Air conditioner

Abstract: Taking a ceiling-mounted type air conditioner as an example, the reduction of cost is planned by simplifying the attaching structure of a wind directing plate to an air outlet. The invention also aims at protecting the moisture condensation. In order to achieve the purpose, a bearing cylinder portion 511, through which a rotating shaft 31 of a wind horizontally directing plate 30 is struck, is provided on a supporting base 50 attached to a top plate of the air outlet 24 and the supporting base 50 supports each wind horizontally directing plate 30 in a cantilever manner while a heat insulation material is adhered on the supporting base 50.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an air conditioner, more particularly, to a structure for attaching wind directing plates to an air outlet of, for example, a ceiling-mounted air conditioner. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART A ceiling-mounted air conditioner is mainly used to be mounted on a ceiling in a wide space, such as in offices and shops, and structurally larger than, for example, a wall-mounted air conditioner. An example of conventional structure will be explained below with reference to Fig. 10 to Fig. 12. Such an air conditioner has, as a whole, a flat box type housing 1 mounted on the ceiling in a room. Incidentally, in Fig. 10, the middle portion of the housing 1 is omitted for the purpose of illustration. An air inlet 2 is formed on one end of the bottom of the housing 1. An air outlet 3 is formed on a corner, opposite to the air inlet 2, of the housing 1. The air inlet 2 and the air outlet 3 communicate through an air channel in the housing 1. In the air channel, an air fan 4 and a heat exchanger 5 are placed. Under the heat exchanger 5, a drain pan 6 is placed. The air outlet 3 has an opening which is formed diagonally downward from the ceiling to the room. The air outlet 3 is provided therein with a wind vertically directing plate (flap) 7 and a wind horizontally directing plate (louver) 8. The wind vertically directing plate 7 is rotatable in a vertical direction about a horizontal rotation axis X. The wind horizontally directing plate 8 is rotatable in a lateral direction about a rotation axis Y extending in a plane, orthogonal to the horizontal rotation axis X of the wind vertically directing plate 7. In this conventional example, two wind vertically directing plates 7 are used. Fig. 10 shows only one wind horizontally directing plate 8, but in the actual air conditioner, a plurality of wind horizontally directing plates 8 are provided at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the drawing. Herein, a set of all wind horizontally directing plates 8 is referred to as a group of wind horizontally directing plates. The wind vertically directing plates 7 and the wind horizontally directing plates 8 are provided in the air outlet 3 by attaching on a base frame 9. As shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, the base frame 9 is composed of a plastic frame having an elongted box shape, including an upper plate 9a, a lower plate 9b, and side plates 9c which are provided at both ends of the upper and lower plates. The air outlet 3 is substantially formed by the base frame 9. Such a ceiling-mounted air conditioner is larger compared to a wall-mounted air conditioner, so that the air outlet 3 is also made larger, and accordingly provided with larger wind directing plates 7 and 8 than that used in the wall-mounted type. For supporting the wind horizontally directing plate 8 with enough strength, rotating shafts 8a and 8b are provided on the top side and the bottom side of the wind horizontally directing plate 8 for supporting the plate 8 at two points of top and bottom. US-A-5 340 357 also discloses an air-conditioning blow-out unit comprising horizontally directing plates provided with rotating shafts on the top side and the bottom side of the plates to support the plates at two points of top and bottom. More specifically, the base frame 9 is formed in a rectangular box shape as described above. Bearing holes 10a and 10b are provided on the upper plate 9a and the lower plate 9b. The upper rotating shaft 8a and the lower rotating shaft 8b are inserted into the bearing holes 10a and 10b through bearing bushes 11a and 11b, respectively. In this case, an arm 12 is provided in conjunction with each of the bearing bushes 11a for the upper rotating shaft 8a as shown in Fig. 11. The arms 12 are connected with each other through a coupling rod 13 which is reciprocally moved by a motor 14 (see Fig. 10). Each of the wind horizontally directing plates 8 is driven in the right and left directions within predetermined angles by the motor 14. The wind vertically directing plate 7 is attached to the base frame 9 in a vertically movable manner by inserting the rotating shaft 7a into a bearing hole 15 which is provided on the side plate 9c of the base frame 9. In this case, because of the wind vertically directing plate 7 being lengthy, supporting plates 16 are provided at predetermined intervals between the upper plate 9a and the lower plate 9b of the base frame 9. The supporting plate 16 is provided with a hinge 16a which supports the middle portion of the rotating shaft 7a of the