EP4345387A1

EP4345387A1 - Heat pump apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP4345387A1
Application number: EP23199433.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tatuhiro Kobayashi; Kakeru Tsuru; Yohei MATSUNAMI; Masaomi KITAGAKI; Shigeo Aoyama; Masaaki Nagai
Original assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2023-09-25
Publication date: 2024-04-03
Also published as: JP2024052211A

Abstract

There is provided a heat pump apparatus that prevents a refrigerant, which has leaked from the refrigerant circuit, from entering an electrical equipment box. A heat pump apparatus 1 includes a machine room 13 and a blower room 12 each in a housing 10, the machine room 13 being a room in which a compressor 22 and an expansion device 24 are disposed, the blower room 12 being a room in which a heat exchanger 20 and a blower device 21 are disposed. The heat pump apparatus 1 includes an electrical equipment box 30; the electrical equipment box 30 includes an electrical equipment box body 32 and a cover member 33; and the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a terminal block 51 for cable (main power line) 45, a window opening 152 that the terminal block 51 faces, and a window cover body 155 that can seal the window opening 152 with a sealing material interposed therebetween.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat pump apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

European Patent Application Publication No. 3312531 discloses a heat pump apparatus that includes a refrigerant circuit that circulates a flammable refrigerant, a water circuit (heat medium circuit) that causes water (heat medium) to flow, and a water heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger) that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the water, each in a housing. The housing has an upper part in which an electrical equipment box that houses a control board is disposed.
The present disclosure provides a heat pump apparatus that prevents a refrigerant, which has leaked from the refrigerant circuit, from entering an electrical equipment box.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A heat pump apparatus of the present disclosure includes a machine room and a blower room each in a housing, the machine room being a room in which a compressor and an expansion device are disposed, the blower room being a room in which a heat exchanger and a blower device are disposed, and the heat pump apparatus includes an electrical equipment box, wherein: the electrical equipment box includes an electrical equipment box body and a cover member; and the electrical equipment box body includes a terminal block for a main power line, a window opening that the terminal block faces, and a window cover body on the window opening with a sealing material interposed therebetween.
The present disclosure makes it possible to prevent a refrigerant from entering the electrical equipment box when the refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat pump apparatus according to Embodiment 1;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the heat pump apparatus of Embodiment 1;
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a front panel of the heat pump apparatus of Embodiment 1 is removed;
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit according to Embodiment 1;
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an electrical equipment box of Embodiment 1;
FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the electrical equipment box of Embodiment 1;
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the electrical equipment box of Embodiment 1;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a window cover body and a window opening of Embodiment 1;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a window cover body and a window opening of Embodiment 2;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of the window cover body and an O-ring of Embodiment 2;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 10; and
FIG. 12 is a B arrow view of Fig. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(Knowledge on Which the Present Disclosure Is Based)

At the time when the inventors came up with the present disclosure, there was a technique for preventing ignition of a flammable refrigerant in a heat pump apparatus.
The heat pump apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit that circulates a flammable refrigerant, a water circuit that causes water to flow, and a water heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and water, each in a housing. The water circuit is provided with refrigerant release valves, such as a pressure relief valve and an air vent valve, which release refrigerant to the outside of the water circuit. With this configuration, if the partition wall that separates the refrigerant circuit and the water circuit in the water heat exchanger is destroyed and a flammable refrigerant mixes into the water circuit, the flammable refrigerant can be discharged to the outside of the water circuit via the pressure relief valve or the air vent valve.
However, the inventors have found a problem with the above heat pump apparatus that, when the refrigerant leaks, the inside of the housing may be filled with the refrigerant and the refrigerant may enter the electrical equipment box, and have come to constitute the subject of the present disclosure to solve the problem.
Therefore, the present disclosure provides a heat pump apparatus that prevents the refrigerant, which has leaked from the refrigerant circuit, from entering the electrical equipment box.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters or redundant description of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from becoming more redundant than necessary and to facilitate understanding of those skilled in the art.
Note that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to allow those skilled in the art to sufficiently understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject described in the claims.
Embodiment 1 is to be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1-1. Configuration]

