Air conditioner

Details Air conditioner Air conditioner

2003-04-02

2004-03-23

Tapolcal, William E. (Department: 3744)

Refrigeration

With means preventing or handling atmospheric condensate...

Retainer or flow director for atmospheric condensate

C062S291000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06708516

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an air conditioner for managing condensed water from the air cooled by a heat exchanger. Incidentally, drained water and dehumidified water will be used below in the same meaning as the condensed water.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventional air conditioners have a configuration as disclosed in JP-A-2001-906129.
FIG. 7
shows this schematic configuration in section.
As shown in this drawing, in a conventional air conditioner, a front heat exchanger
2
and a rear heat exchanger
3
are provided in an air conditioner body
10
so as to surround an air blower
1
. In addition, an air path
4
is provided so that the indoor air sucked from a front air inlet
10
a
and a top air inlet
10
b
provided in the front surface and the top surface of this air conditioner body
10
is passed through the above-mentioned heat exchangers
2
and
3
and the air blower
1
sequentially and blown out of a bottom air outlet
10
c
provided in the bottom surface of the body.
Furthermore, a rear drain pan
11
for recovering condensed water dropping from the rear heat exchanger
3
is provided under the rear heat exchanger
3
. In addition, on the front side of this rear drain pan
11
, a vortex flow stabilizing member
20
formed to extend upward along and between an air blower rear air path surface
4
b
and the rear heat exchanger
3
is provided to make the air, which passes through the rear heat exchanger
3
, flow smoothly enough to prevent a vortex flow from occurring in the tongue portion of the air blower rear air path surface.
In the air conditioner in which the vortex flow stabilizing member
20
extends upward thus, the air passing through the rear heat exchanger
3
flows smoothly into the bottom air outlet
10
c
. As a result, the vortex flow in the tongue portion
4
c
of the air blower rear air path wall
4
b
becomes so small that the noise is reduced. However, the air passing through the rear heat exchanger
3
flows into the bottom air outlet
10
c
too smoothly to be mixed with the air passing through the front heat exchanger
2
. Accordingly, for example, there may occur a difference in temperature between the front heat exchanger and the rear heat exchanger or there may occur a difference in temperature distribution depending on the flow of a refrigerant in the respective heat exchangers. In such a case, the air blower
1
is bedewed due to the difference in temperature with respect to the rotating direction of the air blower. Consequently, water drops jump out of the bottom air outlet
10
c.
Further, as another conventional example of the prior art, there is an air conditioner as shown in FIG.
8
.
In such an air conditioner, that is, in the air conditioner in which the drain pan
11
is extended simply, condensed water dropping from the rear heat exchanger
3
can be indeed recovered. A vortex flow, however, occurs to result in increase of the noise. Further, in the case where a difference in temperature distribution is caused by the refrigerant flow in the respective heat exchangers, or in the case where there occurs a difference in temperature between the front heat exchanger
2
and the rear heat exchanger
3
, the air blower
1
is bedewed due to the difference in temperature. Consequently, water drops jump out of the bottom air outlet
10
c.
Further, when the upper portion of the rear heat exchanger
3
is cooled sufficiently by the refrigerant flow in the rear heat exchanger so as to get wet with dehumidified water and the lower portion of the rear heat exchanger
3
gets dry, most of the dehumidified water flowing down from the upper portion does not flow to the lower portion due to the relationship of surface tension but flows directly to the front side of the rear heat exchanger
3
along the air flow to thereby drop to the air blower
1
. As a result, water drops are blown out of the air outlet
10
c
so as to get the floor wet.
Further, in order to solve such problems, as shown in
FIG. 9
, the front end of the bottom portion of the rear drain pan
11
may be extended simply along the air flow path of the air blower
1
so that the tongue position of the air flow path reaches the central line of the air blower. However, in such a case, the suction area of the air path is reduced so that the air path resistance increases. Thus, the speed of the air passing through the front exchanger
2
increases. Consequently, as shown in
FIG. 10
, there arises a problem of discrete frequency noise depending on the number of blades and the number of revolutions of the air blower
1
.
As described above, in the conventional air conditioners, there has been a problem that the air blower is bedewed or water drops jump out of the bottom air outlet when there occurs a temperature difference in the air in the air path.
Further, there has been a problem in discrete frequency noise depending on the number of blades and the number of revolutions of the air blower so that the noise increases.
The present invention was developed to solve the foregoing problems. It is an object of the invention to obtain an economical air conditioner which is silent and which restrains water drops from jumping out of an air outlet.
In addition, it is another object of the invention to obtain an economical air conditioner for managing condensed water easily with a small number of constituent parts.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner including an air blower for air blowing, a front heat exchanger and a rear heat exchanger respectively provided on a front side and a rear side of an indoor unit so as to surround the air blower and for carrying out heat exchange between indoor air and a refrigerant, a rear drain pan provided under the rear heat exchanger and for receiving drained water, and an air blower air path formed around the air blower and narrowed near a front end portion of the rear drain pan, a lower portion of the rear heat exchanger being located rearward in comparison with an upper portion of the rear heat exchanger so as to be inclined backward, the air conditioner being characterized in that: a louver is provided to extend upward from a front upper portion of the rear drain pan substantially along a shell of the air blower so as to guide air passing through the rear heat exchanger to the air blower air path, and to catch drained water dropping from the upper portion of the rear heat exchanger and make the drained water flow into the rear drain pan.
Further, the louver is arranged to vertically overlie an upper front end portion of the rear heat exchanger.
Further, a front end portion of the louver extends, with an angle equal to an inclination angle of the rear heat exchanger, to a position substantially corresponding to a position where a lowest stage radiator tube of the heat exchanger is placed.
Further, the rear drain pan is molded integrally with a wall surface constituting an air path of the air blower.
Further, in the air condition as stated in claim 4, the louver molded separately from the rear drain pan is attached to the rear drain pan.
Further, there is provided an air conditioner including an air blower for air blowing, a front heat exchanger and a rear heat exchanger respectively provided on a front side and a rear side of an indoor unit so as to surround the air blower and for carrying out heat exchange between indoor air and a refrigerant, a front drain pan and a rear drain pan respectively provided under the front heat exchanger and the rear heat exchanger and for receiving drained water, and a fixation plate member attached into the indoor unit and for fixing the front heat exchanger and the rear heat exchanger, the air conditioner being characterized in that: a gutter-like condensed water recovery mechanism (
14
) for guiding condensed water produced on the fixation plate member into the front drain pan or the rear drain pan is installed by molding integrally with the fixation plate member.
Further, the gutter-like condensed water recovery mechanism makes the rear drain pa

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