JP2012251690A - Outdoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the degradation of performance of heat exchange of an outdoor unit while achieving downsizing of the outdoor unit having a humidifying function.SOLUTION: The humidifying unit 60 has a moisture absorbing part 61 disposed in an air blower chamber 41 for absorbing moisture from an outside air, and a moisture releasing part 62 for humidifying air by releasing moisture. Further, the humidifying unit 60 has a turbo fan 75 for feeding air humidified in the moisture releasing part 62 to an indoor unit 20. The turbo fan 75 is disposed in a machine chamber 42.

Description

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

  Among conventional air conditioners having a humidifying function, there is a type in which an outdoor unit of an air conditioner and a humidifying unit (or a humidifying device) are integrated. For example, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-353898) and Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-241212), such an air conditioner is configured such that an outdoor unit is vertically moved by a partition plate. It is divided into. And in the outdoor unit described in these patent documents 1 and patent documents 2, a humidification unit is installed above a partition plate, and the fan which ventilates a heat exchanger and a heat exchanger is arranged below a partition plate. ing.

  In order to downsize an outdoor unit having such a humidification function, in the air conditioners described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the humidification rotor (adsorption rotor and desiccant rotor) of the humidification unit is installed horizontally. Yes.

  However, even with such a configuration, downsizing of the outdoor unit is not sufficient, and when the humidification unit is downsized for storage of the outdoor unit and stored in the blower room, the blowing resistance in the blower room is increased by the humidification unit, There is a tendency for the performance of heat exchange to decline.

  The subject of this invention is preventing the fall of the performance of the heat exchange of an outdoor unit, aiming at the downsizing of the outdoor unit which has a humidification function.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first aspect of the present invention is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner connected to an indoor unit in order to perform air conditioning, and has a casing having a machine room and a fan room through which the outside air passes. And an outdoor heat exchanger that is installed in the blower chamber and exchanges heat with the outside air, an outdoor fan that is arranged in the blower chamber and blows the outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and the blower chamber for absorbing moisture from the outside air A moisture-absorbing unit disposed in the air-conditioning unit, a moisture-releasing unit for dehumidifying and humidifying the air, and a humidifying fan disposed in the machine room for sending the air humidified by the moisture-releasing unit to the indoor unit A humidifying unit.

  According to the outdoor unit which concerns on a 1st viewpoint, it can prevent that a humidification fan becomes the obstruction of the ventilation to an outdoor heat exchanger because a humidification fan exists in a machine room. On the other hand, since the humidifying fan is disposed in the machine room, the positional relationship with other parts in the machine room can be determined regardless of the external appearance, and it becomes easy to make it compact.

  The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on the 2nd viewpoint of this invention is further provided with the partition member which partitions off a fan room and a machine room in the outdoor unit which concerns on a 1st viewpoint.

  According to the outdoor unit of the 2nd viewpoint, since the ventilation to the outdoor heat exchanger by an outdoor fan does not hit a humidification fan by a partition member, it can prevent reliably that ventilation is prevented by a humidification fan.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a third aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to the second aspect, wherein the humidification unit further includes a humidification duct for guiding air from the moisture release unit to the humidification fan. A duct is installed across the partition member.

  According to the outdoor unit of the third aspect, part of the humidification duct that is closer to the machine room than the partition member does not hinder the blowing.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein the humidifying unit has at least a part of the humidifying unit disposed in the machine room.

  According to the outdoor unit of the fourth aspect, at least a part of the humidifying unit and the humidifying duct that are on the machine room side with respect to the partition member also do not interfere with the blowing.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the humidifying fan is a centrifugal blower, and the direction in which the rotation shaft of the centrifugal blower extends is front and rear. It is installed towards.

  According to the outdoor unit of the fifth aspect, since the centrifugal fan is larger in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rotation shaft extends, the size in the front-rear direction for installing the humidifying fan can be small, and the front and rear of the outdoor unit The direction dimension can be reduced.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the humidifying fan is a centrifugal blower, and the direction in which the rotating shaft of the centrifugal blower extends extends in the casing. It is installed toward the longitudinal direction.

  According to the outdoor unit of the sixth aspect, since the centrifugal fan is larger in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rotation shaft extends, the longitudinal dimension for installing the humidifying fan can be small, and the length of the outdoor unit The direction dimension can be reduced.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to any one of the first to sixth aspects. And a disk-shaped humidification rotor disposed in the.

  According to the outdoor unit of the seventh aspect, by arranging the disc-shaped humidification rotor substantially horizontally, it is possible to suppress an increase in blowing resistance even when the humidification unit is in front of the outdoor heat exchanger. On the other hand, since the humidification rotor is disk-shaped and flat, it is easy to set the size in the height direction of the outdoor unit small.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the outdoor unit according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the humidifying unit is disposed between the humidifying unit and the humidifying fan, It further has a damper or a check valve that prevents the backflow of air sent from the section to the humidifying fan.

