JP2014142138A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress degradation in heat exchange performance of a micro-channel heat exchanger caused by dew condensation water generated by heat exchange by efficiently removing the dew condensation water while ensuring high heat exchange performance thereof.SOLUTION: An air conditioner comprises: a micro-channel heat exchanger; and finned tube heat exchanger. The micro-channel heat exchanger includes: a plurality of micro-channel portions including a plurality of very small channels in which refrigerant flows, and provided to be separated from one another; and a plurality of first fin portions provided between the two adjacent micro-channel portions so as to contact the respective micro-channel portions. The finned tube heat exchanger includes: a plurality of second fin portions provided to be separated from one another; and a refrigerant tube that is provided to penetrate the second fin portions, and in which the refrigerant flowing, and is provided downward of the micro-channel heat exchanger in a gravity direction.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an air conditioner.

  Conventionally, some air conditioners include a microchannel heat exchanger. The microchannel heat exchanger includes a plurality of microchannel portions and a plurality of fin portions. The microchannel portion has a plurality of minute flow paths through which the refrigerant flows, and the fin portion is provided in contact with the microchannel portion. Heat exchange by the microchannel heat exchanger is performed when air supplied from the outside passes through the gap between the fin portions.

  In general, such a microchannel heat exchanger has a relatively small gap between the fin portions in order to increase the contact area with air and improve the heat exchange performance. However, if the gap between the fin portions is made minute, the gap is likely to be blocked by condensed water generated during heat exchange. And if the clearance gap is block | closed with dew condensation water, the air resistance of a heat exchanger will increase and it will lead to the fall of heat exchange capability. Therefore, in such a microchannel heat exchanger, it is necessary to positively remove the dew condensation water generated during the heat exchange.

  In this case, as a configuration for removing the dew condensation water, for example, there is one in which the microchannel portion is inclined so as to descend in the direction in which air flows. According to this, dew condensation water can be flowed down along the inclination of a microchannel part with the flow of air and gravity, As a result, dew condensation water can be removed effectively.

  However, when the condensed water that has flowed down from the microchannel portion adheres to another microchannel portion that is further below, the condensed water stays on the microchannel portion, and the gap between the fin portions is blocked. Then, the air resistance of the heat exchanger is also increased, and as a result, the performance of heat exchange is reduced.

JP 2008-2746 A

  Therefore, providing an air conditioner that can suppress the deterioration of heat exchange performance due to condensed water by efficiently removing the condensed water generated by heat exchange while obtaining high heat exchange performance with a microchannel heat exchanger To do.

  The air conditioning apparatus according to this embodiment includes a microchannel heat exchanger and a finned tube heat exchanger. The microchannel heat exchanger includes a plurality of microchannel portions that have a plurality of microchannels in which a refrigerant flows inside and are provided apart from each other, and two microchannel portions that are adjacent to each other. A plurality of first fin portions provided in contact with the channel portion. The finned-tube heat exchanger includes a plurality of second fin portions provided apart from each other, and a refrigerant tube provided through the second fin portion and through which a refrigerant flows, and the microchannel It is provided below the gravitational direction of the mold heat exchanger.

The perspective view which shows the microchannel type heat exchanger with which the air conditioning apparatus by one Embodiment is equipped, and a finned tube type heat exchanger Longitudinal sectional view taken along line X2-X2 in FIG. Cross-sectional view of the fin portion showing the peripheral portion of the cut and raised portion The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an internal structure roughly about the indoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus The top view which shows roughly an internal structure about the outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus Front view of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
The air conditioning apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a microchannel heat exchanger 10 and a finned tube heat exchanger 20 as shown in FIG. Each of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is configured to have a rectangular plate shape as a whole. The finned tube heat exchanger 20 is provided below the microchannel heat exchanger 10 in the direction of gravity. In this case, the overall shape of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is configured to be a rectangular plate shape.

