EP4671630A1

EP4671630A1 - OUTDOOR AIR CONDITIONING UNIT

Info

Publication number: EP4671630A1
Application number: EP24760196.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Takehiro Yoshida
Original assignee: Fujitsu General Ltd
Current assignee: Fujitsu General Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-24
Filing date: 2024-02-13
Publication date: 2025-12-31
Also published as: JP7582363B2; WO2024176894A1; JP2024120683A

Abstract

An air conditioner outdoor unit includes at least two control boards, a first control board and a second control board, a terminal 26 to which a primary wire 55 introduced from outside and secondary wires 56 and 57 respectively connected to the first control board and the second control board are connected, and a housing that houses the first control board, the second control board, and the terminal, the terminal 26 includes secondary wire connection portions 82 having secondary terminals 82A and 82B lined up from a near side to a far side, the secondary terminals 82A and 82B being connectable to insert terminals 92 provided respectively at one ends of the secondary wires 56 and 57, and the other end of the secondary wire 57 connected to the secondary terminal 82B that is not at the nearest side is connected to the second control board via a connector that is attachable and detachable.

Description

Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioner outdoor unit including, in a housing thereof, a control board and a terminal block.

Background

An outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus generally has, in a housing thereof: refrigerant circuit devices, such as a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor fan; a control board that controls each of these refrigerant circuit devices; and a terminal block, to which primary wires from the outside are connected at a lower side thereof and secondary wires from the control board are connected at an upper side thereof, for, for example, electric communication between the control board and an indoor unit and power supply to the control board. For example, an outdoor unit is disclosed in FIG. 8 of Patent Literature 1, the outdoor unit having a terminal block including plural secondary terminals lined up in a left and right direction, the secondary terminals allowing wire terminals of secondary wires connected to a control board to be pinched with, for example, fingers or a tool, and to be inserted and removed. In this type of outdoor unit, pinching the wire terminals of the secondary wires with fingers or a tool enables the wire terminals to be easily attached to and detached from the terminal block when, for example, detaching the control board from the housing for maintenance.

Citation List

Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 7112163

Summary

Technical Problem

Some air conditioner outdoor units include two or more control boards. A configuration supposed for this kind of outdoor unit in terms of installation space on a terminal block has plural secondary terminals of the terminal block lined up front and rear and wire terminals of secondary wires of control boards are respectively connected to the secondary terminals at a near side and a far side. In this case, for example, even if an attempt is made to remove just the secondary wires at the far side from the terminal block upon maintenance of the control boards, the wire terminals of the secondary wires at the near side will be an obstacle. Therefore, in a case where only the secondary wires at the far side are desired to be removed for detachment of the control board, the secondary wires at the far side need to be removed after part of the secondary wires at the near side has been removed or the terminal block itself has been removed from the outdoor unit, and there has thus been room for improvement in terms of workability.
Techniques disclosed herein have been made in view of the above and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner outdoor unit that enables workability to be improved for removal of a control board.

Solution to Problem

According to an aspect of an embodiment, an air conditioner outdoor unit, includes at least two control boards, a terminal block to which a primary wire introduced from outside and secondary wires respectively connected to the at least two control boards are connected, and a housing that houses the control boards and the terminal block, wherein the terminal block includes a secondary wire connection portion having secondary terminals lined up from a near side to a far side, the secondary terminals being respectively connectable to one ends of the secondary wires, and another end of the secondary wire connected to the secondary terminal other than the secondary terminal at a nearest side is connected to the control board via an attachment and detachment portion that is attachable and detachable.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to one aspect of an air conditioner outdoor unit disclosed by the present application, for example, workability is able to be improved in removal of a control board upon maintenance.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram illustrating an example of a refrigerant circuit and a water circuit, in an air conditioner, according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an outdoor unit as viewed from the front.
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the outdoor unit as viewed from the rear.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of the outdoor unit.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view of an electronic unit as viewed from the front right of the outdoor unit.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of terminals of the electronic unit.

Description of Embodiments

An embodiment of an air conditioner outdoor unit disclosed by the present application will hereinafter be described in detail on the basis of the drawings. Techniques disclosed herein are not to be limited by the embodiment. Furthermore, the embodiment described hereinafter may be modified as appropriate as long as no contradiction arises.

