JP7176275B2 - indoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an indoor unit for an air conditioner.

In recent years, with the spread of HEMS (Home Energy Management System), smart grids, etc., the demand for energy management of air conditioners is increasing. In addition, there is an increasing demand for centralized control for managing air conditioners together with other devices, remote control for operating air conditioners from a remote location such as outside the home, and the like.
In order to meet these demands, there has been proposed an indoor unit of an air conditioner equipped with a network repeater that wirelessly communicates with a network. The network repeater is connected to a control board built into the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and signals used for energy management, remote control, etc. of the air conditioner are transmitted to and received from the network via the network repeater.

Here, the network repeater is built into the indoor unit of the air conditioner to improve the interior design, and the network repeater built into the indoor unit is taken out from the indoor unit as necessary to allow visual recognition, operation, etc. Conventionally, for example, an indoor unit of an air conditioner disclosed in Patent Literature 1 has been proposed for the purpose of making it possible to perform such a function.
The indoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a housing having a wall portion extending in the left-right direction, and a front panel covering the front side of at least a partial area of the wall portion. An opening leading to the front end of the space in which the network repeater that wirelessly communicates with the network is housed is formed in the area separated by the opening, and this opening is opened with all or part of the front panel removed. is exposed.

According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, an opening leading to the front end of the space in which the network repeater that wirelessly communicates with the network is accommodated is formed in the area covered by the front panel of the wall. Therefore, the interior design can be improved by incorporating the network repeater into the indoor unit through the opening. In addition, according to this air conditioner indoor unit, the opening is exposed when all or part of the front panel is removed or opened, so the network built into the air conditioner indoor unit If necessary, the repeater can be taken out from the opening of the indoor unit for visual recognition, operation, and the like.

Japanese Patent No. 6270658

However, the conventional indoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
That is, the opening formed in the area covered by the front panel of the wall and communicating with the space where the network repeater is housed is not exposed to the inside of the housing even when the front panel is closed. ing. For this reason, after the network repeater is built into the indoor unit, foreign matter such as dust may enter the interior of the indoor unit through the opening. If it accumulates in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the and the network repeater, it may cause connection failure of the network repeater built in the indoor unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve this conventional problem, and its object is to provide a network repeater formed in a part of the area covered by the front panel of the wall of the housing. To provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner capable of preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering inside from an opening leading to a space to be housed.

To achieve the above object, an air conditioner indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention provides a part of the area covered by the front panel of the wall provided on the front side of the housing in which the blower fan is accommodated. (2) an air conditioner indoor unit formed with an opening leading to a space in which a network repeater is housed inside said housing, wherein said opening is opened and closed on a wall of said housing. The gist is that a cover member is attached.

According to the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention, dust and the like are removed from the opening formed in a part of the area covered by the front panel of the wall of the housing and communicating with the space where the network repeater is housed. foreign matter can be prevented from entering the interior.

1 is a front view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1; Fig. 2 is a front view of the indoor unit shown in Fig. 1 with a front panel removed; FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the indoor unit in a state in which the network repeater and the cover member are removed from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the indoor unit in a state in which the network repeater and the cover member are removed from the state shown in FIG. 3, viewed from a direction different from that in FIG. 4; 1 is a perspective view of a network repeater; FIG. It is a perspective view of a cover member. It is a front view of a cover member. It is a right view of a cover member. It is a top view of a cover member. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the network repeater is housed in the network repeater housing recess and connected to the connector with the front panel removed. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view in the middle of attaching the cover member from the state shown in FIG. 11 and rotating the cover member; FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cover member has finished rotating from the state shown in FIG. 12 and is engaged with the wall to close the front side of the network repeater housing recess;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The embodiments shown below exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention. It is not intended to be specific to the following embodiments. Also, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, it should be noted that the relationship, ratio, etc. between the thickness and the planar dimensions are different from the actual ones, and the drawings include portions where the relationship and ratio of the dimensions are different from each other.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an indoor unit 1 of an air conditioner includes a base 2, a blower fan 3, a heat exchanger 4, a drain pan assembly 5, a housing 6, and a front panel 7. I have. The drain pan assembly 5 is formed with an air outlet 5a, and the air outlet 5a is provided with a vertical wind direction adjusting plate 5b.
A blower fan 3 , a heat exchanger 4 and a drain pan assembly 5 are attached to the base 2 . Further, the base 2 is attached with a housing 6 that houses the blower fan 3 , the heat exchanger 4 and the drain pan assembly 5 . A wall portion 51 extending in the left-right direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) is provided on the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the housing 6. As shown in FIG. The wall portion 51 can be removed from the housing 6 . The front panel 7 is rotatably attached near the upper end (upper end in FIG. 2) of the wall portion 51 and covers the front side of the wall portion 51 . A user can attach and detach the front panel 7 .