  According to the outdoor unit of the eighth aspect, the backflow of air from the humidifying fan to the indoor unit can be easily prevented with a small part such as a damper or a check valve.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the outdoor unit from being deteriorated in heat exchange performance while downsizing the outdoor unit.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the blown air from hitting the humidifying fan by the partition member, and to sufficiently bring out the effect of preventing the heat exchange performance from being lowered.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the blowing resistance generated in the humidifying duct can be reduced, and the effect of preventing the deterioration of the heat exchange performance can be sufficiently obtained.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the blowing resistance generated in the moisture release portion and the humidifying duct and to sufficiently bring out the effect of preventing the heat exchange performance from being lowered.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, downsizing for reducing the size in the front-rear direction of the outdoor unit is facilitated.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, downsizing for reducing the size in the longitudinal direction of the outdoor unit is facilitated.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, while suppressing downsizing of the outdoor unit by reducing the size in the height direction of the outdoor unit, the increase in the air flow resistance of the humidifying unit is prevented and the heat exchange capacity is reduced. Reduction can be suppressed.

  In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, even if the humidification path is a little, it is put in the machine room to prevent backflow, so that cold outside air passing through the outdoor heat exchanger hits the humidification path and heat loss increases. The effect which prevents that can be improved.

The conceptual diagram which shows the outline | summary of a structure of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. The circuit diagram which shows the outline | summary of the outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the outdoor unit in the state from which the grill and the outdoor heat exchanger were removed. The top view of an outdoor unit in the state where the top plate was removed. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the outdoor unit in the state from which the front board, the top board, the left side board, etc. are removed. II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The perspective view of the humidification unit seen from the front right diagonal upper part. The perspective view of the humidification unit seen from back diagonally upward. The partial expanded sectional view of the outdoor unit for demonstrating the flow of the external air around a humidification unit. The disassembled perspective view which shows a humidification rotor and a heater. The bottom view of the member around the heater of a humidification unit. The partial expanded sectional view around the humidification unit of an outdoor unit. The circuit diagram which shows the outline | summary of the outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus by the modification of one Embodiment. The top view of the outdoor unit which concerns on the modification of FIG. 13 in the state where the top plate was removed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment of the outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus concerning this invention is not restricted to embodiment described below, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

<One Embodiment>
(1) Overview of Configuration of Air Conditioner As shown in FIG. 1, an air conditioner 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an indoor unit 20 and an outdoor unit 30 connected by a communication pipe 12. It is configured. The air conditioner 10 has a plurality of operation modes such as a cooling operation, a heating operation, a dehumidifying operation, a humidifying operation, an air supply operation, and an exhaust operation, and these operation modes can be appropriately combined.

  In the cooling operation and the heating operation, in order to cool and warm the indoor air, heat is exchanged between the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30, and heat is exchanged between the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 through the communication pipe 12. There is a move. In order to perform such heat exchange and heat transfer, for example, a refrigerant circuit shown in FIG. In order to form a refrigerant circuit, the indoor unit 20 of FIG. 2 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 21, and the outdoor unit 30 includes a compressor 31, a four-way switching valve 32, an outdoor heat exchanger 33, an electric valve 34, a filter. 35, an accumulator 36, a liquid closing valve 37 and a gas closing valve 38 are provided. Further, a liquid refrigerant pipe 14 and a gas refrigerant pipe 16 that connect the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 pass through the communication pipe 12.

  Further, in the humidifying operation, the air supply operation, and the exhaust operation, the outdoor air is supplied to the room or the indoor air is discharged, so that the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 are connected through the air supply duct 18 of the communication pipe 12. There is air movement. In particular, in the humidifying operation, in order to supply high humidity air containing a lot of moisture from the outdoor unit 30 to the indoor unit 20, the outdoor unit 30 takes in moisture from the outside air. For this purpose, the outdoor unit 30 is provided with a humidifying unit 60 having a function of taking moisture from the outside air.

(1-1) Operation of Refrigerant Circuit Although the operation of the refrigerant circuit is not different from the conventional one, the operation of the refrigerant circuit shown in FIG. 2 will be briefly described.

  At the time of cooling, the four-way switching valve 32 is connected in a solid line, and the refrigerant compressed and discharged by the compressor 31 is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 33 through the four-way switching valve 32. The refrigerant that has been deprived of heat by exchanging heat with the outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is sent to the motor-operated valve 34. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant is changed to a low-pressure state by the motor-operated valve 34. The refrigerant expanded by the electric valve 34 enters the indoor heat exchanger 21 through the filter 35 through the liquid closing valve 37 and the liquid refrigerant pipe 14. The refrigerant whose temperature has risen due to heat exchange with room air in the indoor heat exchanger 21 is sent to the four-way switching valve 32 through the gas refrigerant pipe 16. In the four-way switching valve 32, a gas closing valve 38 and an accumulator 36 are connected. Therefore, the refrigerant sent from the indoor heat exchanger 21 through the gas refrigerant pipe 16 is sent to the compressor 31 via the accumulator 36.