[1-1-1. Configuration of Heat Pump Apparatus]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat pump apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the heat pump apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a front panel 16 of the heat pump apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 is removed.
The heat pump apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an outdoor unit that can be used for a what is called heat-pump hot-water heater.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the heat pump apparatus 1 includes a box-shaped housing 10. In the present embodiment, each part of housing 10 is made of a steel plate.
Inside the housing 10, there is provided a partition plate 11 extending in the up-down direction. The partition plate 11 partitions the internal space of the housing 10 into a blower room 12 and a machine room 13.
The housing 10 includes a bottom plate 14 that forms the bottom surface of the housing 10, a pair of side panels 15 that covers the machine room 13 of the housing 10 from the front and rear, a front panel 16 that covers the front surface of the blower room 12, and a top plate 17 that covers the upper surface of the housing 10.
The front panel 16 is provided with a ventilation portion 18 that is formed like a mesh and allows air to pass through.
The blower room 12 has a heat exchanger 20 and a blower device 21.
The heat exchanger 20 of the present embodiment extends almost fully in the height direction of the housing 10, and is formed in a substantially L-shape in plan view of the housing 10 so as to face the rear surface 10A and the side surface 10B of the housing 10.
The heat exchanger 20 to be used is, for example, a fin-tube heat exchanger.
The blower device 21 to be used is, for example, an axial fan having a propellershaped impeller. The air blower device 21 is disposed so that the axial flow direction faces the ventilation portion 18.
The machine room 13 houses various devices forming a refrigerant circuit, such as a compressor 22, a water heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger) 23, and an expansion device 24 (see FIG. 4), and refrigerant piping 25 connecting these to each other.
The water heat exchanger 23 to be used is, for example, a plate heat exchanger.
The upper part of the partition plate 11 has a cutout portion 26, and the cutout portion 26 has the electrical equipment box 30 installed therein.

[1-1-2. Configuration of Refrigerant Circuit]

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit according to Embodiment 1.
As shown in FIG. 4, a compressor 22, a four-way valve 27, a water heat exchanger 23, an expansion device 24, and a heat exchanger 20 are annularly connected via predetermined refrigerant piping 25 to form the refrigerant circuit.
The water heat exchanger 23 is connected to predetermined water supply piping 28, and the water supply piping 28, in the water heat exchanger 23, exchanges heat with the refrigerant that circulates in the refrigerant circuit.
The refrigerant, which has been compressed by the compressor 22 to have a high-temperature and a high-pressure, flows as indicated by solid arrows in FIG. 4 and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23. The refrigerant then exchanges heat with the water flowing through the water supply piping 28 in the water heat exchanger 23, and is cooled and condensed. The water receives the heat of the refrigerant and turns into hot water, which is supplied to, for example, a device on the use side (not shown).
The refrigerant discharged from the water heat exchanger 23 is depressurized by the expansion device 24 to evaporate, undergoes heat exchange in the heat exchanger 20, turns into a gas refrigerant, and is returned to the compressor 22 again.
The refrigerant circuit is also configured so that it can switch the four-way valve 27 to cause the refrigerant to: flow as indicated by dashed arrows in FIG. 4; exchange heat with the outside air in the heat exchanger 20; be depressurized with expansion device 24; and then be sent to the water heat exchanger 23, so that the water flowing through the water supply piping 28 is cooled. The cooled water is supplied to a use side device (not shown).
Here, in the present embodiment, the refrigerant to be used is a flammable refrigerant. The flammable refrigerant is R32 or a mixed refrigerant containing 70 weight percent or more of R32, or propane or a mixed refrigerant containing propane.
Note that the refrigerant to be used may be a nonflammable refrigerant instead of a flammable refrigerant.

