EP4596981A1

EP4596981A1 - Heat pump apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP4596981A1
Application number: EP23871318.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Taira MARUOKA; Yohei MATSUNAMI
Original assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2023-06-14
Publication date: 2025-08-06
Also published as: WO2024070073A1; JP2024052184A; EP4596981A4

Abstract

A heat pump apparatus capable of efficiently cooling an electrical box and arranging the electrical box in a compact manner is provided.The heat pump apparatus in the present disclosure includes: a blower that causes air to flow forward; a heat-source-side heat exchanger disposed behind the blower; a blower chamber that houses the blower and the heat-source-side heat exchanger; a partition plate that separates a machine chamber and the blower chamber; and an electrical box substantially horizontally disposed above the blower so as to extend over the blower chamber and the machine chamber, in which the electrical box is supported, inside the blower chamber, by an electrical box support part and the partition plate, and the electrical box support part includes a ventilation channel positioned above an upper surface of the electrical box.

Description

[Technical Field]

The present disclosure relates to a heat pump apparatus.

[Background Art]

Patent Literature 1 discloses an outdoor unit including an inverter board and a heat sink for cooling the inverter board. In this outdoor unit, the inverter board and the heat sink are supported so as to be inclined in the front-rear direction with the upper ends positioned on a back surface side relative to the lower ends, thereby efficiently cooling the inverter board with air caused to flow forward by a blower.
Patent Literature 2 discloses an outdoor unit using a refrigerant having a low global warming potential. Since this outdoor unit includes an electric heater having a power consumption of 250 W or less, the electric heater becoming a fire source as well as freezing of drain water can be suppressed.

[Citation List]

[Patent Literature]

[Patent Literature 1]
International Publication No. WO 2013/005810
[Patent Literature 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-055455

[Summary of Invention]

[Technical Problem]

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a heat pump apparatus capable of efficiently cooling an electrical box and arranging the electrical box in a compact manner.

[Solution to Problem]

The present specification includes the entire content of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-158737 filed on September 30, 2022 .
A heat pump apparatus of the present disclosure includes: a blower that causes air to flow forward; a heat-source-side heat exchanger disposed behind the blower; a blower chamber that houses the blower and the heat-source-side heat exchanger; a partition plate that separates a machine chamber and the blower chamber; and an electrical box substantially horizontally disposed above the blower so as to extend over the blower chamber and the machine chamber, in which the electrical box is supported, inside the blower chamber, by an electrical box support part and the partition plate, and the electrical box support part includes a ventilation channel positioned above an upper surface of the electrical box.

[Advantageous Effects of Invention]

In the heat pump apparatus of the present disclosure, both upper and lower surfaces of the electrical box substantially horizontally disposed can be cooled with an air flow made by the blower. Therefore, the electrical box can be efficiently cooled and arranged in a compact manner.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

[Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a heat pump apparatus of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the heat pump apparatus of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 3] Figure 3 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 4] Figure 4 is a perspective view of an electrical box and a fan support frame of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 5] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fan support frame and an electrical box support plate of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 6] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the electrical box support plate of Embodiment 1.
[Figure 7] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the heat pump apparatus of Embodiment 1.

[Description of Embodiment]

(Findings or the like underlying the present disclosure)

