JP2001201108A - Outdoor unit for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the appearance of an outdoor unit for air conditioner by not exposing a drain discharging means, such as the drain hose, etc., on the main body of the unit with a simple constitution, and at the same time, to sufficiently cool electric components. SOLUTION: This outdoor unit is provided with a machine chamber 3, in which at least electric parts are arranged and a heat exchange chamber 2 which is formed on the chamber 3 and divided from the chamber 2 by a drain saucer 12. The unit is also provided with a unit case having air inlets in its side plate panels, surrounding the chamber 2 and heat exchangers 17 and 18 housed in the chamber 2, in such a way that the exchangers 17 and 18 are faced to the air inlets. A duct 20, which is provided through the machine chamber 3 and opened on the upper surface of the drain saucer 12 and the lower surface of the bottom plate 9 of the machine chamber 3, is arranged in the vicinity of an electric component box 19.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outdoor unit installed outside a heat pump type air conditioner.
The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which a drain drain method and an electric component (heat sink) cooling method are improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner of this type, there are a machine room for housing a compressor, an accumulator, an electric component box and the like, and a heat exchanger for housing an outdoor heat exchanger and an outdoor fan. Some rooms are separated from the room by a partition plate.

[0003]

However, in such an outdoor unit of the conventional air conditioner, the drain generated in the outdoor heat exchanger is switched from the heating operation to the defrosting operation of the outdoor heat exchanger. Although water is collected by the drain plate and drained to the outside of the outdoor unit by the drain hose, since the drain hose is drawn out of the outdoor unit main body, there is a sense of incongruity in appearance, and the appearance is impaired.

In addition, since the heat sink of the electric parts is disposed in a state of being exposed in the machine room, and cooling by natural heat radiation and cooling by suction air from the gap of the partition plate by the outdoor fan are only used, cooling of the electric parts is not performed. There is a problem that it is insufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a simple structure to prevent a drain discharge means such as a drain hose from being exposed to the outside of an outdoor unit main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner capable of improving electric power and sufficiently cooling electric components.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least a machine room in which electric components are provided and a heat exchange room separated therefrom via a drain plate are provided. In an outdoor unit of a heat pump type air conditioner, comprising: a unit case forming a suction port on an outer peripheral wall surrounding a heat exchange chamber; and a heat exchanger housed in the heat exchange chamber opposite to the suction port. Ducts that are provided so as to penetrate the machine room and are respectively opened on the upper surface of the drain plate and the lower surface of the bottom plate of the machine room are disposed in the machine room near the electric components. It is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

[0007] According to the present invention, after switching from the heating operation to the defrosting operation of the outdoor heat exchanger, drainage is generated by the frosting of the frost, and the drain is received by the drain plate and collected. The water is drained through the duct and below the bottom plate of the machine room. Since this duct is provided inside the machine room and is not drawn out to the outside of the outdoor unit, the external appearance can be improved.

In the cooling operation, no drain is generated in the outdoor heat exchanger. However, air in the space below the bottom plate of the machine room is sucked into the heat exchange room and flows through the duct. By providing the opening for exposing the (heat sink), the electric component (heat sink) can be sufficiently cooled by the ventilation in the duct.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the duct, the upper opening on the drain plate side is divided into a plurality of openings by a partition wall, and the height of one of the divided openings is set to the upper surface of the drain plate. 2. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the surface is substantially the same as that of the air conditioner, and the height of the opening of the other duct is set to be higher than the upper surface of the drain plate by a predetermined height.

According to the present invention, one of the openings on the drain plate side of the duct, which is opened on substantially the same plane as the upper surface of the drain plate, was collected by the upper surface of the drain plate during the defrosting operation. The other opening, which is higher than the upper surface of the drain plate, is used as a ventilation port for ventilation to be sucked into the heat exchange chamber, and is partitioned by partition walls corresponding to both the openings. Each of the passages of the duct is formed as a drain drainage passage through which drainage is drained and a ventilation passage through which outside air flows.