Embodiment

Configuration of Air Conditioner

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram illustrating an example of a refrigerant circuit and a water circuit, in an air conditioner, according to an embodiment. The air conditioner 1 includes an outdoor unit 2 and an indoor unit 3 and these outdoor unit 2 and indoor unit 3 form a water circuit 4 by being connected with water piping. The air conditioner 1 implements cooling or heating of a room (space) where the indoor unit 3 has been arranged, by circulating cold water or warm water through the water circuit 4 in the outdoor unit 2 and indoor unit 3. FIG. 1 illustrates an example where the air conditioner 1 includes one indoor unit 3, but the air conditioner 1 may include plural indoor units 3 connected in parallel to the outdoor unit 2.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit 2 has a compressor 11, a four-way valve 12, an outdoor heat exchanger 13, an outdoor expansion valve 14, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15, an accumulator 16, and an outdoor fan (fan) 17. This compressor 11, four-way valve 12, outdoor heat exchanger 13, outdoor expansion valve 14, water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15, and accumulator 16 form a refrigerant circuit 10 by being respectively connected by refrigerant piping 18. This refrigerant circuit 10 forms a refrigeration cycle by being self-contained in the outdoor unit 2. In this embodiment, a refrigerant cooling device 24 is provided between the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and the outdoor expansion valve 14 in the refrigerant circuit 10. This refrigerant cooling device 24 includes part of the refrigerant piping 18 thermally connected to a control board and cools heat generating parts mounted on the control board with cooling heat of a refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant piping 18. Furthermore, water piping 19 is connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15, separately from the refrigerant piping 18. This water piping 19 forms the water circuit 4 by extending to the outside of the outdoor unit 2 and being connected to an interior unit 23 (described later) of the indoor unit 3.
The compressor 11 is, for example, a highpressure shell variable capacity compressor having adjustable operating capacity and compresses the refrigerant that is gaseous, low in pressure, and sucked therein and discharges the gaseous refrigerant high in pressure. The four-way valve 12 is connected to a refrigerant discharge end of the compressor 11 and the accumulator 16 is connected to a refrigerant suction end of the compressor 11.
The four-way valve 12 is a valve for switching directions in which the refrigerant flows in the refrigerant circuit 10 and includes a first port 12A to a fourth port 12D. The first port 12A is connected to the refrigerant discharge end of the compressor 11. The second port 12B is connected to a refrigerant port 13A that is one of refrigerant ports of the outdoor heat exchanger 13. The third port 12C is connected to a refrigerant inflow end of the accumulator 16. The fourth port 12D is connected to a refrigerant port 15A that is one of refrigerant ports of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15.
A fin-and-tube heat exchanger is used, for example, as the outdoor heat exchanger 13. The outdoor heat exchanger 13 causes heat exchange between: the refrigerant; and outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by rotation of the outdoor fan 17. A refrigerant port 13B that is the other one of the refrigerant ports of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is connected to a refrigerant port 15B that is the other one of the refrigerant ports of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15, via the outdoor expansion valve 14. The outdoor heat exchanger 13 causes condensation (liquefaction) of the gaseous refrigerant by functioning as a condenser in a case where the air conditioner 1 implements cooling operation. Furthermore, the outdoor heat exchanger 13 causes evaporation (vaporization) of the refrigerant that is liquid, by functioning as an evaporator in a case where the air conditioner 1 implements heating operation.
The outdoor expansion valve 14 is provided between the other refrigerant port 13B of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and the other refrigerant port 15B of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. The outdoor expansion valve 14 is, for example, an electronic expansion valve and decompresses (expands) the refrigerant that is liquid and that passes through the outdoor expansion valve 14, by adjusting its valve opening.
A plate heat exchanger, for example, is used as the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 causes heat exchange between a refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant circuit 10 and water circulating through the water circuit 4. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 causes evaporation (vaporization) of the refrigerant that is liquid, by functioning as an evaporator in a case where the air conditioner 1 implements the cooling operation or defrosting operation. Furthermore, the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 causes condensation (liquefaction) of the refrigerant that is gaseous, by functioning as a condenser in a case where the air conditioner 1 implements the heating operation. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 has a water inlet 15C and a water outlet 15D, the water piping 19 is respectively connected to these water inlet 15C and water outlet 15D, and part of the water circuit 4 is thereby formed. Furthermore, for example, a circulation pump 21 for circulating water through the water circuit 4 is provided near the water inlet 15C, and an air bleed valve 22 for bleeding air that has entered the water circuit 4 is provided near the water outlet 15D.
The refrigerant inflow end of the accumulator 16 is connected to the third port 12C of the four-way valve 12 and a refrigerant outflow end of the accumulator 16 is connected to a refrigerant inflow end of the compressor 11. The accumulator 16 is formed as a hollow pressure vessel, separates the refrigerant that has flowed into the accumulator 16 into a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, and causes the compressor 11 to take in only the gaseous refrigerant.
The outdoor fan 17 is arranged near the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and sends air to the outdoor heat exchanger 13. Specifically, the outdoor fan 17 takes outside air into the outdoor unit 2 from a later described intake opening 44 and intake openings 46, of the outdoor unit 2, and releases the outside air, which has undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 13, to the outside of the outdoor unit 2 from a discharge opening described later.
The indoor unit 3 on the other hand has the interior unit 23. For example, a floor heating device or a radiator is used as the interior unit 23. A refrigerant port 23A that is one of refrigerant ports of the interior unit 23 is connected to the water outlet 15D of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. Furthermore, a refrigerant port 23B that is the other one of the refrigerant ports of the interior unit 23 is connected to the water inlet 15C of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 via the circulation pump 21. The interior unit 23 thereby forms the water circuit 4 by being connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 by the water piping 19, and heating or cooling of air conditioned space where the indoor unit 3 has been installed is implemented by heat radiation or heat absorption in the interior unit 23 using water circulating through this water circuit 4.