In those days when the inventors conceived of the present disclosure, there had been a technique of efficiently cooling an inverter board of an outdoor unit, by disposing the inverter board so as to be inclined and using an air flow caused by a blower.
Further, a technique had been proposed in which an environmentally friendly refrigerant having a low global warming potential (GWP) is used as a refrigerant for an outdoor unit.
However, a low GWP of a refrigerant is a trade-off for a generally high reactivity, and the refrigerant having a low GWP is highly inflammable. Therefore, a refrigerant needs to be prevented from entering the electrical box when the refrigerant is leaked, but in a case where the electrical box is sealed to prevent the entry of the refrigerant, a temperature increase inside the electrical box is concerned. In a case where the heat capacity of the electrical box is increased as a measure against the temperature increase inside the electrical box, the electrical box tends to be enlarged, making it difficult to support the electrical box only by a partition plate. Further, the inventors have found that an attempt to secure a cooling surface by diagonally disposing the electrical box leads to an excessively large installation space for the electrical box and in turn large outer dimensions of the outdoor unit due to enlargement of the electrical box, and has arrived at the subject matter of the present disclosure to solve such a problem.
Thus, the present disclosure provides an outdoor unit capable of efficiently cooling an electrical box and arranging the electrical box in a compact manner.
Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment will be described in detail. However, detailed descriptions more than necessary are omitted in some cases. For example, detailed descriptions of already well-known matters or overlapping descriptions of components that are substantially the same are omitted in some cases. The reason for this is to avoid the following descriptions to be unnecessarily redundant, thereby allowing for easy understanding by those skilled in the art.
Note that the attached drawings and the following descriptions are provided to allow those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)

Hereinafter, using the drawings, Embodiment 1 will be described.

[1-1. Configuration]

[1-1-1. Configuration of heat pump apparatus]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a heat pump apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a state of the heat pump apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 with a front surface panel 16 removed.
As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, the heat pump apparatus 1 includes a box-shaped housing 10. In the present embodiment, parts of the housing 10 are all formed of sheet steel.
An inside of the housing 10 is provided with a partition plate 11 extending in an up-down direction. An internal space of the housing 10 is partitioned into a blower chamber 12 and a machine chamber 13 by the partition plate 11.
The housing 10 includes a bottom plate 14 that forms a bottom surface of the housing 10, a pair of side surface panels 15 that cover the machine chamber 13 of the housing 10 from the front and the rear, the front surface panel 16 that covers a front surface of the blower chamber 12, and a top plate 17 that covers an upper surface of the housing 10.
The front surface panel 16 is provided with a ventilation portion 18 formed in a mesh through which air passes.
The blower chamber 12 is provided with a heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and a blower 21.
The heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 of the present embodiment extends almost fully along a height direction of the housing 10 and is formed in a substantially L-shape in a plan view of the housing 10 so as to be opposite to a back surface 10A and a side surface 10B of the housing 10. A portion along the side surface 10B of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 is covered by a guard 19 in a grid form from the side surface 10B side.
For the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, for example, a fin-tube heat exchanger is used.
For the blower 21, for example, an axial fan including an impeller in a propeller form is used. The blower 21 is disposed such that an axial direction is oriented toward the ventilation portion 18.
Inside the machine chamber 13, various types of equipment forming a refrigerant circuit, such as a compressor 22, a water-heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger) 23, and an expansion device 24 (see Figure 3), and a refrigerant pipe 25 connecting these with each other are housed.
For the water-heat exchanger 23, for example, a plate heat exchanger is used.
A cut-out portion 26 is formed in an upper portion of the partition plate 11, and an electrical box 30 is installed in the cut-out portion 26. The electrical box 30 is substantially horizontally disposed so as to extend over the blower chamber 12 and the machine chamber 13. Substantially horizontally disposing of the electrical box 30 specifically means that an upper surface and a lower surface of the electrical box 30 are each substantially horizontally disposed.
The electrical box 30 is a box storing a control board that is not shown and is provided above the blower 21. The electrical box 30 includes an electrical box main body 32 in a box shape having an opening on an upper side and a lid member 33 that closes the opening of the electrical box main body 32. The electrical box main body 32 of the present embodiment is formed of sheet metal and the lid member 33 is formed of resin. In the present embodiment, a sealing member that is not shown is disposed between the electrical box main body 32 and the lid member 33 so that the air-tightness between the electrical box main body 32 and the lid member 33 is increased. In this manner, when a refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant is unlikely to enter the electrical box 30.
Since the air-tightness of the electrical box 30 of the present embodiment is increased, it is uneasy to release the heat generated in the control board. Therefore, to suppress a temperature increase in the electrical box 30, the electrical box 30 of the present embodiment has larger dimensions than those necessary for storing the control board, thereby increasing the heat capacity.
Further, the electrical box 30 includes a first radiation fin 41 and a second radiation fin 42. The first radiation fin 41 is a fin attached to the control board and downwardly extends through the electrical box main body 32 to be exposed to the outside of the electrical box 30. The second radiation fin 42 is a fin attached to a lower end on an outer surface of the electrical box main body 32 and downwardly extends. The first radiation fin 41 and the second radiation fin 42 each extend to a lower side where the blower 21 is provided and release the heat from the air delivered forward by the blower 21.
Further, the upper surface of the electrical box 30 is positioned lower than an upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20. As a result, a space S is formed between the top plate 17 and the upper surface of the electrical box 30. As will be described later, the heat pump apparatus 1 causes the air to flow to the space S so as to cool the upper surface of the electrical box 30.

