JP2006242542A - Outdoor machine unit and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an outdoor machine unit and an air conditioner, capable of preventing generation of a chattering sound resulting from microscopic clearance in operation. <P>SOLUTION: This outdoor machine unit 5 has an outer wall constituting member 31 for constituting an outer peripheral surface, a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 23 for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outside air, and an outdoor fan for blowing the outside air toward the outdoor heat exchanger 23; and is characterized in that an opening part 41 for flowing the outside air is formed in the outer wall constituting member 31; a protective member 45 for cutting off intrusion of foreign matter is arranged so as to cover the opening part 41; a locking means 51 locked on the outer wall constituting member 31 is formed in an edge part 49 of the protective member 45; and a pressing means 55 for pressing the outer wall constituting member 31 to the locking means, is projectingly formed from the protective member 45 in a vicinal area of the locking means 51 in the edge part 49. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an outdoor unit and an air conditioner.

Generally, the air conditioner outdoor unit and the air intake opening in the indoor unit are equipped with a grid-like grill to prevent foreign objects from entering the unit and installed in each unit. This prevents the components such as the heat exchanger and the fan from being damaged by an external impact.
The above-mentioned grill or the like is usually injection-molded using resin as an independent member, and is locked to each unit by using integrally formed claw portions, concave portions, convex portions, etc. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-132322

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in the resin grille attached to the opening of the frame of the indoor unit, the lower end of the grill and the concave and convex portions provided at the lower end of the opening are fitted, and the upper end of the opening A technique for attaching a grill to a frame body by inserting a projecting piece and an elastic member formed at the upper end of the grill into a slit-like gap formed in the above is disclosed.
However, the resin grille is likely to warp, and even if the formation conditions are strictly controlled, it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of minute warpage. When this minute warp occurred, a minute gap was formed between the frame and the grill. In such a case, when vibration caused by a driving unit such as a fan mounted on the indoor unit is transmitted to the frame and the grill, a sound generated by repeated collisions between the frame and the grill, so-called “billing noise” is generated. There was a problem that occurred.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit and an air conditioner that can prevent the occurrence of chatter noise caused by a minute gap during operation. And

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
An outdoor unit of the present invention is directed to an outer wall constituting member constituting an outer peripheral surface, a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the outside air, and the outdoor heat exchanger. An outdoor fan unit that blows outside air, wherein an opening for circulating the outside air is formed in the outer wall constituent member, and a protective member for blocking intrusion of foreign matter is formed in the opening. The edge of the protective member is formed with a locking means that is locked to the outer wall constituting member, and the outer wall constituting member is disposed in a region near the locking means at the edge. A pressing means that presses the locking means against the locking means is formed to protrude from the protection member.

  According to the present invention, the pressing means that presses the outer wall constituting member against the locking means is formed so as to protrude from the protective member, so that the interval between the outer wall constituting member and the protective member can be kept at a predetermined interval. Therefore, even if the outer wall constituting member and the protective member vibrate, the collision between the two can be prevented.

Since the pressing means is formed only in the vicinity of the locking means, the outer wall constituting member can be reliably brought into contact with the pressing means and the locking means without being affected by deformation such as warping in the protective member.
That is, for example, if the pressing means is formed over the entire area of the edge portion, there is a possibility that a minute gap is formed between the pressing means and the protection member due to the influence of deformation such as warpage in the protection member. By forming the pressing means only in the vicinity area, the influence of the deformation can be avoided.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said latching means is a latching member which has a shape bent toward the said outer wall structural member between the said protective member, extending toward the said outer wall structural member, and sandwiching the said outer wall structural member. It is desirable to be.
According to the present invention, the protective member can be easily locked to the outer wall constituent member by inserting the outer wall constituent member between the locking member and the protective member.