Therefore, the drain water can be drained to the outside by one duct, and the electric parts (heat sink) can be sufficiently cooled by the ventilation in the duct.
Moreover, the upper opening communicating with the ventilation passage of the duct is separated from the drain drain opening by a partition plate,
Since it is higher than the upper surface of the drain plate that collects the drain, it is possible to prevent the drain water from entering the ventilation path side opening, adhering to the electric components, and lowering the electric insulation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the duct has an opening for exposing a heat sink of an electric component in a ventilation passage communicating with the other upper surface opening which is higher than the drain plate upper surface by a predetermined height. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
It is an outdoor unit of the described air conditioner.

According to this invention, since the heat sink of the electric component is exposed in the middle of the ventilation path in the duct, the heat sink can be sufficiently cooled by the ventilation in the ventilation path.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the partition wall comprises:
The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the lower end in the axial direction is terminated at a predetermined height above the lower surface opening end of the duct on the machine room bottom plate side.

According to the present invention, if the partition wall of the duct is extended to the open end of the lower surface of the machine room bottom plate, drain water freezes on the installation surface of the outdoor unit due to repetition of the defrosting operation during heating. Since the ice grows and closes the opening (lower opening) on the machine room bottom plate side of the duct,
The duct may not be used as a drain drainage channel, and the heat exchanger may freeze and the heating operation may not be performed.

However, in the invention of claim 4, since the lower end in the axial direction of the partition wall of the duct is terminated at a position higher than the opening end (lower opening end) on the machine room bottom plate side, the predetermined lower end thereof. The time until the ice of the drain water grows by the height can be secured, and the drain water can be used for a long time as the drain drainage channel during the heating operation.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
Explanation will be given based on FIG. In these figures, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference characters.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the outdoor unit 1 of the heat pump type air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a part thereof disassembled and partly cut away, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. As shown in these figures, the outdoor unit 1 forms a heat exchange chamber 2 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, for example, on the upper part thereof, and forms a machine chamber 3 below the heat exchange chamber 2. Are surrounded by a plurality of side plate panels 4, 4,... To form an outer peripheral wall, and the upper surface of the heat exchange chamber 2 as an upper surface opening in FIG. This constitutes a unit case.

At a substantially central portion of the lid 5a of the top plate 5, for example, a circular air outlet 6 is formed, and a cylindrical fan casing 7 is concentrically integrally or integrally protruded from the air outlet 6. An outdoor fan 8 is arranged concentrically inside the fan casing 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the machine room 3 is provided with a pair of left and right installation legs 10a, 10b integrally or integrally at both left and right ends of a bottom plate 9 made of a relatively thick rectangular flat steel plate or the like. A plurality of columns 11, 11,... Made of, for example, L-shaped steel are erected on each even-angled portion of the bottom plate 9, and these columns 11, 11,.
1. A flat-bottomed rectangular drain tray 12 with a bottom is placed and fixed thereon, and the drain tray 12 partitions the upper heat exchange chamber 2 and the lower machine chamber 3 respectively. The drains are dropped from the heat exchangers 17 and 18 to collect and drain water.

The machine room 3 has a compressor 13 on its bottom plate 9.
And an accumulator 14 and the like, and piping 15 for connecting them, and a pair of piping connection valves 16 connected to these and connected to refrigerant piping of an indoor unit (not shown).
a, 16b, an electric component box 19, and a rectangular tubular duct 20 are accommodated therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric component box 19 contains electric components such as an inverter and an outdoor controller (not shown) for controlling the rotation speed of the compressor 13, for example, in a box body of a horizontally long rectangular tube. The upper end of the box body in the figure is fixed to the lower bottom surface of the drain plate 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right heat exchangers 1 each formed in a substantially obtuse L-shape are formed on the inner bottom surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) 12a of the rectangular drain plate 12.
7 and 18 are erected. Each of the heat exchangers 17 and 18 includes a plurality of fins 17a and 18a formed of vertically elongated rectangular thin plates arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the fins 17a and 18a.
A plurality of heat exchange tubes (not shown) which are vertically arranged in a plurality of stages from the upper end to the lower end of the heat exchange tubes and penetrate these fins 17a and 18a in the plate thickness direction, and the outer ends of these heat exchange tubes in the vertical direction A plurality of U-bends 1 that sequentially connect adjacent ones to form one serpentine refrigerant flow path
7b and 18b. The refrigerant passages of the heat exchangers 17 and 18 are connected in series or in parallel.

