KR101459629B1 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The air conditioner according to the present invention comprises a filter, a filter cleaning unit for cleaning foreign matters of the filter, a cyclone separator for centrifuging the foreign matter, a suction force generating unit for providing suction force to the filter cleaning unit, Noise reduction means. Accordingly, there is an advantage in that the noise emitted through the discharge unit is cut off, and the noise during operation of the filter cleaning unit of the air conditioner is reduced.

An air conditioner, a filter, a cleaning unit, a cyclone separator, a suction force generating unit,

Description

Air conditioner

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner in which noise of a suction force generating unit is reduced by a noise reducing means.

Background Art [0002] Generally, an air conditioner is a device for cooling / heating an indoor space by using a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator, and functions to purify the room when a purification unit for purifying the air is installed.

The air conditioner is provided with various kinds of purifying units. In particular, a filter for filtering out foreign substances in the air is detachably installed, and foreign matter in the air is filtered by the filter during operation of the air conditioner to clean the room. The user can clean or replace the filter according to the frequency of use, thereby improving the purifying function of the air conditioner.

However, the user needs to detach and clean the filter, or manually remove the filter from the air conditioner during the replacement operation. Therefore, it may cause inconvenience to the user during cleaning or replacement work, and the filter may not be cleaned or replaced for a long time. Therefore, the filter cleaning device can be installed in the air conditioner, and the filter cleaning device itself can clean the filter to increase the convenience of use.

However, in the air conditioner having the filter cleaning unit, noise is generated in the suction force generating unit and the cyclone separator, which causes a discomfort to the user during operation of the air conditioner.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that reduces the noise emitted to the outside by the noise reduction means.

The air conditioner of the present invention comprises a filter installed to filter out foreign substances contained in the air, a filter cleaning unit for cleaning and storing the foreign matters filtered by the filter, a cyclone separator for centrifuging the foreign substance sucked from the filter cleaning unit, A suction force generating unit having a discharge unit for sucking the foreign matter from the cleaning unit and moving the same to the cyclone separator and discharging the air sucked from the cyclone separator and a noise generated in the suction force generating unit and transmitted to the outside through the discharge unit And a noise reduction means for reducing the noise.

In the present invention, the noise shielding means may be a noise attenuating member blocking the upper or lower portion of the opening surface of the discharge portion. The noise reduction member may be disposed perpendicularly to the traveling direction of the air discharged from the discharge unit, and may be formed to have a size that is less than a half of the opening area of the discharge unit.

In the present invention, the suction force generating unit may include a fan housing and a blowing fan installed inside the fan housing to suck air. The fan housing may include an upper fan housing and a lower fan housing coupled to each other, and the noise reducing member may be formed integrally with any one of the upper fan housing and the lower fan housing. The noise reduction member may be disposed obliquely to the discharge unit to smooth air flow in the discharge unit.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is provided with a noise reducing means at a discharging portion of the suction force generating unit to cut off the noise passing through the discharging portion. Therefore, when the filter cleaning unit of the air conditioner operates, the noise is reduced.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention in which the object of the present invention can be specifically realized will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present embodiment, the same names and the same reference numerals are used for the same components.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a filter cleaning apparatus provided in the air conditioner of FIG.

1 and 2, the air conditioner includes a main body 100 formed with an inlet portion 2 and a discharge portion 4, a blower (not shown) for sucking outside air, a heat exchanger (Not shown), a filter 10 for purifying the intake air, and a filter cleaning device for cleaning the foreign matters filtered by the filter 10. [

The main body 100 comprises a case surrounding each component of the air conditioner. On both lower side surfaces of the main body 100, an inflow portion 2 for sucking outside air is formed. The upper and lower surfaces of the main body 100 and the upper plate are formed with a discharge portion 4 through which air is discharged. However, the inflow section 2 and the discharge section 4 may be formed in various sizes and positions according to the external shape of the main body, the capacity of the air conditioner, and the like.

The air conditioner includes a blower (not shown) and a heat exchanger (not shown) in the main body 100. The blower serves to suck outside air into the main body 100, and the heat exchanger serves to exchange heat of the air sucked by the blower.