wind vertically directing plate 7. The wind vertically directing plate 7 and the wind horizontally directing plates 8 are attached to the base frame 9 as above, and then the assembly is installed in the air outlet 3. These processes entail the following problems. It is difficult to adhere a heat insulation material on the inside of the base frame 9 in a rectangular box shape, because a number of bearing holes 10a and 10b are provided on the upper plate 9a and the lower plate 9b. Thus condensation created on the inside surface of the base frame 9 often gathered to drop from the air outlet 3. This problem could be resolved by adhering a heat insulation material on the inside of the base frame 9, but its process higher needs a lot of time and labour, resulting in inferior productivity and higher cost. The base frame 9 is a resin molding and has a structure in a rectangular shape, which requires a plurality of molds with increased cost. Moreover, in order to attach the base frame 9 into the air outlet 3 with good appearance, careful and elaborate finishing is required, and this further causes increase in cost. The wind horizontally directing plate 8 is rotatably supported at top and bottom points, so that a lower bearing bush 11b is required, which could be omitted in case of a cantilever support. The lower bearing bush 11b is quite small with many of them used, resulting in that the assembly operation adds further difficulties. Moreover, the supporting plates 16 provided in the base frame 9 for supporting the middle of the wind vertically directing plate 7 again will cost for the assembly operation and parts therefor. Besides the presence of the supporting plate 16 could cause a wind noise and be detrimental to the design of the air outlet 3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is aimed at resolving these disadvantages. It is an object of the invention to provide a ceiling-mounted type air conditioner with simplified structure for installing wind direction plates relative to an air outlet, allowing production at lower cost, and causing deposition of condensation in less area. In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention proposes an air conditioner as claimed in claim 1. Preferably, in this case, a first and a second bearing bushes are provided on the upper end and the bottom end of the bearing cylinder, whereby the rotating shaft is securely supported at two points, namely, first bush at the upper end and the second bush at the bottom end. It is also one of the characteristics that the first and the second bushes are molded from a self-lubricating synthetic resin. One of such resins is polyacetal resin, and a grade containing wax component is preferable among them. When the wind horizontally directing plate is formed from a self-lubricating synthetic resin, the number of parts can be reduced by integrally forming the second bush with the rotating shaft. It is also characteristic of the present invention that arms provided in conjunction with said first bushes are connected with each other through a coupling rod, and the wind horizontally directing plates are connected with each other through said arms of the first bushes and the coupling rod. It is preferable for facilitating assembly operation that a plurality of coupling holes are formed at predetermined intervals on the coupling rod, and the arm is provided with a coupling pin which fits into the coupling hole, and a flexible holding piece for holding the coupling rod fitted with the coupling pin in a detachable manner. In order to improve assembly operation, it is also advisable to provide the upper portion of the rotating shaft with at least a pair of engaging pieces which are inserted into the first bush while elastically reducing in diameter relative to the first bush, and has a hook engageable with the top edge of the first bush, and to connect the rotating shaft integrally, with the first bush through the engaging pieces so that no relative deviation in rotation occurs between the rotating shaft and the first bush. The present invention is characterized in that a heat insulation material in a predetermined thickness is adhered to the supporting base on its side facing the air outlet. Since the supporting base is made of a board having a simple shape, the heat insulating material can be easily adhered. It is preferable that the bearing cylinder is provided to the supporting base such that the bearing cylinder passes through the heat insulating material. Thereby the bearing cylinder can be made longer taking advantage of the thickness of the heat insulation material, so that the rotating shaft of the wind horizontally directing plate is more securely supported. According to the present invention, a storage recess is formed in the heat insulation material for accommodating means for driving the group of the wind horizontally directing plates, so that a limited space in the housing can be effectively used. According to the present invention, at least one hinge can be provided on the drain pan for supporting a rotating shaft provided in the middle of the wind vertically directing plate. The hinge is attached to the drain pan in a cantilever manner, so that the hinge will not cause any wind noise, nor impair the design of