  During heating, the four-way switching valve 32 is connected in a dotted line, and the refrigerant compressed and discharged by the compressor 31 is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 21. Then, the refrigerant exiting the outdoor heat exchanger 33 returns to the compressor 31 along a path opposite to that during cooling. That is, the compressor 31, the four-way switching valve 32, the gas refrigerant pipe 16, the indoor heat exchanger 21, the liquid refrigerant pipe 14, the electric valve 34, the outdoor heat exchanger 33, the four-way switching valve 32, the accumulator 36, and the compressor 31. The refrigerant circulates in this order.

(2) Configuration of Indoor Unit In the indoor unit 20, in addition to the indoor heat exchanger 21, an indoor fan 22 driven by a motor is provided downstream of the indoor heat exchanger 21 as shown in FIG. 2. Is provided. This indoor fan 22 is a cross flow fan. When the indoor fan 22 is driven, the indoor air sucked from the suction port 23 at the upper part of the indoor unit 20 shown in FIG. 1 passes through the indoor heat exchanger 21 and from the outlet 24 at the lower part of the indoor unit 20. Blown out.

  In the indoor unit 20, an air supply port 25 of the air supply duct 18 is provided in the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 21. The air supply duct 18 is connected to the humidification unit 60, and high-humidity air sent from the humidification unit 60 is supplied from the air supply port 25 to the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 21. By driving the indoor fan 22 in a state where such high-humidity air is supplied from the air supply port 25, the humidity of the conditioned air blown from the air outlet 24 of the indoor unit 20 can be increased. For example, at this time, the indoor heat exchanger 21 can be used as an evaporator at the same time to cause the indoor unit 20 to perform a humidifying operation and a cooling operation at the same time.

(3) Configuration of outdoor unit (3-1) Overview of configuration of outdoor unit The outdoor unit 30 includes a casing 40 and a partition plate 43, and as shown in FIG. 43 is divided into a blower chamber 41 and a machine chamber 42. In the outdoor unit 30, the blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42 are shielded by the partition plate 43 so that the wind does not enter the machine chamber 42 from the blower chamber 41.

  In the outdoor unit 30, in addition to the above-described devices constituting the refrigerant circuit and the humidifying unit 60, an outdoor fan 39 driven by a fan motor 39 a is provided downstream of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 as shown in FIG. On the side. This outdoor fan 39 is a propeller fan, and has a propeller 39b driven by a fan motor 39a. When the outdoor fan 39 is driven, the outside air sucked from the rear surface side of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is blown out from the outlet 44 of the outdoor unit 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the front surface of the air outlet 44 is covered with a grill 45 so that the propeller 39 b of the outdoor fan 39 does not come into contact with an object outside the outdoor unit 30. The grill 45 is attached to the front plate 46 of the casing 40.

  A humidifier unit 60 is provided in the blower chamber 41 of the outdoor unit 30, and the humidifier unit 60 is disposed in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The fact that the humidifying unit 60 is disposed in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 means that a part of the humidifying unit 60 is hung on the air passage passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The humidification unit 60 in such a place is provided with a shape and an arrangement position as will be described later in order to suppress an increase in the blowing resistance of the blowing path passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 33.

(3-2) Casing FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the outdoor unit 30 and shows a state where the grill 45 and the like are removed from the outdoor unit 30 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the outdoor unit 30 and shows a state where the top plate 48 of the outdoor unit 30 is removed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the outdoor unit 30 and shows a state in which the front plate 46, the top plate 48, the left side plate 50, and the like are removed. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG.

  The casing 40 of the outdoor unit 30 includes a front plate 46, a right side plate 47, a top plate 48, and a bottom plate 49 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 has an L shape when viewed from above, and the left side surface of the casing 40 faces the left side surface portion 332 of the L-shaped outdoor heat exchanger 33. A left side plate 50 is attached. Although not visible from FIG. 4, the left side plate 50 is formed in a lattice shape in order to guide outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger 33. Although the rear side of the blower chamber 41 is opened for the rear surface portion 331 of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and is not illustrated, the rear surface portion 331 of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is protected on the rear side of the blower chamber 41. A wire mesh is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the partition plate 43 that partitions the casing 40 into the blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42 is arranged substantially in parallel with the right side plate 47. The partition plate 43 extends forward from the right end of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and extends vertically from the bottom plate 49 to the top plate 48. The front portion of the partition plate 43 is attached in contact with the front plate 46. The right side plate 47 covers the rear surface from the right end of the rear surface portion 51 of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 to the right side surface and the entire right side surface.