Furthermore, in the said invention, it is desirable that the said press means is arrange | positioned adjacent to the both sides of the said latching means in the direction in alignment with the said edge part.
According to the present invention, by arranging the pressing means adjacent to both sides of the locking means, the outer wall constituting member can be pressed against the locking means from both sides. Therefore, the outer wall constituent member can be reliably brought into contact with the locking means and the pressing means, and the outer wall constituent member and the locking means, or the outer wall constituent member and the pressing means are separated and contacted by an external force such as vibration. Can be prevented.

In the said invention, it is desirable that the said press means is a projection part in which the contact part with the said outer wall structural member was formed in the curved surface.
According to the present invention, since the pressing means is a protrusion having a curved contact portion with the outer wall constituent member, it is possible to prevent a minute gap from being formed between the protrusion and the outer wall constituent member. That is, by making the contact portion a curved surface, the outer wall constituting member and the protruding portion can be reliably brought into contact with each other in a dotted or linear manner even if the relative arrangement angle between the outer wall constituting member and the protruding portion changes. Moreover, the clearance gap between a projection part and an outer wall structural member except the contact area of a projection part and an outer wall structural member can be kept at a predetermined space | interval. Therefore, it can prevent that a projection part and an outer wall structural member collide by vibration.

In the said invention, the adjacent edge part adjacent to the said edge part in the said protection member is equipped with the fixed nail | claw extended from the said protection member to the said outer wall structural member side, and the said fixed claw is toward the front-end | tip direction. It is desirable that a stepped portion protruding in the central direction of the protective member is formed.
According to the present invention, since the fixing claw is provided with the step portion protruding in the center direction of the protection member toward the distal end direction, the outer wall constituting member is sandwiched between the protection member and the step portion. The protective member can be fixed to the outer wall constituting member.
Further, when the outer wall constituent member is sandwiched between the protective member and the stepped portion, the fixed claw is pushed outward by the outer wall constituent member when viewed from the edge side. Therefore, the protective member is deformed into a concave curved surface whose central portion approaches the outer wall constituting member. As a result, the locking means and the pressing means are pressed against the outer wall constituting member and reliably contacted.

An air conditioner of the present invention includes an indoor unit having an indoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between a refrigerant and indoor air, and an indoor fan that blows the indoor air toward the indoor heat exchanger. And the outdoor unit of the present invention.
According to the present invention, by providing the outdoor unit of the present invention, it is possible to prevent so-called chatter noise during operation of the air conditioner.

  According to the outdoor unit and the air conditioner of the present invention, the pressing means for pressing the outer wall constituent member against the locking means is formed so as to protrude from the protective member, so that the interval between the outer wall constituent member and the protective member is predetermined. Can be kept at intervals. Therefore, even if the outer wall constituting member and the protective member vibrate, the collision between the two can be prevented, and the chatter noise can be prevented from being generated.

  Since the pressing means is formed only in the vicinity of the locking means, the outer wall constituting member can be reliably brought into contact with the pressing means and the locking means without being affected by deformation such as warpage in the protective member, There is an effect that it is possible to prevent the chatter noise caused by the minute gap.

Hereinafter, an outdoor unit of the present invention and an air conditioner including the same will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 1 includes an indoor unit 3 and an outdoor unit 5. The indoor unit 3 and the outdoor unit 5 are connected to each other by a refrigerant pipe 7 through which the refrigerant conducts, electric wiring (not shown), or the like. Two refrigerant pipes 7 are provided. One refrigerant pipe 7 is arranged so as to circulate the refrigerant from the indoor unit 3 to the outdoor unit 5, and the other refrigerant pipe 7 is used to supply the refrigerant to the outdoor unit 5. To be distributed to the indoor unit 3.

The indoor unit 3 includes a rear base (not shown) and a front panel 9. The base includes a plate fin tube type indoor heat exchanger 11 and a substantially cylindrical cross flow fan (indoor fan). ) Various devices such as 13 are provided.
A suction grill portion 15 is formed on the front panel 9 on the front surface and the upper surface of the front panel 9, and an air filter 17 is provided behind the suction grill portion 15. Thereby, indoor air can be sucked into the indoor unit 3 from multiple directions, and dust contained in the sucked air can be removed.
A blower outlet 19 is formed below the front panel 9, and air that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 11 is blown into the room from here.