the air outlet, because it does not intersect the whole air outlet as in the case of prior art. The hinge is preferably molded from a self-lubricating synthetic resin, so that a bearing bush for the rotating shaft of the wind vertically directing plate can be omitted. In the present invention, it is preferable that means for driving the wind vertically directing plate is provided on an outside surface of a side wall of the air outlet, and a heat insulation material is adhered to an inside surface of the side wall, so that condensation will be produced in less area. Another characteristic of the present invention, lies in that a a lowest portion of the bottom sides of the wind horizontally directing plates is placed over the drain pan, so that condensation on every wind horizontally directing plate drops on the drain pan. Therefore, even when condensation is created on the wind horizontally directing plates, it will be collected within the drain pan and will not drop down from the air outlet. In this case, it is preferable that, with respect to the direction of air blow at the air outlet, an intersecting point of an upstream side and the bottom side of the wind horizontally directing plate is placed at a lowest position, so that any conventional drain pan can be used without requiring change in the shape of the drain pan. The present invention is further characterized in that with respect to an imaginary reference line orthogonal to the rotation axis of the wind horizontally directing plate, both shoulders on the top side thereof are cut off at a predetermined angle from the root of the rotating shaft of the wind horizontally directing plate. Thus, even if the heat insulation material adhered to the supporting base sags causing a reduced clearance to the wind horizontally directing plate, there is no harmful influence to the rotation of the wind horizontally directing plate, since only a part around the rotating shaft contacts with the heat insulating material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be described in detail by the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings are as follows: Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of an air conditioner of a first embodiment according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view showing a supporting structure of a wind horizontally directing plate in the first embodiment; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view showing the supporting structure of the wind horizontally directing plate; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view showing a supporting structure of a wind vertically directing plate of the first embodiment; Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of an air conditioner of a second embodiment according to the present invention; Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a supporting structure of a wind horizontally directing plate in the second embodiment; Fig. 7 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a lower portion of the supporting structure of the wind horizontally directing plate of the second embodiment; Fig. 8 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of an upper portion of the supporting structure of the wind horizontally directing plate of the second embodiment; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of still another embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to the second embodiment; Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of an air conditioner of a conventional example; Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of an air outlet of the conventional example; and Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a base frame placed in the air outlet of the conventional example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 show a first embodiment, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20 of the first embodiment and shows the entire structure. Similar in appearance to the conventional example described above, the air conditioner 20 has an entirely flat, box shaped housing 21 mounted on the ceiling face of a room. The bottom surface of the housing 21, seen from the floor, is a front panel 22. On one portion of the front panel 22, an air inlet 23 is provided. On a corner, opposite to the air inlet 23, of the housing 21, an air outlet 24 is provided. The air inlet 23 is provided with a decorative grill 231 and a dust filter 232. The air inlet 23 and the air outlet 24 communicate through an air channel 25 inside the housing 21. An air fan 26 is provided in the air channel 25 adjacent to the air inlet 23 and surrounded by a fan casing 261. An electrical equipment box 263 is placed adjacent to the fan casing 261 in the housing 21. In the air channel 25, a heat exchanger 27 is placed opposite to an air discharge 262 of the fan casing 261. Under the heat exchanger 27, a drain pan 271 is provided for collecting condensation dropping from the heat exchanger 27. In the first embodiment, a top plate 28 of the housing 21 facing the ceiling of the room (not shown) includes a main top plate 281, directly attached onto the ceiling face, and a secondary top plate 282 secured by a screw 283 to extend in a downward diagonal direction from the main top plate 281. A heat