Operation During Operation

Flows of the refrigerant and water during operation of the air conditioner 1 will be described next. Dashed lined arrows in FIG. 1 indicate a flow of the refrigerant during the heating operation and solid lined arrows in FIG. 1 indicate a flow of the refrigerant during the cooling operation.
In a case where the air conditioner 1 implements the heating operation, the four-way valve 12 is switched over so that the first port 12A and the fourth port 12D are in communication with each other and the second port 12B and the third port 12C are in communication with each other. The refrigerant circuit 10 is thereby brought into a heating cycle where the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 functions as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 13 functions as an evaporator.
In response to the compressor 11 being driven with the refrigerant circuit 10 being in the above described state, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 flows into the four-way valve 12 and then flows into the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 from the four-way valve 12. The high-temperature gaseous refrigerant that has flowed into the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 is condensed by exchanging heat with water circulating through the water circuit 4 in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 due to operation of the circulation pump 21. The water circulating through the water circuit 4 on the other hand is heated into warm water by the refrigerant in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. This warm water flows into the interior unit 23 in the indoor unit 3 through the water piping 19 of the water circuit 4. The warm water radiates heat in the interior unit 23 and the room where the indoor unit 3 has been installed is thereby heated.
The liquid refrigerant condensed by heat exchange with water in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 13 via the refrigerant cooling device 24 after passing and being decompressed through the outdoor expansion valve 14. The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor heat exchanger 13 exchanges heat with outside air that has flowed into the outdoor unit 2 due to rotation of the outdoor fan 17 and thereby evaporates. The gaseous refrigerant that has evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger 13 passes through the four-way valve 12 and the accumulator 16 in this order and is then sucked into the compressor 11 and compressed again.
Furthermore, in a case where the air conditioner 1 implements the cooling operation or defrosting operation, the four-way valve 12 is switched over so that the first port 12A and the second port 12B are in communication with each other and the third port 12C and the fourth port 12D are in communication with each other. The refrigerant circuit 10 is thereby brought into a cooling cycle where the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 functions as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger 13 functions as a condenser.
In response to the compressor 11 being driven with the refrigerant circuit 10 being in the above described state, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 flows into the four-way valve 12 and then flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 13 from the four-way valve 12. The high-temperature gaseous refrigerant that has flown into the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is condensed by exchanging heat with the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 17. In a case where the defrosting operation is being implemented, frost that has been generated in the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is melted by heat from the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 13.
The liquid refrigerant that has been condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 13 passes through the refrigerant cooling device 24, is decompressed by the outdoor expansion valve 14, and thereafter flows into the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. The liquid refrigerant that has flowed into the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 evaporates by exchanging heat with the water circulating through the water circuit 4 in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 due to the operation of the circulation pump 21. The water circulating through the water circuit 4 on the other hand is cooled into cold water by the refrigerant in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15. This cold water flows into the interior unit 23 in the indoor unit 3 through the water piping 19 of the water circuit 4. Heat is absorbed from air in the room by the cold water in the interior unit 23 and the room where the indoor unit 3 has been installed is thereby cooled. In a case where the defrosting operation is being implemented, the circulation pump 21 is stopped to stop circulation of water in the water circuit 4 for reducing lowering of room temperature.
The gaseous refrigerant that has evaporated in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 passes through the four-way valve 12 and the accumulator 16 in this order and is then sucked into the compressor 11 and compressed again.

