JP2012042141A - Outdoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent breakage of a resin cover covering an outlet of a housing made of sheet metal when it heat-shrinks.SOLUTION: An outdoor unit of an air conditioner includes a resin-made upper surface cover 101 having an air outlet, and outer peripheral covers 303, 304, 305 made of sheet metal and connected with the upper surface cover 101. An outer edge of the upper surface cover 101 is bent along upper end sides of the outer peripheral covers. The upper surface cover 101 has an elastic part 503 which absorbs a force at a contact part between the heat-shrinking upper surface cover and the outer peripheral covers.

Description

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

  The front and side covers that cover the casing are generally made of sheet metal in consideration of strength and ignitability. Recently, from the viewpoint of cost reduction, pre-coated metal (hereinafter PCM) that has been painted in advance. Is often used. The precautions when using PCM include the point that the cut cross section of the sheet metal end tends to rust. Therefore, when configuring the product, the end face faces inward so that the end face of the sheet metal is not visible from the appearance of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the bending and the parts arrangement.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a resin material having a high degree of molding freedom is used, and the upper surface of the housing is covered with the blowout duct and the top plate as an integral resin molded part, and the top plate periphery is a convex, gently curved surface. Thus, it is disclosed that generation of rainwater puddles can be suppressed.

JP 2005-127578 A

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the outer edge of the upper cover of the casing is bent along the upper edge of the outer cover, so that the upper surface of the casing is covered with a resin upper cover that does not cause rust, and the rust of the PCM cannot be seen. So that it is considered. However, since air after heat exchange by the heat exchanger passes in the vicinity of the air outlet, there may be a temperature difference close to 80 ° C. between the cooling operation and the heating operation. Resin has a larger linear expansion coefficient (degree of expansion due to temperature change) than sheet metal, and resin expands and contracts more than sheet metal. In particular, during heating operation, the resin portion shrinks and easily comes into contact with the sheet metal portion. On the other hand, in order to withstand strong winds and the like, it is necessary to use a highly rigid member such as a sheet metal on the side of the housing. Therefore, in the thing of patent document 1, there exists a possibility that it may be damaged, when a resin part shrinks.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce stress applied to a contact portion between a heat-shrinkable resin cover and a sheet metal cover.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a resin upper surface cover having an air outlet and a sheet metal outer peripheral cover to which the upper surface cover is connected, and an outer edge of the upper surface cover is bent downward. In the outdoor unit for an air conditioner, the upper surface cover is provided with an expansion / contraction portion that absorbs the force of the contact portion between the upper surface cover and the outer peripheral cover that are thermally contracted.

  According to the present invention, the stress applied to the contact portion between the heat-shrinked resin cover and the sheet metal cover can be reduced.

The front view of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner in Example 1 of this invention. The side view of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner in Example 1 of this invention. The perspective view of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner in Example 1 of this invention. The enlarged view of the corner part of the outdoor unit of the conventional air conditioner. The BB arrow sectional drawing which expanded the A section of FIG. The figure which shows the modification of Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the modification of Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the modification of Example 1 of this invention. The perspective view which shows the upper surface cover of Example 2 of this invention. The perspective view which looked at the upper surface cover of Example 3 of this invention from the back surface. The figure which shows the modification of Example 3 of this invention. The figure which shows the modification of Example 3 of this invention. Xx sectional view taken on the line in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a view when the outdoor unit is viewed from the front, FIG. 2 is a view when viewed from the side, and FIG. 3 is an external view of the outdoor unit. FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line xx of FIG. In these drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same parts. For the sake of convenience, the outer peripheral covers that cover the four side surfaces of the housing are referred to as a side cover 303, a front cover 304, and a back cover 305 below.

  An axial fan 200 is driven by a fan motor 201 disposed at the upper part of the casing of the outdoor unit. After the axial flow fan 200 is driven, outside air is sucked from the heat exchanger 400 arranged from the side cover 303 to the back side of the housing as in the air flow 900 and heat exchange is performed, and then the blowout duct 100 of the top cover 101 is It passes to the fan guard 302 and is blown out upward of the housing.

  Considering the construction and maintenance of the refrigeration cycle component 401 such as the compressor and the electric box 403 containing the control board, the horizontal cross section of the heat exchanger 400 has a substantially U-shape with the front side of the housing as the opening surface. Forming. A detachable front cover 304 is provided on the front of the casing so as not to suck air from the front side of the casing where the heat exchanger 400 is not installed. The side surface and the back surface side where the heat exchanger 400 is installed are not covered with a cover in order to suck air, and are open.