insulation material 29 is adhered to an inner face of the main top plate 281 which confronts the heat exchanger 27. The secondary top plate 282 and the front panel 22 form a part of the air outlet 24. The air outlet 24 is provided therein with a wind horizontally directing plate (louver) 30 and a wind vertically directing plate (flap) 40. The wind vertically directing plate 40 is rotatable in an up-down direction about a horizontal rotation axis X. The wind horizontally directing plate 30 is rotatable in a right-left direction about a rotation axis Y lying in a plane orthogonal to the horizontal rotation axis X of the wind vertically directing plate 40. In the first embodiment, the wind vertically directing plate 40 is single. The wind vertically directing plate 40 is composed of a strip as large as approximately half the opening of the air outlet 24. The wind vertically directing plate 40 is selectively rotated from a first position at which the bottom of the opening is closed as shown in Fig. 1 and clockwise to a second position at which the front of the opening is closed. Fig. 1 shows only one wind horizontally directing plate 30, but actually, as shown in plan view of Fig. 3, a plurality of wind horizontally directing plates 30 are provided as a group of plates at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the drawing of Fig. 1. All wind horizontally directing plates 30 have a same structure, thus one of them will be described below. As shown in a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of Fig. 2, the wind horizontally directing plate 30 has a rotating shaft 31 extending from a top side 301 of the plate upward along the rotation axis Y. The rotating shaft 31 has a post of a roughly square cross-section (not shown). At the head of the rotating shaft 31, a pair of engaging pieces 311 and 311 are provided being bifurcated so that the head will elastically shrink in diameter. Arrowhead shaped hooks 312 and 312 are formed at the tips of the engaging pieces 311 and 311. A supporting base (louver base) 50 for supporting said group of the wind horizontally directing plates 30 is provided on the secondary top plate 282. Also referring to Fig. 3, the supporting base 50 has a main base 51 in strip form having a surface orthogonal to the rotation axis Y of the wind horizontally directing plate 30, and side plates 52, 52 which are bent toward the secondary top plate 282 from both sides of the main base 51. The side plates 52 and 52 are attached to the secondary top plate 282 with screws 284 and 284. A bearing cylinder 511 is formed in the main base 51. The rotating shaft 31 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30 is inserted into the bearing cylinder 511. In more detail, bearing bushes 53, 54 are fitted into the upper portion and the lower portion of the bearing cylinder 511 respectively, and the wind horizontally directing plate 30 is rotatably supported in a cantilever type by the bearing cylinder 511 at the points of the bearing bushes 53 and 54. Though not shown in detail, roughly square shaped insert holes are formed in the bearing bushes 53, 54 to conform with the rotation shaft 31 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30 whereby the bearing bushes 53, 54 integrally turn with the rotation shaft 31. The engaging pieces 311, 311 of the rotation shaft 31 are inserted through the upper bearing bush 53 while elastically shrinking the head of the rotation shaft in diameter and the arrowhead shaped hooks 312 and 312 engage with the top edge of the bearing bush 53 when the engaging pieces 311, 311 come out of the insert hole. Thus, the rotation shaft 31 is securely held in the bearing cylinder 511. In the first embodiment, the bearing bushes 53 and 54 are molded from a self-lubricating synthetic resin. As for such a resin, for example, polyacetal series resins are available. Among them, a grade containing wax component is preferable. An arm 55 is integrally formed in the upper bearing bush 53 extending therefrom in parallel with the main base 51, and a coupling pin 551 is provided to the arm 55. A coupling rod 56 is attached to the coupling pins 551 for coupling with the wind horizontally directing plates 30. That is, the coupling rod 56 has a length over the wind horizontally directing plates 30 and has coupling holes 561 to which the coupling pins 551 are fitted at same intervals as intervals between the respective wind horizontally directing plates. At the end of the arm 55, a holding portion 552 is folded in a U-shape to extend across the coupling pin 551. The holding portion 552 is provided with a hole 553 which loosely fits around the coupling pin 551. The holding portion 552 can be elastically deformed and is warped back upward by fingers when the coupling rod 56 is attached to and detached from the coupling pin 551. It prevents the coupling rod 56 from being detached from the coupling pin 551 in a normal state. As shown in Fig. 3, one end of the coupling rod 56 is connected through a link plate 57 to a motor 58 for driving the wind horizontally directing plate. The motor 58 consists of a reversibly rotatable motor, for instance, a stepping motor, and reciprocally rotates within a predetermined angle. This rotating movement is transmitted to every wind