JP2000039182A - Outdoor machine unit and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deformation of a fin guard and improve an efficiency upon transportation by providing bendable hinge type units on a protecting surface member. SOLUTION: The casing 21 of an outdoor machine unit is provided with a configuration inflated to the side of a back surface while an outdoor heat exchanger 22 is formed along the inflated back surface. A fin guard (protecting surface member) 26 is attached to the casing 21 under a condition that both side units are bent so as to be coped with the configuration of the heat exchanger 22. Further, the fin guard 25 is provided with thin parts (hinge type parts) 26a, thinner than the other parts so that both side units can be bent freely. The thin parts 26a are formed so that a part of frame, constituting the shape of a lattice is notched. In this case a resin such as polypropylene or the like is employed whereby the thin parts are provided with sufficient flexibility. According to this constitution, the deformation of protecting surface members can be prevented even when a plurality of protecting surface members are piled and a transporting efficiency can be improved since the protecting surface members will not become bulky.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for providing a comfortable indoor environment by heating or cooling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner is composed of two major components, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit.
Each of these is provided with an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor heat exchanger that perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air and between the refrigerant and the outdoor air.

[0003] The indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger are components that constitute a refrigerant circuit by adding other components such as a compressor and an expansion valve. Refrigerant physically circulates through this circuit, so that it is thermally high-temperature, high-pressure gas, low-temperature,
The cooling and heating of the room will be realized by following the circulation process of the state change of the high-temperature high-pressure liquid and the low-temperature low-pressure liquid. The cooling and heating of the room is directly realized by heat exchange between the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger and room air.

[0004] Heating is realized by sending a gas refrigerant converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by a compressor to an indoor heat exchanger and performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and room air. In cooling, a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant is sent to an outdoor heat exchanger to exchange heat with outdoor air to form a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, which is further passed through an expansion valve to lower the low-temperature and low-pressure, thereby cooling the indoor heat exchanger. And heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant and room air.

[0005] Among the above air conditioners, the outdoor unit includes an outdoor heat exchanger, an outdoor fan for supplying outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and a refrigerant for the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger. And a housing that houses the outdoor heat exchanger, the outdoor fan, and the compressor. The outdoor heat exchanger is arranged such that corrugated fins are exposed to the outside from an opening provided in the housing.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional outdoor unit. On the rear surface of the housing 1, a finger (protective surface material) 3 is provided, which enables introduction of air into the housing 1 and protects the outdoor heat exchanger 2. The finger 3 is a frame formed in a lattice shape, and is attached to the outdoor heat exchanger 2 so as to face the same. The housing 1 has a shape bulging to the rear side, and the outdoor heat exchanger 2 is formed along the bulging rear surface. Therefore, the finger 3 is formed in a substantially U-shape so as to cover the outdoor heat exchanger 2 according to the shape of the housing 1.

[0007]

The above-described air conditioner has the following problems. In the assembling process of the outdoor unit, a plurality of fingers are managed in a stacked state, but if left in this state for a long time, the fingers themselves are deformed and cannot be assembled to the housing. There is a risk that it will. In addition, when the fingers formed in a substantially U-shape are stacked, the fingers become bulky, and there is a possibility that the workability related to the transport operation to the assembly line may be impaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to prevent deformation of a finger and to improve the transportation efficiency when a plurality of fingers are transported.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the following means are employed to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the outdoor unit according to the first aspect performs heat exchange between the outdoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the outdoor air and the refrigerant and the outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor air and the refrigerant. A compressor for sending a refrigerant to the indoor heat exchanger, a housing in which the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor are housed, and introduction of air into the housing and protection of the outdoor heat exchanger An outdoor unit including a protective surface material, wherein the protective surface material is provided with a bendable hinge-shaped portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner for exchanging heat between outdoor air and a refrigerant, and exchanging heat between the outdoor heat exchanger or indoor air and a refrigerant. A compressor that sends a refrigerant to an indoor heat exchanger, a housing in which the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor are housed, and enables introduction of air into the housing and protects the outdoor heat exchanger An air conditioner comprising an outdoor unit having a protective surface material, and an indoor unit having the indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan for circulating indoor air, wherein the protective surface material And a bendable hinge portion is provided.

In the outdoor unit and the air conditioner described above, the hinge-shaped portion can be bent and the protective surface material can be deformed and fitted to the shape of the housing. Therefore, the protective surface material does not necessarily have to have a shape suitable for the housing from the beginning, for example, usually has a planar shape,
If the hinge-like portion is bent as required to have a shape suitable for the housing, even if a plurality of protective face materials are stacked, deformation like a conventional protective face material is prevented. Further, even if a plurality of protective face materials are stacked, they are not bulky, and the transport efficiency can be improved.