  Moreover, the opening part 43b is formed in the partition plate 43 (refer FIG. 5). The electrical component box 55 shown in FIG. 4 is disposed in the opening 43b, and fins for cooling the power device are disposed so as to protrude into the blower chamber 41 from the opening 43b.

  By the way, a circular air outlet 44 shown in FIG. 3 is formed in the front plate 46, and a ring-shaped bell mouth 52 is attached around the air outlet 44. A part of the propeller 39b is arranged so as to enter the space surrounded by the bell mouth 52.

  In order to couple the rotation shaft of the propeller 39b to the drive shaft of the fan motor 39a, the fan motor 39a is attached to the rear surface side of the propeller 39b. The fan motor base 53 for supporting the fan motor 39a is a vertically long metal member on the rear side of the propeller 39b. The fan motor base 53 includes two supporting column portions extending vertically so as not to block the flow of outside air by the propeller 39b, and these supporting column portions are connected to the upper end 33b and the bottom plate 49 of the fan motor 39a and the outdoor heat exchanger 33. It is composed of a plurality of crosspieces connected in the vicinity. The fan motor base 53 is attached to the bottom plate 49 and the upper end 33 b of the outdoor heat exchanger 33.

(3-3) Outdoor Heat Exchanger As already described, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 has a rear surface portion 331 disposed on the rear side of the casing 40 and a left side surface portion 332 disposed on the left side surface side. It exhibits an L-shape when viewed from above. The outdoor heat exchanger 33 has a large number of fins extending in the height direction and heat transfer tubes that are horizontally attached through the fins and thermally connected to the large number of fins. The outdoor heat exchanger 33 has a height that reaches the top plate 48 from the bottom plate 49. The heat transfer tubes are arranged in multiple rows in the height direction by being bent back and forth at both ends of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. For example, at the time of cooling, the refrigerant is arranged so that the high-temperature refrigerant enters from the heat transfer tubes in the lowermost row of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and the refrigerant temperature decreases in the upper row. It arrange | positions so that a refrigerant | coolant temperature may rise, so that the refrigerant | coolant of a lower part enters. With such an arrangement, the outside air cooled in the vicinity of the upper portion of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is guided to the moisture absorption duct 68 of the humidification unit 60 during heating.

(3-3-1) Arrangement of Outdoor Heat Exchanger and Humidification Unit FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show a humidification unit 60 arranged in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the humidifying unit 60 taken out and seen from the front right diagonal upper side of the humidifying unit 60, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the humidifying unit 60 seen from the rear right diagonal upper side. However, FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which the upper cover 67 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is removed.

  A feature of the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is that the humidifying unit 60 is exposed in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The height of the position of the upper surface 60 a of the humidifying unit 60 matches the height of the upper end 33 b (top) of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The humidifying unit 60 is given a shape with a volume as small as possible while maintaining a relatively complicated appearance.

(3-4) Grill The grill 56 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the front plate 46 of the casing 40 and covers the air outlet 44. A large number of openings 56a shown in FIG. 9 are formed in the grill 56 to blow out the outside air.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, an opening 56a is formed up to a region Ar1 above the grill 56 facing the front side of the air inlet 68a. As shown in a path r1 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, the outside air sucked from the opening 56a of the area Ar1 of the grill 56 passes through the intake duct 68 from the intake port 68a and passes through the humidification rotor 63. The outdoor fan 39 leads to the space 70 in a negative pressure.

(3-5-1) Moisture Absorption Unit and Moisture Release Unit As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the humidification unit 60 includes a moisture absorption unit 61 for absorbing moisture from the outside air, and dehumidifies and humidifies the air. And a moisture release part 62. In this humidification unit 60, the moisture absorption part 61 and the moisture release part 62 are constituted by a single disc-shaped humidification rotor 63 as shown in FIG. That is, the humidification rotor 63 is a moisture absorbing / releasing material that serves as both the moisture absorbing portion 61 and the moisture releasing portion 62. The disc-shaped humidification rotor 63 is a zeolite rotor having a honeycomb structure formed by firing zeolite or the like. The humidifying rotor 63 is attached so as to rotate about the center of the disk as a rotation axis, and is rotationally driven by the power of a rotor driving motor (not shown) transmitted to a gear 64 provided around the humidifying rotor 63. .