[1-1-3. Configuration of Electrical Equipment Box]

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of Embodiment 1. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 2, an electrical equipment box 30 is disposed above the blower room 12 and the machine room 13 across the machine room 13 and the blower room 12.
The electrical equipment box 30 is installed in the cutout portion 26 at the upper part of the partition plate 11 and is supported by the partition plate 11. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the electrical equipment box 30 includes a box-shaped electrical equipment box body 32 made of sheet metal and having an opening 31 with an open upper surface, and a cover member 33 formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape and made of resin for closing the opening 31. The electrical equipment box body 32 is made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as a metal material. The cover member 33 is attached to the electrical equipment box body 32 via an O-ring 38.
Note that, in the present embodiment, the electrical equipment box body 32 is entirely made of a metal material, but may be made of a metal material only in a part located above the blower room 12.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a rectangular blower-side portion 32A located on the side of the blower room 12, and a substantially trapezoidal machine-side portion 32B located on the side of the machine room 13. The cover member 33 includes a rectangular blower-side portion 33A located on the side of the blower room 12 and a substantially trapezoidal machine-side portion 33B located on the side of the machine room 13.
The blower-side portion 32A of the electrical equipment box body 32 is provided with a control board 40 made of a printed wiring board.
Although not shown, the control board 40 has electronic components including a semiconductor chip such as a CPU, transistors, capacitors, and resistors, mounted thereon to form an electric circuit.
The control board 40 has a lower surface to which a heat sink 41 including a plurality of fins is attached, and is installed so as to protrude downward from a bottom surface opening 35 provided on the bottom surface of the blower-side portion 32A. The heat sink 41 is disposed on the bottom surface of the electrical equipment box body 32 in the blower-side portion 32A located near the machine-side portion 32B. The circumferential portion of the bottom surface opening 35 has a sealing material 42 disposed thereon, and the control board 40 is fixed via the sealing material 42 so that the bottom surface opening 35 is closed. In the present embodiment, one end of the heat sink 41 is located at the boundary between the machine-side portion 32B and the blower-side portion 32A. In other words, the one end is located at the boundary partitioned by the partition plate 11.
The machine-side portion 32B of the electrical equipment box body 32 has a main power line relay portion 50 located on the front side and a lead wire relay portion 53 located on the rear side. The main power line relay portion 50 has a terminal block 51 for connecting the main power line, and a cable gland 52 that draws in and seals the main power line. A cable 45 drawn into the cable gland 52 is connected to a predetermined device such as the compressor 22. The lead wire relay portion 53 has a lead wire relay module 55 for drawing in a lead wire.
The main power line relay portion (space) 50 has the terminal block 51 for connecting the cable (main power line) 45. The main power line relay portion 50 corresponds to an example of a "space", and the cable 45 corresponds to an example of a "main power line".
The main power line relay portion 50 in which the terminal block 51 is disposed is partitioned off by a partition plate 154.
The terminal block 51 is disposed on an obliquely formed partition plate 154A, and is disposed so as to face the window opening 152 formed on the side surface of the electrical equipment box body 32.
This makes it possible to access the main power line relay portion 50 through the window opening 152 without removing the cover member 33, thereby improving maintainability.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a window cover body 155 and a window opening 152 of Embodiment 1.
As shown in FIG. 8, the window cover body 155 for sealing the main power line relay portion 50 is screwed to the window opening 152 with a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing (sealing material) 153 interposed therebetween. The flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 corresponds to an example of a "sealing material".
The flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 in Embodiment 1 is sheet-like. The window cover body 155 has six projections (not shown) on its inner surface. The flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 has six through holes 157 into which projections fit. The shapes of projections respectively correspond to the shapes of the through holes 157 into which the projections fit.
When screwed, the window cover body 155 has projections fitted into the through holes 157 of the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153, and is then screwed. Therefore, the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 can be easily positioned and screwed.