The air conditioner according to a third aspect is characterized in that the hinge-shaped portion is a thin portion formed on the protective surface material.

In this air conditioner, the hinge-like portion can be provided without adding extra cost by forming the thin portion on the protective surface material.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the air conditioner. The air conditioner includes an indoor unit 10 and an outdoor unit 20. These indoor unit 10 and outdoor unit 2
Numeral 0 is connected by a refrigerant pipe 30 through which the refrigerant flows, an electric wiring (not shown), and the like. Two refrigerant pipes 30 are provided, and the refrigerant is supplied to the indoor unit 1 on one side.
0 to the outdoor unit 20 and from the outdoor unit 20 to the indoor unit 10 on the other hand.

The indoor unit 10 has an outer shape constituted by a base 11 and a front panel 12. The base 11 has a plate fin tube type indoor heat exchanger, a substantially cylindrical cross flow fan (fan)
Etc. are provided. These are not both shown. The base 11 is provided with a control unit 11a configured from various electric circuit elements for performing operation control and the like for the other indoor unit 10. The control section 11a is provided with an appropriate indicator section 11b for displaying an operation status and an error mode. The indicator 11b is located on the front panel 1
2 can be confirmed from the outside by the see-through portion 12a provided in the second member. An installation plate 13 is provided behind the base 11, so that the indoor unit 10 can be installed on an indoor wall or the like.

The front panel 12 has a suction grill (suction port) 12b formed on each of the front and top surfaces. The indoor air is drawn into the indoor unit 10 from multiple directions by the suction grills 12b. An air filter 12 is provided behind the suction grill 12b.
c, which serves to remove dust such as inhaled air. An outlet 12d is formed below the front panel 12, from which warmed or cooled air is blown out. The air suction and air blowing are performed by the rotation of the cross flow fan.

The outdoor unit 20 is provided with an outdoor heat exchanger 22, a propeller fan 23, a compressor 24, a control box 25 and the like in a housing 21. The outdoor heat exchanger 22 is configured by a refrigerant pipe having a large number of corrugated fins around it, and realizes heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air. The propeller fan 23
This is provided so that new air is always taken into the housing 21 by generating a wind that escapes from the back to the front in the housing 21 to improve the heat exchange efficiency.

Note that a finger guard 26 and a fan guard 27 are attached to the side surface of the housing 21 where the outdoor heat exchanger 22 and the propeller fan 23 face the outside. The fingered 26 is a frame formed in a lattice shape, and is provided in an opening provided on the back surface of the housing 21 so that the corrugated fin is not damaged by an unexpected impact from the outside. Is what it is.
The fan guard 27 is provided in an opening provided on the front surface of the housing 21 for the purpose of protecting the propeller fan 23 from external impact and preventing dust and the like contained in the outside air from being taken into the housing 21. Is what it is.

The compressor 24 converts a low-temperature and low-pressure gaseous refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant and discharges the refrigerant. The compressor 24 plays the most central role in the components constituting the refrigerant circuit. The refrigerant circuit includes, in addition to the compressor 24, the indoor heat exchanger, the outdoor heat exchanger 22, the refrigerant pipe 3
A circuit for circulating the refrigerant between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20. It is.

The control box 25 controls the operation of the propeller fan 23, the compressor 24, and other various devices provided in the outdoor unit 20, and is made up of various electric circuit elements.

In addition to the above, the outdoor unit 20 is provided with a pedestal 28 for supporting the housing 21 and avoiding a bad disturbance such as vibration. Also, the compressor 24
Is provided with a removable maintenance panel 29 for performing maintenance or the like of the compressor 24.

In the following, the operation of the air conditioner having such a configuration will be described for each of the heating operation and the cooling operation. First, during the heating operation, the refrigerant converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor 24 is supplied to the refrigerant pipe 3.
Then, it is sent to an indoor heat exchanger (not shown) in the indoor unit 10 through 0. In the indoor unit 10, heat is given to the room air taken in from the suction grill 12a by the cross flow fan from the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger. As a result, warm air is blown from the outlet 12d below the front panel 12. At the same time, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is condensed and liquefied in the indoor heat exchanger and becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant.

The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant is again supplied to the refrigerant pipe 3
0 through the outdoor heat exchanger 2 in the outdoor unit 20
Sent to 2. In the outdoor unit 20, the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 22 takes heat from fresh outdoor air taken into the housing 21 by the propeller fan 23. As a result, the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates and becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. This is sent to the compressor 24 again, and the above process is repeated.

