JPH1183091A - Humidifier for wall mounting air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an existing air conditioner with a humidifying function without requiring a significant modification and to prevent corrosion by draining the humidifying water forcibly when a humidifier is not used for a long term. SOLUTION: A part of air from an air conditioner is taken in through an air intake section and passed through a humidification element in order to increase the humidity of that air. The humidification element is mounted on a water reservoir 22 at a water supply section comprising a water tank 20, a water supply pump 23, the water reservoir 22, and a drainage pump 29 for draining water in the water tank 20 forcibly. Upon elapsing a predetermined interval after setting the water tank 20, the drainage pump 29 and the water supply pump 23 are operated alternately such that the water supply pump 23 transports the water in the water tank 20 to the water reservoir 22 and the drainage pump 29 drains the water in the water reservoir 22 to a drain pan 45, thus draining the water in the water tank 20 forcibly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a humidifier that takes in a part of air from an air conditioner, humidifies the air, and sends the humidified air to a conditioned room. The present invention relates to a humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner that can be drained without being equalized.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional general wall-mounted air conditioner has a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger disposed outdoors, a pressure reducer, an indoor heat exchanger disposed indoors, and the like. Thus, a refrigeration cycle is formed, and a cooling cycle and a heating cycle can be operated by a refrigerant circulation method.

In the cooling cycle, the refrigerant which has been compressed by the compressor and turned into a high-temperature gas exchanges heat with the outside air in an outdoor heat exchanger and liquefies, and is then squeezed by a decompressor to become a liquefied refrigerant and is converted into a liquefied refrigerant. Evaporates and exchanges heat with indoor air.
As a result, the indoor air is cooled and turned into cool air, which is sent to the harmony room, whereby the harmony room is cooled.

In a heating cycle, high-temperature gas from a compressor exchanges heat with indoor air in an indoor heat exchanger and liquefies.
After that, it is squeezed by a decompressor, exchanges heat with the outside air in an outdoor heat exchanger, evaporates and circulates to a compressor. Then, the indoor air that has been heated by exchanging heat with the indoor heat exchanger is sent to the harmony room to heat the harmony room.

At this time, the refrigeration cycle cannot humidify the air blown into the conditioned room, and thus, for example, when the heating cycle is operated in winter, there is a problem that the humidity in the conditioned room becomes low.

To solve this problem, there is a method in which humidity is detected by an air conditioner, and the detection result is transmitted to a separately sold humidifier to humidify. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-203204 and 6-180133 propose an air conditioner having a humidifying function by providing a humidifying element or the like inside.

[0007]

However, in the method of detecting humidity by an air conditioner and transmitting the detection result to a humidifier sold separately to perform humidification, the humidifier includes a blower or humidifying means inside. And so on, the dimensions are large to some extent, and the installation space needs to be fairly large.
The need to receive signals from the air conditioner places restrictions on the installation location. Therefore, there is a problem that the effective use of the harmony room is hindered.

On the other hand, when a humidifying element or the like is provided inside the air conditioner, there has been a problem that maintenance work such as replacement work of the humidifying element is deteriorated.