  In the present embodiment, the direction of gravity is the longitudinal direction of the heat exchangers 10 and 20. In addition, when the heat exchangers 10 and 20 are viewed as a plate as a whole, the direction parallel to the plate-like surface and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the heat exchangers 10 and 20 is the side of the heat exchangers 10 and 20. The direction. And the direction orthogonal to these vertical and horizontal directions is the thickness direction of the heat exchangers 10 and 20. In FIG. 1, the vertical direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is indicated by an arrow X, the horizontal direction is indicated by an arrow Y, and the thickness direction is indicated by an arrow Z.

  The heat exchangers 10 and 20 perform heat exchange between the air supplied from outside and the refrigerant flowing in the heat exchangers 10 and 20 by passing the air in the thickness direction of the heat exchangers 10 and 20. . In addition, the arrow A shown in the figure has shown the direction through which the air supplied from the outside flows. In this case, in FIG. 1, the left rear side of the drawing with respect to the heat exchangers 10 and 20 is the upstream side in the direction of air flow, and the right front side of the drawing is the downstream side. 2 to 4, the left side of the paper with respect to the heat exchangers 10 and 20 is the upstream side in the air flow direction, and the right side of the paper is the downstream side. In FIG. 5, the lower side of the drawing with respect to the heat exchangers 10 and 20 is the upstream side in the direction of air flow, and the upper side of the drawing is the downstream side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 includes a refrigerant inflow portion 11, a refrigerant outflow portion 12, a plurality of microchannel portions 13, and a plurality of first fin portions 14. The refrigerant inflow portion 11 and the refrigerant outflow portion 12 are configured in a tubular shape extending in the vertical direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. The plurality of microchannel portions 13 and the plurality of first fin portions 14 are provided between the refrigerant inflow portion 11 and the refrigerant outflow portion 12.

  The microchannel portion 13 is a flat plate-like member that extends in the lateral direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10, and is formed of a member having a relatively large thermal conductivity, such as aluminum. The microchannel portions 13 are provided apart from each other along the longitudinal direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the microchannel portion 13 is provided so as to be inclined so that the upstream side is high and the downstream side is low with respect to the direction in which air supplied from the outside flows. That is, the microchannel portion 13 is inclined downward so as to become lower toward the downstream side in the air flowing direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the microchannel portion 13 has a certain thickness, and a plurality of microchannel portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the microchannel portion 13, that is, in the lateral direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10, are included therein. A flow path 131 is provided. The microchannel 131 connects the refrigerant inflow portion 11 and the refrigerant outflow portion 12. The refrigerant on the refrigerant inflow portion 11 side flows to the refrigerant outflow portion 12 side through each microchannel 131.

  The 1st fin part 14 is comprised with the member with comparatively large thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, for example. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first fin portion 14 is configured, for example, by bending thin strip-shaped aluminum plates alternately in a bellows shape. The first fin portion 14 is configured to extend in the longitudinal direction of the microchannel portion 13, that is, in the lateral direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 as a whole. The first fin portion 14 is provided between two microchannel portions 13 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and is inclined along the microchannel portion 13. The upper portion 141 of the first fin portion 14 having a mountain fold shape and the lower portion 142 having a valley fold shape are in contact with the microchannel portion 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first fin portion 14 has a plurality of cut-and-raised portions 143. As shown in FIG. 3, the cut-and-raised part 143 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the plate member constituting the first fin part 14. Therefore, the cut-and-raised portion 143 protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which air supplied from the outside flows, that is, the direction indicated by the arrow A. In this case, the cut-and-raised part 143 is formed so that the upstream side opens with respect to the air flow passing through the microchannel heat exchanger 10.