[1-1-2. Configuration of refrigerant circuit]

Figure 3 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit according to Embodiment 1.
As shown in Figure 3, the compressor 22, a four-way valve 27, the water-heat exchanger 23, the expansion device 24, and the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 are annularly connected via the predetermined refrigerant pipe 25 so as to form the refrigerant circuit.
A predetermined water supply pipe 28 is connected to the water-heat exchanger 23 and at the water-heat exchanger 23 for exchanging heat with the refrigerant circulating the refrigerant circuit.
The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22 to have a high temperature and a high pressure flows as denoted by a solid arrow in Figure 3, is delivered to the water-heat exchanger 23, and exchanges heat with water flowing through the water supply pipe 28 at the water-heat exchanger 23 to be cooled and condensed. The water receives the heat of the refrigerant to become hot water to be supplied to equipment (not shown) on a user side, for example.
The refrigerant discharged from the water-heat exchanger 23 is decompressed at the expansion device 24 to evaporate and undergoes heat exchange at the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 to turn into a gas refrigerant to be returned to the compressor 22 again.
Further, the configuration is made such that by switching the four-way valve 27, the refrigerant flows as denoted by a dotted arrow in Figure 3, exchanges heat with the outer air at the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, and is decompressed at the expansion device 24, and is then delivered to the water-heat exchanger 23 so as to be able to cool the water flowing through the water supply pipe 28. The cooled water is supplied to the equipment (not shown) on the user side.
Here, in the present embodiment, an inflammable refrigerant is used as the refrigerant. The inflammable refrigerant is R32 or a mixed refrigerant containing 70 wt percent or greater R32 or propane or a mixed refrigerant containing propane.
Note that as the refrigerant, a non-inflammable refrigerant may be used instead of the inflammable refrigerant.

[1-1-3. Configuration of fan support frame]