The indoor heat exchanger 11 is configured to be supplied with a low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant or a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant and to heat or cool indoor air.
The cross flow fan 13 is disposed inside the indoor unit 3 so as to be rotatable. By rotating the cross flow fan 13, indoor air can be sucked from the suction grill portion 15, passed through the indoor heat exchanger 11, and then blown into the room.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view illustrating the configuration of the outdoor unit of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outdoor unit 5 is provided with an outdoor heat exchanger 23, a propeller fan (outdoor fan) 25, a compressor 27, and the like in a housing (outer wall constituent member) 21.
The casing 21 is roughly configured from a base 29 serving as a base, a front panel (outer wall constituent member) 31 constituting a front surface, a rear panel 33 constituting a rear surface, and a top plate 35 constituting an upper surface. It is formed into a shape. A baffle plate 37 that divides the space in the outdoor unit 5 into two is provided in the housing 21 at substantially the center. A propeller fan 25 is disposed in the left space in the front view of the outdoor unit 5, and a compressor 27 is disposed in the right space.
The outdoor heat exchanger 23 is constituted by a refrigerant pipe having a number of corrugated fins around it, and is fixed to the base 29 by a heat exchange side plate 39. Propeller fan 25 is fixed to base 29 by a bracket (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an opening 41 for discharging the outside air heat-exchanged in the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is formed in a region of the front panel 31 facing the propeller fan 25. The front panel 31 is formed by pressing a metal plate, and a bell mouth 43 that adjusts the flow of outside air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is formed integrally with the front panel 31.
The front panel 31 is provided with an outlet grill (protective member) 45 that covers the opening 41, and protects the propeller fan 25 from external impacts.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outlet grill 45 is formed of a resin such as PP (polypropylene), and a lattice portion 47 through which the outside air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 circulates is formed at the center.
Locking members (locking means) 51 are formed at three locations on the upper edge portion (edge portion) 49 of the facing surface of the outlet grill 45 facing the front panel 31. In addition, a recess 53 that fits with the locking member 51 is formed at a position facing the locking member 51 of the front panel 31.
As described above, three locking members 51 may be formed on one outlet grill 45, more than three may be formed, and fewer than three may be formed. There is no particular limitation.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a locking member and a protrusion of the outlet grill of FIG. FIG. 3A is an enlarged sectional view of the outlet grille, and FIG. 3B is a rear view of the outlet grille.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the locking member 51 is formed in a plate shape and is substantially perpendicular to the front panel 31 side (the left direction in FIG. 3A) from the rear surface of the outlet grill 45. It is formed in a substantially L shape that extends and then bends in the direction of the lattice portion 47 (downward in FIG. 3A).

In the direction of the lattice portion 47 of the locking member 51, a protruding portion (pressing means) 55 extending substantially perpendicular to the front panel 31 side is formed. The tip of the protrusion 55 is formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape.
As shown in FIG. 3 (b), two protrusions 55 are arranged with respect to one locking member 51, and in the substantially horizontal direction of the locking member 51 (substantially left-right direction in FIG. 3 (b)). It is formed on both sides so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction.
The interval T between the tip of the protrusion 55 and the locking member 51 is formed slightly narrower than the thickness of the front panel 31 sandwiched therebetween. By forming in this way, when the front panel 31 is sandwiched therebetween, the locking member 51 is deformed by the elasticity of the resin material. Therefore, the front panel 31 and the locking member 51 and the front panel 31 and the protrusion 55 can be reliably brought into contact with each other, and the contact stress state is balanced between the left and right sides of the locking member 51 to generate unnecessary chatter noise. Further suppress.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a fixing claw of the outlet grill of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a fixing claw 59 is formed on a side edge portion (adjacent edge portion) 57 which is a lateral end portion of the outlet grill 45 in the left-right direction.
The fixed claws 59 are formed on the one side edge portion 57 so as to be arranged in a straight line, and eight outlet grills 45 are formed as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing claw 59 is formed so as to extend substantially vertically from the rear surface of the outlet grill 45 toward the front panel 31. A stepped portion 61 is formed at the distal end of the fixing claw 59 so as to project toward the lattice portion 47 (downward in FIG. 4) toward the distal end, and further outward from the stepped portion 61 toward the distal end. An inclined surface 63 that is inclined in the upward direction in FIG. 4 is formed.
A fixing hole 65 through which the fixing claw 59 is inserted is formed at a position facing the fixing claw 59 of the front panel 31.
As described above, eight fixed claws 59 may be formed on one outlet grill 45, more than eight may be formed, and fewer than eight may be formed. It is not limited.