horizontally directing plate 30 through a link plate 57, the coupling rod 56, the arm 55 and the bearing bush 53, thereby every wind horizontally directing plate 30 performs an oscillation movement in unison. A heat insulation material 291 is adhered to an inner surface of the supporting base 50, namely, an inner surface on the side of the air outlet with a double-sided adhesive tape, for instance. The heat insulation material 291 is adhered before each wind horizontally directing plate 30 is installed on the supporting base 50 and the bearing cylinder 551 passes through the heat insulation material 291. As shown in Fig. 1, a stepped recess 292 is formed on the heat insulation material 291, and a motor 58 for driving the wind horizontally directing plates is accommodated in the stepped recess 292. Incidentally, in the first embodiment, another heat insulation material 293 is adhered to the secondary top plate 282 and positioned in front of the heat insulation material 291 as seen from the air outlet 24. The heat insulation material 291 and 293 may be in one piece. Though only a half of the wind vertically directing plate 40 is shown in Fig. 4, it is provided on both sides thereof with the rotating shaft 41 which is coaxial with a horizontally rotating axis X. One of side plates 241 of the air outlet 24 as shown in the drawing has on its backside a motor supporting frame 242 and a motor 42 for driving the wind vertically directing plate and an output gear 422 which is connected to a drive gear 421. To the inside surface of the side plate 241, a heat insulation material 243 is adhered. An output shaft 423 of the output gear 422 is protruded in the air outlet 24 through the heat insulation material 243, and one of the rotating shafts 41 of the wind vertically directing plate 40 is connected to the output shaft 423. The other rotating shaft is fitted and held into a bearing hole on the other side plate, not shown, and a heat insulation material is adhered in like manner to the inside surface of the other side plate. Several rotating shafts 411 are provided at predetermined intervals on the middle of the wind vertically directing plate 40. In this embodiment, each middle rotating shaft 411 is integrally formed with a rib plate 43 which stands on the back of the wind vertically directing plate 40, so that it is coaxial with the rotating shafts 41 on both sides. A hinge 44 for supporting the middle rotating shaft 411 in a rotatable manner is provided on an edge of a drain pan 271 beside the air outlet 24. The hinge 44 is formed of a triangular board whose base is attached to the drain pan 271 and vertex is a portion of the rotating shaft 411, and a U-shaped bearing slot 441 is provided at the vertex. It is preferable to mold the hinge from a self-lubricating synthetic resin likewise the bearing bushes 53 and 54. In this structure, the wind horizontally directing plates 30 and the wind vertically directing plate 40 are assembled as follows. First, each wind horizontally directing plate 30 is attached to the supporting base 50 to which the heat insulation material 291 is adhered in advance. Then, the motor 58 and each wind horizontally directing plate 30 are connected through the coupling rod 56 on the main base 51, and then the supporting base 50 is attached to the secondary top plate 282. As to the wind vertically directing plate 40, the hinge 44 is attached to the edge of the drain pan 271 beside the air outlet 24, then the rotating shafts 41, 41 on both sides of the wind vertically directing plate 40 are attached to the output shaft 423 of the motor and a bearing hole provided on a side plate (not shown), and each middle rotating shaft 411 is fitted into a bearing slot 441 of the hinge 44. A second example of the present invention will be explained referring to Fig. 5 to Fig. 8. As the second embodiment also serves as a supplementary explanation on the structure of the first embodiment, same reference numerals will be used to designate same or similar parts as those in the first embodiment. In a sectional view of Fig 5 showing an entire structure, a ceiling-mounted type air conditioner 20A also has a similar housing 21 as in the first embodiment. This housing 21 differs from that of the first embodiment in that the heat insulation material 291 which is provided in the inside surface of the top plate 28 is molded in one piece extending from the top of the heat exchanger 27 to the air outlet 24, and that, a light-receiving unit 221 is added to the front panel 22 for receiving infrared signal from a remote controller. Since the structure of the wind vertically directing plate 40, the motor 42 as driving means, and the output gear 422 are substantially similar to those in the first embodiment, explanation thereon is omitted. In the second embodiment, a wind horizontally directing plate 30A is different in shape from the one in the first embodiment. That is, the lowest portion of its bottom sides 302 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A is positioned above the drain pan 271, so that condensation on the wind horizontally directing plate 30A drops on the drain pan 271. Specifically, in the second embodiment, with respect to the air blowing direction of the air outlet 24, an intersecting point C of an upstream side 303 and the bottom side 302 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A is placed at a lowest position thereof, and the intersecting point C is positioned above the drain pan 271. Accordingly, the drain pan does not need to be particularly changed in shape, so that a conventional drain pan can be used. In the second embodiment, the wind horizontally directing plate 30A is made of a self-lubricating synthetic resin, and as shown in Fig. 7, a bearing bush 54A which corresponds to the lower bearing bush 54 is integrally formed on the base portion of the rotating shaft 31 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A for reduction of the parts. Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of some components incorporated in the supporting base 50, Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are enlarged fragmentary perspective views of Fig. 6 , with the structure being substantially same as that in the first embodiment. Referring to these figures, a coupling structure for each wind horizontally directing plate 30A (30) and the assembly process will be explained. In both first and second embodiments, the heat insulation material 291 is made of a molding of, for instance, a foamed synthetic resin with a number of holes 294 pierced therethrough into which the bearing cylinders 511 are inserted, in addition to the stepped recess 292 for housing the motor. The motor 58 is accommodated in the stepped recess 292 and after a wiring cable 582 is brought out through a hole 245 of the side plate 241, the heat insulation material 291 is attached to the supporting base 50 with, for instance, a double-sided adhesive tape. Then, each wind horizontally directing plate 30A is inserted into the bearing cylinder 511, a pair of engaging pieces 311, 311 are engaged with the upper bearing bush 53, thereby the wind horizontally directing plate 30A and the bearing bush 53 are integrated. While every wind horizontally directing plate 30A is oriented in a same direction, with the holding portion 552 opened upward with fingers, each coupling hole 561 of the coupling rod 56 is coupled into the coupling pin 551 and each wind horizontally directing plate 30A is connected with each other through the coupling rod 56. Meanwhile the link plate 57 is fitted in advance to a driving shaft 581 of the motor 58. A coupling hole 562 provided on an end of the coupling rod 56 is fitted to a coupling pin 571 of the link plate 57. Then, a tension coil spring 61 is set between an engaging pin standing on an end of the supporting base 50 and the link plate 57. This coil spring 61 is to restore each wind horizontally directing plate 30A always to a same original position. Now, the installing of each wind horizontally directing plate 30A to the supporting base 50 is completed, and by attaching the assembled supporting base 50 on the top plate of the air outlet 24, each wind horizontally directing plate 30A is set inside the air outlet 24 as shown in Fig. 5. The heat insulation material 291 is adhered to the supporting base 50 with a double-sided adhesive tape. In the case of the second embodiment, however, when the supporting base 50 is attached on the top plate with screws, since both sides of the heat insulation material 291 are pressed against the top plate, the middle of the heat insulation material 291 tends to say. This may cause contact of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A with the heat insulation material 291, resulting in a failure in the normal rotating movement. One way for resolving this problem is to make the heat insulation material 291 thinner, so that the clearance to the wind horizontal directing plate 30A is made wider. The other way is to make the tension of the return coil spring 61 greater. But in the former case, the heat insulating effect is impaired. Besides, the latter is not preferable because the load on the motor 58 is increased. Therefore, in this invention, as shown in Fig. 9, with reference to a line Z orthogonal to the rotation axis Y of the rotating shaft 31, both shoulders of the top side 301 of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A is cut off at a predetermined angle from the root of the rotating shaft 31. The cut off angle is preferably about 5 degrees. Accordingly, even if the heat insulation material 291 sags to reduce the clearance between the wind horizontally directing plate 30A, since only a part around the rotating shaft 31 contacts with the heat insulating material 291, no harmful influence will be exerted upon the rotation of the wind horizontally directing plate 30A. This method can be applied to the wind horizontally directing plate 30 in the first embodiment as well. An air conditioner of each embodiment described above is a ceiling-mounted type. By changing the shape of the drain pan or the arrangement thereof, the present invention can be applied again to a wall-mounted type or a floor type air conditioner. As above, the present invention is explained in detail using specific embodiments, it will be easy for those skilled in the art who understand the above description to think of any change, modification or equivalent thereof. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be the appended claims and equivalent thereof.