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the electrical box 30 and the fan support frame 70. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fan support frame 70 and an electrical box support plate 80.
As shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the fan support frame 70 is a frame for fixing the blower 21. The fan support frame 70 includes a frame main body 71 extending in an up-down direction, a fixed plate 73 fixed to the bottom plate 14, and a blower support plate 75 that supports the blower 21.
The frame main body 71 is composed of a pair of columnar members 71a extending in the up-down direction. The columnar member 71a is sheet metal formed by bending and having an angular U-shaped cross-section. The pair of columnar members 71a are coupled to each other so as to be arranged side-by-side in a left-right direction via the fixed plate 73, the blower support plate 75, and the electrical box support plate 80.
The fixed plate 73 is a portion fixed by screwing to the bottom plate 14 in the fan support frame 70. The fixed plate 73 is sheet metal formed by bending and includes a bottom surface 73a screwed to the bottom plate 14, a back surface portion 73b rising from the rear of the bottom surface 73a, and a pair of side surface portions 73c rising from opposite ends in the left-right direction of the bottom surface 73a. The back surface portion 73b is screwed from the rear to a lower end of each of the pair of columnar members 71a. The pair of side surface portions 73c are screwed from an outer side in the left-right direction to the respective lower ends of the pair of columnar members 71a. In this manner, the pair of columnar members 71a are each fixed to the bottom plate 14 via the fixed plate 73.
The blower support plate 75 is sheet metal formed by bending and includes a hole 75a that supports the blower 21 and a pair of fixed portions 75b fixed to the frame main body 71. The hole 75a is a hole extending through the blower support plate 75 in the front-rear direction. The blower support plate 75 supports a motor 21a of the blower 21 fitted into the hole 75a and causes an output shaft 21b of the motor 21a to face forward. In this manner, the blower 21 is disposed in an orientation in which air is caused to flow forward from the rear. The pair of fixed portions 75b are portions that are bent rearward and then to an outer side in the left-right direction at opposite ends in the left-right direction of the blower support plate 75 so as to be formed having an L-shaped cross-section. The pair of fixed portions 75b are each screwed from the front to a vicinity of a center in the up-down direction of each of the pair of columnar members 71a. In this manner, the blower support plate 75 is fixed to the frame main body 71 and also couples the pair of columnar members 71a to each other.

[1-4. Configuration of electrical box support plate]

As described above, the electrical box 30 of the present embodiment is enlarged to increase the heat capacity. Therefore, the electrical box 30 is also supported by the electrical box support plate 80 in addition to the partition plate 11.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the electrical box support plate 80. An upper end of the fan support frame 70 is fixed to the electrical box support plate (electrical box support part) 80 that supports the electrical box 30. The electrical box support plate 80 is sheet metal formed by bending and supports the electrical box 30 from below. The electrical box support plate 80 includes a support part main body 81 that supports the electrical box 30, a first fixed portion 83 fixed to the front surface panel 16, an engagement portion 85 engaged with the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, and a second fixed portion 87 fixed to the frame main body 71.
The support part main body 81 is a portion formed by folding sheet metal into an angular U-shape, and includes a bottom surface portion 81a that contacts the electrical box 30 from below, a front surface portion 81b that covers the electrical box 30 from the front, and a back surface portion 81c that covers the electrical box 30 from the rear. The support part main body 81 supports the electrical box 30 fitted into a recessed portion formed by the bottom surface portion 81a, the front surface portion 81b, and the back surface portion 81c. The bottom surface portion 81a is a plate-like portion horizontally disposed and is embossed to increase the rigidity. A width in a front-rear direction of the bottom surface portion 81a is substantially the same as a dimension in a front-rear direction of the electrical box 30. The front surface portion 81b is a plate-like portion substantially perpendicularly rising from a front end of the bottom surface portion 81a. The back surface portion 81c is a plate-like portion substantially perpendicularly rising from a rear end of the bottom surface portion 81a and has a hole 81d formed at its center extending in the front-rear direction. A width in an up-down direction of each of the front surface portion 81b and the back surface portion 81c is substantially the same as the width in an up-down direction of the electrical box 30.
The first fixed portion 83 is a portion folded forward from an upper end of the front surface portion 81b of the support part main body 81 and further folded upward so as to have an L-shaped cross-section. The first fixed portion 83 is screwed to the front surface panel 16.
The engagement portion 85 is a portion formed so as to be folded sequentially rearward, upward, rearward, and downward from an upper end of the back surface portion 81c of the support part main body 81. The engagement portion 85 includes a top surface portion 85a that covers the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 from above, a front surface portion 85b that covers the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 from the front, and a back surface portion 85c that covers the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 from the rear. The top surface portion 85a is a plate-like portion horizontally disposed. The front surface portion 85b is folded substantially perpendicularly downwardly from a front end of the top surface portion 85a. The back surface portion 85c is folded substantially perpendicularly downwardly from a rear end of the top surface portion 85a.
Further, in the top surface portion 85a, a pair of folded portions 85d arranged side-by-side in the front-rear direction are formed. The folded portion 85d is a projection in a substantially U-shape downwardly projecting from the top surface portion 85a. The folded portion 85d is formed by forming a cut in a substantially U-shape in the top surface portion 85a and folding an inner side of the cut downwardly. Between the pair of folded portions 85d on the front and the rear, a distance that is substantially the same as the width in the front-rear direction of a portion, which is along the back surface 10A, of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 is provided. Therefore, the pair of folded portions 85d on the front and the rear clamp the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 from the front and the rear. The engagement portion 85 is hooked in the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 such that the upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 is inserted into a recessed portion formed by the top surface portion 85a and the pair of folded portions 85d on the front and the rear. Further, the engagement portion 85 fixes the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 by means of the top surface portion 85a and the pair of folded portions 85d on the front and the rear.
In the front surface portion 85b, two openings (ventilation channels) 85e extending through in the front-rear direction are formed side-by-side in the left-right direction. In the present embodiment, the shape of the opening (ventilation channel) 85e is an ellipse, but is not limited thereto. The openings 85e are positioned below the upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and are positioned above the upper surface of the electrical box 30. Therefore, the openings 85e allow a front surface of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and the space S above the electrical box 30 to communicate with each other in the front-rear direction.
The second fixed portions 87 are portions respectively fixed to the pair of columnar members 71a. The second fixed portions 87 are formed so as to be downwardly folded from the bottom surface portion 81a of the support part main body 81 and are screwed to upper ends of the pair of columnar members 71a from the front and the outer side in the left-right direction. In this manner, the electrical box support plate 80 is coupled to the bottom plate 14 via the fan support frame 70.
The electrical box support plate 80 is firmly fixed to the housing 10 such that the first fixed portion 83 is screwed to the front surface panel 16, the engagement portion 85 is hooked in the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, and the second fixed portions 87 are coupled to the bottom plate 14 via the fan support frame 70. Therefore, electrical box support plate 80 can stably support the electrical box 30 by means of the support part main body 81.