  Further, the slit portion 144 is formed along with the formation of the cut and raised portion 143. As shown in FIG. 2, the cut-and-raised part 143 and the slit part 144 extend in the vertical direction of the microchannel heat exchanger 10, in this case, in the substantially vertical direction. The cut-and-raised part 143 partially disturbs the flow of air passing through the microchannel heat exchanger 10, thereby generating turbulent flow around the cut-and-raised part 143. Thereby, the heat exchange performance in the 1st fin part 14 improves.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the finned tube heat exchanger 20 includes two frame portions 21, a plurality of second fin portions 22, and a refrigerant pipe 23. The two frame parts 21 are comprised by the plate-shaped member with comparatively high rigidity, such as a steel plate, for example. The two frame portions 21 are provided such that their surface directions are parallel to the thickness direction and the vertical direction of the finned tube heat exchanger 20 and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The frame portion 21 supports the refrigerant pipe 23 and supports the plurality of second fin portions 22 via the refrigerant pipe 23.

  The plurality of second fin portions 22 are made of a member having a relatively high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, and are provided between the two frame portions 21. The 2nd fin part 22 is comprised by the rectangular thin plate shape long in the vertical direction, for example. Each of the second fin portions 22 has a surface parallel to the frame portion 21 and spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. That is, the second fin portions 22 are provided such that the surfaces of the second fin portions 22 are parallel to the thickness direction and the vertical direction of the finned tube heat exchanger 20 and are spaced apart from each other at substantially equal intervals. Yes.

  The refrigerant pipe 23 is made of a member having a relatively large thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or copper. As shown also in FIG. 2, the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 23 has the refrigerant | coolant flow path 231 into which a refrigerant | coolant flows inside. The refrigerant pipe 23 is provided so as to meander in the longitudinal direction as a whole while penetrating the plurality of second fin portions 22 in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the second fin portion 22, that is, in the lateral direction. Specifically, the refrigerant pipe 23 passes through one frame portion 21 and enters between the two frame portions 21. The refrigerant pipe 23 extends linearly in the lateral direction while penetrating the plurality of second fin portions 22, then goes out of the frame portion 21, and bends at the outer portion of the frame portion 21. And the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 23 penetrates the frame part 21 again, enters between the two frame parts 21, and repeats the form of extending linearly in the horizontal direction while penetrating through the plurality of second fin parts 22 a plurality of times. It is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 1, one end 232 of the refrigerant pipe 23 is connected to the refrigerant inflow part 11 of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. Thereby, the microchannel type heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube type heat exchanger 20 are connected. Further, refrigerant pipes 61 and 62 of the refrigeration cycle are connected to the other end 233 of the refrigerant pipe 23 and the refrigerant outflow part 12 of the microchannel heat exchanger 10, respectively. Thereby, the microchannel type heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube type heat exchanger 20 are incorporated in the refrigeration cycle.

  When the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are operated as an evaporator, the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle is first supplied to the finned tube heat exchanger 20 as indicated by an arrow B in FIG. Then, it is supplied to the microchannel heat exchanger 10. That is, when the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are operated as an evaporator, the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle first passes through the refrigerant pipe 61 and the refrigerant tube in the finned tube heat exchanger 20. The refrigerant is supplied from the other end 233 of the refrigerant 23 to the refrigerant pipe 23. The refrigerant supplied to the refrigerant pipe 23 circulates through the refrigerant pipe 23 and then is supplied from the one end 232 of the refrigerant pipe 23 to the refrigerant inflow portion 11 of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. Then, the refrigerant supplied to the refrigerant inflow portion 11 is distributed to each microchannel portion 13 by the refrigerant inflow portion 11, and then collected by the refrigerant outflow portion 12 through each microchannel portion 13 to the refrigerant pipe 62. leak.

  When the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are operated as a condenser, the refrigerant may be supplied in the same order as that described above, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow B. You may supply a refrigerant | coolant to the reverse direction to the aspect shown, ie, the direction opposite to the direction shown by the arrow B. FIG. That is, when the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are operated as a condenser, the refrigerant is supplied in the order of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the microchannel heat exchanger 10, the air supplied from the outside passes through the ventilation path of the first gap 15 formed between the first fin portion 14 and the microchannel portion 13. To do. In the finned tube heat exchanger 20, the air supplied from the outside passes through the ventilation path of the second gap 25 formed between the two adjacent second fin portions 22. In this case, the second gap 25 of the finned tube heat exchanger 20 has a larger space area than the first gap 15 of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. The second gap 25 communicates in the vertical direction. Therefore, when condensed water is generated in the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 by heat exchange, the portion of the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is compared with the portion of the microchannel heat exchanger 10. On the other hand, the condensed water will flow down faster.