  An opening (not shown) through which the outside air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is introduced into the housing 21 is formed in a region facing the outdoor heat exchanger 23 of the rear panel 33, and fingers that cover the opening (Not shown) is provided. By arranging the fingered, the corrugated fin is prevented from being damaged by an unexpected impact from the outside.

  The compressor 27 sucks low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant, converts it into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, and discharges it. The compressor 27 plays the most central role among the components constituting the refrigerant circuit. Incidentally, in addition to the compressor 27, the refrigerant circuit is a four-way valve that defines the flow direction of the indoor heat exchanger 11, the outdoor heat exchanger 23, the refrigerant pipe 7, the expansion valve and the refrigerant (the expansion valve and the four-way valve are And a circuit that circulates the refrigerant between the indoor unit 3 and the outdoor unit 5.

Next, the effect | action in the air conditioner 1 which consists of said structure is demonstrated.
First, the operation of the air conditioner 1 during the cooling operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 27 of the outdoor unit 5 and discharged toward the outdoor heat exchanger 23 as a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is liquefied by releasing its heat into the outside air that passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 23, and is then depressurized by an expansion valve (not shown). Outflow toward 3

The liquid refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 11 in the indoor unit 3 takes the heat from the indoor air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 11 and vaporizes, and then passes through the refrigerant pipe 7 toward the outdoor unit 5 indoors. It flows out from the heat exchanger 11.
The gas refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor unit 5 is sucked into the compressor 27, compressed, and discharged again toward the outdoor heat exchanger 23.

  During the heating operation, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 27 and discharged toward the indoor heat exchanger 11 as a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 11 releases heat into the indoor air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 11 and liquefies. The liquefied refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve and then flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 takes the heat from the outside air and vaporizes it. Then, the refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 27, compressed, and discharged toward the indoor heat exchanger 11 again.

  The outside air is controlled by the propeller fan 25 so that it passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 of the outdoor unit 5 and flows to the front panel 31 side. Here, the bell mouth 43 is disposed around the propeller fan 25, and the outside air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is guided to the outside of the outdoor unit 5 while being rectified through the bell mouth 43.

Next, attachment of the outlet grill 45, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.
The outlet grill 45 sandwiches the front panel 31 between the locking member 51 and the protrusion 55 formed on the upper edge portion 49 thereof, and the fixing claws 59 formed on the side edge portion 57 are fixed to the fixing holes of the front panel 31. By being inserted through 65, it is attached to the front panel 31.

  When the fixing claw 59 is inserted into the fixing hole 65, the inclined surface 63 of the fixing claw 59 comes into contact with the fixing hole 65, and the fixing claw 59 is pushed outward. When the fixing claw 59 is further pushed in, the inclined surface 63 passes through the fixing hole 65. Then, the stepped portion 61 of the fixed claw 59 comes into contact with the back surface of the front panel 31, and the fixed claw 59 is prevented from falling out of the fixed hole 65.