Claims: An air conditioner (20) including a ceiling-mounted type housing (21) having an air inlet (23) and air outlet (24) communicating through an air channel inside thereof, provided with a heat exchanger (27) having a drain pan (271) thereunder and an air fan (26) inside the air channel, and provided inside the air outlet with at least one wind vertically directing plate (40) rotatable upward and downward around a horizontally rotating axis (x) and a group of wind horizontally directing plates (30) including a plurality of wind horizontally directing plates (30) rotatable right and left around rotating axes (y) lying in planes orthogonal to the horizontally rotating axis, the air conditioner comprising: a rotating shaft (31) formed in a predetermined length, extending upward along the rotating axis (y) from the top side of said wind horizontally directing plate (30); a supporting base (50) disposed on a top plate (282) of the housing forming an upper portion of the air outlet, and having bearing cylinders (511) into which the rotating shafts (71) of the wind horizontally directing plates (30) are inserted; and the wind horizontally directing plates (30) being supported in a cantilever style relative to the supporting base (50) through said rotating shafts (31) and said bearing cylinders (511). The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an upper end and a bottom end of the bearing cylinder are provided with first and second bearing bushes (53,54); and wherein said rotating shaft (31) is supported by the first bush (53) at the upper end and the second bush (54) at the bottom end. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein said first and second bushes (53,54) are formed from self-lubricating synthetic resin. The air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said wind horizontally directing plate (30) is formed from a self-lubricating synthetic resin; and wherein said second bush (54) is integrally formed with said rotating shaft (31). The air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein arms (55) provided in conjunction with said first bushes (53) are connected with each other through a coupling rod (56); and wherein said wind horizontally directing plates (30) are connected with each other through said arms (55) on the first bushes (53) and the coupling rod (56). The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein said coupling rod (56) has a plurality of coupling holes (561) formed thereon at predetermined intervals; and wherein said arm (55) is provided with a coupling pin (551) fitted into the coupling hole (561), and a flexible holding piece (552) for detachably holding the coupling rod (56) fitted with the coupling pin (551). The air conditioner according to claim 2 or claim 3 or claim 5, wherein said rotating shaft (31) is provided on its upper portion with at least a pair of engaging pieces (311) inserted into the first bush (53) while elastically shrinking in diameter relative to the first bush and has a hook (312) engageable with the top edge of the first bush (53); and wherein said rotating shaft (31) and said first bush (53) are integrally connected through the engaging pieces so that no relative deviation in rotation occurs between the rotating shaft and the first bush. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating material (291) in a predetermined thickness is adhered to the supporting base (50) on its side facing the air outlet. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein said bearing cylinder (511) is provided to the supporting base (50) such that the bearing cylinder (511) passes through the heat insulation material (291). The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein a storage recess (292) is formed in the heat insulation material for accommodating driving means (58) of said group of the wind horizontally directing plates. The air conditioner accorfing to claim 1, wherein at least a hinge (44) is provided on the drain pan (271) for supporting a rotating shaft (411) provided in the middle of said wind vertically directing plate (40). The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein said hinge (44) is molded from a self-lubricating synthetic resin. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein means for driving said wind vertically directing plate (40) is provided on an outside surface of a side wall (241) of the air outlet; and wherein a heat insulation material (243) is adhered to an inside surface of the side wall (241). The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a lowest portion of bottom sides (302) of a wind horizontally directing plates (30A) is positioned over the drain pan (271) so that condensation deposited on each wind horizontally directing plate drops in the drain pan (271). The air condition according to claim 14, wherein with respect to the direction of air blow at the air outlet, an intersecting point (c) of an upstream side (303) and the bottom of side (302) of the wind horizontally directing plate (30A) is placed at a lowest position. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein with respect to an imaginary reference line (z) orthogonal to the rotation axis (y) of the wind horizontally directing plate (30), both shoulders on the top side (301) are cut off at a predetermined angle from the root portion of the rotating shaft (31) of the wind horizontally directing plate (30).

Inventors: KAWAI YOSHIMI, SAKURADA HIROSHI, KAWAI, YOSHIMI, SAKURADA, HIROSHI
Applicants: FUJITSU GENERAL LTD, FUJITSU GENERAL LIMITED
Application year: 1998
Main classification: F24F1
IPC codes: F24F1, F24F13