  In the present embodiment, the above-described microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are provided in at least one of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit constituting the air conditioner. In FIG. 4, the indoor unit 30 of the air conditioning apparatus in this embodiment is shown. The indoor unit 30 includes the above-described microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20, the indoor unit blower 32, and the like inside the indoor unit casing 31 constituting the outer shell of the indoor unit 30. Have. Also in this case, the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is provided below the microchannel heat exchanger 10.

  In this case, the vertical dimension and the horizontal dimension of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 are set to be equal to the vertical dimension and the horizontal dimension of the finned tube heat exchanger 20. That is, in this case, the area related to heat exchange of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the area related to heat exchange of the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are set to be approximately equal. As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 4, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 exchange heat from the outside supplied by the blower action of the indoor unit blower 32.

  5 and 6 show an outdoor unit 40 of the air-conditioning apparatus according to this embodiment. The outdoor unit 40 includes the above-described microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20, the outdoor unit blower 42, and the compressor in the outdoor unit housing 41 constituting the outer shell of the outdoor unit 40. 43, a gas-liquid separator 44, and the like. The interior of the outdoor unit 40 is partitioned into two spaces by a partition wall 411. Inside the outdoor unit 40, the microchannel heat exchanger 10, the finned tube heat exchanger 20, and the outdoor unit blower 42 are arranged in one space. In the other space, a compressor 43, a gas-liquid separator 44, and the like are arranged. Also in this case, the finned tube heat exchanger 20 is provided below the microchannel heat exchanger 10 as shown in FIG.

  In this case, the horizontal dimension of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is set to be equal to the horizontal dimension of the finned tube heat exchanger 20. On the other hand, the vertical dimension of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is set larger than the vertical dimension of the finned tube heat exchanger 20. That is, in this case, the effective area related to the heat exchange of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is set to be larger than the area related to the heat exchange of the finned tube heat exchanger 20. As indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 5, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 exchange heat from the outside supplied by the blower action of the outdoor unit blower 42.

  According to this, the 2nd clearance gap 25 used as the ventilation path of the finned-tube type heat exchanger 20 has the space area larger than the 1st clearance gap 15 used as the ventilation path of the microtube type heat exchanger 10, and is vertical. The direction is communicating. Therefore, the dew condensation water generated during the heat exchange is more likely to flow downward in the second gap 25 than in the first gap 15. Therefore, compared to the microchannel heat exchanger 10, the finned tube heat exchanger 20 can remove dew condensation water generated by heat exchange relatively quickly. The finned tube heat exchanger 20 is provided below the microchannel heat exchanger 10 in the direction of gravity. Therefore, even if the condensed water generated in the microchannel heat exchanger 10 flows down to the lower finned tube heat exchanger 20, the condensed water can be quickly collected without retaining the condensed water in the finned tube heat exchanger 20. It can be removed from the heat exchanger 20.

  That is, according to this configuration, even if the condensed water that has flowed down from the microchannel heat exchanger 10 flows down to the find tube heat exchanger 20 below the microchannel heat exchanger 10, the condensed water Can be prevented from staying in the finned tube heat exchanger 20 and the second gap 25 being blocked. Thereby, it can avoid that the opening area of a ventilation path reduces by the retention of dew condensation water, and the air resistance of the finned-tube type heat exchanger 20 increases, Therefore, the performance fall of heat exchange can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in heat exchange performance due to condensed water while obtaining high heat exchange performance by the microchannel heat exchanger 10.

