JP2010286157A - Water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent decline in the operation efficiency of a water heater caused by accumulated snow and to maintain normal operation in the water heater including an air heat source heat exchanger. <P>SOLUTION: The air heat source heat exchanger 40 is provided on the upper side of three lateral wall faces of a housing 12 of the water heater 10 to form a U-shaped panel shape. A snow protection hood 76 is provided on the front face of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 to secure an air flow. Air discharge ports 46 are provided on the upper face 12a of the housing 12, and air discharge fans 48 are provided in the air discharge ports 46. A roof 90 comprising a netlike snow protection net 88 is provided above the upper face 12a. While using the snow protection hood 74, an air flow on the inlet side of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 during snow accumulation is maintained, and an air flow on the housing outlet side is maintained by the roof 90 and a discharge air flow. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes an air heat source heat exchanger, and when a water heater that constitutes a heat pump cycle is provided outdoors in a snowy area, the water heater is provided with a snowproof function, thereby also providing water heaters for snow. This is so as not to interfere with driving.

The present applicants first include an expander (eg, a capillary kit) such as a compressor, a gas cooler, and a capillary tube, and an evaporator (eg, a heat exchanger that uses outside air as a heat source), and CO ₂ as a refrigerant. A hot water supply apparatus that can supply high-temperature water of about 90 ° C. by configuring a heat pump cycle and setting CO ₂ to a supercritical state on the discharge side of the compressor has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

  Such a water heater is usually configured as a water heater having a unit structure in which the devices are housed on a basic surface in one housing. When the water heater includes an air heat source heat exchanger, an air suction port and an air discharge port are provided in the housing, and outside air is introduced from the air suction port. And the air flow which flows in contact with the refrigerant | coolant piping surface of this air heat source heat exchanger is formed in a housing, and a refrigerant | coolant absorbs evaporation latent heat from external air.

JP 2007-303807 A

  When the hot water heater is disposed outdoors in a snowy area, the air suction port and the air outlet port are blocked by snow accumulation on the hot water heater, which may hinder the formation of an air flow as a heat source. If the formation of the air flow is inhibited, heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outside air is hindered, the COP is lowered, and the hot water heater cannot be operated normally.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention realizes a water heater having a snow prevention function in a water heater provided with an air heat source heat exchanger, and prevents a decrease in the capacity of the water heater due to snow accumulation. The purpose is to be able to maintain driving.

In order to achieve this object, the water heater of the present invention is
A heat pump cycle including a compressor, a gas cooler, an expander, and an air heat source evaporator in which a refrigerant for hot water supply circulates;
A housing containing the heat pump cycle and having an air inlet on the side and an air outlet on the upper surface;
In the water heater provided with a blower that forms an air flow that flows from the air suction port to the air discharge port through the air heat source evaporator in the housing.
A hood that protrudes outward from the upper part of the air suction port so as to prevent snow from entering the air suction port of the housing while ensuring an inflow path of the air flow to the air suction port;
And a perforated plate having a plurality of openings disposed above the housing and spaced apart from the air discharge port.

In the present invention, the provision of the hood eliminates the blowing of snow into the air suction port during snowfall, and can ensure the inflow of air into the air suction port, thereby hindering the operation of the water heater. Absent.
In addition, snow on the upper surface of the housing is received by the perforated plate, and a part of the snow is deposited on the perforated plate, thereby reducing the amount of snow falling on the air outlet and discharging from the air outlet. By blowing off the snow falling on the air discharge port by the air flow, it is possible to prevent snow from entering the air discharge port.
Therefore, since the air flow which becomes a heat source of the air heat source evaporator can be maintained even during snowfall, the normal operation of the water heater can be maintained.

  In addition, since only a part of the snow falls on the perforated plate, the weight of the snow loaded on the perforated plate can be reduced. Therefore, the support strength of the perforated plate can be reduced. In addition, the amount of snow on the porous plate can be adjusted by changing the size of the opening diameter of the hole in the porous plate.