[1-2. Operation]

Next, the operation of the heat pump apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.
When the heat pump apparatus 1 is driven, the compressor 22 and the blower 21 are operated and the axial fan also starts operation.
Thus, when hot water is used, a refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22 so as to have a high temperature and a high pressure flows as denoted by the solid arrow in Figure 3, is delivered to the water-heat exchanger 23, exchanges heat with water flowing through the water supply pipe 28 at the water-heat exchanger 23 to be cooled, and the water receives the heat of the refrigerant to turn into hot water to be supplied to a predetermined site.
The refrigerant discharged from the water-heat exchanger 23 is decompressed at the expansion device 24 and exchanges heat at the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 to turn into a gas refrigerant to be returned to the compressor 22 again.
Further, when cold water is used, by switching the four-way valve 27, the refrigerant flows as denoted by the dotted arrow in Figure 3, exchanges heat with outer air at the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, and is decompressed at the expansion device 24, and is then delivered to the water-heat exchanger 23 so as to cool the water flowing through the water supply pipe 28.
The blower 21 is operated during such operations so that air flows to the electrical box 30 positioned in the blower chamber 12. In this manner, the first radiation fin 41 and the second radiation fin 42 downwardly projecting from the lower surface of the electrical box 30 can release heat from the flowing air so that the electrical box 30 is efficiently cooled.
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the heat pump apparatus 1, showing a state of a cross-section of the opening 85e cut horizontally as viewed from above. Arrows as imaginary lines of Figure 7 schematically show an air flow. As described above, the space S that can be ventilated is formed between the lower surface of the top plate 17 of the housing 10 and the upper surface of the lid member 33 of the electrical box 30. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, with the operation of the blower 21, air also flows the upper surface of the lid member 33.
As described above, the electrical box support plate 80 in the present embodiment includes the openings 85e that allow the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and the space S above the electrical box 30 to communicate with each other. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, the air that has passed the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 flows to the upper surface of the lid member 33 via the openings 85e. In this manner, the electrical box 30 can be more efficiently cooled.

