Patent Publication Number: US-8973388-B2

Title: Duct type air conditioner

Description:
This application is related to two co-pending applications: “DUCT TYPE AIR CONDITIONER” filed even date herewith in the name of Yusuke Hayashi claiming the right of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-281456; and “DUCT TYPE AIR CONDITIONER” filed even date herewith in the names of Futoshi Yamada and Katsuya Kato claiming the right of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-281457; which applications are assigned to the assignee of the present application and all three incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a duct type air conditioner in which a fan mechanism is improved. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     As for a duct type air conditioner in the prior art, there is a technique to provide a fan mechanism formed by assembling a fan and a motor with a fan panel which is vertically disposed, and the entire fan mechanism is received in a casing by mounting the fan panel to the inside of a front plate of the casing. In this case, the mounting of the motor to the fan panel is performed by providing a motor support inwardly of the vertically disposed fan panel and setting the motor on the motor support so that output shaft of the motor is parallel to the surface of the fan panel. 
     Meanwhile, the motor is mounted to the surface of the vertically disposed fan panel with the motor support being interposed therebetween. Accordingly, if a drop accident occurs due to a certain cause during transport of the duct type air conditioner or the like, a large impact load is applied to the motor support or the fan panel by the weight of the motor  430 , so that the motor support or the fan panel can be deformed with the result that there is a concern that the deviation of the output shaft of the motor is caused. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a duct type air conditioner that prevents the deformation of a motor support or a fan panel even though a drop accident occurs due to a certain cause during transport or the like. 
     In order to achieve the above object, according to a first embodiment of the invention, there is provided a duct type air conditioner including at least: a casing having discharge openings and a suction opening therein; said casing being composed of a front plate formed with a discharge duct mounting frame outwardly thereof so as to surround said discharge openings; a fan mechanism mounted inwardly of said front plate; said casing being further composed of a back plate formed with a suction duct mounting frame outwardly thereof so as to surround the suction opening; a heat exchanger mounted inwardly of said back plate, a top plate covering an upper surface of said casing, and a bottom plate covering a lower surface of the casing. Said fan mechanism includes fan units having fan panels, motor supports mounted inwardly of said fan panels, motors mounted on said motor supports so that output shafts of the motors are parallel to the surfaces of the fan panels, fans positioned inwardly of said fan panels and driven by the motors, and spacers mounted to said motor supports so as to be positioned between the motor supports and the top plate or the bottom plate that serves as a bottom during conveyance. 
     According to a second embodiment of the invention, in the duct type air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the invention, said motor supports and said spacers include contact surfaces to come into contact with each other, said respective contact surfaces including positioning means for regulating positional deviation in an axial direction of the motor. 
     According to a third embodiment of the invention, in the duct type air conditioner according to the first or second embodiment of the invention, said positioning means includes protrusions having a predetermined shape respectively and formed on one of the motor support and the spacer, and said positioning means further includes holes formed at the other thereof and to which the protrusions are fitted. 
     According to a fourth embodiment of the invention, in the duct type air conditioner according to any one of the first to third embodiments of the invention, the discharge openings are substituted by the suction opening, the suction opening is substituted by the discharge openings, the discharge duct mounting frame is substituted by the suction duct mounting frame, and the suction duct mounting frame is substituted by the discharge duct mounting frame. 
     According to the embodiments of the invention, since spacers are mounted on spacer mounting surfaces of motor supports, the spacers are interposed between the motor supports and the top plate or bottom plate. Accordingly, the spacers and the top plate or the bottom plate receive impact loads. As a result, it is possible to prevent the motor supports or the fan panels from being deformed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a duct type air conditioner according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the duct type air conditioner from which a top plate and a left side plate are removed; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of the duct type air conditioner from which a right side plate and an electric component box are removed and which is turned upside down; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of fan units provided in the duct type air conditioner and turned upside down; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing that the fan units are assembled with a front plate of the duct type air conditioner; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing that a spacer is assembled with a motor supporting frame of the duct type air conditioner; and 
         FIG. 7  is a view illustrating a mechanism for maintaining the posture of a fan panel of the duct type air conditioner. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     In  FIG. 1 , a casing  100  includes a front plate  110 , a back plate  120 , a right side plate  130  to mount an electric component box  200  thereonto, a left side plate  140 , a top plate  150 , and a bottom plate  160 . 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a discharge duct mounting frame  112  is mounted to the front plate  110  so as to integrally surround discharge openings  111 A and  111 B arranged so as to be spaced away from each other in a transverse direction. Hanging hooks  170  are attached to the front surface of the front plate  110  at both ends of the upper portion thereof. Further, a pair of vertical rails  113 , which is bent in an L shape so that the inner portions thereof face each other, are provided on both sides of each of the discharge openings  111 A and  111 B inwardly of the front plate. Furthermore, panel retainers  114  are attached inwardly to the lower end of portions of each of the discharge openings  111 A and  111 B. Each of the panel retainers  114  includes an inclined surface portion  114   a  that is slightly opened inwardly and a stopper portion  114   b  that has the shape of a frame to form a bottom. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 3  showing the duct type air conditioner turned upside down, a suction duct mounting frame  122  is attached to the back plate  120  so as to surround a suction opening  121  through which a fin portion  301  of a heat exchanger  300  is exposed. Further, hanging hooks  170  are attached to the back plate  120  at both ends of the upper portion thereof (the lower portion in  FIG. 3  showing the duct type air conditioner that is turned upside down). 