Further, these heat exchangers 17 and 18 have horizontal sides 17 extending horizontally in the upper part and the lower part in FIG.
c, 18c, and opposing sides 17d, 18d bent from each end of the horizontal portions 17c, 18c at an obtuse angle in a substantially L-shape and facing each other in the left-right direction in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, these opposing sides 17d,
18d is bent in an obtuse angle L-shape so as to be inclined inward at a predetermined angle α with respect to each of the side panel panels 4 facing outwardly. As described above, a plurality of suction ports 4a, 4a,... Penetrating in the plate thickness direction are formed at opposing portions opposing the opposing sides 17d, 18d.

Each of the side panel panels 4, 4 facing each of the horizontal sides 17c, 18c of the heat exchangers 17, 18 respectively.
Are also provided with a plurality of suction ports 4a, 4a,. The inside and outside of the heat exchange chamber 2 communicate with each other through the suction ports 4a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the duct 20 is provided near the inner surface of the electric component box 19 in the machine room 3.
The upper surface opening 20a penetrates the drain plate 12 in the plate thickness direction and opens at a predetermined height above the upper surface 12a, while the lower surface opening 20b Penetrates through the machine room bottom plate 9 in the plate thickness direction, slightly protrudes downward in the figure from the bottom plate 9 and terminates, and opens above the installation surface g of the outdoor unit 1.

The duct 20 has an upper surface opening 20a.
The inside is divided into two parts by a flat partition wall 21 in the horizontal direction, and is partitioned into a drain drain port 20c and a discharge port 20d.
1 is extended to an intermediate portion in the axial direction in the duct 20 below the electric component box 19, thereby partitioning the inside of the duct 20 into a drain drain passage 20e communicating with the drain outlet 20c and a heat sink cooling ventilation passage 20f. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the drain outlet 20c is provided at a partition wall 2 at the upper end opening of the duct 20 projecting upward from the upper surface 12a of the drain plate 12 in the drawing.
1 is formed by cutting out only the U-shaped side wall on one side of the drain plate 12 at substantially the same height as the upper surface 12a of the drain plate 12, while the other uncut side of the ventilation opening 20d is connected to the drain plate 12 It is formed to be higher than the upper surface 12a by a predetermined height. On the other hand, the upper surface 12a of the drain plate 12 is inclined so as to be lowered toward the drain outlet 20c so that the drain is collected by the drain outlet 20c to improve drainage efficiency.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, an insertion hole 20g through which the heat sink 22 fixed to the electric component box 19 is inserted is formed in the outer wall of the duct 20 on the side of the heat sink cooling air passage 20f. And this insertion hole 20g
A heat sink 22 is placed inside the duct 2 from the electrical component box 19 side.
The heat sink 22 is exposed to the heat sink cooling ventilation passage 20 f in the duct 20 by being inserted into the zero side.

Therefore, when the heat pump type air conditioner equipped with the outdoor unit 1 configured as described above is switched from the heating operation to the defrosting operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 1
The hot gaseous refrigerant passing through the insides 7, 18 melts frost on the outer surfaces of the outdoor heat exchangers 17, 18 to generate drain water. This drain water is supplied to the upper surface (inner bottom surface) 12 of the drain plate 12.
4, the water is collected by the drain outlet 21c of the duct 20 by the inclination of the upper surface 12a, and as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. Mounting surface g below 9
Drained up.

Further, since the duct 20 is accommodated in the machine room 3 and is not exposed to the outside of each side panel 4 at all, there is no sense of incongruity and the external appearance of the outdoor unit 1 can be improved.