  The adsorbent such as zeolite forming the humidifying rotor 63 has a property of absorbing moisture from air at room temperature, for example, and releasing moisture when air heated to a high temperature by the heater 71 is heated to a temperature higher than room temperature. Yes. In other words, the side of the humidifying rotor 63 that is exposed to high-temperature air becomes the moisture-absorbing part 61, and the side that is exposed to high-temperature air becomes the moisture-releasing part 62. From another viewpoint, the humidification rotor 63 absorbs moisture on the side where the temperature of the humidification rotor 63 is low, and releases moisture on the side where the temperature of the humidification rotor 63 is high. Since the humidification rotor 63 rotates, the moisture adsorbed by the humidification rotor 63 by the moisture absorption by the moisture absorption unit 61 is carried to the moisture release unit 62 as the humidification rotor 63 rotates, and the moisture release by the moisture release unit 62 is performed. The moisture adsorbed by the air is desorbed and the air around the moisture release unit 62 is humidified. In order to heat the air that passes through the moisture release portion 62 of the humidification rotor 63, a heater 71 is provided above the moisture release portion 62.

(3-5-2) Enclosure Wall As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the entire circumference of the outer periphery of the disc-shaped humidification rotor 63 is surrounded by the enclosure walls 65 and 66. In the humidification unit 60, the outer periphery of the moisture absorbing part 61 is covered with the surrounding wall 65, and the outer periphery of the moisture releasing part 62 is covered with the surrounding wall 66.

(3-5-3) Moisture Absorbing Duct A moisture absorbing duct 68 for guiding outside air to the moisture absorbing portion 61 is provided on the upper portion of the moisture absorbing portion 61. When the hygroscopic duct 68 is viewed from above, as shown in FIG. 4, the fan-shaped hygroscopic portion 61 having a center angle α larger than 180 degrees is covered.

  The moisture absorption duct 68 has an intake port 68a that is open toward the front side and sucks outside air from the front side. As shown in FIG. 6, the hygroscopic duct 68 has an inclined portion 68b following the intake port 68a formed at the upper part of the hygroscopic duct 68. Therefore, when viewed from the side, the hygroscopic duct 68 is downward. It becomes a curved shape. Since the moisture absorption duct 68 has such a downwardly curved structure, the outside air blown upward from the lower side can easily enter from the intake port 68 a of the moisture absorption duct 68. Further, the moisture absorption duct 68 spreads up and down as it advances from the intake port 68a to the rear surface side, and the outside air that advances from the intake port 68a to the rear surface side spreads up and down as it advances toward the rear surface side, and reaches the entire moisture absorption part 61. It becomes easy. As shown in FIG. 4, the moisture absorption duct 68 covers the entire surface of the moisture absorption part 61, and the outside air passes through the humidification rotor 63 disposed below from the top to the bottom.

(3-5-4) Exhaust Port The exhaust port 69 is below the humidification rotor 63. The exhaust port 69 occupies an area substantially equal to the projected portion from the upper surface of the hygroscopic duct 68. A propeller 39b is arranged below the exhaust port 69 as shown in FIGS. That is, the exhaust port 69 faces the space 70 that becomes negative pressure when the propeller 39b rotates. With such a configuration, the outside air blown out from the bell mouth 52 by the propeller 39b and entered the intake port 68a is drawn toward the negative pressure space 70 through a path indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Then, the air is blown out from the exhaust port 69 to the blower chamber 41. Therefore, only the outdoor fan 39 sends outside air to the moisture absorption unit 61, and a dedicated fan for sending outside air to the moisture absorption unit 61, which has been conventionally required, can be omitted.

(3-5-5) Heater As shown in FIG. 10, a heater 71 is provided above the moisture release portion 62 of the humidification rotor 63 in order to release moisture from the moisture release portion 62. FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the heater 71 and the heater support member 74 as viewed from below. The heater 71 has a structure in which a heating wire (not shown) is provided in a cylindrical casing, and heats the outside air sucked from the suction port 72 and sent to the humidification rotor 63 with a heating wire. When the heated air passes through the opening of the honeycomb structure of the humidification rotor 63, the air in the humidification duct 73 is humidified by dehumidification from the humidification rotor 63.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the heater 71 is attached to the lower side of the heater support member 74. The heater support member 74 has a top surface portion 74a, a peripheral outer wall portion 74b, and a fixing plate 74c. The heater support member 74 is a cylindrical body whose upper surface and side surfaces are surrounded by the upper surface portion 74a and the outer wall portion 74b, and the lower portion is released. . The casing of the heater 71 and the heater support member 74 are made of sheet metal because heat resistance is required. The suction port 72 is located on the front side of the heater support member 74 and below the humidification rotor 63, and the outside air sucked from the suction port 72 and passed through the humidification rotor 63 passes through the housing of the heater 71 from the front side. Passes toward the rear side. At this time, the outside air is heated by the heater 71. The air that has passed through the casing of the heater 71 passes over the humidification rotor 63 and advances to the rear side. Since the lower part on the rear surface side of the humidification rotor 63 is connected to the humidification duct 73 (see FIG. 5), the air that has reached the upper side of the humidification duct 73 passes through the humidification rotor 63 downward and is then supplied to the humidification duct. Inhaled by 73. The humidification rotor 63 is exposed to the air whose temperature has been increased by the heater 71 and dehumidifies. In this way, the air humidified by the humidification rotor 63 is guided to the indoor unit 20 through the humidification duct 73. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, in the humidification rotor 63, the lower part of the heater support member 74 becomes the moisture release part 62, and the other part becomes the moisture absorption part 61. The humidification rotor 63 rotates clockwise as viewed from above, and functions as the moisture release portion 62 when the portion of the humidification rotor 63 that functions as the moisture absorption portion 61 rotates and comes under the heater support member 74. That is, the humidification rotor 63 is a moisture absorbing / releasing material that serves as both the moisture absorbing portion 61 and the moisture releasing portion 62.