Structure of Outdoor Unit

An external appearance and an internal structure of the outdoor unit 2 will be described next. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an outdoor unit as viewed from the front and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the outdoor unit as viewed from the rear. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of the outdoor unit. Directions mentioned hereinafter, such as front and rear, up and down, and left and right directions, refer to directions in a case where the outdoor unit 2 is viewed from the front in a state where the outdoor unit 2 has been installed, with a direction, in which air is discharged from the discharge opening 41 described later, being forward.
As illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the outdoor unit 2 includes a housing 30 having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape with a dimension in the left and right direction (width direction) and a dimension in the front and rear direction (depth direction), the dimension in the left and right direction being larger than the dimension in the front and rear direction. This housing 30 includes a bottom plate 31 arranged to face an installation surface, a top panel 32 arranged higher than the bottom plate 31 in a height direction, and a side panel unit 33 that connects the bottom plate 31 and the top panel 32 and separates the inside and the outside of the housing 30.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the inside of the housing 30 is separated into a heat exchange chamber RA and a machine chamber RB by a partition plate 34 erected on the bottom plate 31. The heat exchange chamber RA houses: the outdoor heat exchanger 13 near a rear surface of the heat exchange chamber RA; and the outdoor fan 17 near a front surface of the heat exchange chamber RA. The outdoor heat exchanger 13 is formed to be bent in an L-shape as viewed from above (from the top panel 32) and is supported by the bottom plate 31 along the rear surface to a left side surface of the heat exchange chamber RA.
The outdoor fan 17 is attached to a pair of support members 35 and 35 erected on the bottom plate 31. The outdoor fan 17 is a so-called axial-flow fan and takes external air into the heat exchange chamber RA from the outside of the outdoor unit 2, that is, from the intake opening 44 (described later) formed in a rear surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and the intake openings 46 (described later) formed in a left side surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 13, due to rotational drive of the outdoor fan 17 by a fan motor not illustrated in the drawings. The air that has undergone heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is discharged forward from the discharge opening 41 (described later) formed near the front surface of the heat exchange chamber RA. The outdoor unit 2 is thus a front discharge outdoor unit that discharges heat-exchanged air from a front surface thereof.
The compressor 11, the accumulator 16, the four-way valve 12 (FIG. 1), and the outdoor expansion valve 14 (FIG. 1), for example, which are part of devices forming the refrigerant circuit 10 (refrigerant circuit devices), are arranged in lower space of the machine chamber RB. The compressor 11 and the accumulator 16 are fixed to the bottom plate 31. Furthermore, in this embodiment having the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15, the air bleed valve 22, and the circulation pump (pump) 21, for example, which are part of devices forming the water circuit 4 (water circuit devices) and are arranged in the lower space of the machine chamber RB, the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 is arranged near a corner portion between a rear surface and a right side surface of the machine chamber RB (housing 30) in the lower space. Furthermore, an electronic unit 25 having electronic parts for controlling operation of the outdoor unit 2 and indoor unit 3 is arranged in upper space of the machine chamber RB. This electronic unit 25 includes at least a first control board 27 (one of control boards) and a second control board 28 (the other one of the control boards), and a terminal (terminal block) 26 and is attached to the partition plate 34.
The side panel unit 33 will be described next. The side panel unit 33 is formed by a combination of plural panel members. In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the side panel unit 33 includes a front panel 36, a rear panel 37, a right side panel 38, a left side panel 39, and a service panel 40. The front panel 36, the rear panel 37, the right side panel 38, and the left side panel 39 are each formed in an L-shape including two adjacent surfaces of the housing 30 and a corner portion interposed between these two surfaces as viewed from above the housing 30.
Specifically, the front panel 36 integrally includes: a first front portion 36A forming part of a front surface of the housing 30; and a first left side portion 36B forming part of a left side surface of the housing 30. The rear panel 37 integrally includes: a first rear portion 37A forming part of a rear surface of the housing 30; and a first right side portion 37B forming part of a right side surface of the housing 30. The right side panel 38 integrally includes: a second right side portion 38A forming part of the right side surface of the housing 30; and a second front portion 38B forming part of the front surface of the housing 30. The left side panel 39 integrally includes: a second left side portion 39A forming part of the left side surface of the housing 30; and a second rear portion 39B forming part of the rear surface of the housing 30.
The first front portion 36A of the front panel 36 is arranged in front of the heat exchange chamber RA and the second front portion 38B of the right side panel 38 is arranged in front of the machine chamber RB. These first front portion 36A and second front portion 38B are arranged side by side to the left and right to form the front surface (first surface) of the housing 30. The first front portion 36A has, formed therein, the discharge opening 41, from which the air that has been heat-exchanged in the heat exchange chamber RA is discharged. This discharge opening 41 has, for example, a bell mouth 41A that is circular, and part of the outdoor fan 17 is arranged in this bell mouth 41A. A fan guard 42 that covers the discharge opening and is mesh-like is provided in front of the front panel 36. This fan guard 42 is formed to have an L shape when the fan guard 42 is viewed from above and is arranged along the first front portion 36A to the first left side portion 36B of the front panel 36. This fan guard 42 is fixed to the front panel 36 with a predetermined interval between an upper end portion (an end portion near the top) 42A of the fan guard 42 and the top panel 32. Furthermore, a water blocking plate 43 extending in the left and right (width) direction is provided above the discharge opening 41 in the first front portion 36A.
The first rear portion 37A of the rear panel 37 and the second rear portion 39B of the left side panel 39 are arranged side by side to the left and right with an interval therebetween and form the rear surface of the housing 30. The outdoor heat exchanger 13 is arranged to be exposed between these first rear portion 37A and second rear portion 39B and this exposed region is the intake opening 44. Behind this intake opening 44, a fin guard 45, which is mesh-like, is provided. Furthermore, the first rear portion 37A is arranged near the rear surface of the machine chamber RB and faces the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 15 with a gap therebetween. An outside air intake opening 48, through which air (outside air) is taken into the machine chamber RB, is formed in a lower portion of the first rear portion 37A, and a rain cover 49 that covers the outside air intake opening 48 is provided outside the first rear portion 37A. A lower portion of this rain cover 49 has an opening 49A that is open and this opening 49A is in communication with the outside air intake opening 48.
