JP2000039186A - Outdoor machine unit and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To contrive the simplification of assembly of an outdoor machine unit as well as the reduction of a cost due to the decrease of number of parts, by a method wherein a casing is provided with grooves and filled with a protecting surface material, and the breakaway of the material is precluded by a ceiling plate attached to the casing. SOLUTION: An outdoor machine unit is provided with projections 27a projected to both sides of a fan guard (protecting surface material) 27. On the other hand, the opening of a front surface panel 21a, to which the fan guard 27 is attached, is provided with grooves 12b in parallel to the vertical direction. The fan guard 27 is arranged at a predetermined position in a casing 21 by inserting the projections 27a of the same into the opening of the front surface panel 21a along the grooves. Further, a ceiling plate 21d covering a space in the casing 21 is fixed to the upper part of the casing 21 whereby the fan guard 27 is fixed to the casing 21 by a condition that the upward breakaway of the fan guard 27 is precluded by the ceiling plate 21d. According to such a constitution, screwing of the fan guard which is necessitated in a traditional machine is not necessitated in this embodiment, whereby the mounting work of the fan guard is simplified and a time necessary for the same work can be shortened.

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.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional outdoor unit. On a side surface of the housing 1, a fan guard 2 that allows air to be discharged from the housing 1 and protects the outdoor fan 3.
Are mounted facing the outdoor fan 3. At the lower part of the fan guard 2, the hooking claws 2a are separated from each other on both sides.
The fan guard 2 is provided with these hooks 2
a is fixed to the housing 1 by locking the “a” to the housing 1 and fastening the upper portion with a screw 4. Screw 4
Is invisible from the outside by a top plate 5 placed on the housing 1. Although not shown, a plurality of (eight) locking claws may be provided on the side of the fan guard, and the fan guard may be fixed by locking the locking claws to the housing.

[0007]

In the manufacturing process of the air conditioner, efforts have been made to improve the productivity by simplifying the assembling work. After the nail is locked to the housing, it is necessary to further screw the upper part, and it takes time and effort to mount the claw compared to other parts, so that it is difficult to shorten the work time. Further, a screw is required for fixing the fan guard, and the cost of the screw cannot be ignored if mass production is assumed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to simplify the assembling work for an outdoor unit and to reduce the manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts.

[0009]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the outdoor unit according to claim 1 includes an outdoor heat exchanger that exchanges heat between outdoor air and a refrigerant, an outdoor fan that supplies outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and the outdoor heat exchanger. A compressor that sends refrigerant to an exchanger or an indoor heat exchanger that exchanges heat between indoor air and a refrigerant, a housing in which the outdoor fan is housed, and air discharge from the housing. And a protection surface material for protecting the outdoor fan, wherein the housing is provided with a groove in which both side edges of the protection surface material are fitted, and the protection surface material is provided in the groove portion. And is prevented from being detached from the groove by a top plate attached to the housing.

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 to be performed, a housing in which the outdoor fan is housed, and a protection surface material that allows air to be discharged from the housing and protects the outdoor fan. An air conditioner including an outdoor unit, the indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit including an indoor fan that circulates indoor air, wherein the housing has both side edges of the protective surface material. A groove to be fitted is provided, and the protective face material is slidably fitted along the groove and is prevented from being detached from the groove by a top plate attached to the housing. .

In the outdoor unit and the air conditioner described above, the fan guard can be attached to the housing by slidingly fitting the side edges of the fan guard along the groove, so that the attaching operation is simplified. Time is shortened. Further, since the fan guard is prevented from being detached from the groove by the top plate attached to the housing, it is not necessary to screw the fan guard as in the related art.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the air conditioner. This air conditioner includes an indoor unit 10 and an outdoor unit 20. The indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 30 through which refrigerant flows, an electric wiring (not shown), and the like. Two refrigerant pipes 30 are provided, and the refrigerant flows from the indoor unit 10 to the outdoor unit 20 on one side, and flows from the outdoor unit 20 to the indoor unit 10 on the other side.

The indoor unit 10 has an outer shape composed of a base 11 and a front panel 12. The base 11 is provided with various devices such as a plate fin tube type indoor heat exchanger and a substantially cylindrical cross flow fan (indoor fan). 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 portion 11b can be checked from the outside by a see-through portion 12a provided on the front panel 12. 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 a front surface and an upper surface. 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.