  Since the heater support member 74 is made of sheet metal and has a high heat transfer rate, when the heater support member 74 cools, heat is again taken away from the air heated by the heater 71. If air must be heated in such a situation, power consumption increases, so that the heater support member 74 is covered with the upper cover 67 shown in FIG. 4 so that heat does not escape from the heater support member 74. ing. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the height of the upper surface 67 c of the upper cover 67 coincides with the height of the upper end 33 b (top) of the outdoor heat exchanger 33.

  In order to prevent the heater support member 74 from being cooled by the outside air, it is preferable to attach a heat insulating material 74d to the upper surface portion 74a as shown in FIG. For the heat insulating material 74d, foamed polyethylene or the like is used.

(3-5-6) Turbo Fan and Humidification Duct Since the humidification duct 73 is located on the lower rear surface side of the humidification rotor 63 and is located in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 as described above, outdoor heat exchange is performed. It becomes a blowing resistance for the outside air passing through the vessel 33. Further, if the turbo fan 75 is also disposed in front of the outdoor heat exchanger 33, it causes air blowing resistance. Therefore, the turbo fan 75 having a relatively large occupied volume is as shown in FIGS. Installed in the machine room 42.

  The propeller 39b is disposed below the humidifying unit 60, and even at the highest position in the rotating region of the propeller 39b, the amount of the humidifying unit 60 is higher than the upper end 33b of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. It will be located below. Therefore, the outside air that has passed near the upper end of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 flows obliquely downward toward the propeller 39b. The humidifying duct 73 is turbocharged so that the humidifying duct 73 is located at the same position as the upper end 33b of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 so that the humidifying duct 73 does not obstruct the flow path of the outside air as much as possible. It is arranged obliquely toward the fan 75. As shown in FIG. 2, a damper 78 is attached to the humidifying duct 73 to prevent a reverse flow in the humidifying duct 73 during the humidifying operation, that is, a flow of air flowing from the turbo fan 75 side to the humidifying rotor 63. is doing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the turbo fan 75 is arranged so that it does not take up space in the front-rear direction. In other words, the rotary shaft of the impeller of the turbo fan 75 is arranged vertically so that it extends in the front-rear direction. The suction port 76 of the turbo fan 75 is horizontally arranged facing the humidifying unit 60. Further, the discharge port 77 of the turbo fan 75 is disposed obliquely downward. By providing the damper 78 on the humidifying duct 73 side and providing the discharge port 76 obliquely downward, the discharge port 77 and the vicinity of the discharge port 77 of the turbo fan 75 are also housed inside the outdoor unit 30. An air supply duct 18 is attached to the discharge port 77 of the turbofan 75 exposed from the opening 47a of the right side plate 47.

(3-5-7) Fixing of Humidification Unit FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of the outdoor unit 30 for showing the cross-sectional shape of the humidification unit 60. The humidifying unit 60 is fixed on the fan motor base 53 with screws 53a. Further, the front of the humidifying unit 60 reaches the front plate 46. In the fixed state, the humidification unit 60 does not move back and forth and left and right. Therefore, a predetermined gap Is is formed between the front surface 33a of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and the rear surface 60b of the humidifying unit 60. This gap Is is reliably maintained by the rib 60c formed on the rear surface 60b. Further, an inclined portion 68c is formed on the rear surface side of the moisture absorption duct 68, and the surrounding wall 65 shown in FIG. 12 is provided with an inclined portion 65c that is inclined so as to protrude forward as it goes downward. ing. When the inclined portion 65c is provided and the lower portion is inclined as shown in FIG. 12, the passage of outside air is improved.

  Since the gap Is is formed as described above, the outside air flows like the path r2 shown in FIG. 12, and the outside air passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 on the rear surface side of the humidifying unit 60 and passes therethrough. Since the outside air to be heat-exchanged, it can suppress that heat exchange efficiency falls.

(4) Features (4-1)
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, most of the humidifying rotor 63 and its peripheral members in the humidifying unit 60 are installed in the blower chamber 41. On the other hand, the turbo fan 75 (humidification fan) is installed in the machine room 42 of the casing 40. The machine room 42 is a space separated from the blower room 41, and is configured such that outside air that passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 does not flow into the machine room 42. The reason why the machine room 42 is separated and shielded from the blower room 41 is that noise caused by vibration of the compressor 31 and the like disposed in the machine room 42 is prevented from leaking to the outside.