In the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner configured as described above, when the blower fan 3 rotates, indoor air is sucked into the indoor unit 1 through a filter (not shown), and is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 4. The cold air, warm air, etc., pass through the outlet 5a and are jetted into the room.
Here, a network repeater 70 as shown in FIG. 6 is mounted on the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner. The network repeater 70 is connected to a control board 56, which will be described later, via a connector 57 (see FIGS. 11 to 13), and wirelessly communicates with a communication device such as a wireless router connected to a network such as LAN or WAN. It is. The network repeater 70 performs Wi-Fi communication with a communication device such as a wireless router connected to a network such as LAN or WAN. As shown in FIG. 6, the network repeater 70 has a connector section 72 at the front end (the left end in FIG. 6) of a quadrangular prism-shaped repeater main body 71 . U-shaped ribs 73 are formed on the rear edge of the upper surface of the repeater main body 71 and on the left and right side edges so as to protrude from the repeater main body 71 . Although not shown, the surface of the repeater main body 71 is provided with a plurality of indicator lamps for indicating the communication state, error state, etc., and a label with an ID and the like is attached.

Next, mounting of this network repeater 70 on the indoor unit 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 13. FIG.
3 shows the front of the indoor unit 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the front panel 7 removed, and FIG. 4 shows the state shown in FIG. 3 with the network repeater 70 and the cover member 60 removed. A state in which the indoor unit 1 is viewed obliquely downward from the front is shown, and FIG. 5 shows the indoor unit in a state in which the network repeater 70 and the cover member 60 are removed from the state shown in FIG. state is shown. 7 is a perspective view of the cover member 60, FIG. 8 is a front view of the cover member 60, FIG. 9 is a right side view of the cover member 60, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the cover member 60. . Further, FIG. 11 shows a cross section of the network repeater 70 connected to the connector 57 with the front panel 7 removed. FIG. 12 shows a cross section in the process of attaching the cover member 60 from the state shown in FIG. 11 and rotating the cover member 60 . FIG. 13 shows a cross-section of a state in which the cover member 60 has finished rotating from the state shown in FIG. 12 and is engaged with the wall, closing the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a portion of the region R (the hatched region in FIG. 3) covered by the front panel 7 of the wall portion 51, specifically, the vicinity of the lower right end portion of the wall portion 51 A network repeater housing recess 54 is formed in the rear and open at the front. The network repeater accommodation recess 54 accommodates the network repeater 70 , and has a vertical width capable of accommodating the network repeater 70 and a depth in the front-rear direction greater than the height of the network repeater 70 . have. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the network repeater housing recess 54 has a length in the left-right direction that allows the network repeater 70 to slide in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 11, the left end wall 54c of the network relay housing recess 54 has an opening 53 leading to a space 52 formed inside the housing 6 and housing the network relay 70. The space 52 and the network repeater housing recess 54 communicate with each other through the opening 53 . The opening 53 is formed by cutting the repeater main body 71 along the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) so that the front end side (front end side) of the repeater main body 71 of the network repeater 70 can pass through in the left-right direction. It is formed in a rectangular shape slightly larger than the cross-sectional shape. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 12, at the ends of the upper wall 54e and the lower wall 54f of the network repeater accommodating recess 54 on the side of the opening 53 (left side), a support shaft 64 of a cover member 60, which will be described later, is attached. A pair of recesses 54a (only the recesses 54a on the side of the upper wall 54e are shown) are formed. A locking hole 54b into which a locking claw 66a of the cover member 60 described later is inserted is formed in the right end wall 54d of the network repeater housing recess 54. As shown in FIG.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, a control board storage case 55 is provided in the space 52 in which the network repeater 70 is stored. is stored.
When installing the network repeater 70 in the indoor unit 1, first, as shown in FIG. The portion 72 is accommodated in the network repeater accommodation concave portion 54 with the portion 72 facing the opening 53 side (left side).

Next, the network repeater 70 is pushed toward the space 52 (toward the left) and slid, and the tip side of the repeater main body 71 of the network repeater 70 is inserted into the space 52 through the opening 53 . and connect the connector portion 72 to the connector 57 . This connects the network repeater 70 to the control board 56 .
Here, a gap is generated between the network repeater 70 and the repeater main body 71 at the opening 53 leading to the space 52 in which the network repeater 70 is accommodated. Since the front panel 7 is removed, the gap is exposed to the outside of the housing 6 . For this reason, foreign matter such as dust may enter the interior of the indoor unit 1 through the gap, and the foreign matter such as dust may enter the connection portion between the connector 57 and the connector portion 72 of the network repeater 70 or near the control board 56 . Deposits may cause poor connection of the control board 56 built in the indoor unit 1 or the like.