A filter 10 is disposed in the inlet 2 to remove foreign matter from the outside. A filter is a filter that passes a certain amount of fluid (air, gas, oil, fuel, water, etc.) to a certain size of particles within a certain time. Especially, Remove it and purify it. The filter 10 may be formed in various forms in order to remove foreign substances in the air sucked by the suction force of the blower. Specifically, a hybrid filter having a combination of a pre-filter for removing large foreign substances in the air, a HEPA filter for removing fine dust, a nanofilter excellent in deodorization or antibacterial performance, a plurality of polyurethane having a different density from a nonwoven fabric, And a plasma electrostatic precipitator filter for collecting the plasma. Further, a plurality of filters may be employed and used at the same time.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the filter cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the foreign matter filtered by the filter 10 is attached to the outer surface of the filter. Therefore, the filter 10 can be detachably installed so that the user can separately clean the filter 10. However, in this case, the user must remove the filter 10 directly and clean the filter 10 periodically. Therefore, the air conditioner includes a filter cleaning device for automatically cleaning the foreign matters filtered by the filter. The filter cleaning apparatus includes a filter cleaning unit 30, a suction force generating unit 50, a noise subtracting unit 60, a cyclone separator 70, a foreign matter collecting container 90 and a cleaning control unit 80.

The filter cleaning unit 30 includes a filter cleaner 32 for separating foreign matter adhering to the filter while moving in the vertical direction z along the air inlet surface of the filter, a filter cleaner 32 for moving the filter cleaner 32 in the up and down direction z A filter duct 34 for sucking the foreign substances collected by the filter cleaner 32 by a suction force by the suction force generating unit 50 and a foreign matter having passed through the filter duct 34 And a connection pipe 36 connecting the cyclone separator 70 and the filter duct 34 so that the cyclone separator 70 can be moved to the cyclone separator 70.

The cyclone separator 70 is a device for separating foreign matter using centrifugal force. Specifically, the foreign matter and air introduced into the cyclone separator 70 descend downward while circularly moving along the outer circumferential surface of the inside of the cyclone separator 70. At this time, the foreign matter contained in the air is separated from the air by the centrifugal force and moves downward along the wall surface. The air separated from the foreign matter is discharged to the outside by the negative pressure at the center of the lower portion of the cyclone separator 70 from the lower center toward the upper direction. Here, downward cone flow is called external swirl flow, and upward flow is called internal swirl flow.

The cyclone separator 70 includes a suction portion 71 through which air and foreign matter are sucked. The upper surface of the cyclone separator 70 communicates with the suction force generating unit 50, and the lower surface communicates with the foreign matter storage container 90. The foreign matter introduced from the filter cleaning unit 30 is centrifuged in the cyclone separator 70 and the air separated from the foreign matter is discharged to the outside via the suction force generating unit 50. The foreign matter is introduced into the foreign matter storage receptacle 90, And accumulated.

The foreign matter collecting container 90 serves to accumulate the foreign substances separated and discharged from the cyclone separator 70. In this embodiment, the foreign matter collecting receptacle 90 is connected to the cyclone separator 70 so that the foreign matter separated and discharged from the cyclone separator 70 does not flow back into the cyclone separator 70, And the upper side surface of the foreign matter storage container 90 are communicated with each other by a pipe. The foreign matter storage container 90 may be configured to be detachable from the cyclone separator 70 to allow the user to discharge and accumulate the accumulated foreign matter to the outside.

The cleaning control unit 80 operates the driving unit of the filter cleaning unit 30 and the fan motor 55 of the suction force generating unit 50 according to an external input to operate the filter cleaning unit.

4 is a perspective view showing the suction force generating unit 50 and the noise reducing member 60 shown in FIG. 3 in more detail. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the suction force generating unit 50 and the noise reducing member 60 shown in FIG. Fig. The configuration of the suction force generating unit 50 and the noise reducing member 60 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Fig.

The suction force generating unit 50 includes a fan housing, a blowing fan 53 and a fan motor 55.

The fan housing includes an upper fan housing 51 and a lower fan housing 57 to which a blowing fan 53 inside the fan housing is rotatably coupled. Therefore, the fan 53 and the fan motor 55 can be easily installed inside the fan housing. The bottom surface of the lower fan housing 57 communicates with the upper surface of the cyclone separator 70 and the air separated from the cyclone separator 70 ≪ / RTI > The blowing fan 53 rotates by the fan motor 55 and the suction force generated by the rotation of the blowing fan serves to suck the foreign object cleaned by the filter cleaning unit 30 into the cyclone separator 70.

The noise reduction member (60) serves to subtract the noise emitted to the outside through the discharge portion (59). The noise emitted to the outside through the discharge portion 59 includes noise caused by the flow noise of the fluid flowing in the cyclone separator 70 and the suction force generating unit 50 and the contact between the flowing fluid and the structure of the fan, Noise and vibration noise generated when the fan motor and the blowing fan operate. Most of the noise exits to the outside through the discharge portion 59 due to the vibration of the air inside the fan housing. Accordingly, the noise reducing member 60 blocks the lower part of the opening surface of the discharging part 59 and blocks the noise going out to the outside through the discharging part 59 by the vibration of the air. That is, a part of the noise emitted to the outside through the discharge portion is reflected by the noise reducing member 60 and enters the inside of the fan housing again. Since the wavelength of the noise is well reflected by the high-density material, it is preferable that the noise reduction member 60 is made of a highly dense material with good noise reflection. The noise reduction member (60) is arranged perpendicular to the traveling direction of the air discharged from the discharge portion (59). Therefore, the noise discharged through the discharge portion is easily reflected from the noise reducing member 60 into the fan housing. Although the lower portion of the discharge portion 59 is closed in this embodiment, the noise reduction member 60 may cover the upper portion of the discharge portion 59. [