During the cooling operation, the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant circuit in a direction opposite to the above. That is, the refrigerant converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor 24 passes through the refrigerant pipe 30 and is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 22, where the air is given heat and condensed and liquefied to become a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant. This high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant passes through an expansion valve (not shown) to become low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant, and is sent again to the indoor heat exchanger (not shown) through the refrigerant pipe 30. Here, the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant takes heat from the room air to cool the room air, and the refrigerant itself evaporates and becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. This is sent to the compressor 24 again, and the above process is repeated.

These operations are controlled by the control unit 11a housed in the indoor unit 10 and the control box 25 housed in the outdoor unit 20 working together.

Hereinafter, the characteristic portions of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the outdoor unit 20. In the figure, the housing 21 has a shape bulging to the rear side, and the outdoor heat exchanger 22 is formed along the bulging rear surface. The fingered 26 is attached to the housing 21 with both sides bent in accordance with the shape of the outdoor heat exchanger 22.

The finger 26 is provided with a thin portion (hinge-like portion) 26a which is thinner than the other portions so that both side portions can be freely bent. As shown in FIG. 2, the thin portion 26a is formed so that a part of a grid-shaped crosspiece is cut out. Fingered 26
Is made of a resin material such as polypropylene, and the thin portion 26a has sufficient flexibility.

In the above-described air conditioner, the fingered member 26 usually has a planar shape, and the thin portion 26a is bent at the stage when the fingered member 26 is attached to the housing 21 so as to be bent.
Attached to.

Therefore, since the finger 26 is usually formed in a planar shape, it is possible to prevent the conventional deformation even if it is managed in a stacked state. In addition, since a plurality of fingers 26 are not bulky even when they are stacked, the transportation efficiency is improved, and the workability and cost of transporting the fingers 26 in an assembly factory can be improved.

Further, the thin portion 26a is formed by cutting out a part of the finger 26, and is actually integrally formed in the process of manufacturing the finger 26, so that extra cost is required. Instead, an increase in the manufacturing cost of the fingered 26 and thus the outdoor unit 20 can be suppressed.

The position of the thin portion 26a is not limited to that shown in the figure, but can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the shape of the housing. Further, the shape of the thin portion 26a is not limited to the illustrated one, and may be any shape as long as sufficient flexibility can be obtained.

[0032]

According to the outdoor unit according to the first aspect of the present invention and the air conditioner according to the second aspect, the hinge-like portion is bent so that the protective face material conforms to the shape of the housing. It can be deformed and attached. Therefore, the protective face material does not necessarily have to have a shape suitable for the housing from the beginning, for example, usually has a flat shape, and has a shape suitable for the housing by bending the hinge portion as necessary. If this is the case, even if a plurality of protective face materials are stacked, it is possible to prevent deformation like a conventional protective face material. In addition, since a plurality of protective face materials are not bulky even when they are stacked, the transport efficiency is improved, and the workability and cost of transporting the protective face materials in the assembly factory can be improved.

According to the air conditioner of the third aspect, by forming the thin portion on the protective surface material, the hinge-like portion can be provided without adding extra cost, and an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of an outdoor unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration of a conventional outdoor unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Indoor unit 20 Outdoor unit 21 Housing 22 Outdoor heat exchanger 24 Compressor 26 Fingered (protective surface material) 26a Thin part (hinge part)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kunihiro Kobayashi 3-1-1 Asahicho, Nishi-Biwajima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside the Air Conditioning Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. 3-1 Asahicho Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Air Conditioning Works F-term (reference) 3L054 BA05 BA10 BB02 BB03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An outdoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between outdoor air and a refrigerant, and a refrigerant for the outdoor heat exchanger or an indoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between indoor air and a refrigerant. An outdoor compressor comprising: a compressor to be delivered; a housing in which the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor are housed; and a protective surface material that enables air to be introduced into the housing and protects the outdoor heat exchanger. An outdoor unit, wherein a bendable hinge portion is provided on the protective surface material. 2. An outdoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between outdoor air and a refrigerant, and a refrigerant for the outdoor heat exchanger or an indoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between indoor air and a refrigerant. An outdoor compressor comprising: a compressor to be delivered; a housing in which the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor are housed; and a protective surface material that enables air to be introduced into the housing and protects the outdoor heat exchanger. An air conditioner comprising an indoor unit including an indoor unit, the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor fan that circulates indoor air, wherein the protective surface material has a bendable hinge-shaped portion. An air conditioner, which is provided. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the hinge-like portion is a thin portion formed on the protective surface material.