Therefore, in the indoor unit 1 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a cover member 60 for opening and closing the opening 53 is attached to the wall portion 51 of the housing 6 .
7 to 10, the cover member 60 includes a rectangular flat plate portion 61 extending in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 7) and the horizontal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7), and the left edge of the flat plate portion 61. and a pair of side plate portions 62 extending downward from each of the right side edges.
The flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60 has a shape that closes the front side (upper side in FIG. 13) of the network repeater housing recess 54 .

A pair of support plate portions 63 extends downward from a position on the front side (left side in FIG. 7) of the side plate portion 62 on the left and right edges of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60. A support shaft portion 64 is provided that protrudes outward in the left-right direction. Each support shaft portion 64 is inserted into each recess 54a formed in the network repeater housing recess 54, so that the cover member 60 is positioned on the opening 53 side of the network repeater housing recess 54 as shown in FIG. It is rotatably supported with the left end as a rotation axis. The cover member 60 is positioned between a state in which it is open with respect to the network repeater housing recess 54 as shown in FIG. 12 and a state in which it is closed with respect to the network repeater housing recess 54 as shown in FIG. to rotate.

A rectangular notch 61a is formed in the center of the rear end (right end in FIG. 7) 61b of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60 in the left-right direction. A locking piece 66 having an elastic portion 65 curved in a convex shape is provided. A rear surface 66b of the locking piece 66 is formed with a protruding locking claw 66a. When the cover member 60 rotates to close the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54 , the locking claw 66 a enters the locking hole 54 b formed in the network repeater housing recess 54 to lock the cover member 60 . stop. The cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54 , thereby preventing the gap between the opening 53 and the repeater body 71 from being exposed to the outside of the housing 6 .

Further, on the lower surface of the flat plate portion 61 of the cover member 60, there are a pair of pressing portions 67 capable of pressing the network repeater 70 in the insertion direction into the space 52 while it is rotating to close the front side of the network repeater accommodating recess 54. is provided. Each pressing portion 67 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. One pressing portion 67 is disposed inside the left side plate portion 62 of the flat plate portion 61 , and the other pressing portion 67 is disposed inside the right side plate portion 62 of the flat plate portion 61 . placed inside the When the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 in an incompletely fitted state, each pressing portion 67 comes into contact with the rear end portion of the network repeater 70 during rotation and pushes the network repeater 70 . Pressing in the insertion direction into the space 52 eliminates the incomplete fitting of the network repeater 70 to the connector 57 . As a result, connection failure between the network repeater 70 and the connector 57 can be resolved. On the other hand, when the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 in a completely fitted state, each pressing portion 67 has a shape that does not come into contact with the rear end portion of the network repeater 70 during rotation. dimensioned.

Moreover, the cover member 60 is formed by molding a transparent resin material. When the cover member 60 is colored, the network repeater 70 cannot be visually recognized from the outside when the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54 . On the other hand, when the cover member 60 is transparent, even if the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54, the network repeater 70 can be visually recognized from the outside. The indicator lamp and the label on which the ID and the like are written can be visually recognized.

After the network repeater 70 is connected to the connector 57 as shown in FIG. 11, the support shaft portion 64 of the cover member 60 is inserted into each recess 54a formed in the network repeater housing recess 54 as shown in FIG. do. Thus, as shown in FIG. 12, the cover member 60 is rotatably supported with the left end of the network repeater housing recess 54 on the opening 53 side as a rotation axis.
Next, the cover member 60 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 12, and as shown in FIG. At this time, since the locking piece 66 has the elastic portion 65, it comes into contact with the right end wall 54d of the network repeater housing recess 54 and is once displaced leftward, and the locking claw 66a enters the locking hole 54b. return to its original position. As a result, the cover member 60 is locked, the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54 , and the gap between the opening 53 and the repeater main body 71 is exposed to the outside of the housing 6 . avoid.