     Fan units  400 A and  400 B have the same structure and are independent of each other to forma fan mechanism. For example, as shown in  FIGS. 2 to 5 , each of the fan units  400 A and  400 B includes a fan panel  410 , a motor support  420  mounted to the back surface of the fan panel  410 , a DC motor  430  assembled with the motor support  420 , a fan  440  that uses an output shaft of the DC motor  430  as a rotating shaft, a fan cover  450  that surrounds the fan  440  at portions other than where air is sucked and discharged, and a spacer  460  that is mounted on the motor support  420  to serve during the assembling and transport. 
     In the prior art, a partition plate is used for two fans  410  directly fixed thereto while in the present invention such two separate fan panels (divided fan panel) instead of the single partition plate are used for the separate fans. Each of the fan panels  410  includes a discharge port  411  formed at a position facing the fan  440 , a reinforcing plate  412  attached to the inside of the fan panel beside the discharge port  411  in the transverse direction, press portions  413  bent inwardly from upper portions of both side ends of the fan panel  410 , and a handle portion  414  as a handle bent inwardly of an upper end portion of the fan panel except for both side ends of the upper end portion. The discharge ports  411  have a size small enough to be positioned in the range of the discharge openings  111 A and  111 B of the front plate  110 . The reinforcing plate  412  is to reinforce a portion of the corresponding fan panel  410 , and the motor support  420  is attached to said reinforcing plate  412 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the motor support  420  is formed by bending a metal plate into a U shape. The motor support includes a spacer mounting surface  421  on which the spacer  460  is mounted, a bottom portion  422 , and a side portion  923 . Air holes  421   a ,  422   a , and  423   a  are formed respectively in the spacer mounting surface  421 , the bottom portion  422 , and the side portion  423  so as not to interrupt airflow generated by the fan  440 . A mounting hole  423   b , in order to mount the motor  430  therethrough, is formed in the side portion  423 . In addition, mounting portions  421   b ,  422   b , and  423   c , which are to be fixed to the fan panel  410 , are formed by bending common end portions of the spacer mounting surface  421 , the bottom portion  422 , and the side portion  423  outward. Further, reinforcing ribs are formed by bending the ends of the spacer mounting surface  421 , the bottom portion  422 , and the side portion  423  as well as the peripheries of the air holes. Furthermore, a substantially triangular pyramid-shaped protrusion  421   d  for positioning the spacer  460  is formed at the bent portion of the reinforcing rib  421   c  of the spacer mounting surface  421 . 
     In order to mount the motor support  420  to the inside of the fan panel  410 , the mounting portions  421   b ,  422   b , and  423   c  are fixed on the reinforcing plate  412 , which has already been attached to the inside of the fan panel  410  by screws  471 . Accordingly, the motor support  420  is mounted on the inside of the fan panel  410  so as to protrude inwardly. When the motor  430  is mounted on the motor support  420 , a large deformation load is applied to the fan panel  410 . However, since the thickness of the portion of the fan panel  410  supporting the motor doubles due to the reinforcing plate  412 , the fan panel can sufficiently bear the load. 
     The fan cover  450  is attached to the inside of the fan panel  410  by screws (not shown) so as not to interfere with the fan  440 . A similar discharge port is formed in the fan cover  450  at a position corresponding to the discharge port  411  of the fan panel  410 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the spacer  460  is formed by bending a metal plate into a U shape, and includes a top portion  461  and side portions  462  and  463  such that when the top plate  150  is mounted thereonto, the top portion  461  comes into abutment with said top plate. Air holes  462   a  and  463   a  are formed in both side portions  462  and  463  of the spacer  460  so as not to interrupt airflow generated by the fan  440 . Further, mounting portions  462   b  and  463   b , which are to be fixed to the spacer mounting surface  421  of the motor support  420 , are formed by bending the lower ends of the both side portions  462  and  463  inwardly. Furthermore, a substantially triangular hole  463   c  is formed in the bent portion of the mounting portion  463   b  of the side portion  463  to give the spacer  460  the proper positions when the spacer  460  is to be mounted to the motor support  420 . 