  Since the turbo fan 75 is installed in such a machine room 42, the turbo fan 75 does not hinder the blower in the blower room 41. Since the turbo fan 75 does not interfere with the air flow, it is possible to prevent a decrease in heat exchange performance of the outdoor unit.

  Further, the turbo fan 75 is in the machine room 42, that is, in the casing 40 and does not constitute an external appearance. That is, it is not necessary for the turbo fan 75 to form a part of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped humidification unit as in the prior art. Therefore, it can be installed so that the occupied volume of the turbo fan 75 is as small as possible regardless of the appearance. The turbo fan 75 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has a distorted shape in which a part of a flat cylinder (a suction port and a discharge port) extends long in the front and rear directions. Such a shape is created so as to make the occupied volume as small as possible, allowing the appearance to be lost because it is in the machine room 42 that is not touched by the user's eyes. Thereby, the humidification unit 60 is made compact.

(4-2)
The blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42 are partitioned by a partition member 43. The partition member 43 completely prevents the turbo fan 75 installed in the machine room 42 from hitting outside air flowing from the outdoor heat exchanger 33 to the outdoor fan 39. Due to the function of the partition member 43, the effect of preventing the heat exchange performance from being lowered due to the turbo fan 75 being arranged in the machine room 42 is sufficiently brought out.

(4-3)
A humidifying duct 68 that the humidifying unit 60 has in order to guide air from the moisture releasing unit 61 to the turbo fan 75 is installed through the partition member 43. Among the humidifying ducts 63, those that are closer to the machine room 42 than the partition member 43 do not hinder the blowing of air. As a result, the blowing resistance generated in the humidifying duct 68 can be reduced, and the effect of preventing the heat exchange performance from being lowered can be sufficiently brought out.

(4-4)
As shown in FIG. 5, the turbo fan 75 (centrifugal blower) is installed with its rotating shaft extending direction D <b> 1 back and forth. Since the size of the turbo fan 75 in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rotating shaft extends is larger, the size in the front-rear direction for installing the turbo fan 75 can be smaller, and the size in the front-rear direction of the outdoor unit 30 can be reduced. Can be small. The downsizing of the outdoor unit 30 can be achieved by preventing the turbo fan 75 from increasing the size in the front-rear direction.

(4-5)
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 12, a disc-shaped humidification rotor 63 that serves as a moisture absorption part 61 and a moisture release part 62 is horizontally arranged. With this configuration, the humidifying unit 60 has a flat shape that is larger in the front-rear direction than in the vertical direction. Thereby, the projection area of the humidification unit 60 seen from the front surface becomes small, and the ventilation resistance of the humidification unit 60 can be made small. Further, since the vertical size of the humidifying unit 60 is reduced, downsizing in the height direction is also facilitated.

(4-6)
The damper 78 shown in FIG. 2 is disposed between the moisture release unit 62 and the turbo fan 75 (humidification fan), and prevents a reverse flow of air sent from the moisture release unit 62 to the turbo fan 75. Since a small part such as the damper 78 can prevent the backflow of air from the turbo fan 75 to the indoor unit 20, the compactness of the outdoor unit 30 can be prevented by using a small part such as the damper 78 for preventing the backflow. The humidification function of the outdoor unit 30 can be improved. In the above embodiment, the damper 78 is used because the air conditioner 10 is configured to perform the exhaust operation. However, if the exhaust operation is not performed, a check valve may be used instead of the damper 78. it can.

(5) Modification (5-1)
Although the pair type air conditioner 10 in which one outdoor unit 30 is connected to one indoor unit 20 has been described in the above embodiment, the type of the air conditioner to which the present invention can be applied is a pair type. Not limited. For example, the present invention can be applied to a multi-type air conditioner in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to a single outdoor unit.

(5-2)
In the said embodiment, although the case where the inside of the casing 40 of the outdoor unit 30 was divided | segmented into two, the fan room 41 and the machine room 42, if it is the casing 40 in which the fan room 41 is provided in the inside, it is. The outdoor unit of the present invention can be configured. For example, a partitioned space other than the blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42 may be formed. For example, the machine chamber 42 may be provided as another chamber including other functions.

(5-3)
In the above embodiment, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 has been described as having an L-shape when viewed from above, but the outdoor heat exchanger that constitutes the outdoor unit of the present invention is not limited to the shape described above. For example, an outdoor heat exchanger having an I-shape when viewed from the top can be used.

(5-4)
In the above embodiment, the outdoor fan 39 has the propeller type propeller 39b. However, the outdoor fan 39 is not limited to the type having the propeller type propeller 39b. An outdoor fan having a propeller of a type other than the propeller type can also constitute the outdoor unit of the present invention.