The second right side portion 38A of the right side panel 38 and the first right side portion 37B of the rear panel 37 are arranged one after the other to the front and rear with an interval therebetween and form the right side surface of the housing 30, the right side surface joining the front surface and rear surface of the housing 30. The service panel 40 mentioned above is detachably arranged between these second right side portion 38A and first right side portion 37B. Removing this service panel 40 enables access to the inside of the machine chamber RB and maintenance of the electronic unit 25 and various circuit devices is thereby able to be readily executed.
The second left side portion 39A of the left side panel 39 and the first left side portion 36B of the front panel 36 are arranged one after the other to the rear and front and form the left side surface of the housing 30, the left side surface joining the front surface and rear surface of the housing 30. The second left side portion 39A faces part of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and the plural intake openings 46 are formed in this second left side portion 39A.
Furthermore, plural handhold portions 51, 52, and 53 for carrying the outdoor unit 2 are provided in the side panel unit 33 of the housing 30. These handhold portions 51 to 53 are each arranged near a corner portion of the housing 30.
The electronic unit 25 will be described next. FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view of an electronic unit as viewed from the front right of the outdoor unit. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the electronic unit 25 includes the first control board 27, the second control board 28, and the terminal 26 and is mainly arranged in the upper space of the machine chamber RB. The terminal 26 is a device, to which primary wires 55 serving as power lines introduced into the housing 30 from the outside, secondary wires 56 that supply electric power to the first control board 27, and secondary wires 57 that supply electric power to the second control board 28 are connected.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first control board 27 is a main control board that controls operation of the outdoor fan 17 and the refrigerant circuit devices, and the second control board 28 is a water circuit control board that controls operation of the water circuit devices. Low-voltage electronic parts (also referred to as low-voltage parts) forming part of a control circuit and plural high-voltage electronic parts (also referred to as high-voltage parts) forming the rest of the control circuit and being for electric power conversion are mounted on the first control board 27, the low-voltage electronic parts being, for example, an electronic part, such as a microcomputer, an electronic part for manipulation, such as a switch forming a setting circuit, and an LED forming a display circuit. The high-voltage parts include an electronic part, such as an IC of an inverter circuit for driving the compressor 11, for example, and generate more heat than the above mentioned low-voltage parts. Furthermore, unlike the first control board 27, the second control board 28 has almost no high-voltage parts mounted thereon. Therefore, low-voltage parts that generate less heat than the high-voltage parts are mainly mounted on the second control board 28. Therefore, the second control board 28 is a board that consumes less electric power than the first control board 27.
In this embodiment, the second control board 28 is arranged along the front surface of the housing 30 forming the machine chamber RB, that is, the second front portion 38B (see FIG. 2) of the right side panel 38. The second control board 28 is formed in a rectangular plate shape and is held by a second control board holding unit 61 larger in size than the second control board 28. The second control board holding unit 61 is a plate-like member and one end 61A of the second control board holding unit 61 is fixed to a front upper portion of the partition plate 34. This partition plate 34 is provided to extend in the front and rear direction from the front surface to rear surface of the housing 30. The second control board holding unit 61 extends in the machine chamber RB in the left and right direction, in other words, to be perpendicular to the partition plate 34.
One end 71A of a first support member 71 is fixed to another end 61B of the second control board holding unit 61. This first support member 71 is a plate-like member and extends in the machine chamber RB in the front and back direction, in other words, to be perpendicular to the second control board holding unit 61. The first support member 71 is arranged to face the partition plate 34 with an interval from the partition plate 34. Furthermore, the first support member 71 has a bent portion 71B, which is an upper portion of the first support member 71, the upper portion being bent toward the partition plate 34.
The first control board 27 is arranged along a top surface of the housing 30, that is, the top panel 32 (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the first control board 27 is arranged above the partition plate 34 by extending over the heat exchange chamber RA and the machine chamber RB, with a surface thereof facing downward, the surface having the electronic parts mounted thereon. Specifically, a second support member 72 extending toward the heat exchange chamber RA is fixed to an upper portion of the partition plate 34. The first control board 27 is fixed to the second support member 72 and the above mentioned bent portion 71B of the first support member 71, via a first control board holding unit (not illustrated in the drawings) that holds the first control board 27. The first control board 27 is thereby arranged to be perpendicular to the second control board 28.
As described above, the second control board 28 consumes less electric power than the first control board 27. That is, the first control board 27 consumes more electric power than the second control board 28 and generates more heat than the second control board 28. In this embodiment, a heat sink 73 that is exposed in the heat exchange chamber RA and has a fin shape is fixed to the second support member 72 that supports the first control board 27, and this heat sink 73 is thermally coupled to the first control board 27. Operation of the outdoor fan 17 thereby enables the first control board 27 (in particular, the high-voltage parts) to be cooled, via the heat sink 73.
Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the first control board 27 is arranged along the top panel 32 (top surface) of the housing 30 and the second control board 28 is arranged along the second front portion 38B (front surface) of the right side panel 38 of the housing 30. Therefore, the first control board 27 and the second control board 28 are arranged appropriately in the machine chamber RB with minimized interference from the refrigerant circuit components and water circuit components in the machine chamber RB. Furthermore, arranging the first control board 27 and the second control board 28 perpendicularly to each other enables space to be maximized, the space being for installation of, for example, piping of the refrigerant circuit 10, without increasing the housing size of the outdoor unit 2.