Further, when the humidifier is not used for a long time, there is a problem that the humidifying water is spoiled.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner, which reduces the installation space and forcibly drains humidification water when the humidifier is not used for a long time. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air intake unit for taking in a part of air blown out of an air outlet of an air conditioner. A humidifying element through which air passes and which increases the humidity of the air, a water supply unit for storing water to be supplied to the humidification element and supplying a predetermined amount of water to the humidification element; A humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner, comprising a drain pump for forcibly discharging water stored in the humidifier, and a discharge unit from which air passing through the humidifying element is discharged, and an air outlet of the air conditioner. It is arranged close to the lower part of. When the humidifier is not used for a long time, the humidifying water is forcibly drained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water tank for storing water in a water supply section, a humidifying element mounted on the humidifying element, and a water basin for humidifying the humidifying element; A water supply pump for supplying water is provided, and when the water in the water reservoir runs out, water is supplied from the water tank by the water supply pump.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water tank was set, the drain pump is operated to forcibly drain the water in the water tank, and when the humidifier is not used for a long time, The humidifying water is forcibly drained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drain pan in which a drain side of a drain pump is disposed below an indoor heat exchanger of an air conditioner, and collects water droplets condensed on the indoor heat exchanger and drains the water outdoors. The drain of the water in the water tank is drained through the drain pan, so that the work for piping the drain side of the drain pump outdoors can be omitted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the water suction side of the drainage pump is disposed in the water reservoir, and the water supply pump and the drainage pump are alternately operated to supply the water in the water tank to the water reservoir once. It is characterized by drainage.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the water supply unit has a water level sensor for detecting the water level of the water collecting tray, and the water level is maintained even if a predetermined time has elapsed since the water supply pump was operated during the drainage operation. If the sensor does not detect the water level, it is determined that the water tank has run out of water and the last drain pump is operated.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a humidifier 10 according to the present invention mounted on an air conditioner 2.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view showing the upper surface of the humidifier 10, and also shows the drain pan 45 of the air conditioner 2 in the same figure. The humidifying element described later in FIG.
The illustration is omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The humidifier 10 is formed to be longer than the length of the air outlet 3 of the wall-mounted air conditioner 2, and an air intake section 11 for taking in a part of the air blown from the air conditioner 2; A humidifying element 12 that passes through the humidifying element 12 to increase the humidity of the air, a water supply unit 13 that immerses one end of the humidifying element 12 to moisten the humidifying element 12, and a discharge unit that discharges the air passing through the humidifying element 12. 14 and the like, and are separately disposed in the vicinity of the lower portion of the outlet 3.

The water supply unit 13 has a water tank 20, a water basin 22 on which one end of the humidifying element 12 is mounted, a water supply pump 23 for supplying water to the water basin 22, and a water level of the water basin 22. A water level sensor 28 for detecting the water pressure, and a drain pump 29 for pumping water from the water tank 22 to a drain pan 45 provided in the air conditioner 2 when a predetermined condition is satisfied.
Etc. are provided.

The air intake unit 11 is tilted to move the air conditioner 2.
And a stepping motor 27 for tilting the flap 26 to take in the air blown out from the air outlet 3 by projecting to the air outlet 3.
The stepping motor 27 is provided at one end of the humidifier 10 and rotates the flap 26 by a predetermined amount.
Is tilted by a predetermined amount, whereby the amount of air taken in is adjusted.

The humidifying element 12 is composed of a plurality of plate-like elements made of a member such as a non-woven fabric, which is liable to cause a capillary phenomenon, and is arranged and held at predetermined intervals so that the plate surfaces of the plate-like elements face each other. Have been. The passage of air between the elements promotes evaporation of water on the surface of the plate element, thereby increasing the humidity of the air.

The humidifier 10 according to the present invention employs two humidifying elements 12, each having a length approximately half that of the air outlet 3 of the air conditioner 2. This is because if the humidifying element 12 becomes dirty, it is necessary to replace or clean the humidifying element 12, so that handling at that time is facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air conditioner 2 comprises an outdoor unit 30 disposed outdoors and an indoor unit 40 disposed indoors. The outdoor unit 30 includes a compressor 31 for compressing the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 32 for exchanging heat between the outside air and the refrigerant, an outdoor blower 33 for blowing the outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger 32, a cooling cycle and heating. A four-way switching valve 34 for switching the circulation direction of the refrigerant in the cycle, a pressure reducer 35 such as an electric expansion valve, and the like are provided. The indoor unit 40 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 42 for exchanging heat between the air blown into the room and the refrigerant, an indoor blower 43 for blowing indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 42, and the like.

At the lower end of the indoor heat exchanger 42, a drain pan 45 for collecting water condensed on the indoor heat exchanger 42 during the cooling cycle is provided. Is connected. As a result, the condensed water is drained outdoors.

It should be noted that the compressor 31 changes the gist of the present embodiment regardless of whether the operating capacity can be continuously varied, the operating capacity can be changed stepwise into a plurality of stages, or the operating capacity cannot be changed. Since it is not the one, it can be arbitrarily selected according to the installation of the air conditioner.

It is also possible to provide a strainer, a muffler, and the like in the refrigeration cycle, and the arrangement at that time can be a commonly known arrangement, and is not shown.