The area of the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 is larger than at least the window opening 32 and smaller than at least the window cover body 155. In other words, in plan view, the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 covers the window opening 32 and the window cover body 155 covers the sealing material 153.
The flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 is sheet-like. Therefore, the surfaces of the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 are respectively in close contact with the inner surface of the window cover body 155 and the outer circumferential portion of the window opening 152, thereby improving sealability of the main power line relay portion 50.
The cover member 33 is fixed to the upper end of the electrical equipment box body 32 with fixing screws 37A to 37F via an O-ring 38. Thereby, the inside of the electrical equipment box body 32 is made into a sealed space. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the electrical equipment box body 32 has an upper end having a circumferential portion. The circumferential portion has a flange 32F formed by bending a sheet metal. As shown in FIG. 5, an O-ring groove 36 is formed in the circumferential portion of the lower surface of the cover member 33. The O-ring 38 is fitted into the O-ring groove 36, and the cover member 33 is fixed to the flange 32F with six fixing screws 37A, 37B, 37C, 37D, and 37F. The O-ring 38 is made of foam rubber or chloroprene rubber.
The cover member 33 is fixed to the flange 32F of the machine-side portion 32B of the electrical equipment box body 32 with four fixing screws 37A to 37D, and is fixed to the flange 32F of the blower-side portion 32A of the electrical equipment box body 32 with two fixing screws 37E and 37F.
In the electrical equipment box body 32, the ratio of the volume occupied by the machine-side portion 32B is smaller than the ratio of the volume occupied by the blower-side portion 32A. The machine-side portion 32B of the electrical equipment box body 32 is formed into a trapezoidal shape by cutting a corner of the machine-side portion 32B.
This causes the machine-side portion 32B of the electrical equipment box body 32 to have a shorter length of the sealing portion (the length of the O-ring 38) between the electrical equipment box body 32 and the cover member 33.
Further, the intervals P1, P2, and P3 between fixing screws 37A, 37B, 37C, and 37D, which fix the machine-side portion 32B, are set shorter than the intervals P4, P5, and P6 between the fixing screws 37D to 37F which fix the blower-side portion 32A. Thus, the machine-side portion 32B has a shorter sealing portion length and has shorter intervals P1 to P3 between the fixing screws 37A to 37D. This can improve the sealing performance between the electrical equipment box body 32 and the cover member 33 in the machine-side portion 32B.
The heat exchanger 20 is formed in an L-shape facing the rear surface 10A and the side surface 10B of the housing 10. There is a shielding member 60 provided between the header pipe of the heat exchanger 20 facing the rear surface 10A of the housing 10 and the machine-side portion 32B of the electrical equipment box body 32, as shown in FIG. 7. The shielding member 60 is thus provided in the vicinity of the sealing portion of the machine-side portion 32B near the header pipe, to prevent the refrigerant from directly colliding with the vicinity of the sealing portion even if the refrigerant blows out from the refrigerant circuit. This can reduce the mass transfer coefficient of the refrigerant permeating into the O-ring 38.
As shown in FIG. 3, a space where ventilation is allowed is formed between the lower surface of the top plate 17 of the housing 10 and the upper surface of the cover member 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the cover member 33 is provided with a partition member 39. The partition member 39 is disposed at the boundary between the blower-side portion 33A and the machine-side portion 33B so as to close the space. The partition member 39 has a plurality of openings (not shown) at equal intervals, which allows ventilation between the machine room 13 and the blower room 12.
During operation of the heat pump apparatus 1, the inside of the blower room 12 has a negative pressure due to operation of the blower device 21. As a result, the air on the side of the machine room 13 flows to the side of the blower room 12 through the plurality of openings of the partition member 39. The air flow causes the air to cool the entire upper surface of the cover member 33.
When the heat pump apparatus 1 generates cooled water, the water heat exchanger 23 functions as an evaporator. The water heat exchanger 23 is disposed in the machine room 13, and the ambient temperature around the water heat exchanger 23 becomes low. Therefore, at this time, the temperature of the air flowing from the machine room 13 to the blower room 12 becomes low, and the cover member 33 is particularly cooled by the air. Although rainwater can enter the inside of the blower room 12, the rainwater is blocked by the partition member 39, resulting in almost no rainwater entering the machine room 13.

