Patent Description:
A ventilator including blowers inside its main body is provided with a control board. The control board is mounted with electronic components that drive the blowers. The control board is housed in an electrical box that is made of metal and is provided inside the main body. Structure disclosed in Patent Literature <NUM> is such that an insulation sheet is provided between an electrical box and a control board for the purpose of ensuring insulation between the box and the control board.

Patent Literature <NUM>, according to its abstract, states that, to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner having an electric part box for promoting miniaturization of the electric part box, improving cooling efficiency to an electric control part housed inside, checking intrusion of dust-dirt, reducing stress applied to a control board, and improving assembling and service workability, this outdoor unit is provided with a compressor, a heat exchanger, a unit body <NUM> oppositely arranged to this heat exchanger and housing an air blower and the electric part box <NUM> arranged in this unit body and housing the electric control part S for controlling driving of the compressor and the air blower. The electric part box is provided with the control board P mounted with the whole electric control part and a part box body <NUM> for installing and supporting this control board, positioning the control board in an upper part and housing the whole electric control part in the downward direction.

Patent Literature <NUM>, according to its abstract, states that, to provide an electric apparatus which can enhance the easiness in assembly works, perform inspection of a control circuit easily without causing a functional failure in the control circuit due to static electricity, and can enhance the fire retardancy of the body case at a low cost, an electric apparatus comprises a body case consisting of a combination of a plurality of cases made of plastics, a motor installed in the body case, a circuit board on which circuit-components to control the motor are mounted and which is set inside the body case, and a fire retardant electric insulation attached to the circuit board. The insulation includes a rear surface covering wall part enclosing approx. the whole rear surface of the board and peripheral covering wall parts formed by folding from the rear surface covering wall part in such a way as protruding onto the surface of the board while enclosing the edges of the board positioned as mating each other with the circuit components interposed in between.

The electrical box of the ventilator is composed of a case and a cover with a gap between the case and the cover. Inside the main body of the ventilator, air convection and a pressure change are caused when the blowers are driven, so that dust can enter the electrical box from the gap between the case and the cover. The dust easily enters the electrical box particularly when the ventilator is used in a harsh environment that is dusty.

If the dust entering the electrical box accumulates on the control board and the electronic components mounted on the control board, the dust deposit may cause a short circuit between the electronic components and thus may cause the ventilator to malfunction. The control board is covered by the insulation sheet disclosed in Patent Literature <NUM> at its face that is not mounted with the electronic components, so that the insulation sheet cannot prevent dust from accumulating on the electronic components.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a ventilator that does not cause dust to easily accumulate on a control board provided inside a main body as well as on electronic components mounted on the control board.

According to the present disclosure, a ventilator as defined in independent claim <NUM> is provided. Further embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Although the invention is only defined by the claims, the below embodiments, examples, and aspects are present for aiding in understanding the background and advantages of the invention.

The ventilator according to the present invention does not cause dust to easily accumulate on the control board provided inside the main body as well as on the electronic component mounted on the control board.

With reference to the drawings, a detailed description is hereinafter provided of a ventilator according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is to be noted that this embodiment is not restrictive of the invention.

<FIG> is a front view of the ventilator according to the embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is an exploded perspective view of the ventilator according to the embodiment. The ventilator <NUM> is of a wall-mounted type that is mounted, for example, in a room wall. The ventilator <NUM> includes a front panel <NUM>, a front casing <NUM>, a back casing <NUM>, an inner casing <NUM>, blowers 50A and 50B, a heat exchanger <NUM>, an electrical box <NUM>, and a terminal block box <NUM>.

The front panel <NUM>, the front casing <NUM>, and the back casing <NUM> compose a main body of the ventilator <NUM>. The front panel <NUM> is detachably mounted to a front of the front casing <NUM>. The front panel <NUM> includes, at its front, a room interior outlet <NUM> through which outside air is expelled from the main body. The front panel <NUM> includes, at its top and bottom, room interior inlets <NUM> through which room air is drawn into the main body.

The front casing <NUM> includes a supply air opening <NUM> communicating with the room interior outlet <NUM>, and an exhaust air opening <NUM> communicating with the room interior inlets <NUM>.

The back casing <NUM> is mounted to a rear of the front casing <NUM>. The back casing <NUM> includes an outside inlet <NUM> through which the outside air is drawn into the main body, and an outside outlet <NUM> through which the room air is expelled from the main body.