In the present invention, a bird-prevention net that is selectively disposed inside the hood or the perforated plate so as to cover the air suction port or the air discharge port and is formed of a wire and has a larger opening diameter than the perforated plate is provided. It is good to do so.
Thereby, the air inlet or the air outlet can be protected from harm from wild birds such as crows, or wild birds can be prevented from being sucked into the air inlet.

In the present invention, the perforated plate may be partly clamped by a fixed plate from both sides and attached to a support column erected above the housing via the fixed plate.
For example, when welding is used as the means for attaching the porous plate, welding distortion occurs in the porous plate, and a curved surface is generated in the porous plate. Further, when spot welding is used, there is a problem that noise during welding is intense. The fixing means can solve the above problems, fix the perforated plate in a flat state, and generate no significant noise during operation after installation.

  In the present invention, the perforated plate may be a punched metal or a flat plate-like body obtained by flattening an expanded metal. Thereby, a perforated plate can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, in the present invention, the refrigerant is CO _2, CO ₂ heat pump cycle at the outlet side of the compressor becomes a supercritical state, air-source heat evaporator is formed in a panel shape may constitute a housing side wall.
As a result, it becomes possible to supply hot water of about 90 ° C., and the housing can be made compact. Moreover, since the arrangement of the air heat source heat exchanger and the arrangement of a large heavy object such as a compressor or a gas cooler do not interfere with each other, the height of the housing can be reduced.

  According to the water heater of the present invention, the heat pump cycle includes a compressor, a gas cooler, an expander, and an air heat source evaporator in which a hot water supply refrigerant circulates, and includes the heat pump cycle, and the air suction port on the side surface and the air on the upper surface. In a water heater comprising a housing having a discharge port and a blower for forming an air flow flowing from the air suction port to the air discharge port via an air heat source evaporator in the housing, the air flow into the air suction port Leave a space between the hood that protrudes from the top of the air inlet and the air outlet above the housing so as to prevent snow from entering the air inlet of the housing while ensuring a path. By providing a perforated plate having a plurality of openings arranged, snow is not blown into the air suction port and the air suction port, and the refrigerant heat transfer surface of the air heat source heat exchanger Since the air flow path through can be secured without lowering the heat exchange efficiency between the air and the refrigerant, therefore, it can maintain a normal operation of the water heater.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of a water heater. It is a perspective view which shows a part of air heat source heat exchanger of the said water heater. It is an external view of the said water heater equipped with the bird net, (a) is a left side view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a right side view, and (d) is a rear view. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view of the water heater which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a left view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a right view, (d) is a rear view. It is a perspective view of the snowproof net 88 of the water heater according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a detailed view as viewed from A in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a detailed view as seen from B in FIG. 5.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to that unless otherwise specified.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a water heater that constitutes a heat pump cycle using CO ₂ as a refrigerant and is disposed outdoors in a snowy area will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the overall configuration of the water heater 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water heater 10 viewed from the front side. In FIG. 1, a substrate 14 constituting the bottom surface of the housing 12 is provided in the housing 12 of the water heater 10. The substrate 14 has a flat surface and has a rectangular shape.

  A compressor 16 is disposed in the vicinity of the left rear surface on the substrate 14. A power control panel 18 is disposed in the upper area on the right rear surface, and a gas cooler 20 is disposed on the substrate 14 below the power control panel 18 so as to face the rear surface. A water supply pump 22 for supplying hot water supply water to the gas cooler 20 is fixed on the substrate 14 near the right front surface. A cylindrical supercritical tank 24 is erected in the vertical direction substantially at the center of the substrate 14.

  A bypass passage (not shown) branches to a discharge-side refrigerant passage (not shown) of the compressor 16, and the supercritical tank 24 is interposed in the bypass passage, and a part of the refrigerant is stored in the supercritical tank 24. By doing so, the amount of refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path is adjusted. A box-shaped capillary kit 28 containing a collection of capillary tubes is disposed on the substrate 14 so as to face the left front.