[1-2. Operation]

Next, the operation of the heat pump apparatus 1 configured as above is to be described.
When the heat pump apparatus 1 is driven, the compressor 22 and the blower device 21 are operated, and the axial fan is also started to operate.
When hot water is used, the refrigerant, which has been compressed by the compressor 22 to have a high-temperature and a high-pressure, flows as indicated by the solid arrows in FIG. 4. Then, the refrigerant is sent to the water heat exchanger 23, and is cooled in the water heat exchanger 23 by exchanging heat with the water flowing through the water supply piping 28. Meanwhile, the water receives the heat of the refrigerant and turns into hot water and is supplied to a predetermined location.
The refrigerant discharged from the water heat exchanger 23 is depressurized by the expansion device 24, exchanges heat in the heat exchanger 20, is turned into a gas refrigerant, and is returned to the compressor 22 again.
When cooled water is used, the four-way valve 27 is switched, so that the refrigerant flows as indicated by the dashed arrows in FIG. 4. Then, the refrigerant exchanges heat with outside air in the heat exchanger 20, is depressurized in the expansion device 24, and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23, to cool the water flowing through the water supply piping 28.
Operation of the blower device 21 during these operations causes air to flow to the electrical equipment box 30 located in the blower room 12.
Also, the operation of the blower device 21 causes the air to flow to the heat sink 41. Thereby, the heat sink 41 can be cooled, and the control board 40 can be cooled through the heat sink 41.
The window cover body 155 for sealing the main power line relay portion 50 is screwed to the window opening 152 with a sealing material 153 interposed therebetween, thereby enabling improvement of the airtightness of the main power line relay portion 50.

[1-3. Effects]

As described above, in the present embodiment, the heat pump apparatus 1 includes a machine room 13 in which a compressor 22 and an expansion device 24 are disposed, and a blower room 12 in which a heat exchanger 20 and a blower device 21 are disposed, each in a housing 10. The heat pump apparatus 1 includes an electrical equipment box 30; the electrical equipment box 30 includes an electrical equipment box body 32 and a cover member 33; and the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a terminal block 51 for cable (main power line) 45, a window opening 152 that the terminal block 51 faces, and a window cover body 155 that can seal the window opening 152 with a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing (sealing material) 153 interposed therebetween.
This configuration, in which the window cover body 155 seals the window opening 152 with the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 interposed therebetween, makes it possible to prevent the refrigerant from entering the electrical equipment box 30 when the refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit.
In the present embodiment, the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a blower-side portion 32A located on the side of the blower room 12 and a machine-side portion 32B located on the side of the machine room 13, and the terminal block 51 is disposed on the machine-side portion 32B.
With this configuration, the window opening 152 is disposed in the machine-side portion 32B, so that wiring and maintenance of the cable 45 and the terminal block 51 can be simply performed by just opening the machine room side.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a cable gland 52 that draws in the cable (main power line) 45 and seals the electrical equipment box body 32.
According to this configuration, the cable gland 52 can maintain airtightness around the cable 45 of the electrical equipment box body 32.
In the present embodiment, the electrical equipment box body 32 includes a partition plate 154 that partitions off the main power line relay portion (space) 50 in which the terminal block 51 is disposed.
This makes it possible to access to the main power line relay portion 50 through the window opening 152 without removing the cover member 33, thereby improving maintainability.
In the present embodiment, there is provided a cable gland 52 that draws the cable (main power line) 45 into the main power line relay portion (space) 50 and seals the main power line relay portion 50.
This configuration can improve airtightness of the main power line relay portion 50.
In the present embodiment, there is provided a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153.
This configuration makes it possible to seal the gap between the window opening 152 and the window cover body 155, thereby improving the airtightness in the electrical equipment box body 32. In addition, this makes it possible to improve airtightness of the main power line relay portion 50.
In the present embodiment, the window cover body 155 has projections (not shown) on the inner surface, and the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 has through holes 157 into which the projections fit.
This configuration makes it possible to eliminate misalignment between the window cover body 155 and the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153, thereby improving airtightness in the electrical equipment box body 32.