The amount of noise to be cut off is different according to the ratio at which the noise reducing member 60 closes the opening face of the discharging portion 59 (hereinafter referred to as a 'shielding ratio'). When the shielding ratio is large, noise emitted to the outside through the discharging part 59 is greatly reflected, and noise discharged through the discharging part 59 can be reduced. Table 1 below shows the results of the experiment in which the noise reduction member 60 measures the noise at the discharge portion according to the ratio of shielding the opening surface of the discharge portion 59.

The shielding ratio (t2 / t1) The noise (dBA) 0 50.5 1/3 49.0 1/2 48.3

The shielding ratio shown in Table 1 indicates the ratio t2 / t1 of the height t1 of the entire discharge portion 59 to the height t2 of the noise reducing member 60, The noise measured by the silencer installed in the dBA unit. Referring to Table 1, when the noise reduction member 60 is provided in the discharge portion 59, it can be confirmed that the noise in the discharge portion 59 decreases as the shielding ratio becomes larger. However, when the shielding ratio is large, the opening surface of the discharging portion 59 is shielded much, so that the amount of air discharged through the discharging portion 59 is reduced and the efficiency of the blower is lowered. Accordingly, when the shielding height is equal to or greater than 1/2, the noise reduction effect increases but the efficiency of the blower is deteriorated due to a large decrease in the blowing air volume, so that the shielding ratio is preferably not more than 1/2. However, when the shielding ratio is too small, sufficient noise reduction effect can not be obtained. Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the height t2 of the noise reduction member 60 so that the shielding height is 1/3 or more in consideration of the noise reduction effect and the amount of airflow reduction Do.

The fan housing is formed by combining the upper fan housing 51 and the lower fan housing 57. The noise reducing member 60 is integrally formed with the upper fan housing 51 or the lower fan housing 57 Lt; / RTI > Therefore, it is possible to omit the step of producing the separate noise reduction member 60 and installing it in the discharge portion 59.

In the present embodiment, the noise reducing member 60 is formed to be perpendicular to the traveling direction of air. However, referring to FIG. 6, the noise reducing member 60 'is disposed at an angle with the discharge portion 59 at an angle. The predetermined angle? May be formed toward the traveling direction of the air, or may be formed opposite to the traveling direction of the air.

When the air is formed toward the traveling direction of the air, there is an effect of smoothly discharging the air, but the noise reflected to the inside of the fan housing is less than the case where the air is arranged vertically. On the contrary, in the case of being formed opposite to the traveling direction of the air, the noise reflected to the inside of the fan housing is more increased than in the case of vertically disposed, thereby improving the noise reduction effect. Therefore, the predetermined angle? Can be variously determined in consideration of the air volume of the blower, the size of the discharge portion, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a filter cleaning apparatus provided in the air conditioner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the filter cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 2,

4 is an enlarged perspective view of the suction force generating unit and the noise reducing member shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the suction force generating unit and the noise reducing member shown in Fig. 4,

6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the noise reducing member shown in FIG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.

100: Body 10: Filter

30: Filter cleaning unit 50: Suction force generating unit

51: upper fan housing 53: blowing fan

55: Fan motor 57: Lower fan housing

59: discharging portion 70: cyclone separator

71: suction unit 80: cleaning control unit

90: Dust collector

Claims (6)

A filter installed to filter foreign substances contained in the air; A filter cleaning unit for cleaning and storing the foreign matters filtered by the filter; A cyclone separator for centrifugally separating the foreign matter sucked from the filter cleaning unit; And a suction force generating unit having a discharge unit for sucking the foreign matter from the filter cleaning unit and moving it to the cyclone separator and discharging the air sucked from the cyclone separator, The suction force generating unit A fan housing having a discharge part for sucking air and providing sucked air to the cyclone separator; A blowing fan installed inside the fan housing; And a noise reduction member fixed to the fan housing to shield a part of the discharge portion and to reflect or absorb noise generated in the fan housing into the fan housing. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the noise reduction member is disposed orthogonal to a traveling direction of air generated in the discharge portion. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the noise reduction member shields 1/3 to 1/2 of the opening area of the discharge portion. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the noise reducing member is disposed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a traveling direction of the air generated in the discharging portion to reflect the noise generated in the fan housing to the inside of the fan housing.

Images