[1-3. Advantageous effects and the like]

As described above, in the present embodiment, the heat pump apparatus 1 includes the blower 21 that causes air to flow forward, the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 disposed behind the blower 21, the blower chamber 12 that houses the blower 21 and the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, the partition plate 11 that separates the machine chamber 13 and the blower chamber 12, and the electrical box 30 substantially horizontally disposed above the blower 21 so as to extend over the blower chamber 12 and the machine chamber 13, in which the electrical box 30 is supported, inside the blower chamber 12, by the electrical box support plate 80 and the partition plate 11, and the electrical box support plate 80 includes the opening 85e positioned above the upper surface of the electrical box 30.
In this manner, since air flows to the upper side of the electrical box 30 via the opening 85e, the air can be caused to flow above and below the electrical box 30 substantially horizontally disposed. Therefore, the electrical box 30 can be arranged in a compact manner and the electrical box 30 can be efficiently cooled.
As in the present embodiment, the configuration may be made such that the electrical box support plate 80 includes the engagement portion 85 engaged with the upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20, and the opening 85e allows the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and the space S above the electrical box 30 to communicate with each other.
In this manner, the air that has flown the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 can be caused to flow above and below the electrical box 30. Further, the weight of the electrical box 30 can be supported by the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20. Therefore, the electrical box 30 can be arranged in a compact manner and the electrical box 30 can be efficiently cooled.
As in the present embodiment, the heat pump apparatus 1 may be configured such that it includes the fan support frame 70 that supports the blower 21 and the fan support frame 70 is fixed to the housing 10 and the electrical box support plate 80.
In this manner, the fan support frame 70 necessary for supporting the blower 21 can be fixed by means of the electrical box support plate 80. Further, the weight of the electrical box 30 exerted on the electrical box support plate 80 can be supported by the fan support frame 70. In particular, in the present embodiment, the fan support frame 70 downwardly extends from the electrical box support plate 80 and is fixed to the electrical box support plate 80 and the bottom plate 14 of the housing 10. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the fan support frame 70 can more effectively support the weight of the electrical box 30.

(Another embodiment)

As described above, as an example of the technique disclosed in the present application, Embodiment 1 has been described. However, the technique of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and is also applicable to embodiments to which changes, replacement, addition, omission, and the like are made. Further, a new embodiment is made possible by combining the constituent elements described in Embodiment 1 above.
Thus, another embodiment will be explained as an example below.
In Embodiment 1, the heat pump apparatus 1 including one blower 21 has been described, but this is just an example. For example, the heat pump apparatus 1 may include two or more blowers 21 and the fan support frame 70 may support two or more blowers 21.
In Embodiment 1, the opening 85e has been described as an example of the ventilation channel, but this is just an example. The ventilation channel only needs to be capable of allowing the heat-source-side heat exchanger 20 and the space S above the electrical box 30 to communicate with each other in the front-rear direction. For example, the ventilation channel may be three or more openings 85e or one opening 85e. Further, the ventilation channel may be a cut-out that opens in the left-right direction of the front surface portion 85b. Furthermore, the configuration may be made such that the ventilation channel is formed by forming the front surface portion 85b in a grid form or in a mesh form.
In Embodiment 1, the lid member 33 made of resin has been described, but this is just an example. For example, the lid member 33 may be formed of sheet metal. In this case, since the thermal conductivity of the lid member 33 is high, the electrical box 30 is efficiently cooled with the air flowing the upper surface of the electrical box 30. However, when the lid member 33 is made of resin as in Embodiment 1, processing of the lid member 33 at the time of manufacturing is easy.
Note that since the aforementioned embodiment is for illustration of the technique of the present disclosure, a variety of changes, replacement, addition, omission, and the like can be made within the scope of the claims or the equivalents thereof.

[Configurations supported by embodiment above]

The aforementioned embodiment supports the following configurations.