(Embodiment 2)

Next, Embodiment 2 is to described with the drawings.

[2-1. Configuration of Window Cover Body and Sealing Material]

Embodiment 2 shows another example of a window cover body 155 and an O-ring (sealing material) 253. The configuration of the heat pump apparatus 1 is the same as that of Embodiment 1. The following describes a window cover body 255 and the O-ring 253 of Embodiment 2.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the window cover body 255 and the window opening 152 of Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of the window cover body 255 and the O-ring 253 of Embodiment 2. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a B arrow view of FIG. 10.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the window cover body 255 has the inner surface on which an O-ring groove 270 is formed. The O-ring 253 fits into O-ring groove 270. As shown in FIG. 11, the window cover body 255 has the inner surface on which a central portion 257 is formed. The central portion 257 has an upper protruding portion 259 and a lower protruding portion 261. The lower protruding portion 261 is formed shorter than the upper protruding portion 259 and can prevent interference between the cable 45 and the inner surface of the cover member 33.
With reference to FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12, the central portion 257 of the window cover body 255 fits into the window opening 152, and the window opening 152 is sealed by the window cover body 255 and the O-ring 253.
Note that the O-ring 253 corresponds to an example of a "sealing material".

[2-2. Actions and Effects]

The window cover body 255 for sealing the main power line relay portion 50 is screwed to the window opening 152 with an O-ring 253 interposed therebetween. Therefore, the main power line relay portion 50 is sealed, and the refrigerant can be prevented from entering the main power line relay portion 50.

(Other Embodiments)

[3. Other Embodiments]

As described above, Embodiment 1 has been described as an example of the technique disclosed in the present application. However, the techniques in the present disclosure are not limited to this, and can also be applied to embodiments with modifications, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. It is also possible to combine the components described in above-described Embodiments 1 and 2 to form a new embodiment.
Here, other embodiments are to be illustrated below.
In Embodiment 1 described above, the heat pump apparatus 1 is an outdoor unit that can be used for a what is called heat pump hot water heater. However, the heat pump apparatus 1 is not limited to this, and can be applied to any other various apparatuses each having a refrigerant circuit, such as a water heater and an air conditioner.
In Embodiment 1 described above, the window cover body 155 is configured to include a plurality of projections, but may be configured to include one projection. In that case, the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 has one through hole 157 into which the one projection fits.
According to this configuration, the surfaces of the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 respectively come into close contact with the inner surface of the window cover body 155 and the outer circumferential portion of the window opening 152, thereby improving sealability of the main power line relay portion 50. In addition, the window cover body 155 and the flat-plate-shaped rubber packing 153 have a simple structure.
In the Embodiment 1 described above, the cable gland 52 is configured to be attached to the lower surface of the electrical equipment box 30, that is, to the outside of the electrical-equipment-box bottom surface 34, but may be configured to be attached to the side surface of the electrical equipment box 30.
According to this configuration, the layout in the up-down direction can be made compact.

[Configurations Supported by the Above Embodiments]

The above embodiments support the following configurations.

(Supplement)

(Technique 1)

A heat pump apparatus including a machine room and a blower room each in a housing, the machine room being a room in which a compressor and an expansion device are disposed, the blower room being a room in which a heat exchanger and a blower device are disposed, the heat pump apparatus including an electrical equipment box, wherein: the electrical equipment box includes an electrical equipment box body and a cover member; and the electrical equipment box body includes a terminal block for a main power line, a window opening that the terminal block faces, and a window cover body that can seal the window opening with a sealing material interposed therebetween.
This configuration makes it possible to prevent the refrigerant from entering the electrical equipment box when the refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit.