  The top cover 101 is screwed to the side cover 303, the front cover 304, and the back cover 305. Since the axial flow fan 200 rotates, vibrations in the vicinity of the blowout duct 100 increase, so that the top cover 101 is screwed as close to the blowout duct 100 as possible. Thereby, vibration can be reduced without increasing the number of screw points.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the conventional structure of the top cover 101 in the outdoor unit corner (corresponding to part A in FIGS. 1 and 3), and the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

  The side cover 303 uses a comparatively thin PCM material of about 1 mm from the viewpoint of cost reduction. The end face is rusted by folding the end face to increase the strength of the housing and concealing the end face 307 from the inside of the product. We are careful not to see it even if it is rusted. Further, a bent curved surface 106 is provided in which the outer edge of the resin upper cover 101 is bent downward along the upper end side of the side cover 303. The end surface 307 of the side cover 303 is hidden by adopting a structure in which the upper end portion of the side cover 303 is covered with the upper surface cover 101 having the folding surface 106. That is, when viewed from above the housing, the outer edge of the top cover 101 is bent along each side of the side cover 303, the front cover 304, and the back cover 305, and is covered like an upper lid. In addition, although a present Example is description about the side cover 303, the same consideration is made also about the front cover 304 and the back cover 305. FIG.

  Resin materials with a high degree of freedom in shape are often used for bellmouths and blowout ducts. Furthermore, for cost merit, the top cover that covers the top of the housing, bellmouths, and blowout ducts are configured as an integral resin molded part. Is desirable.

Since the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 400 passes through the top cover 101, for example, when the cooling / heating operation is performed in an environment where the outside air is −20 ° C. to 40 ° C., the difference between the blowout temperatures during cooling and heating is 80 Also close to ℃. The amount of thermal deformation of the material is expressed by “thermal deformation amount = length (original dimension of part) × linear expansion coefficient × temperature difference (equation i)”. For example, when the product width is 1 m made of polypropylene resin, the linear expansion coefficient is 10 ⁻⁴ [1 / ° C.], and the blowing temperature is 20 ± 40 ° C., shrinkage close to ± 4 mm occurs. In contrast, sheet metal parts such as the side cover 303 have a linear expansion coefficient that is an order of magnitude smaller than that of the resin material. For this reason, the sheet metal parts do not deform (heat shrink) at low temperatures, whereas the resin upper surface cover 101 and the folded curved surface 106 contract and deform, and an excessive force is generated at the contact portion between them. End up.

  Since the normal strength design is intended to improve the strength against an assumed external force, it can be dealt with by increasing the rigidity such as increasing the plate thickness or reinforcing ribs. However, in the case of thermal deformation, the amount of deformation is determined regardless of the size of the rigidity as in (i) above, so if the resin part shrinks if the rigidity is increased by increasing the plate thickness or ribs, etc. In addition, the force acting on the portion in contact with the sheet metal portion increases. In particular, since the resin material has higher rigidity (elastic modulus) at a lower temperature, depending on the type of the material, several times the force during cooling is generated at the contact portion between the resin component and the sheet metal component. If the rigidity of the side cover, etc. is reduced, the generated force can be reduced, but on the other hand, it is required to have several hundred kg of products stacked, transported, and strong against typhoons. It is not a good idea to reduce the rigidity of the.

  In order to suck air into the heat exchanger 400, the outer peripheral cover made of sheet metal (in this embodiment, the side cover 303 and the back cover 305) is vertically divided. For this reason, even when the resin-made top cover 101 is contracted, the side cover 303 and the back cover 305 are deformed in the depth direction and the lateral direction, respectively. Therefore, the resin top cover 101 and the sheet metal side cover 303 and the back cover are deformed. Even if it contacts with 305, the force applied to the contact portion can be absorbed, and damage to the contact portion can be prevented. The contact portions in this case are two corner portions on the rear side of the housing.