The outlet grill 45 in which the fixed claws 59 are formed is curved into a concave curved surface whose central portion is close to the front panel 31 when viewed from the upper edge portion 49 by the spread of the fixed claws 59. When the outlet grill 45 is curved in this way, the locking member 51 and the protrusion 55 are pressed against the front panel 31 and can be brought into contact with the front panel 31 more reliably.
Further, the protrusion 55 presses the front panel 31 against the locking member 51 from both sides.

  According to the above configuration, since the protrusion 55 that presses the front panel 31 against the locking member 51 is formed so as to protrude from the outlet grill 45, the interval between the front panel 31 and the outlet grill 45 is kept at a predetermined interval. be able to. Therefore, even if the front panel 31 and the outlet grill 45 vibrate, they can be prevented from colliding with each other, and chatter noise can be prevented.

  By disposing the protrusions 55 adjacent to both sides of the locking member 51, the front panel 31 is reliably brought into contact with the protrusions 55 and the locking member 51 without being affected by deformation such as warpage in the outlet grill 45. It is possible to prevent the front panel 31 and the locking member 51 or the front panel 31 and the projection 55 from being separated from each other and coming into contact with each other by an external force such as vibration, and chatter noise can be prevented.

  Since the tip of the protrusion 55 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, the front panel 31 and the protrusion 55 can be surely brought into linear contact even if the relative arrangement angle between the front panel 31 and the protrusion 55 changes. Can do. Moreover, the clearance gap between the projection part 55 and the front panel 31 in areas other than the contact area between the front panel 31 and the projection part 55 can be maintained at a predetermined interval. For this reason, it is possible to prevent collision between the protrusion 55 and the front panel 31 due to vibration, and to prevent chatter noise.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by applying the present invention to a fan guard of an outdoor unit. However, the present invention is not limited to the one applied to the fan guard. It can be applied to various other panel structures.

It is the schematic explaining one Embodiment in the air conditioner which concerns on this invention. It is a partial exploded view explaining the structure of the outdoor unit of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a locking member and a protrusion of the outlet grill of FIG. 2. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the fixing nail | claw of the outlet grill of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 3 Indoor unit 5 Outdoor unit 11 Indoor heat exchanger 13 Cross flow fan (indoor fan)
21 Housing (External wall component)
23 Outdoor heat exchanger 25 Propeller fan (outdoor fan)
27 Compressor 31 Front panel (outer wall components)
45 Outlet grill (protective member)
49 Upper edge (edge)
51 Locking member (locking means)
55 Protrusion (Pressing means)
57 Side edge (adjacent edge)
59 Fixed claw 61 Stepped portion 65 Fixed hole

Claims (6)

An outer wall constituting member that constitutes the outer peripheral surface, a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outside air, and an outdoor fan that blows outside air toward the outdoor heat exchanger; An outdoor unit having
The outer wall constituting member is formed with an opening through which the outside air is circulated, and a protective member that blocks intrusion of foreign matter is disposed to cover the opening.
Locking means to be locked to the outer wall constituting member is formed at the edge of the protective member,
An outdoor unit unit, wherein a pressing means for pressing the outer wall constituting member against the locking means protrudes from the protection member in a region near the locking means at the edge.   The locking means is a locking member extending from the protective member toward the outer wall constituting member and having a shape bent so as to sandwich the outer wall constituting member with the protective member. Item 1. An outdoor unit according to item 1.   The outdoor unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing means is disposed adjacent to both sides of the locking means in a direction along the edge.   The outdoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressing means is a protrusion having a curved surface formed in contact with the outer wall constituent member. The adjacent edge portion adjacent to the edge portion in the protection member is provided with a fixing claw extending from the protection member to the outer wall constituting member side,
The outdoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fixed claw is formed with a stepped portion projecting in a central direction of the protection member toward a distal end thereof. An indoor unit that includes an indoor heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and indoor air, and an indoor fan that blows the indoor air toward the indoor heat exchanger;
The outdoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An air conditioner comprising:

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