(Technique 2)

The heat pump apparatus according to Technique 1, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a blower-side portion located on a side of the blower room and a machine-side portion located on a side of the machine room, and the terminal block is disposed on the machine-side portion.
According to this configuration, the window opening is disposed on the machine room side, thereby enabling simple wiring and maintenance of the main power line and terminal block.

(Technique 3)

The heat pump apparatus according to Technique 1 or 2, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a cable gland that draws in the main power line and seals the electrical equipment box body.
This configuration makes it possible to maintain airtightness around the cable of the electrical equipment box with the cable gland.

(Technique 4)

The heat pump apparatus according to any of Techniques 1 to 3, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a partition plate that partitions off a space in which the terminal block is disposed.
This configuration makes it possible to access the space, in which the terminal block is disposed, through the window opening without removing the cover member, thereby improving maintainability.

(Technique 5)

The heat pump apparatus according to Technique 4, including a cable gland that draws in the main power line into the space and seals the space.
This configuration makes it possible to improve airtightness of the space in which the terminal block is disposed.

(Technique 6)

The heat pump apparatus according to any one of Techniques 1 to 5, wherein the sealing material is a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing or an O-ring.
This configuration makes it possible to seal the gap between the electrical equipment box and the window cover body, thereby improving airtightness inside the electrical equipment box.

(Technique 7)

The heat pump apparatus according to any one of Techniques 1 to 6, wherein the window cover body has an inner surface that includes a projection, the sealing material is a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing, and the sealing material includes a through hole into which the projection fits.
According to this configuration, there is no misalignment between the window cover body and the sealing material, thereby enabling airtightness inside the electrical equipment box to improve.
The present disclosure can be suitably used for heat pump apparatuses capable of preventing increase in refrigerant concentration around electrical components housed in an electrical equipment box when a refrigerant leaks.

Reference Signs List

1 heat pump apparatus
10 housing
10A rear surface
10B side surface
11 partition plate
12 blower room
13 machine room
14 bottom plate
15 side panel
16 front panel
17 top plate
18 ventilation portion
20 heat exchanger
21 blower device
22 compressor
23 water heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger)
24 expansion device
25 refrigerant piping
27 four-way valve
28 water supply piping
30 electrical equipment box
31 opening
32 electrical equipment box body
32A blower-side portion
32B machine-side portion
32F flange
33 cover member
33A blower-side portion
33B machine-side portion
35 bottom surface opening
36 O-ring groove
38 O-ring
39 partition member
40 control board
41 heat sink
42 sealing material
45 cable (main power line)
50 main power line relay portion (space)
51 terminal block
52 cable gland
60 shielding member
152 window opening
153 flat-plate-shaped rubber packing (sealing material)
155, 255 window cover body
157 through hole
253 O-ring (sealing material)
257 central portion
270 O-ring groove

Claims

A heat pump apparatus (1) including a machine room (13) and a blower room (12) each in a housing (10), the machine room being a room in which a compressor (22) and an expansion device (24) are disposed, the blower room being a room in which a heat exchanger (20) and a blower device (21) are disposed, the heat pump apparatus comprising an electrical equipment box (30), characterized in that
the electrical equipment box includes an electrical equipment box body (32) and a cover member (33), and

the electrical equipment box body includes a terminal block (51) for a main power line (45), a window opening (152) that the terminal block faces, and a window cover body (155, 255) that can seal the window opening with a sealing material (153) interposed therebetween.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a blower-side portion (33A) located on a side of the blower room and a machine-side portion (33B) located on a side of the machine room, and the terminal block is disposed on the machine-side portion.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a cable gland (52) that draws in the main power line and seals the electrical equipment box body.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical equipment box body includes a partition plate (11) that partitions off a space in which the terminal block is disposed.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a cable gland (52) that draws in the main power line into the space and seals the space.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material is a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing (153) or an O-ring (253).
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the window cover body has an inner surface that includes a projection, the sealing material is a flat-plate-shaped rubber packing (153), and the sealing material includes a through hole (157) into which the projection fits.