wall 8, it is possible to improve the accuracy of molding of components. The bush 10 at the air passage wall 8 that slides over the vane shaft 6 is made of a material having a high sliding performance. Part of the vane shaft 6 that slides over the air passage wall 8 is made of a material having a high sliding performance.
According to Embodiment 1, the indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the wind direction vanes 3 each of which is rotated about the vane shaft 6 to change the flow direction of conditioned air that is blown out from an associated one of the air outlets 2 of the air passage in the housing 1, which allows the conditioned air to flow through the air passage. The indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the vane motor 7 that includes the rotary shaft 7a to drive the wind direction vane 3 to rotate the wind direction vane 3. The indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the air passage wall 8 that isolates the air passage from the outside where no conditioned air flows. The indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the shaft joint member 9 that connects the one end portion of the vane shaft 6, which extends outward from the air passage wall 8, and the one end portion of the rotary shaft 7a. The annular gap 11 is provided between the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10, which forms part of the air passage wall 8. The shaft joint member 9 includes the flange portion 9a between the air passage wall 8 and the vane motor 7. The flange portion 9a radially extends outward from the center axis, and causes air that flows toward the vane motor 7 through the annular gap 11 to be outwardly diffused relative to the direction toward the vane motor 7.
In the above configuration, air that flows toward the vane motor 7 through the annular gap 11 is caused by the flange portion 9a to avoid the vane motor 7, and is radially diffused outward from the center axis. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent dew from adhering to the vane motor 7 without adversely affecting the action of the wind direction vane 3.
According to Embodiment 1, the outside diameter R1 of the flange portion 9a is greater than the outside diameter R2 of the annular gap 11.
With such a configuration, air that flows toward the vane motor 7 through the annular gap 11 is caused to avoid the vane motor 7 by the flange portion 9a that has a dimension greater than the outside diameter R2 of the annular gap 11, and is reliably radially diffused outward from the center axis.
According to Embodiment 1, the flange portion 9a is circular with respect to the center axis of the vane shaft 6 and the rotary shaft 7a.
In the above configuration, air that flows toward the vane motor 7 through the annular gap 11 is caused by the circular flange portion 9a to avoid the vane motor 7 such that the air uniformly flows around the vane shaft 6, and is radially diffused outward from the center axis.
According to Embodiment 1, the flange portion 9a is provided adjacent to part of the vane shaft 6 that is exposed from the air passage wall 8, and that has a length corresponding to the space distance B1, which is the exposure length measured as a finite distance.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a is separated from the air passage wall 8 by the space distance B1, which is the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6. It is therefore possible to prevent the flange portion 9a from coming into contact with the air passage wall 8, and the action of the wind direction vane 3 is not adversely affected.
According to Embodiment 1, the air passage wall 8 includes the cylindrical portion 10a of the bush 10. The cylindrical portion 10a extends outward from the part of the air passage wall 8 by which the air passage in the housing 1 is isolated, and the cylindrical portion 10a covers the periphery of the vane shaft 6.
In the above configuration, air in the air passage in the housing 1 enters the annular gap 11 provided between the vane shaft 6 and the cylindrical portion 10a extending from the bush 10, which forms part of the air passage wall 8. The air that passes through the annular gap 11 and flows out from the annular gap 11 to the outside is straightened along the center axis of the vane shaft 6 and the rotary shaft 7a, which corresponds to the extending direction of the annular gap 11. After being straightened and flowing out to the outside, the air impinges against the flange portion 9a, which radially extends outward from the center axis, and as a result is radially diffused outward from the center axis. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dew from adhering to the vane motor 7 without adversely affecting the action of the wind direction vane 3.
According to Embodiment 1, the space distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a is greater than the sliding distance B2 by which the vane shaft 6 and the air passage wall 8 are caused to slide over each other.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a is separated from the cylindrical portion 10a of the air passage wall 8 by the space distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a, the space distance B1 corresponding to the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6. Particularly, when the space distance B1 is greater than the sliding distance B2, the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6 can be reliably ensured. Therefore, the flange portion 9a is prevented from coming into contact with the air passage wall 8, and the action of the wind direction vane 3 is not adversely affected.
According to Embodiment 1, the space distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a is greater than the gap width of the annular gap 11.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a is separated from the cylindrical portion 10a of the air passage wall 8 by the space distance B1 between the flange portion 9a and the outer end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a, which corresponds to the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6. Particularly, when the space length B1, which corresponds to the length of the exposed part, is greater than the gap width of the annular gap 11, the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6 can be reliably ensured at the same time as the vane shaft 6 can be smoothly slid in the annular gap 11 such that the vane shaft 6 is rotatable. Accordingly, the flange portion 9a is prevented from coming into contact with the air passage wall 8, and the action of the wind direction vane 3 is not adversely affected.
