JP2015059723A - Unit cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a unit cooler capable of suppressing separation of a drain pan heater from a fixing device with a simple structure, even when the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and thermal contraction.SOLUTION: A unit cooler includes: a drain pan disposed at a lower part of a cooler and receiving melt water of frost attached to the cooler; a drain pan heater disposed on a drain pan; and a fixing device for fixing the drain pan heater to the drain pan. The fixing device has a metallic wire, and one-side opened bands respectively fixed to the drain pan at one end, and opened downward at the other end, and having opened recessed portions. The one-side opened bands are disposed at both sides of the drain pan heater, and both ends of the metallic wire are respectively held by the opened recessed portions of the one-side opened bands disposed at both sides of the drain pan heater over an upper part of the drain pan heater, thus the metallic wire fixes the drain pan heater to the drain pan.

Description

  The present invention relates to a unit cooler used for an air conditioning / refrigeration / refrigeration unit or the like.

  During the cooling operation, moisture in the air is condensed in the cooler due to the temperature difference between the cooler in the unit cooler and the ambient air. When used in a low temperature range, the condensed water freezes and becomes frost, which causes clogging of the cooler and deteriorates the performance of the cooler. Therefore, a defrost heater is attached to the cooler in the low-temperature unit cooler, and in the defrost operation, the heater is energized to melt frost. The drain pan below the cooler receives the dissolved water and frost mass during defrosting and drains it outside the unit cooler.

  A drain pan heater is attached to the drain pan. In order not to accumulate frost that melted water re-frozen or frost mass received from the cooler and interfere with the blower or cooler, it was energized during the defrosting operation and accumulated in the drain pan in the same way as the defrost heater. Melts frost.

  Patent document 1 and patent document 2 disclose the fixing method of these drain pan heaters or defrost heaters. Specifically, a method of fixing with a metal band and a screw, and a method of fixing a heater by directly fitting it into a one-side open band welded with a sheet metal are disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application No. 7-314211 Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-107820

  Due to the heat generated by the drain pan heater itself, thermal expansion / contraction of the drain pan heater occurs at every defrosting operation. There is a direction in which the drain pan heater easily slides along the drain pan due to the roughness (burrs) formed during the processing of the fixture and the frictional force that depends on the contact area between the fixture and the drain pan heater. By repeating the deformation, the drain pan heater moves relative to the fixture. As a result, the drain pan heater collides with the drain pan side wall and is deformed or detached from the fixture. The drain pan heater detached from the drain pan repeatedly collides with the drain pan due to vibration of the blower or the like, and generates abnormal noise.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a unit cooler that can suppress the drain pan heater from being detached from the fixing device with a simple structure even if the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and contraction. .

  The unit cooler of the present invention includes a casing, a cooler disposed inside the casing, a blower that blows air to the cooler, a drain pan that is disposed below the cooler and receives frost melting water attached to the cooler, and a drain pan And a fixing device for fixing the drain pan heater to the drain pan. The fixing device has a metal wire and an open recess whose one end is fixed to the drain pan and the other end is opened downward. One side open band is arranged on both sides of the drain pan heater, and both ends of the metal wire are respectively held by the open recesses of the one side open band arranged on both sides of the drain pan heater. As a result, the metal wire fixes the drain pan heater to the drain pan.

  According to the unit cooler of the present invention, even if the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and contraction, it is possible to suppress the drain pan heater from being detached from the fixing device with a simple structure.

Schematic of drain pan heater fixing method Schematic of unit cooler Schematic diagram of metal wire holding drain pan heater Schematic of one side open band holding metal wire

  The unit cooler of the present embodiment includes a casing, a cooler disposed inside the casing, a blower that blows air to the cooler, a drain pan that is disposed below the cooler and receives frost melting water attached to the cooler, A drain pan heater disposed on the drain pan, and a fixing device for fixing the drain pan heater to the drain pan. The fixing device includes a metal wire and an open recess having one end fixed to the drain pan and the other end opened downward. A single-side open band having a single-side open band disposed on both sides of the drain pan heater, and both ends of the metal wire being disposed on both sides of the drain pan heater. By being held, the metal wire fixes the drain pan heater to the drain pan.

  According to the unit cooler of the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the drain pan heater from being detached from the fixing device with a simple structure even if the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and contraction. That is, in the unit cooler of the present embodiment, the drain pan heater can be fixed with respect to the drain pan plane vertical direction by the fixing device, and the drain pan heater is fixed by the metal wire instead of the one side open band. There is no burr, and the frictional force due to the contact between the fixing device and the drain pan heater is also reduced, so even if the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and contraction, the drain pan heater is prevented from being deformed or detached from the fixing device. Can do. In addition, the drain pan heater fixing structure of the present embodiment operates the metal wire because the drain pan heater is fixed via the metal wire by the one side open metal band without using a screw or a special fixing bracket. Therefore, it is possible to easily attach / remove the drain pan heater.

  Hereinafter, the details of the unit cooler of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a fixing method of a drain pan heater, and FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a unit cooler.

  The unit cooler of a present Example is applied to the indoor unit with which the refrigerating-cycle apparatus for an air conditioning / refrigeration / freezing use is provided as an example. The refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a compressor that compresses refrigerant, an outdoor unit (condenser) that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, a decompression unit that decompresses the refrigerant condensed by the condenser, and a decompression unit that decompresses the refrigerant. And an indoor unit (evaporator) for evaporating the generated refrigerant. In such a refrigeration cycle apparatus for refrigeration / freezing, the internal temperature is cooled from + 3 ° C. to −40 ° C. or lower, and frozen foods, vegetables, fresh meat fish, etc. are frozen and refrigerated.