  However, the front side of the housing not provided with the heat exchanger 400 is provided with a cover on one side so as not to suck air. Since the cover is not divided like the case side and the back, the front cover 304 and the top cover 101 are protected against shrinkage of the top cover 101 in the direction (lateral direction) along the side of the front cover 304 when viewed from above the case. The force applied to the contact part cannot be absorbed.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a stretchable portion 503 having a substantially semicircular arc cross section is provided along the outer edge portion of the top plate 104 of the top cover 101. When the upper surface cover 101 is contracted, the expansion / contraction part 503 extends so that the arc extends along the contraction direction, so that the expansion / contraction part 503 absorbs the force applied to the contact portion between the upper surface cover 101 and the front cover 304. ing. The contact portion is in the vicinity of the portion A shown in FIG. 3, but when the upper surface cover 101 is contracted, it refers to a portion where the contraction of the upper surface cover 101 is restrained by the sheet metal portion that does not contract so much. In particular, it is the corner portion where the force in the lateral direction and the depth direction is applied that must be considered for breakage. In this embodiment, since the upper surface cover 101 is bent at the end portion and configured like a lid, the expansion / contraction portion 503 is provided on the outer edge portion of the upper surface cover 101 close to the sheet metal portion, but the shrinkage is restrained by the sheet metal portion. What is necessary is just to provide the expansion-contraction part 503 so that the circular arc of the expansion-contraction part 503 may be extended in the direction. In other words, what is necessary is just the expansion-contraction part 503 which extends along the left-right direction toward the surface where the whole surface is a sheet metal cover. As a result, when the upper cover 101 and the front cover 304 come into contact with each other when the upper cover 101 is thermally contracted, even if a force is received from the front cover 304, the expansion / contraction part 503 extends, so that the front cover 304 and the upper cover 101 It is possible to absorb the force applied to the contact portion and prevent the top cover 101 from being damaged.

  In the case where only the front cover 304 is the sheet metal cover as a whole as in this embodiment, the damage at the time of heat shrinkage of the corner portion (A portion) of the top cover 101 sandwiching the front cover 304 is taken into consideration. The expansion / contraction part 503 extending in the lateral direction may be provided on the front side of the top cover 101. For example, when the heat exchanger is provided only on the rear surface of the housing, it is necessary to cover not only the front surface of the housing but also both side surfaces with a single cover. In this case, it is necessary to consider not only the A part but also the corner part of the top cover 101 sandwiching the side cover 303 at the time of heat shrinkage. In addition to the front side of the top cover 101, the left side and the right side In addition, an expansion / contraction portion 503 extending in the depth direction may be provided. In addition, in the case where heat exchangers with a low height are arranged on all four sides of the front, side and back of the housing and the upper part of the four surfaces of the housing is a sheet metal cover, further on the back side of the top cover 101 in the lateral direction. A stretchable portion 503 that extends may be provided. That is, the side of the upper surface cover corresponding to the surface in which one surface (the surface where the upper surface cover 101 is in contact with the sheet metal cover portion) is the sheet metal cover among the four surfaces of the front surface, the side surface, and the rear surface of the housing extends. The expansion / contraction part 503 may be provided.

  The expansion / contraction part 503 may be provided at the outer edge part of the top cover 101 as shown in FIG. 5 or may be provided from the outer edge part to the inside of the outlet duct 100 as shown in FIG. If it is provided on the inner side, a flat portion 505 is formed along the outer edge portion. Therefore, a top cover packing 404 for preventing scratches during product stacking, transportation, and storage can be arranged, or screwed to the side cover 303. Can do.

  7 and 8, a plurality of the stretchable parts 503 are continuously arranged in the stretchable direction. Thereby, there is an effect that the elasticity of the upper surface cover 101 is further improved while the stretchability is further improved. In order to obtain the necessary stretchability, it is particularly effective when the height of the stretchable portion 503 increases if the stretchable portion 503 is configured in one row (one arc). Here, two stretchable parts 503 are continuously arranged, but the number may be larger. The elastic part 503 and the flat part may be mixed and the elastic part 503 may not be continuous. Moreover, in the part which the upper surface cover 101 directly contacts with the heat exchanger 400, the heat exchanger 400 and the expansion-contraction part 503 are arrange | positioned only by the arrangement | positioning direction of the expansion-contraction part 503 not in a waveform but in the direction which becomes convex toward the outer side. The contact area between the heat exchanger 400 and the expansion / contraction part 503 can be reduced without increasing the sealing performance by increasing the contact area between the heat exchanger 400 and the heat exchanger 400.

  In the present embodiment, the outdoor unit with the air outlet facing upward has been described. In addition, the expansion / contraction part 503 may be curved, semicircular, triangular, or the like as long as it expands and contracts.

  According to the present embodiment, since the thermal contraction of the top cover 101 is dealt with by the expansion / contraction part 503 provided on the top cover 101 itself, it is not necessary to reduce the strength of the sheet metal part. The top cover 101 is not subjected to an excessive load such as a heavy object, but has a problem of vibration because it is in the vicinity of the axial fan 200 and the fan motor 201. Also for this problem, since the expansion / contraction part 503 plays the role of a rib, the vibration transmitted from the blowing duct 100 side can be absorbed by the expansion / contraction part 503, which is effective in reducing the vibration. Further, in the assembly of the product, there is a problem that the upper surface cover 101 is contracted particularly in winter, so that it is difficult to assemble. However, the stretchable portion 503 gives a likelihood of size, and the assembly is improved.