The terminal 26 is fixed to the above described first support member 71 via a terminal holding unit 62. The terminal holding unit 62 is formed in, for example, a tray shape and includes: a protruding portion 62A that protrudes toward the partition plate 34; and a holding unit 62B connected to a lower end of the protruding portion 62A. The holding unit 62B is formed as a downward inclined surface from the protruding portion 62A toward the service panel 40 and the terminal 26 is held by the holding unit 62B. The protruding portion 62A is fixed to the first support member 71 and has an opening 62A1 formed in the protruding portion 62A. This opening 62A1 is an opening that is positioned above the terminal 26 on the terminal holding unit 62 and that the above described secondary wires 56 and secondary wires 57 connected to the terminal 26 pass through.
As described above, in this embodiment, the terminal 26 is arranged along a side surface of the housing 30 forming the machine chamber RB, that is, the second right side portion 38A of the right side panel 38 and the service panel 40. Therefore, by removing the service panel 40, a worker is able to do various kinds of work on the terminal 26.
The terminal 26 will be described next. FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of a terminal of the electronic unit. The terminal 26 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a terminal body 80 made of an insulative molded resin; primary wire connection portions 81, to which primary wires are connected; secondary wire connection portions 82 and 83, to which secondary wires are connected; and conductive plates 84 that electrically connect the primary wire connection portions 81 and the secondary wire connection portions 82 and 83. The primary wires introduced from outside of the housing 30 are connected to the primary wire connection portions 81 and the secondary wires extending to the components in the housing 30 are connected to the secondary wire connection portions 82.
The plural (six in the example of FIG. 6) primary wire connection portions 81 are independently arranged in a horizontal direction lower in the terminal body 80 and include terminal screws fastened to one end of the conductive plates 84. In FIG. 6, for convenience of description, a case where a wire has been connected and a case where a wire has not been connected are illustrated together. The primary wires 55 are, for example, single-phase alternating current power lines including a primary live wire 55L and a primary neutral wire 55N. A terminal 90 is attached by crimping to one end of each of the primary live wire 55L and primary neutral wire 55N, and these terminals 90 are connected to the primary wire connection portions 81 by tightening of the terminal screws respectively. A primary wire 58 in FIG. 6 is a so-called earthed line, and is connected, similarly to the primary wires 55, to the primary wire connection portion 81 via a terminal 90 provided at one end of the primary wire 58.
The plural (six) secondary wire connection portions 82 and 83 are independently arranged in the horizontal direction upper in the terminal body 80 and correspond to the primary wire connection portions 81 one-to-one. The primary wire connection portions 81 and the secondary wire connection portions 82 lined up vertically are electrically connected via the conductive plates 84. In FIG. 6, for convenience of description, a case where a wire has been connected and a case where a wire has not been connected are illustrated together. The secondary wire connection portions 82 each include plural (two in the example of FIG. 6) secondary terminals 82A and 82B lined up from a near side to a far side. The near side herein refers to a side near an observer (worker) and the far side refers to a side far from the observer in a case where the terminal 26 fixed to the first support member 71 is viewed from the right side surface of the housing 30. The secondary terminals 82A and 82B lined up vertically are electrically connected and voltages of the same magnitude are applied to these secondary terminals 82A and 82B. The secondary terminals 82A and 82B are so-called male terminals each formed in a flat plate shape and erected at the other end of the conductive plate 84.
The secondary wires 56 are single-phase alternating current power lines including a secondary live wire 56L and a secondary neutral wire 56N. Similarly, the secondary wires 57 are single-phase alternating current power lines including a secondary live wire 57L and a secondary neutral wire 57N. An insert terminal 92 is attached by crimping to one end of each of the secondary live wires 56L and 57L and the secondary neutral wires 56N and 57N. These insert terminals 92 are, for example, so-called female terminals also called Faston terminals (registered trademark). Inserting these insert terminals 92 into the secondary terminals 82A and 82B connects the secondary wires 56 and 57 to the secondary wire connection portions 82. In this embodiment, the secondary wires 56 are connected to the secondary terminals 82A at the nearest side and the secondary wires 57 are connected to the secondary terminals 82B at the far side (other than the nearest side). In FIG. 6, there is one secondary terminal 82B at the far side, but there may be two or more. Furthermore, the secondary wire connection portion 83 in FIG. 6 is configured to include a terminal screw fastened to one end of the conductive plate 84, similarly to the primary wire connection portions 81. A secondary wire 59 (so-called earthed line) with a terminal 90 provided at one end thereof is connected to this secondary wire connection portion 83.
In a configuration having the secondary terminals 82A and 82B of the terminal 26 lined up from the near side to the far side and the insert terminals 92 of the secondary wires 56 and 57 inserted in these secondary terminals 82A and 82B, for example, upon maintenance of a control board, in general, the control board and the terminal 26 need to be electrically disconnected by removal of the secondary wires 56 and 57 from the terminal 26. In this case, even if an attempt is made to remove only the insert terminals 92 of the secondary wires 57 at the far side from the secondary terminals 82B, the insert terminals 92 of the secondary wires 56 at the near side will be an obstacle. Therefore, even in a case where only the secondary wires 57 at the far side are desired to be removed for removal of the control board, the secondary wires 57 at the far side need to be removed after part of the secondary wires 56 at the near side is removed or the terminal 26 itself is removed from the outdoor unit 2, and there is thus a demand for improvement in workability.
Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the secondary wires 57 connected to the secondary terminals 82B at the far side are configured to include a connector (attachment and detachment portion) 95 at the other end thereof and to have this connector 95 attachable to and detachable from a connector connection portion 281 formed in the second control board 28, and removing this connector 95 from the connector connection portion 281 formed in the second control board 28 enables electrical disconnection between the second control board 28 and the terminal 26. This connector connection portion 281 is provided near one of four corners of the second control board 28, that is, near a fixed point 61A where the second control board 28 is fixed to the second control board holding unit 61. At this fixed point, rigidity of the second control board 28 is higher than that at other positions and providing the connector connection portion 281 near the fixed point enables minimization of deflection of the second control board 28 upon attachment and detachment of the connector 95. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the secondary wires 57 are connected to the secondary terminals 82B at the far side of the terminal 26 and attachment and detachment of the secondary wires 57 to and from the terminal 26 are thus not easy. However, the secondary wires 57 include the connector 95 at the other end and attachment and detachment of this connector 95 thereby enables the secondary wires 57 to be easily connected to and removed from the second control board 28. Therefore, removing the right side panel 38 of the housing 30, for example, exposes the second control board 28 and the connector 95 and the connector 95 is able to be easily attached to and detached from the second control board 28.