Further, since the lower end of the partition wall 21 of the duct 20 does not extend to the lower opening end 20b of the duct 20, but terminates at a position higher than the lower opening end 20b by a predetermined height, the height of the partition wall 21 is reduced by the height. Only the drain water freezes and ice grows, and this ice can secure a time until the lower end 20b of the duct 20 is closed. Therefore, the duct 20 can be used for a long time as the drain drainage channel during the heating operation.

The inside of the duct 20 is separated by a partition wall 21 into a drain drain passage 20e and a heat sink cooling ventilation passage 20f.
And the ventilation port 20d communicating with the heat sink cooling ventilation path 20f is made higher than the drain discharge port 20c by a predetermined height, so that the drain water on the drain plate 12 allows the ventilation water 20d to flow. From the heat sink cooling air passage 20f to adhere to the heat sink 22 and thereby reduce the electrical insulation.

On the other hand, when the air conditioner is operated for cooling, drainage is not generated in the outdoor heat exchangers 17 and 18, but the rotation of the outdoor fan 8 causes the outdoor fan 8 to rotate more than the machine room bottom plate 9 as shown in FIG. The air in the lower space is sucked into the inside of the duct 20 from the lower surface opening 20b as shown by the solid line arrow in the figure, and the heat sink cooling air passage 20 in the duct 20 is drawn.
After the heat sink 22 is cooled by passing the airflow through f, the heat sink 22 is sucked into the heat exchange chamber 2 and further exhausted from the outlet 6 to the outside. Therefore, the heat sink 22 can be sufficiently cooled.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, during the defrosting operation of the outdoor heat exchanger during heating, drain is generated due to the frost melting of the frost, and this drain is received by the drain plate, and Water is collected and drained below the machine room bottom plate through a duct. Since this duct is provided inside the machine room and is not drawn out to the outside of the outdoor unit, the external appearance can be improved.

During the cooling operation, no drain is generated in the outdoor heat exchanger. However, air in the space below the bottom plate of the machine room is sucked into the heat exchange room and flows through the duct. By providing the opening for exposing the (heat sink), the electric component (heat sink) can be sufficiently cooled by the ventilation in the duct.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view showing an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a part cut away.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the outdoor unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the outdoor unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part of the outdoor unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outdoor unit 2 Heat exchange room 3 Machine room 9 Bottom plate 12 Drain plate 13 Compressor 14 Accumulator 15 Piping 16a, 16b A pair of piping connection valves 17, 18 A pair of heat exchangers 19 An electric component box 20 Duct 20a The upper surface of the duct 20 Opening 20b Lower surface opening of duct 20 20c Drain outlet 20d Vent 20e Drain drain 20f Heat sink cooling vent 20g Insertion hole 21 Partition wall 22 Heat sink

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tomio Tanaka 336 Tatehara, Fuji-shi, Shizuoka Toshiba Carrier Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hirohiro Suzuki 336 Tatehara, Fuji-shi, Shizuoka Pref. Toshiba Carrier Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L054 BA01 BA10 BB03

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A machine room in which at least an electric component is disposed, and a heat exchange chamber separated therefrom via a drain plate, and a suction port is formed in an outer peripheral wall surrounding the heat exchange chamber. An outdoor unit of a heat pump type air conditioner, comprising: a unit case; and a heat exchanger housed in the heat exchange chamber opposite to the suction port, wherein the drain is provided so as to penetrate the machine room. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, wherein ducts respectively opened on an upper surface of a plate and a lower surface of a bottom plate of a machine room are arranged in the machine room near the electric components. 2. The duct, wherein the upper surface opening on the drain dish side is divided into a plurality of openings by a partition wall, and the height of one of the divided openings is substantially flush with the upper surface of the drain dish. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the other opening side has a height higher than the upper surface of the drain plate by a predetermined height. 3. The duct according to claim 1, wherein an opening for exposing a heat sink of an electric component is formed in a middle of a ventilation passage communicating with an opening on the other upper surface which is higher than the upper surface of the drain plate by a predetermined height. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein 4. The partition wall according to claim 2, wherein the lower end in the axial direction terminates at a predetermined height above the lower surface opening end of the duct on the machine room bottom plate side.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the above.