  In the housing 12, a shielding panel is attached to five support columns 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 erected in the vertical direction. The left and right side surfaces of the housing 12 and the upper area of the front are constituted by an air heat source heat exchanger 40 formed in a U-shaped panel shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air heat source heat exchanger 40 includes a large number of heat collecting fins 42 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction with an interval i, and a direction perpendicular to the heat collecting fins 42 through the heat collecting fins 42. And a heat exchange tube group 44 arranged in the. A CO ₂ refrigerant flows through the heat exchange tube group 44. By the operation of the air discharge fan 48 described later, outside air a is sucked from the interval i, and the sucked outside air a is discharged from the air discharge port 46 after forming an air flow in the upper space in the housing 12. The outside air a exchanges heat with the CO ₂ refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange tube group 44 to give latent heat of evaporation to the CO ₂ refrigerant.

Except for the housing side wall formed by the air heat source heat exchanger 40, the side wall of the housing 12 can be opened and closed as will be described later for maintenance of the power control panel 18 and the devices housed in the housing 12. It consists of panels.
The upper surface 12a of the housing 12 is provided with two circular air discharge ports 46, and the other portions are shielded. An air exhaust fan 48 is provided in the air exhaust port 46. The two air outlets 46 are provided with a bird net 50 composed of a concentric net and a radial net.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the hot water supply device 10 viewed from each direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a bird net 52 made of a lattice net is provided on the outer surface of the air heat source heat exchanger 40.
Side surfaces of the housing 12 other than the air heat source heat exchanger 40 and the power control panel 18 are shielded by shielding panels 54 to 66. Each of these shielding panels is configured separately, and is individually detachably attached to the support columns 30 to 38.

In the basic structure of the housing 12, three vertical beams 70 and horizontal beams (not shown) are assembled and arranged in a lattice shape under the substrate 14. The upper surfaces of the vertical beam 70 and the horizontal beam are assembled to form a flat surface, and the substrate 14 is fixed to the flat surface.
The four corners of the substrate 14 are bent downward to form a rectangular base frame 72 having a U-shape. The lower surface of the rectangular base frame 72 is formed at the same level as the lower surfaces of the vertical beam 70 and the horizontal beam. The lower surfaces of the vertical girder 70, the horizontal girder, and the rectangular base frame 72 are in contact with the base surface f at the same level.

  The horizontal beam has substantially the same length as the long side of the substrate 14, but the vertical beam 70 is longer than the short side of the substrate 14, and both end portions of the vertical beam 70 protrude from the substrate 14. Both ends of the stringer 70 have a rectangular box shape at the end surfaces, and anchor bolts are attached to the both ends to fix the housing 12 to the base surface f.

  When the hot water heater 10 is disposed in a place where there is a risk of snow accumulation such as a snowy area, a snow protection device shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 is attached. Hereinafter, the configuration of the snow protection device will be described. In FIG. 4, a snowproof hood 74 is attached so as to cover the front surface of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 arranged in a panel shape on the front and left and right upper regions of the housing 12. The upper side of the snowproof hood 74 is attached to a frame provided at the upper end of the air heat source heat exchanger 40.

  The snow-proof hood 74 projects outward and downward from the upper side as a starting point, and is disposed to descend to a position slightly beyond the upper half region of the air heat source heat exchanger 40, and the upper wall 76 on both sides of the upper wall 76. And a pair of side walls 78 formed integrally with the upper wall 76 so as to cover the gap between the housing surfaces. An opening 80 is formed below the upper wall 76, whereby an air flow a communicating from the opening 80 to the interval i of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 can be formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, on the upper surface 12a of the housing 12, three columns 82a to 82c having the same length are erected on the front side corner, and the same length is provided on the rear side corner. Three struts 84a to 84c are erected. The lengths of the columns 84a to 84c are shorter than the columns 82a to 82c. The cross sections of the pillars 82a, 82c, 84a and 84c arranged at the four corners are trapezoidal, and the cross sections of the pillars 82b and 84b arranged in the middle of the long side of the housing upper surface 12a are rectangular.