Furthermore, the other end of the secondary wires 56 connected to the secondary terminals 82A at the nearest side is connected the first control board 27 by soldering. This soldering is also called board-in-wire and connects holes in a printed circuit formed on the first control board 27 and the other ends of the secondary wires 56 by soldering. This connection by soldering enables larger electric power to be supplied to the first control board 27, that is, larger electric current to flow through the secondary wires 56, than connector connections. Furthermore, the connection by soldering enables space to be decreased, the space being for a connection portion between the first control board 27 and the secondary wires 56 and thereby enables the first control board 27 to be downsized. However, because the other ends of the secondary wires 56 are fixed to the holes in the printed circuit by soldering, the other ends of the secondary wires 56 are unable to be removed easily.
The one ends of the secondary wires 56 on the other hand are connected to the secondary terminals 82A at the nearest side, via the insert terminals 92. The insert terminals 92 are able to be easily removed from the secondary terminals 82A at the nearest side and maintenance of the first control board 27 is thus able to be performed easily.
As described above, the outdoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, according to the embodiment includes: at least two control boards, that is, the first control board 27 and the second control board 28; the terminal 26 that the primary wires 55, the secondary wires 56, and the secondary wires 57 are connected to, the primary wires 55 being introduced from the outside, the secondary wires 56 being connected to the first control board 27, the secondary wires 57 being connected to the second control board 28; and the housing 30 that houses the first control board 27, the second control board 28, and the terminal 26; the terminal 26 includes the secondary wire connection portions 82 having: the secondary terminals 82A that the insert terminals 92 provided at the one ends of the secondary wires 56 are connectable to; and the secondary terminals 82B that the insert terminals 92 provided at the one ends of the secondary wires 57 are connectable to, the secondary terminals 82A and the secondary terminals 82B being lined up from the near side to the far side; and the other ends of the secondary wires 57 connected to the secondary terminals 82B that are not at the nearest side are connected to the second control board 28 via the connector 95 that is attachable and detachable. In a case where the second control board 28 that the secondary wires 57 at the far side (other than the nearest side) are connected to is desired to be removed, the connector 95 provided at the other ends of the secondary wires 57 is, or the secondary wires 57 are thereby able to be attached to and detached from the second control board 28 easily.
In the outdoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, according to the embodiment, the other ends of the secondary wires 56 connected to the secondary terminals 82A at the nearest side are connected to the first control board 27 by soldering. The secondary wires 56 are thus unable to be removed easily from the first control board 27, but only the secondary wires 56 at the nearest side are able to be removed easily from the terminal 26. Furthermore, this connection by soldering enables larger electric power to be supplied to the first control board 27, that is, larger electric current to flow through the secondary wires 56, than connector connections. Furthermore, the connection by soldering enables space to be decreased, the space being for a connection portion between the first control board 27 and the secondary wires 56, and thereby enables the first control board 27 to be downsized.
In the outdoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, according to the embodiment, the secondary wires 56 soldered are connected to the first control board 27 and the secondary wires 57 connected via the connector 95 are connected to the second control board 28 that consumes less electric power than the first control board 27. As compared to soldering, connector connections are generally not suitable for supplying large electric power, but what is thereby implemented is a configuration enabling sufficient electric power to be supplied to the second control board 28 through the secondary wires 57 and enabling the secondary wires 57 to be easily attached to and detached from the second control board 28.
In the outdoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, according to the embodiment, the outdoor fan 17 that sends air to the outside is housed in the housing 30, the second control board 28 connected via the connector 95 is arranged along the front surface of the housing 30, the front surface being a surface having the discharge opening 41 for air formed therein, and the first control board 27 connected by soldering is arranged along the top surface of the housing 30. According to this configuration, removing the right side panel 38 of the housing 30 exposes the second control board 28 and the connector 95, and the connector 95 is thereby able to be easily attached to and detached from the second control board 28.
In the outdoor unit 2 of the air conditioner 1, according to the embodiment, the compressor 11 that compresses a refrigerant, the outdoor expansion valve 14 that controls the amount of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circuit 10, the four-way valve 12 that switches the refrigerant circuit 10 into a cooling circuit or a heating circuit, and the circulation pump 21 that circulates water through the water circuit 4 are housed in the housing 30, at least the electronic parts that control the circulation pump 21 are mounted on the second control board 28 connected via the connector 95, and at least the electronic parts that control the compressor 11, the outdoor expansion valve 14, and the four-way valve 12 are mounted on the first control board 27 connected by soldering. This configuration enables the devices included in the refrigerant circuit 10 and the devices included in the water circuit 4 to be controlled respectively by different control boards, both of these devices being housed in the machine chamber RB of the housing 30. Therefore, upsizing of the control boards due to multi-functionalization is able to be minimized and the control boards are able to be arranged appropriately in the machine chamber.
One embodiment of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present disclosure has been described above, but the outdoor unit is not to be limited to this embodiment. For example, the embodiment is configured to include two control boards, the first control board 27 and the second control board 28, but a configuration having three or more control boards may be adopted instead. In this case, three secondary terminals provided in the terminal 26 are configured to be lined up from the near side to the far side, the control board connected to the secondary terminal at the nearest side is one of the control boards, and the plural control boards connected to the secondary terminals other than that at the nearest side are each the other one of the control boards. Furthermore, a connector has been described as an example of the attachment and detachment portion with respect to the embodiment, but a configuration including an insert terminal may be adopted instead as long as the configuration is attachable to and detachable from a control board.