During the cooling cycle, the four-way switching valve 3
4, the refrigerant is circulated in the solid line direction, and the refrigerant is circulated in the order of the compressor 31, the outdoor heat exchanger 32, the pressure reducer 35, and the indoor heat exchanger 42 to form a refrigeration cycle. The switching valve 34 is switched so that the refrigerant circulates in the dotted line direction, and the refrigerant is circulated in the order of the compressor 31, the indoor heat exchanger 42, the pressure reducer 35, and the outdoor heat exchanger 32, thereby forming a heating cycle.

Next, the operation will be described based on the above configuration.
The description will be made on the assumption that the humidifier 10 is operated when the air conditioner 2 is operating in the heating cycle. The humidifier 10
Is attached to the air conditioner 2 with screws or the like.

Then, water is supplied to the water tank 20 and set in the humidifier 10 to turn on the power. At this stage, since there is no water in the water reservoir 22, the water level sensor 28 outputs a water-out signal, and the water supply pump 23 operates for a predetermined time based on the signal. As a result, the water tank 20
Is supplied with a predetermined amount of water, so that one end of the humidifying element 12 placed on the water reservoir 22 is flooded. Then, the water is sucked up and moistened by the entire humidifying element 12 due to the capillary phenomenon.

On the other hand, when a heating operation is started by transmitting a heating operation start signal to the air conditioner 2 by operating the remote controller, warm air is blown downward from the outlet 3 of the air conditioner 2. At this time, when the humidifier 10 receives the heating operation start signal from the remote controller, the stepping motor 27 is driven and the flap 26 is tilted. As a result, the flap 26 protrudes from the air outlet 3 of the air conditioner 2, and the warm air blown out from the air outlet 3 is taken into the humidifier 10.

The hot air taken into the humidifier 10 passes between the respective plate-like elements of the humidifying element 12, and the water on the surface of the plate-like element evaporates. Thereby, the humidity of the warm air is increased and the hot air is discharged from the discharge unit 14.

The humidifying operation is performed as described above. If the water level of the water collecting tray 22 becomes lower than a predetermined amount during the operation, the water level sensor 28 detects this, and the water supply pump 23 is driven for a predetermined time to activate the water tank. From 20, water is supplied to the basin 22.

At this time, if there is no more water to be supplied to the water tank 20, the water level sensor 28 does not detect the water level even if the water supply pump 23 is operated. To let the person know that the water has run out.

Since the humidification operation does not need to be performed at all times, the interval between the humidification operations may be long.
Therefore, while the humidifying operation is not performed, there is a concern that the water in the water tank 20 may rot.

Accordingly, in the present invention, in order to prevent the water from being putrefactive, the water in the water tank 20 is forcibly drained after a predetermined time has elapsed since the water was supplied to the water tank 20.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for forcibly discharging the water. Water for humidification is supplied to the water tank 20, the humidifier is set (step S1), and the drain flag F is initialized (F = 0) (step S2).

Then, it is determined whether or not a preset time has elapsed from the set (step S3). If the time has elapsed, the drain pump 29 operates (step S3).
4), the water in the basin 22 is drained.

It should be noted that the predetermined time in step S3 is set based on a time when water may rot, and is set to, for example, one week. The water drained by the drain pump 29 is drained to a drain pan 45 provided at a lower end of the indoor heat exchanger 42 of the air conditioner 2.

When the water level sensor 28 detects that the water in the basin 22 has dropped below a predetermined level (step S).
5) It is determined whether the drainage flag F is F = 1 (step S6). If the drainage flag F is F = 1, it indicates that the drainage of the water tank 20 has been completed.
The process proceeds to step S7, but if the drainage is not completed, the process proceeds to step S7.

When the operation proceeds to step S7, the drain pump 29 stops and the water supply pump 23 operates. Thereby, water is supplied from the water tank 20 to the water reservoir 22.

Then, the water level sensor 28 detects whether or not a predetermined amount of water has accumulated in the water reservoir 22, and if the predetermined amount of water has accumulated in the water reservoir 22, there is a possibility that the water tank 20 still has water. Returns to step S4.

On the other hand, when a predetermined amount of water is not stored in the water reservoir 22, the process proceeds to step S9, and it is determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the water supply. The predetermined time is a time required for supplying a predetermined amount of water to the water reservoir 22 by the water supply pump 23. Therefore, if the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of water supply, the process returns to step S8 and the water supply operation is continued.

However, if the water tank 20 runs out of water,
Since a predetermined amount of water does not accumulate in the water reservoir 22 even after the predetermined time has elapsed, in this case, the drainage flag F is set to F = 1 (step S10).