According to Embodiment 1, the indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the motor fixing plate 12 that fixes the vane motor 7 and that is located between the shaft joint member 9 and the vane motor 7. At the motor fixing plate 12, the first stopper 12a is provided to restrict the rotation range of the wind direction vane 3. At the shaft joint member 9, the restriction lever 9b is provided. The rotation range of the restriction lever 9b is restricted by the first stopper 12a. The flange portion 9a is integrally formed with the restriction lever 9b.
Because of provision of the above configuration, the shaft joint member 9 including the flange portion 9a can be easily manufactured.
According to Embodiment 1, the flange portion 9a is provided on a side of the restriction lever 9b that is closer to the air passage wall 8.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a integrally formed with the restriction lever 9b is located closer to the air passage wall 8 by the length of the exposed part of the vane shaft 6. Therefore, air that flows toward the vane motor 7 through the annular gap 11 is caused to avoid the vane motor 7 by the flange portion 9a that is closer to the air passage wall 8, and is precisely diffused outward relative to the direction toward the vane motor 7.
According to Embodiment 1, the first stopper 12a includes the protruding portion that protrudes toward the air passage wall 8. The restriction lever 9b protrudes in the radially outward direction from the center axis of the shaft joint member 9, and can be brought into contact with the protruding portion of the first stopper 12a. The flange portion 9a is provided closer to the air passage wall 8 than the protruding portion of the first stopper 12a.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a is prevented from interfering with the protruding portion of the first stopper 12a, and the action of the restriction lever 9b is not adversely affected.
According to Embodiment 1, the outside diameter R1 of the flange portion 9a is set such that in the radially outward direction from the center axis, an end portion of the flange portion 9a further extends by the distance S1 than the protruding portion of the first stopper 12a.
In the above configuration, the flange portion 9a is prevented from interfering with the protruding portion of the first stopper 12a, and the action of the restriction lever 9b is not adversely affected.
According to Embodiment 1, the outer shell portion of the vane motor 7 and the motor fixing plate 12 are made of metal. The shaft joint member 9 is made of a resin.
In the above configuration, since the outer shell portion of the vane motor 7 and the motor fixing plate 12 are made of metal, cooling air flows to the outer shell portion of the vane motor 7 and the motor fixing plate 12, and as a result dew adheres thereto. However, since the shaft joint member 9 is made of a resin, cool air that passed through the annular gap 11 is radially diffused outward from the center axis by the flange portion 9a of the shaft joint member 9, and dew that adheres to the flange portion 9a when cool air flows thereto does not cause a problem, such as corrosion.
According to Embodiment 1, the bush 10 of the air passage wall 8 that slides over the vane shaft 6 is made of a material having a high sliding performance.
In the above configuration, the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10, which is part of the air passage wall 8, more satisfactorily lubricate each other, and the bush can be rotated.
According to Embodiment 1, part of the vane shaft 6 that slides over the bush 10, which forms part of the air passage wall 8, is made of a material having a high sliding performance.
In the above configuration, the vane shaft 6 and the bush 10, which forms part of the air passage wall 8, more satisfactorily lubricate each other, and can be rotated.
According to Embodiment 1, the air-conditioning apparatus 100 includes the indoor unit 102 of the above air-conditioning apparatus 100.
In the above configuration, in the air-conditioning apparatus 100 including the indoor unit 102 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100, it is possible to prevent dew from adhering to the vane motor 7 without adversely affecting the action of the wind direction vane 3.
1: housing, 2: air outlet, 3: wind direction vane, 4: air inlet, 5: sensor, 6: vane shaft, 7: vane motor, 7a: rotary shaft, 7b: screw, 8: air passage wall, 8a: opening portion, 9: shaft joint member, 9a: flange portion, 9b: restriction lever, 9c: fitted shaft portion, 9d: hook, 10: bush, 10a: cylindrical portion, 11: annular gap, 12: motor fixing plate, 12a: first stopper, 12b: second stopper, 12c: screw, 100: air-conditioning apparatus, 101: outdoor unit, 102: indoor unit, 103: gas refrigerant pipe, 104: liquid refrigerant pipe, 105: compressor, 106: four-way valve, 107: outdoor heat exchanger, 108: expansion valve, 109: indoor heat exchanger.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2019/010469 | 3/14/2019 | WO | 00 |