Reference Signs List

1: AIR CONDITIONER

2: OUTDOOR UNIT
3: INDOOR UNIT
4: WATER CIRCUIT
13: OUTDOOR HEAT EXCHANGER
15: WATER-REFRIGERANT HEAT EXCHANGER
17: OUTDOOR FAN (FAN)
21: CIRCULATION PUMP (PUMP)
25: ELECTRONIC UNIT
26: TERMINAL (TERMINAL BLOCK)
27: FIRST CONTROL BOARD (ONE OF CONTROL BOARDS)
28: SECOND CONTROL BOARD (OTHER ONE OF CONTROL BOARDS)
30: HOUSING
55: PRIMARY WIRE
56, 57: SCONDARY WIRE
61: SECOND CONTROL BOARD HOLDING UNIT
62: TERMINAL HOLDING UNIT
80: TERMINAL BODY
81: PRIMARY WIRE CONNECTION PORTION
82: SECONDARY WIRE CONNECTION PORTION
82A, 82B: SECONDARY TERMINAL
90: TERMINAL
92: INSERT TERMINAL
95: CONNECTOR (ATTACHMENT AND DETACHMENT PORTION)
RA: HEAT EXCHANGE CHAMBER
RB: MACHINE CHAMBER

Claims

An air conditioner outdoor unit, comprising: at least two control boards; a terminal block to which a primary wire introduced from outside and secondary wires respectively connected to the at least two control boards are connected; and a housing that houses the control boards and the terminal block, wherein
the terminal block includes a secondary wire connection portion having secondary terminals lined up from a near side to a far side, the secondary terminals being respectively connectable to one ends of the secondary wires, and

another end of the secondary wire connected to the secondary terminal other than the secondary terminal at a nearest side is connected to the control board via an attachment and detachment portion that is attachable and detachable.
The air conditioner outdoor unit according to claim 1, wherein another end of the secondary wire connected to the secondary terminal that is at the nearest side is connected to the control board by soldering.
The air conditioner outdoor unit according to claim 2, wherein the secondary wire that is soldered is connected to one of the control boards, and the secondary wire via the attachment and detachment portion is connected to another of the control boards that is smaller in electric power consumption than the one of the control boards.
The air conditioner outdoor unit according to claim 2, wherein
a fan that sends air to the outside is housed in the housing, and

in a case where a surface of the housing is a front surface, the surface having a discharge opening for the air,
the another of the control boards that is connected via the attachment and detachment portion is arranged along the front surface, and

the one of the control boards that is connected by the soldering is arranged along a top surface of the housing.
The air conditioner outdoor unit according to claim 2, wherein
a compressor that compresses a refrigerant, an expansion valve that controls an amount of the refrigerant flowing through a refrigerant circuit, a four-way valve that switches the refrigerant circuit into a cooling circuit or a heating circuit, and a pump that circulates water through a water circuit are housed in the housing,

at least an electronic part that controls the pump is mounted on the another of the control boards that is connected via the attachment and detachment portion, and

at least an electronic part that controls the compressor, the expansion valve, and the four-way valve is mounted on the one of the control boards that is connected by the soldering.