Then, the process returns to step S4 in order to drain less than the predetermined amount of water stored in the basin 22, and drains in steps S4 and S5, passes through step S6, and ends the wastewater treatment in step S11.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water tank was set, the water in the water tank was forcibly drained.
There is no possibility that the water in the water tank will rot.

Although the drainage can be performed directly from the water tank, there is an advantage that by passing through the water reservoir, the water reservoir dirty with dust or the like can be washed.

It is also possible to pipe the drainage side of the drainage pump to the outside and drain it directly to the outside. However, as described above, there is an advantage that the labor for the piping can be reduced by passing through the drain pan. .

Further, since the amount of water stored in the water tank is determined, the drainage treatment may be performed by setting the operation time of the water supply pump and the drainage pump and the number of times of these operations in advance. However, in this case, drainage may be performed even if the water tank runs out of water. In this sense, the water level sensor detects the remaining amount in the water tank indirectly. Configuration is desirable.

[0049]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the humidifier is not used for a long time,
Since the drain pump is operated to forcibly drain the water in the water tank, there is no possibility that the water in the water tank will rot.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a water tank for storing water and a humidifying element are placed in the water supply unit, and a water reservoir for moistening the humidifying element and water are supplied from the water tank to the water reservoir. Since the water supply pump is provided, the water can be automatically supplied from the water tank to the water reservoir by the water supply pump when the water in the water reservoir runs out.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water tank was set, the drain pump is operated to forcibly drain the water in the water tank. There is no danger of water spoiling.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the drain side of the drain pump is disposed in the drain pan of the air conditioner, the water in the water tank can be drained via the drain pan. It is possible to save labor such as construction for providing the drain side of the pump outdoors.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the water suction side of the drainage pump is disposed in the water reservoir, and the water supply pump and the drainage pump are alternately operated to supply the water in the water tank to the water reservoir once. Since the water is drained later, it becomes possible to double the washing of the basin in the drainage treatment.

According to the present invention, when the water level sensor does not detect a predetermined amount of water even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the water supply pump during the draining operation, the water is stored in the water tank. Since it is determined that the waste water has run out and the last waste water treatment is performed, the waste water treatment can be completed in an appropriate time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view when a humidifier is attached to an air conditioner.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the humidifier.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cooling cycle of the air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a wastewater treatment operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 air conditioner 3 outlet 10 humidifier 11 air intake unit 12 humidifier element 13 water supply unit 14 discharge unit 20 water tank 22 water reservoir 23 water supply pump 25 water tank port 26 flap 27 stepping motor 28 water level sensor 29 drain pump 42 indoor Heat exchanger 45 Drain pan

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Shohei Nomura 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroshi Otani 2-5-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No.5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshiya Yamagami 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] An air intake section for taking in a part of air blown out from an air outlet of an air conditioner, a humidifying element through which the taken-in air passes and which increases the humidity of the air, and a humidifying element. While storing the water to be supplied to the element,
A water supply unit for supplying a predetermined amount of water to the humidifying element; a drain pump for forcibly discharging water stored in the water supply unit; and a discharge unit for discharging air passing through the humidifying element. A humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner, which is disposed adjacent to a lower portion of an air outlet of the air conditioner. 2. The water supply section includes a water tank for storing water, a humidifying element mounted thereon, a water basin for humidifying the humidifying element, and water supplied from the water tank to the water basin. The humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a water supply pump. 3. The humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the water pump is operated to forcibly drain the water in the water tank after a predetermined time has passed since the water tank was set. vessel. 4. The drain side of the drain pump is connected to a drain pan disposed below an indoor heat exchanger of the air conditioner, and drains water from the water tank through the drain pan. The humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the humidifier comprises: 5. The water suction side of the drainage pump is disposed in the water reservoir, and the water supply pump and the drainage pump alternately operate to supply water from the water tank to the water reservoir, and then drain the water. The humidifier for a wall-mounted air conditioner according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: 6. The water supply unit has a water level sensor for detecting a water level of the water collecting tray, and the water level sensor remains at a predetermined position even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the water supply pump during a drain operation. The wall-mounted mold according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein when a fixed amount of water is not detected, it is determined that the water tank has run out of water, and final drainage treatment is performed by the drainage pump. Humidifier for air conditioners.