(5-5)
In the above embodiment, the case where the moisture absorption part 61 is larger than the moisture release part 62 and the center angle α of the moisture absorption part 61 is in a sector shape larger than 180 degrees as shown in FIG. The size of 61 and the moisture release part 62 can be set as appropriate. For example. The central angles can also be set to 180 degrees so that the sizes of the moisture absorbing part 61 and the moisture releasing part 62 are substantially equal.

(5-6)
In the above embodiment, a dedicated fan for guiding the outside air to the moisture absorption unit 61 and a motor for driving the fan are omitted. However, a dedicated fan or a dedicated fan motor that is smaller than the conventional fan is attached. Also good. Even in such a case, since the air is blown to the moisture absorption unit 61 by the outdoor fan 39, the dedicated fan only for guiding the outside air to the moisture absorption unit 61 and the motor for the dedicated fan can be reduced as compared with the conventional one. The outdoor unit can be made more compact than before.

(5-7)
In the above embodiment, the case where the moisture release unit 62 and the turbo fan 75 are partitioned by the partition plate 43 has been described. However, the moisture absorption unit 61 and the moisture release unit 62 are separated by the partition plate 43 illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. It can also comprise so that it may partition between. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the partition plate 43 is disposed at the boundary between the moisture absorbing portion 61 and the moisture releasing portion 62, so that the moisture releasing portion 62, the humidifying duct 73 and the turbo fan 75 are connected to the machine. It can be configured to be installed in the chamber 42. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the moisture release unit 62 from being cooled by the outside air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 33. Further, since not only a part of the turbo fan 75 and the humidifying duct 73 but also the entire moisture releasing part 62 and the humidifying duct 73 are removed from the outside air passage that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 33, the ventilation resistance is thereby increased. Can be reduced.

  13 and 14 show an example in which the entire moisture release unit 62 is disposed in the machine room 42. However, a part of the moisture release unit 62 is configured to be disposed in the machine room 42. You can also When a part of the moisture release unit 62 is disposed in the machine room 42, the effect of reducing the increase in ventilation resistance compared to the case where the entire unit is disposed in the machine room 42 and the moisture release unit 62 being cooled Although the effect to prevent becomes small, compared with 1st Embodiment, these effects improve.

(5-8)
In the above embodiment, the turbo fan 75 has been described by taking as an example the case where the direction D1 in which the rotation axis extends is front and rear, but the installation direction of the turbo fan 75 is not limited to this example. . For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the direction D <b> 2 in which the rotating shaft extends can be configured to coincide with the left-right direction that is the longitudinal direction of the casing 40. Thus, by making the direction D2 in which the rotating shaft extends coincide with the longitudinal direction of the casing 40, the length of the casing in the longitudinal direction can be easily shortened.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conditioning apparatus 20 Indoor unit 30 Outdoor unit 33 Outdoor heat exchanger 39 Outdoor fan 40 Casing 60 Humidification unit 63 Humidification rotor 68 Humidity absorption duct 73 Humidification duct 75 Turbo fan

JP 2004-353898 A JP 2008-241212 A

Claims (8)

An outdoor unit (30) of an air conditioner (10) connected to an indoor unit (20) for air conditioning,
A casing (40) having a machine room (42) and a blower room (41) through which outside air passes;
An outdoor heat exchanger (33) installed in the blower room and performing heat exchange with the outside air;
An outdoor fan (39) that is disposed in the blower chamber and blows outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger;
Moisture absorbing part (61) arranged in the blower chamber for absorbing moisture from outside air, moisture releasing part (62) for releasing moisture to humidify the air, and humidifying in the moisture releasing part arranged in the machine room A humidification unit (60) having a humidification fan (75) for sending the conditioned air to the indoor unit;
An air conditioner outdoor unit comprising: A partition member (43) for partitioning the blower chamber and the machine chamber;
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1. The humidification unit further includes a humidification duct (73) for guiding air from the moisture release section to the humidification fan, and the humidification duct is installed across the partition member.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus of Claim 2. The humidification unit has at least a part of the humidification unit disposed in the machine room.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2. The humidifying fan is a centrifugal blower, and is installed with the direction in which the rotating shaft of the centrifugal blower extends extending back and forth.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4. The humidifying fan is a centrifugal blower, and is installed with the direction of the rotation axis of the centrifugal blower extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4. The humidification unit further includes a disc-shaped humidification rotor (63) disposed substantially horizontally in the blower chamber to constitute the moisture absorption part and the moisture release part.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6. The humidifying unit further includes a damper (78) or a check valve that is disposed between the moisture releasing unit and the humidifying fan and prevents a reverse flow of air sent from the moisture releasing unit to the humidifying fan.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 7.

Images