(Additional remarks)

(Technique 1) A heat pump apparatus including: a blower that causes air to flow forward; a heat-source-side heat exchanger disposed behind the blower; a blower chamber that houses the blower and the heat-source-side heat exchanger; a partition plate that separates a machine chamber and the blower chamber; and an electrical box substantially horizontally disposed above the blower so as to extend over the blower chamber and the machine chamber, in which the electrical box is supported, inside the blower chamber, by an electrical box support part and the partition plate, and the electrical box support part includes a ventilation channel positioned above an upper surface of the electrical box.
According to this configuration, since air flows above the electrical box via the ventilation channel, the air can be caused to flow above and below the electrical box substantially horizontally disposed. Therefore, the electrical box can be arranged in a compact manner and the electrical box can be efficiently cooled.
(Technique 2) The heat pump apparatus according to Technique 1, in which the electrical box support part includes an engagement portion engaged with an upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger, and the ventilation channel allows the heat-source-side heat exchanger and a space above the electrical box to communicate with each other.
According to this configuration, the air that has flown the heat-source-side heat exchanger can be caused to flow above and below the electrical box. Further, the weight of the electrical box can be supported by the heat-source-side heat exchanger. Therefore, the electrical box can be arranged in a compact manner and the electrical box can be efficiently cooled.
(Technique 3) The heat pump apparatus according to Technique 1 or 2, including a fan support frame that supports the blower, in which the fan support frame is fixed to a housing and the electrical box support part.
According to this configuration, the fan support frame necessary for supporting the blower can be fixed by means of the electrical box support part. Further, the weight of the electrical box exerted on the electrical box support part can be supported by the fan support frame.

[Industrial Applicability]

The present disclosure is applicable to a heat pump apparatus. Specifically, the present disclosure is applicable to an outdoor unit of a hot water heater, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, and the like.

[Reference Signs List]

1: heat pump apparatus
10: housing
10A: back surface
10B: side surface
11: partition plate
12: blower chamber
13: machine chamber
14: bottom plate
15: side surface panel
16: front surface panel
17: top plate
18: ventilation portion
19: guard
20: heat-source-side heat exchanger
21: blower
21a: motor
21b: output shaft
22: compressor
23: water-heat exchanger
24: expansion device
25: refrigerant pipe
26: cut-out portion
27: four-way valve
28: water supply pipe
30: electrical box
32: electrical box main body
33: lid member
41: first radiation fin
42: second radiation fin
70: fan support frame
71: frame main body
71a: columnar member
73: fixed plate
73a: bottom surface
73b: back surface portion
73c: side surface portion
75: blower support plate
75a: hole
75b: fixed portion
80: electrical box support plate (electrical box support part)
81: support part main body
81a: bottom surface portion
81b: front surface portion
81c: back surface portion
81d: hole
83: first fixed portion
85: engagement portion
85a: top surface portion
85b: front surface portion
85c: back surface portion
85d: folded portion
85e: opening (ventilation channel)
87: second fixed portion
S: space

Claims

A heat pump apparatus characterized by comprising:
a blower that causes air to flow forward;

a heat-source-side heat exchanger disposed behind the blower;

a blower chamber that houses the blower and the heat-source-side heat exchanger;

a partition plate that separates a machine chamber and the blower chamber; and

an electrical box substantially horizontally disposed above the blower so as to extend over the blower chamber and the machine chamber,

wherein

the electrical box is supported, inside the blower chamber, by an electrical box support part and the partition plate, and

the electrical box support part includes a ventilation channel positioned above an upper surface of the electrical box.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein
the electrical box support part comprises an engagement portion engaged with an upper end of the heat-source-side heat exchanger, and

the ventilation channel allows the heat-source-side heat exchanger and a space above the electrical box to communicate with each other.
The heat pump apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a fan support frame that supports the blower, wherein the fan support frame is fixed to a housing and the electrical box support part.