The inner casing <NUM> is mounted between the front casing <NUM> and the back casing <NUM>. The inner casing <NUM> includes: a supply air passage <NUM> that lets the outside air flow from the outside inlet <NUM> toward the supply air opening <NUM>; and an exhaust air passage <NUM> that lets the room air flow from the exhaust air opening <NUM> toward the outside outlet <NUM>.

The inner casing <NUM> is mounted with the blowers 50A and 50B. The blower 50A is positioned to face the outside inlet <NUM> and creates the supply air flow through the supply air passage <NUM>. The blower 50B is positioned to face the exhaust air opening <NUM> and creates the exhaust air flow through the exhaust air passage <NUM>. The blower 50A includes a motor 51A and an impeller 52A. The blower 50B includes a motor 51B and an impeller 52B. The motors 51A and 51B are mounted to a motor mounting plate <NUM>. The motor mounting plate <NUM> is mounted to the back casing <NUM> and the inner casing <NUM> so as to separate the exhaust air flow and the supply air flow.

The heat exchanger <NUM> causes heat exchange between the supply air flow and the exhaust air flow that flow through the supply air passage <NUM> and the exhaust air passage <NUM>, respectively. The heat exchanger <NUM> is, for example, of rectangular-parallelepiped shape and has structure that only lets the air flow in a direction toward its opposite side. The heat exchanger <NUM> is held in the inner casing <NUM>, and one of its two sides positioned respectively near the blowers 50A and 50B is where the supply air flow enters, while the other side is where the exhaust air flow enters. The heat exchanger <NUM> touches the inner casing <NUM> at its top and bottom, so that the supply air flow and the exhaust air flow are prevented from mixing.

The electrical box <NUM> is housed between the front casing <NUM> and the back casing <NUM>. This means that the electrical box <NUM> is provided inside the main body.

<FIG> is a perspective view of the electrical box <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the electrical box <NUM> according to the embodiment, with a cover removed. <FIG> is a sectional view of the electrical box <NUM> according to the embodiment.

The electrical box <NUM> includes a case <NUM> having one side as an opening 71b, and the cover <NUM> covering the opening 71b of the case <NUM>. A control board <NUM> is provided inside the electrical box <NUM>. The control board <NUM> is fixed to the case <NUM> via spacers <NUM>. A first face 73a of the control board <NUM> is mounted with a plurality of electronic components <NUM>. The cover <NUM> covers the first face 73a of the control board <NUM> and the plurality of electronic components <NUM>. The control board <NUM> is provided with a connector <NUM> connectable to lead wires (not illustrated). The control board <NUM> is connected to the motors 51A and 51B via the lead wires.

An insulation sheet <NUM> as an insulator is provided inside the electrical box <NUM>. <FIG> is a perspective view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a front view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a left side view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a right side view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a top view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a bottom view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a rear view of the insulation sheet <NUM> according to the embodiment.

Conductive parts of the electronic components <NUM> need to be covered with a strong structure in order to be protected from contact with a person. For this reason, the electrical box <NUM> housing the control board <NUM> has its case <NUM> and cover <NUM> that are made of metal fixed to each other by a screw <NUM>, thus protecting the conductive parts of the electronic components <NUM> from external contact.

Moreover, insulation needs to be ensured between the metal case <NUM> and the control board <NUM> fixed to the case <NUM>. Increasing a distance between the case <NUM> and the control board <NUM> or placing an insulator is a means of ensuring the insulation between the case <NUM> and the control board <NUM>. In order for the electrical box <NUM> to be prevented from getting large as a result of the increased distance between the case <NUM> and the control board <NUM>, placing the insulator is what is often chosen between these means.

In the embodiment, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the insulation sheet <NUM> includes a first area 75A between the case <NUM> and a second face 73b that is a rear face of the control board <NUM> with respect to the first face 73a. The first area 75A covers the second face 73b of the control board <NUM>.

The insulation sheet <NUM> also includes a second area 75B covering the first face 73a of the control board <NUM>. It is to be noted that the second area 75B covers a region, avoiding the connector <NUM>. The insulation sheet <NUM> also includes third areas 75E, 75F, <NUM>, and <NUM> that are formed by bending ends of the first area 75A toward the second area 75B, and a third area 75D that is formed by bending an end of the second area 75B toward the first area 75A. The third area 75D is positioned inwardly of the connector <NUM>. The third area 75E is positioned outwardly of the control board <NUM>.