  In general, when the heat exchangers 10 and 20 are operated as evaporators, the heat exchanger on the upstream side of the refrigerant, that is, on the supply side, has a lower temperature and tends to generate more condensed water. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are operated as an evaporator, the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle is supplied to the finned tube heat exchanger 20 and then the microchannel type heat exchanger 20 is operated. The heat exchanger 10 is configured to supply the heat exchanger 10. According to this, dew condensation water can be efficiently removed by setting the upstream side of the refrigerant, that is, the side where condensation is likely to occur at a low temperature, as the finned tube heat exchanger 20 with high dew condensation water removal performance. . As a result, it is possible to more effectively suppress a decrease in heat exchange performance due to condensed water while obtaining high heat exchange performance by the microchannel heat exchanger 10.

  In the present embodiment, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 described above are employed as heat exchangers used for the indoor unit 30. Here, when performing the cooling operation by causing the heat exchangers 10 and 20 of the indoor unit 30 to act as an evaporator, it is assumed that the ambient humidity is high in summer, and a large amount of condensed water may be generated. However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the condensed water can be efficiently removed by the finned tube heat exchanger 20. Therefore, even when a large amount of dew condensation water is generated, it can be quickly removed, and as a result, a high heat exchange performance by the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is obtained, and a decrease in heat exchange performance by the dew condensation water is suppressed. can do.

  In the present embodiment, the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 described above are employed as the heat exchangers used in the outdoor unit 40. Here, when heating operation is performed by using the heat exchangers 10 and 20 of the outdoor unit 40 as an evaporator, it is assumed that the ambient temperature is low in winter, and the condensed water generated during the heat exchange freezes. There is a fear. And when condensed water freezes, not only heat exchange performance falls, but the heat exchangers 10 and 20 may also be damaged by the freezing. However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the condensed water can be efficiently removed by the finned tube heat exchanger 20. Therefore, the condensed water can be removed before the generated condensed water freezes. As a result, a decrease in heat exchange performance can be suppressed, and damage to the heat exchangers 10 and 20 due to freezing of condensed water can be avoided.

In the above embodiment, the microchannel portion 13 of the microchannel heat exchanger 10 is inclined downward toward the leeward side, but is not necessarily inclined downward, and may be horizontal, for example.
Further, when the microchannel heat exchanger 10 and the finned tube heat exchanger 20 are arranged in the indoor unit housing 31, the heat exchangers 10 and 20 may be arranged to be inclined toward the leeward side as a whole.

  According to the embodiment described above, the air conditioner includes the microchannel heat exchanger and the finned tube heat exchanger. The finned tube heat exchanger is provided below the microchannel heat exchanger in the direction of gravity. According to this, even if the dew condensation water generated in the microchannel heat exchanger flows down to the lower finned tube heat exchanger, the dew condensation water can be quickly removed from the finned tube heat exchanger. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in heat exchange performance due to condensed water while obtaining high heat exchange performance by the microchannel heat exchanger.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 10 is a microchannel heat exchanger, 13 is a microchannel portion, 131 is a microchannel, 14 is a first fin portion, 20 is a finned tube heat exchanger, 22 is a second fin portion, and 23 is a refrigerant. A pipe, 30 is an indoor unit, and 40 is an outdoor unit.

Claims (3)

Provided in contact with each microchannel portion between a plurality of adjacent microchannel portions and a plurality of microchannel portions that are provided apart from each other and have a plurality of microchannels through which a refrigerant flows. A plurality of first fin portions, and a microchannel heat exchanger having
A plurality of second fin portions provided apart from each other, and a refrigerant pipe provided through the second fin portion and through which the refrigerant flows, and in the gravity direction of the microchannel heat exchanger A finned tube heat exchanger provided below;
An air conditioner comprising:   When operating the microchannel heat exchanger and the finned tube heat exchanger as an evaporator, the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle is supplied to the finned tube heat exchanger and then supplied to the microchannel heat exchanger The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1.   The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the microchannel heat exchanger and the finned tube heat exchanger are provided in at least one of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit.

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