In the outdoor unit 20, an outdoor heat exchanger 22, a propeller fan (outdoor fan) 23,
A compressor 24, a control box 25 and the like are provided. 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 is provided in order to improve the heat exchange efficiency by generating wind flowing from the back to the front in the housing 21 to always take in new air into the housing 21.

A finger 26 and a fan guard (protective surface material) 27 are attached to the side of the housing 21 where the outdoor heat exchanger 22 and the propeller fan 23 face the outside. The fingered 26 is attached to the housing 2
The corrugated fin is provided in an opening provided in the back panel 21a so as not to be damaged by an unexpected external impact. The fan guard 27 has a U-shaped opening cut out from above on the front panel 21b of the housing 21 for one purpose of protecting the propeller fan 23 from an external impact and dust contained in the outside air. And the like are provided for the purpose of not being taken into the housing 21.

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 various devices provided in the outdoor unit 20, and is composed 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 separately 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 in 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. 1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing the configuration of the outdoor unit 20. FIG. In each of the drawings, protrusions 27a, 27a projecting outward are provided on both side edges of the fan guard 27. In addition, the opening of the front panel 21a to which the fan guard 27 is attached has a groove 21 parallel to the up-down direction.
b, 21b are provided. The groove portion 21b is formed by deforming a part of a baffle plate 21c integrally provided on the inner surface of the front panel 21a into a groove shape, and is provided to have a length substantially equal to the vertical dimension of the fan guard 27. ing.

The fan guard 27 is disposed at a predetermined position of the housing 21 by inserting the projections 27a, 27a into the openings of the front panel 21a along the grooves 22, 22, as shown in FIG. I have. Further, a top plate 21d covering the internal space is fixed to the upper part of the housing 21, and the fan guard 27 is fixed to the housing 21 by preventing the fan guard 27 from being detached upward by the top plate 21d. .

In the above air conditioner, the outdoor unit 2
In the manufacturing process of No. 0, screwing is omitted when the fan guard 27 is attached, so that the assembling time can be reduced. In addition, since a screw for fixing the fan guard 27 is not required, the cost of the screw can be reduced when mass production is assumed.

In the above embodiment, the groove 22
Shows an example provided with the same length as the vertical dimension of the fan guard 27, but it is not necessary to secure the entire length of the fan guard 27. For example, the fan guard 27 is provided to support the upper and lower sides of the fan guard 27. It may be something.

[0028]

According to the outdoor unit and the air conditioner according to the present invention, both sides of the fan guard are slidably fitted along the groove, and the fan is mounted on the top plate of the housing. The fan guard can be fixed to the housing by preventing the guard from coming off the groove. This eliminates the need for screwing as in the prior art, and simplifies the mounting operation, thereby shortening the operation time. Further, in addition to shortening the working time, it is also possible to reduce the cost of the screw, thereby improving the productivity of the outdoor unit.

[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 a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing how to attach a fan guard to a housing.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 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 21b Groove 21d Top plate 22 Outdoor heat exchanger 24 Compressor 27 Fan guard (protective surface material) 27a Projection

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-chome, Asahimachi Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Air Conditioning Works F-term (reference) 3H032 FA01 FA08 FA10 3L054 BA04 BB02

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between outdoor air and a refrigerant, an outdoor fan for supplying outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and the outdoor heat exchanger or indoor air. A compressor that sends the refrigerant to an indoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange with the refrigerant, a housing in which the outdoor fan is housed, and an outdoor fan that allows air to be discharged from the housing. An outdoor unit including a protective surface material to be protected, wherein the housing is provided with a groove in which both side edges of the protective surface material are fitted, and the protective surface material is slidably fitted along the groove. The outdoor unit is characterized in that it is prevented from being detached from the groove by a top plate attached to the housing. 2. An outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between outdoor air and a refrigerant, and a refrigerant for the outdoor heat exchanger or an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between indoor air and the refrigerant. An outdoor unit comprising: a compressor to be sent; a housing in which the outdoor fan is housed; and a protection surface material that allows air to be exhausted from the housing and protects the outdoor fan; An air conditioner including an exchanger and an indoor unit including an indoor fan that circulates indoor air, wherein the housing is provided with a groove in which both side edges of the protective surface material are fitted, The air conditioner, wherein the protective surface material is slidably fitted along the groove and is prevented from being detached from the groove by a top plate attached to the housing.