By closing the opening 53, the gap between the opening 53 and the relay main body 71 of the network relay 70 is exposed to the outside of the housing 6 even when the front panel 7 is removed. Foreign matter such as dust enters the interior of the indoor unit 1 through the gap, and the foreign matter such as dust enters the connection portion between the connector 57 and the connector portion 72 of the network repeater 70 and the vicinity of the control board 56. Poor connection of the control board 56 built in the indoor unit 1 due to accumulation can be avoided.
On the other hand, when removing the network repeater 70, the locking piece 66 of the cover member 60 is displaced to the left to remove the locking claw 66a from the locking hole 54b. rotate in the opposite direction. Then, the cover member 60 is removed from the wall portion 51 by removing the support shaft portion 64 of the cover member 60 from each concave portion 54 a formed in the network repeater accommodating concave portion 54 . After that, the network repeater 70 is slid in the direction opposite to the insertion direction into the space 52 and pulled out, and the connector portion 72 is removed from the connector 57 . When pulling out the network repeater 70, the operator can put his/her finger on the rib 73 to pull it out.

When installing the network repeater 70 in the indoor unit 1 , the network repeater 70 is accommodated in the network repeater accommodation recess 54 , and the cover member 60 is removed before the network repeater 70 is slid and connected to the connector 57 . After being attached to the wall portion 51, the locking claw 66a is unlocked to open the cover member 60, then the network repeater 70 is accommodated in the network repeater accommodation recess 54, and the network repeater 70 is slid. and connect to connector 57 . After that, the cover member 60 is rotated to lock the locking claw 66a into the locking hole 54b, and the cover member 60 closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess 54, thereby separating the opening 53 and the repeater main body 71 from each other. The gap between them may be prevented from being exposed to the outside of the housing 6 .

At this time, the cover member 60 is rotatably supported with the left end of the network repeater housing recess 54 on the side of the opening 53 as a rotation axis, and the cover member 60 opens and closes along the insertion direction of the network repeater 70 . Therefore, the network repeater 70 can be easily slid and connected to the connector 57 with the cover member 60 attached.
When removing the network repeater 70, the locking piece 66 of the cover member 60 is displaced to the left to remove the locking claw 66a from the locking hole 54b. The cover member 70 is opened by rotating it in the opposite direction. In this state, without removing the cover member 60 from the wall portion 51, the network repeater 70 may be slid in the direction opposite to the direction of insertion into the space 52 and pulled out, and the connector portion 72 may be removed from the connector 57. .

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and can be modified and improved in various ways.
For example, as long as the cover member 60 has a structure that opens and closes the opening 53 , the cover member 60 does not necessarily have to be rotatably supported with the left end of the network relay housing recess 54 on the opening 53 side as a rotation axis.
Also, the cover member 60 does not necessarily have to include the pressing portion 67 .
Also, the cover member 60 does not necessarily have to be formed of a transparent member.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 indoor unit of air conditioner 2 base 3 blower fan 4 heat exchanger 5 drain pan assembly 5a outlet 5b vertical wind direction adjusting plate 6 housing 7 front panel 51 wall 52 space 53 opening 54 network repeater housing recess 54a Recessed portion 54b Locking hole 54c Left end wall 54d Right end wall 54e Upper wall 54f Lower wall 55 Control board storage case 56 Control board 57 Connector 60 Cover member 61 Flat plate part 61a Notch 61b Rear end part 62 Side plate part 63 Support plate part 64 Support shaft Section 65 Elastic Section 66 Locking Piece 66a Locking Claw 66b Rear Surface 67 Pressing Section 70 Network Repeater 71 Repeater Body 72 Connector Section 73 Rib R Area Covered by Front Panel of Wall Section

Claims (3)

A portion of the area covered by the front panel of the wall provided on the front side of the housing that accommodates the blower fan has an opening that communicates with the space that accommodates the network repeater formed inside the housing. An indoor unit of an air conditioner formed,
A cover member that opens and closes the opening is attached to the wall of the housing,
A wall portion of the housing is formed with a network repeater housing recess that is recessed rearward and that opens forward. the space communicates with the network repeater housing recess,
The network repeater is accommodated in the network repeater accommodation recess, and a front end portion of the network repeater is inserted into the space through the opening and connected to a connector arranged in the space. is a
The cover member is rotatably supported around an end portion of the opening side of the network repeater housing recess as a rotation axis, and closes the front side of the network repeater housing recess to close the opening and the network relay. It avoids the gap between the device and the relay body from being exposed to the outside of the housing,
A notch formed in the right end of the cover member is provided with a locking piece having an elastic portion that curves in a downward convex shape. An indoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising: a locking claw that enters into a locking hole formed in a network repeater housing recess to lock the cover member when the front side of the air conditioner is closed. 2. The cover member according to claim 1 , wherein the cover member has a pressing portion capable of pressing the network repeater in the direction of insertion into the space while the cover member is rotating to close the front side of the network repeater housing recess. Indoor unit of air conditioner. 3. The indoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is made of a transparent member.

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