  Frames 86a to 86g are erected on the upper ends of these columns, and a roof 90 is provided in which a snowproof net 88 having a mesh-like opening is stretched on these frames. The roof 90 is inclined downward toward the back side because the lengths of the columns on the front side and the back side are different. Frames 86d, 86e, and 86f arranged on the inner side of the four corners of the roof 90 have an L-shaped cross section. The snow net 88 is formed by flattening expanded metal into a flat plate shape having a mesh-shaped opening. Hereinafter, the mounting structure of the roof 90 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 shows a front side mounting structure of the roof 90. In FIG. 6, the upper side 92 is fixed to the upper end of the support 82a. Each of the frames 94 and 96 has an L-shaped cross section, and an end portion of the upper side 96a of the frame 96 is notched, and the upper side 94a of the frame 94 is disposed in the notched portion. A fixed plate having a flat upper surface is formed by the upper sides 94a and 96a. The fixing plate is in contact with the upper side 92 of the support 82 a, and the side of the support 82 a is coupled to the side 94 b of the frame 94 with a bolt 98.

  On the upper surface of the fixed plate, a snowproof net 88 and two buffer plates 100 are arranged with the snowproof net 88 interposed therebetween. The buffer plate 100 is made of a synthetic resin that has good wear resistance and chemical resistance and can last for a long time, such as high molecular weight polyethylene. Fixing plates 102 and 104 are disposed on the buffer plate 100, and the snowproof net 88, the buffer plate 100 and the fixing plate 102 or 104 are fastened and fixed by bolts 106. The bolts 106 are arranged at a predetermined interval. The side 96b of the frame 96 is coupled to the support 82a by a bolt 108.

  FIG. 7 shows a back side mounting structure of the roof 90. In FIG. 7, the upper side 110 is fixed to the upper end of the column 84a. The frames 112 and 114 have an L-shaped cross section, and an end portion of the upper side 114a of the frame 114 is notched, and the upper side 112a of the frame 112 is disposed in the notch portion. A fixed plate having a flat upper surface formed by the upper sides 114a and 112a is formed. The fixing plate is in contact with the upper side 110 of the column 84 c, and the side of the column 84 c is coupled to the side 112 b of the frame 112 with a bolt 98.

  On the upper surface of the fixed plate, a snowproof net 88 and two buffer plates 100 are arranged with the snowproof net 88 interposed therebetween. Fixing plates 102 and 104 are arranged on the buffer plate 100, and the snow net 88, the buffer plate 100, and the fixing plate 102 or 104 are fastened and fixed by a plurality of bolts 106 arranged at predetermined intervals. The side 114b of the frame 114 is coupled to the column 84c by a bolt 108. The snow net 88 is also fixed to the frames 86d to 86f with bolts or the like.

In the present embodiment, the water heater 10 is operated, and a heat pump cycle operation is performed on the outlet side of the compressor 16 so that the CO ₂ refrigerant is at a high temperature and a high pressure in a supercritical state. Thereby, high-temperature water exceeding 90 ° C. can be produced by the gas cooler 20.

According to the present embodiment, the snow hood 76 is provided outside the air heat source heat exchanger 40 disposed in the upper region of the three side wall surfaces of the housing 12, so that the air of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 can be used during snowfall. Since the outer space of the suction port can be secured, an air flow reaching the air suction port can be secured.
In addition, by depositing a part of the snow on the upper surface of the housing on the snow net 88, the amount of snow falling on the air discharge port 46 can be reduced. Since the snowfall that has passed through the mesh-shaped opening of the snow net 88 and fell to the air outlet 46 is blown away by the air flow discharged from the air outlet 46, snow accumulation on the air outlet 46 can be prevented.
For this reason, an external airflow can be secured in the housing 12 even when there is snow, and the amount of heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outside air is not reduced by the air heat source heat exchanger 40, so that the normal operation of the hot water supply device can be maintained.

Further, since the snowproof net 88 is inclined obliquely, a part of the snow can be slid and dropped, and the amount of snow can be reduced as compared with the horizontal arrangement. Furthermore, since the snow net 88 has a mesh-shaped opening, only a part of the snow falls. Therefore, since the weight of snow applied to the snow net 88 is reduced, the support strength of the snow net 88 can be reduced.
The amount of snow accumulated on the snow net 88 can be adjusted by changing the mesh size of the snow net 88.