  In FIG. 9, a plurality of expansion / contraction portions 503 shown in the first embodiment are provided intermittently in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the expansion / contraction direction. The same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment denote the same parts. According to the present embodiment, the expansion and contraction portions 503 are intermittently arranged on one side and a plurality of flat portions 505 are provided, so that in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the screw fixing portion 103 ( (Not shown) can also be provided. Moreover, since rainwater etc. can be prevented from accumulating on the top plate 104, it is preferable in terms of appearance and hygiene.

  In FIG. 10, an expansion / contraction portion 503 is provided on the folding surface 106 of the top cover 101. The same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment denote the same parts. In the first and second embodiments, the expansion / contraction portion 503 is provided on the horizontal surface of the upper surface cover 101. However, in order to reduce vibration of the upper surface cover 101 coming from the axial fan 200, a plate is provided on the rear surface of the horizontal surface (top plate 104) of the upper surface cover 101. In some cases, a rib 107 is provided. In this case, it becomes difficult to provide the stretchable part 503 on the top plate 104. Even in such a case, by providing the folding surface 106 of the top cover 101 with the expansion / contraction portion 503 along the vertical direction of the casing (the side of the top cover 101 whose entire surface is a sheet metal cover), Since the arc of the expansion / contraction part 503 extends in a direction in which contraction is constrained (lateral direction or depth direction), the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained. In addition, even with the continuous arrangement as shown in FIG. 11, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment in which the expansion / contraction part 503 is continuously arranged in the expansion / contraction direction on the top plate 104 of the top cover 101 can be obtained.

  In FIG. 12, an expansion / contraction portion 503 is provided at the corner portion 108 of the folding surface 106 of the top cover 101. Due to the structure, when the upper surface cover 101 is thermally contracted, the corner portion 308 of the side surface cover 303 and the corner portion 108 of the upper surface cover 101 are likely to be in point or line contact. Furthermore, since the corner portion 308 of the side cover 303 is a bent portion, the corner portion 308 is very rigid and the corner portion 108 of the upper surface cover 101 is most easily damaged. By providing the expansion / contraction part 503 in the corner part 108, contact between the corner parts (108, 308) can be prevented. Naturally, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Outlet duct 101 Upper surface cover 103 Screw fixing | fixed part 104 Top plate 106 Folding curved surface 107 Top plate rib 108 Corner part 200 of an upper surface cover Axial fan 201 Fan motor 302 Fan guard 303 Side cover (outer periphery cover)
304 Front cover (outer cover)
305 Back cover (outer cover)
306 Bottom plate 307 PCM end face 308 Side cover corner 400 Heat exchanger 401 Refrigeration cycle components 402 such as compressor 402 Foot 403 Electric box 404 Packing of top cover 503 Stretchable part 505 Flat part 900 on the outer edge of the top plate Air flow

Claims (8)

A resin-made top cover having an air outlet;
A sheet metal outer peripheral cover to which the upper surface cover is connected;
In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner in which the outer edge of the upper surface cover is bent downward,
The outdoor unit of an air conditioner, wherein the upper surface cover is provided with an expansion / contraction portion that absorbs a force of a contact portion between the upper surface cover and the outer peripheral cover that are thermally contracted.   2. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the expansion / contraction part is provided so as to expand and contract in a left-right direction toward an outer peripheral cover whose entire surface is covered with sheet metal in the outer peripheral cover.   In Claim 2, The said expansion-contraction part is provided on the top plate of the said upper surface cover, Comprising: The said whole surface is provided along the upper end side of the both adjacent surfaces of the outer periphery cover covered with the sheet metal. Air conditioner outdoor unit.   3. The air according to claim 2, wherein the expansion / contraction part is provided on a side bent downward of the upper surface cover, and is provided along a side of the outer peripheral cover whose entire surface is covered with sheet metal. Harmonic outdoor unit.   4. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the expandable portion is provided intermittently along the upper end side.   The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a plurality of the extension parts are provided in the extension / contraction direction.   The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the expandable portion is provided at an outer edge portion of the top plate of the top cover.   The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the expandable portion is provided at a corner portion of a surface bent downward of the upper surface cover.

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