     In order to mount the spacer  460  to the motor support  420 , the spacer and the motor support are completely positioned by fitting the protrusion  421   d  for positioning the spacer mounting surface  421  of the motor support  420  into the hole  463   c  for positioning the spacer  460 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the mounting portions  462   b  and  463   b  of the spacer  460  are fixed to the spacer mounting surface  421  of the motor support  420  by screws  472 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , after being separately assembled in advance, the respective fan units  400 A and  400 B are mounted inwardly of the front plate  110  by manually holding the handle portion  414  of the fan panels  410  and lowering said respective fan units from above so that the both edges of the fan panels are guided by the vertical rails  113  formed inwardly of the front plate  110  to face each other. 
     In this case, the lower edge of each fan panel  410  rides the inclined surface portion  119   a  of the panel retainer  119  and slides forwardly while being guided downwardly to fit into the stopper portion  114   b . Further, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the press portions  413 , which are formed at both sides of the upper end of the fan panel  410 , are pushed down into the vertical rails  113  such that the entire fan panel  410  is pressed against the front plate  110  provided forwardly thereof. Further, each of the fan panels  410  is fixed to the front plate  110  inwardly thereof by screws  473  such that the fan units  400 A and  400 B are assembled with the front plate  110 . Therefore, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the discharge ports  411  of the fan units  400 A and  400 B and the fans  440 , which are provided in the casing, are exposed to the outside through the discharge openings  111 A and  111 B. 
     As described above, the fan mechanism requiring relatively heavy motors and formed of the fan units  400 A and  400 B that have the same structure are provided on two divided fan panels, respectively. Accordingly, the entire fan mechanism is downsized in comparison with a fan unit having the same air discharge performance with one motor and two fans, and the total weight of each of the fan units may thus be reduced by half. As a result, it is easier to handle and assemble the fan units. Further, a required die may be downsized such that initial investment can also be reduced. Furthermore, at the time of repair, the screws  473  used for a broken fan unit of the fan units  400 A and  400 B are removed and only a broken fan unit may be separated from the front plate  110  by manually holding the handle portion  414  with fingers to lift the broken fan unit. After the repair, it is also easy to perform a maintenance service. 
     In addition, when the lower edges of the fan panels  410  of the fan units  400 A and  400 B are inserted until coming into contact with the panel retainers  114  while the fan panels are guided by the vertical rails  113  from the upper side thereof formed on both sides of the front plate  110  and the press portion  413  of the fan panels  410  are then pushed down into the vertical rails  113 , the fan units  400 A and  400 B are completely mounted on the inside of the front plate  110 . Accordingly, it is easier to mount the fan units  400 A and  400 B on the inside of the front plate  110 . Further, since the fan panel  410  is mounted at a regular position while being pressed against the inside of the front plate  110 , screw holes of the front plate  110  naturally correspond to screw holes of the fan panels  410 . As a result, screw insertion and tightening work is facilitated. 
     Further, there are times when the duct type air conditioner is needed to be turned upside down at the time of assembling or conveyance after completion of the assembling operation. If, however, a drop accident occurs due to a certain cause when the duct type air conditioner is turned upside down, large impact loads are applied to the fan panels  410  by the weight of the motors  430  of the fan units  400 A and  400 B. In such a case, there is a risk of the motor supports or the fan panels  410  being deformed to cause deviation to occur in the shafts of the motors  430  and the fans  440 . In this embodiment, since the spacers  460  are mounted on the spacer mounting surfaces  421  of the motor supports  920 , the spacers  460  are interposed between the top plate  150  and the motor supports  420  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Accordingly, the spacers  460  and the top plate  150  bear the impact loads. As a result, it may be possible to prevent the motor supports or the fan panels  410  from being deformed and to prevent deviation in the shafts of the motors  430  and the fans  440 . 
     Meanwhile, in the case the bottom plate  160  is to maintain the lower position by serving as a bottom even at the time of conveyance as at the time of installation, the motor and the fan are likewise completely protected even in a drop accident the spacer  460  is mounted on the surface of the motor support  420  facing the bottom plate  160  because the spacer  460  supports the motor support  420  against the bottom plate  160 . 
     Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the heat exchange of the air sucked from the back plate  120  has been performed by the heat exchanger  300  through the operation of the fan units  400 A and  400 B and the air has then been discharged out of the front plate  110 . However, the heat exchange of the air sucked from the front plate  110  may be performed by the heat exchanger  300  through the operation of the fan units  400 A and  400 B and the air may then be discharged out of the back plate  120 . In this case, the discharge openings  111 A and  111 B serve as the suction opening  121  and the suction opening  121  serves as the discharge openings. Further, the discharge duct mounting frame  112  serves as the suction duct mounting frame, and the suction duct mounting frame  122  serves as the discharge duct mounting frame.