  Moreover, since the bird net 50 having a mesh-like opening covering the air suction port and the air discharge port 46 of the air heat source heat exchanger 40 is provided, the air suction port or air exhaust is prevented from harm from wild birds such as crows. You can protect the exit.

Further, the snow net 88 is clamped and fixed from both sides with flat fixing plates, and the fixing plate is attached to the columns 82a to 82c and 84a to 84c standing on the upper surface 12a of the housing 12. Can be fixed in a flat state, and no noise is generated during operation after installation.
Further, since the snowproof net 88 expanded metal is flattened to form a flat plate, it can be manufactured at low cost. The snow net 88 may be made of a punching metal and can be manufactured at a low cost.

Further, since CO ₂ is used as the refrigerant and a heat pump cycle in which CO ₂ is in a supercritical state is configured on the outlet side of the compressor 16, high-temperature water of about 90 ° C. can be supplied.
The air heat source heat exchanger 40 includes a large number of heat collecting fins 42 arranged in parallel with an interval i, and a refrigerant circulation heat exchange tube group 44 penetrating the heat collecting fins 42. Since the air flow passage is formed between the heat collection fins 42, the heat exchange area between the refrigerant circulation heat exchange tube group 44 and the air can be expanded, and the heat exchange efficiency can be improved.

  Further, since the surfaces of the housing 12 other than the air heat source heat exchanger 40 and the power control panel 18 are separately formed and shielded by individually detachable shielding panels 54 to 66, these shielding panels are individually provided. As a result, the maintenance and inspection work of the devices stored in the housing 12 can be fixed in the housing 12.

  According to the present invention, the hot water supply device constituting the heat pump cycle is disposed in a snowy area, and normal operation of the hot water supply device is enabled even when there is snow in the hot water supply device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water heater 12 Housing 12a Housing upper surface 14 Substrate 16 Compressor 18 Power control panel 20 Gas cooler 22 Water supply pump 24 Supercritical tank 28 Capillary kit (expander)
30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 82a-c, 84a-c Post 40 Air heat source heat exchanger 42 Heat collection fin 44 Heat exchange tube group for refrigerant circulation 46 Air exhaust port 48 Air exhaust fan 50, 52 Bird protection Net 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66 Shield panel 74 Snow hood 88 Snow proof net 86a-g, 94, 96 Frame 94a, 96a Frame upper side (fixed plate)
100 Buffer plate 102,104 Fixed plate a External airflow i Interval (Air inlet)

Claims (5)

A heat pump cycle including a compressor, a gas cooler, an expander, and an air heat source evaporator in which a refrigerant for hot water supply circulates;
A housing containing the heat pump cycle and having an air inlet on the side and an air outlet on the upper surface;
In the water heater provided with a blower that forms an air flow that flows from the air suction port to the air discharge port through the air heat source evaporator in the housing.
A hood that protrudes outward from the upper part of the air suction port so as to prevent snow from entering the air suction port of the housing while ensuring an inflow path of the air flow to the air suction port;
A hot water heater comprising a perforated plate having a plurality of openings disposed above the housing and spaced apart from the air outlet.   It is arranged inside the hood or the porous plate so as to cover the air suction port or the air discharge port, and is provided with a bird-proof net body formed of a wire and having a larger opening diameter than the porous plate. The water heater according to claim 1.   2. The water heater according to claim 1, wherein a part of the perforated plate is sandwiched between fixed plates from both sides, and is attached to a support column standing above the housing via the fixed plate.   2. The water heater according to claim 1, wherein the perforated plate is a punched metal or a flat plate-like body obtained by subjecting an expanded metal to flat processing. The refrigerant is CO _2, and wherein the heat pump cycle CO ₂ at the outlet side of the compressor becomes a supercritical state, the air-source heat evaporator constituting the housing side wall is formed in a panel shape The water heater according to claim 1.

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