The insulation sheet <NUM> also includes a fourth area 75C connecting the first area 75A and the second area 75B. A sheet projection <NUM> is formed where the second area 75B and the fourth area 75C join, projecting toward an inner wall of the case <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the sheet projection <NUM> abuts a case projection 71a formed on the inner wall of the case <NUM>. When the sheet projection <NUM> abuts the case projection 71a, the insulation sheet <NUM> is positioned inside the electrical box <NUM>. In this way, a clearance is ensured, for example, between the inner wall of the case <NUM> and the fourth area 75C to facilitate passage of the lead wire <NUM>. In other words, ease of work can be improved when the wires are routed inside the electrical box <NUM>.

In the embodiment, a U-shaped cut is made in the fourth area 75C, and a part surrounded by this cut is raised to become the sheet projection <NUM>.

With the insulation sheet <NUM> including the first area 75A, the second area 75B, the third areas 75D, 75E, 75F, <NUM>, and <NUM>, and the fourth area 75C, accumulation of dust on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM> is suppressed.

In the example illustrated in <FIG>, for example, a posture of the ventilator <NUM> is such that a longitudinal direction of the main body is aligned with a horizontal direction. This posture is simply referred to as horizontal installation. When the ventilator <NUM> is disposed horizontally, the electrical box <NUM> is disposed in a posture illustrated in <FIG>. Dust mostly comes down from above when accumulating on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM>. With the ventilator <NUM> being installed horizontally, an upper side of the control board <NUM> and an upper side of the electronic components <NUM> are covered by the third areas 75D and 75E. Therefore, the dust coming down from above inside the electrical box <NUM> is prevented by the third areas 75D and 75E from reaching the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM>. With the ventilator <NUM> being installed horizontally, accumulation of the dust on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM> is thus suppressed by the third areas 75D and 75E.

A description is provided next of a case where a posture of the ventilator <NUM> disposed is such that the longitudinal direction of the main body is aligned with a vertical direction. This posture is simply referred to as vertical installation. <FIG> is a sectional view of the electrical box <NUM> when the ventilator <NUM> according to the embodiment is installed vertically. In this case, an upper side of the first face 73a of the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM> is covered by the second area 75B. Therefore, dust coming down from above inside the electrical box <NUM> is prevented by the second area 75B from reaching the first face 73a of the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM>. With the ventilator <NUM> being installed vertically, accumulation of the dust on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM> is thus suppressed by the second area 75B.

As described above, the ventilator <NUM> according to the embodiment can suppress accumulation of dust on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM> even when its installation posture is changed. It is to be noted that not only when the ventilator <NUM> is installed horizontally or vertically, but also when the ventilator <NUM> is installed in other various postures, the insulation sheet <NUM> is partly positioned above the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM>, thus being capable of suppressing accumulation of dust on the control board <NUM> and the electronic components <NUM>.

Because the plurality of installation postures are possible with the ventilator <NUM>, when mounted, for example, in a wall with a smaller width than a longitudinal dimension of the main body, the ventilator <NUM> can be installed vertically. Because the posture of the ventilator <NUM> is thus selectable according to an installation place for the ventilator <NUM> and a position of a window or a beam that is provided in the installation place for the ventilator <NUM>, architectural design flexibility improves. The wider range of posture options facilitates improvement of design of an environment in which the ventilator <NUM> is installed.

Claim 1:
A ventilator (<NUM>) comprising:
a main body (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
a blower (50A, 50B) provided inside the main body (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
an electrical box (<NUM>) provided inside the main body (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
a control board (<NUM>) fixed inside the electrical box (<NUM>);
an electronic component (<NUM>) mounted to a first face (73a) of the control board (<NUM>); and
an insulation sheet (<NUM>) provided inside the electrical box (<NUM>), characterized in that
the insulation sheet (<NUM>) includes a first area (75A) between the electrical box (<NUM>) and a second face (73b) that is a rear face of the control board (<NUM>) with respect to the first face (73a), and a second area (75B) covering the first face (73a),
the insulation sheet (<NUM>) further includes a projection (<NUM>) projecting toward an inner wall of the electrical box (<NUM>) and abutting the inner wall,
the insulation sheet (<NUM>) further includes a fourth area (75C) connecting an end of the first area (75A) and an end of the second area (75B), and
the projection (<NUM>) is provided where the fourth area (75C) and at least one of the first area (75A) and the second area (75B) join.