Heat exchange – With adjustor for heat – or exchange material – flow
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-17
2002-01-15
Flanigan, Allen (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
With adjustor for heat, or exchange material, flow
C165S119000, C062S317000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06338382
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a wall mounted air conditioner used by being mounted on a wall surface of a room and, more particularly, to an air conditioner equipped with an air cleaner.
BACKGROUND ART
In many cases, air conditioners are operated in a closed room, so that dust, smoke of tobacco, soot, odor, and other substances circulate in the room by being carried on an airflow sent from the air conditioner, which sometimes produces an uncomfortable feeling or provides an unhealthy environment.
Although an air filter formed of a woven cloth, fine mesh, or the like is provided in an air inlet of the air conditioner, the air filter of this type cannot remove fine and invisible substances such as smoke of tobacco, soot and odor.
In recent years, therefore, air conditioners equipped with an electrostatic precipitator have been proposed. An example of such an air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG.
6
. This air conditioner
1
basically includes a base plate
2
fixed on a wall surface inside a room with, for example, screws, and a front panel
3
held by the base plate
2
. The front panel
3
comprises a housing whose back face is open, and the back face side thereof is fixed to the base plate
2
.
The front panel
3
has a first air inlet
3
a
formed on the front face thereof, and a second air inlet
3
b
formed on the top face facing the ceiling surface of the room. Also, an air outlet
4
is formed on the lower side of the front face of the front panel
3
, and flaps
4
a
for regulating the direction of a wind are provided in the air outlet
4
so as to be turnable.
In an air passage in the front panel
3
ranging from the air inlets
3
a
and
3
b
to the air outlet
4
are provided a heat exchanger
5
and a fan
6
.
In this case, the heat exchanger
5
is divided into a first heat exchanger
5
a
arranged substantially vertically along the first air inlet
3
a,
a second heat exchanger
5
b
arranged adjacently to the upper end of the first heat exchanger
5
a
so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle toward the back face side of the front panel
3
, and a third heat exchanger
5
c
arranged adjacently to the upper end of the second heat exchanger
5
b
so as to extend downward slantwise along the base plate
2
. Refrigerant pipes for these heat exchangers
5
a,
5
b
and
5
c
communicate with each other.
An electrostatic precipitator
7
is provided at a portion having an enough space above the second heat exchanger
5
b.
According to this air conditioner
1
, some of the air sucked through the air inlets
3
a
and
3
b
by the operation of the fan
6
passes through the electrostatic precipitator
7
, by which the air in the room is cleaned.
However, for example, even if the air in the room is contaminated heavily and it is to be desired that air cleaning operation be performed in preference to cooling/heating operation and dehumidifying operation, only some of the sucked air passes through an air cleaner
7
, which leads to a decrease in a total dust collecting efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, at least cooling/heating operation and air cleaning operation can be changed over appropriately, and especially air cleaning operation can be performed effectively.
Also, according to the present invention, even at the time of air cleaning operation, a fan can be operated without any surging phenomenon taking place.
Specifically, a first mode of the invention provides an air conditioner comprising: a base plate fixed to a wall surface inside a room; a front panel comprising a housing whose back face is open, the back face side of which is held by the base plate; the front panel being provided with a first air inlet formed on the front face side facing the back face, a second air inlet formed on the top face side of the front panel, a third air inlet formed between the first and second air inlets, and an air outlet formed on the lower side of the front face of the front panel; said front panel being provided inside thereof with heat exchange means having a first heat exchanger facing the first air inlet, a second heat exchanger facing the second air inlet, a third heat exchanger facing the third air inlet, and a fan arranged in an air passage ranging from the heat exchange means to the air outlet; the first air inlet being provided with first opening/closing means which is opened and closed by first driving means, and the second air inlet being provided with second opening/closing means which is opened and closed by second driving means, and an electrostatic precipitator being disposed between the third air inlet and the third heat exchanger; wherein according to the operation mode of the air conditioner, the first and second opening/closing means are controlled as described below.
At the time of cooling/heating operation, both of the first and second air inlets are “fully opened” by the first and second opening/closing means, respectively.
At the time of cooling/heating operation when air cleaning operation is performed preferentially, both of the first and second air inlets are “half opened” by the first and second opening/closing means, respectively. The word “half opened” means a state between the fully opened state and the fully closed state.
At the time of air cleaning operation, both of the first and second air inlets are “fully closed” by the first and second opening/closing means, respectively.
Also, the first mode of the invention is characterized in that at the time of dehumidifying operation, either one of the first and second opening/closing means is “fully closed,” and the other thereof is “fully opened.”
In the first mode of the invention, the heat exchangers of the heat exchange means are preferably arranged in a &Lgr; (lambda) shape. That is, it is preferable that the first heat exchanger be arranged substantially vertically along the first air inlet, the second heat exchanger be arranged adjacently to the upper end of the first heat exchanger so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle toward the back face side of the front panel, and the third heat exchanger be arranged adjacently to the upper end of the second heat exchanger so as to extend downward slantwise along the base plate.
In case of this &Lgr;-shaped arrangement, at the time of dehumidifying operation, the first air inlet is “fully closed,” and contrarily the second air inlet is “fully opened.”
The first mode of the invention embraces several preferable modes and equivalent techniques described below.
Preferably, the first opening/closing means comprises a plurality of first louvers pivotally supported in the first air inlet so as to be turnable with the axis of rotation being horizontal, and a first slide plate driven along the first air inlet in a reciprocating manner by the first driving means, and on the back face of each of the first louvers is provided a first connecting arm connected to the first slide plate, by which the first louvers are turned synchronously by the first slide plate.
Likewise, preferably, the second opening/closing means comprises a plurality of second louvers pivotally supported in the second air inlet so as to be turnable with the axis of rotation being horizontal, and a second slide plate driven along the second air inlet in a reciprocating manner by the second driving means, and on the back face of each of the second louvers is provided a second connecting arm connected to the second slide plate, by which the second louvers are turned synchronously by the second slide plate.
Also, the connecting arm may be provided on the side of the first and second slide plates to synchronously turn the louvers.
Preferably, the first driving means comprises a first cam engaged with the first slide plate and a first motor for driving the first cam, and the second driving means comprises a second cam engaged with the second slide plate and a second motor for driving the second cam.
As the first and second motors, a stepping motor, which can control the rotational angle with high accuracy, is preferably
Nakashima Shunsuke
Sugiyama Shinji
Taira Ritsushi
Takahashi Tomomi
Yanagida Makoto
Flanigan Allen
Fujitsu General Limited
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