  In FIG. 2, a unit cooler 2 is suspended and supported by a hanging metal fitting 3 in an air conditioner / refrigerator / freezer 1. The unit cooler 2 is provided with a casing 4 serving as an outer plate and a drain pan 5 disposed at the lower part of the casing 4. A cooler 6 and a blower 7 are arranged in the casing 4.

  Refrigerant from a refrigerator (not shown) is sent from a refrigerant inlet pipe 9 disposed outside the casing 4 to a cooler 6 via a solenoid valve and an expansion valve (not shown), and exchanges heat with the air in the warehouse. The refrigerant that has exchanged heat with the internal air in the cooler 6 flows out of the cooler via the refrigerant outlet pipe 10 and returns to the refrigerator.

  On the other hand, the inside air is sucked into the casing 4 by the blower 7, passes through the cooler 6, is cooled, and is blown into the inside again. During the cooling operation, the internal air is cooled by the temperature difference between the cooler (cooling pipe and fin) and the ambient air when the internal air passes through each surface of the cooler 6 (cooling pipe and fin not shown). Condensation of moisture in the air. When used at low temperatures, the condensed water freezes and forms frost. When frost accumulates in the cooling pipes and fins of the cooler, the cooler 6 is clogged, the thermal efficiency is lowered, and the performance is lowered. Therefore, a defrost heater (not shown) is arranged in the cooler in the low-temperature unit cooler 2. By the defrosting operation, the heater is energized to dissolve the frost attached to the cooler.

  The drain pan 5 below the cooler receives the dissolved water and frost mass at the time of defrosting and drains them outside the unit cooler. However, water and frost blocks dissolved by the defrost heater are dropped and accumulated in the drain pan 5 below the cooler 6. When the ambient temperature is below freezing, these dissolved waters are frozen again in the drain pan 5 and become frost. When frost accumulates, it interferes with the cooler 6 and the blower 7 to reduce the performance. Therefore, a drain pan heater 8 is attached to the drain pan 5. In order not to accumulate frost that melted water re-frozen or frost mass received from the cooler and interfere with the blower or cooler, it was energized during the defrosting operation and accumulated in the drain pan in the same way as the defrost heater. Melts frost. The frost that has dissolved to become water is drained from the water distribution pipe 11 connected to the drain pan 5. The drain pan heater 8 is formed in a meandering shape or a U shape (in this embodiment, a U shape). By repeating such defrosting operation, the drain pan heater 8 repeats heat generation and natural cooling, and thermal deformation such as thermal expansion and thermal contraction occurs repeatedly.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the drain pan heater 8 is pressed against the one-side open band 13 via the metal wire 12 and fixed to the drain pan 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the metal wire 12 is formed of a wire having a round cross section. A convex portion 14 is formed on the metal wire 12, and the convex portion 14 serves as a guide for the drain pan heater 8 and restricts the movement of the drain pan heater 8.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the one-side open band 13 has an open recess 15 having one end fixed to the drain pan 5 and the other end opened downward. The metal wire 12 passes the drain pan heater 8 over the drain pan heater 8, and both ends of the metal wire 12 are respectively held by the open recesses 15 of the one side open band 13 disposed on both sides of the drain pan heater 8. Fix (the drain pan heater 8 is pressed against the drain pan 5 side by the metal wire 12). The height of the open recess 15 is adjusted so that a restoring force is generated in the metal wire 12.

  When installing the drain pan heater 8 on the drain pan 5, as described above, the one side open band 13 is arranged at both ends of the drain pan heater 8, and the drain pan heater 8 is positioned below the convex portion 14 of the metal wire 12. The wire 12 is disposed. A force is applied to both ends of the metal wire 12 in the direction of the drain pan 5 to bend, and each end of the metal wire 12 is inserted into the open recess 15 of the one side open band 13. The drain pan heater 8 is pressed against the drain pan 5 and fixed by the restoring force generated in the metal wire 12.

  Similarly, when removing the drain pan heater 8 from the drain pan 5, the metal wire 12 is bent from the open recess 13 by bending the metal wire 12 and removing both ends of the metal wire 12 from the open recess 15. As a result, the drain pan heater 8 fixed by the metal wire 12 can be removed from the drain pan 5. Since no screws are used to fix the fixing bracket, the number of parts is reduced and the working time can be further reduced.

  In the unit cooler of the present embodiment, the drain pan heater can be fixed with respect to the vertical direction of the drain pan plane by a fixing device, and the drain pan heater is fixed by a metal wire instead of the one side open band. In addition, since the frictional force due to the contact between the fixing device and the drain pan heater is also reduced, even if the drain pan heater repeatedly deforms due to thermal expansion and contraction, the drain pan heater can be prevented from being deformed or detached from the fixing device. . In addition, the drain pan heater fixing structure of the present embodiment operates the metal wire because the drain pan heater is fixed via the metal wire by the one side open metal band without using a screw or a special fixing bracket. Therefore, it is possible to easily attach / remove the drain pan heater.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigeration / freezer main body 2 Unit cooler 3 Hanging metal fitting 4 Casing 5 Drain pan 6 Cooler 7 Blower 8 Drain pan heater 9 Refrigerant inlet pipe 10 Refrigerant outlet pipe 11 Water distribution pipe 12 Metal wire 13 One side open band 14 Convex part (metal wire)
15 Recess (one side open band)

Claims (3)

A casing, a cooler disposed inside the casing, a blower that blows air to the cooler, a drain pan that is disposed below the cooler and receives frost melting water attached to the cooler, and disposed in the drain pan A drain pan heater, and a fixing device for fixing the drain pan heater to the drain pan,
The fixing device includes a metal wire, and a one-side open band having an open recess in which one end is fixed to the drain pan and the other end is opened downward,
The one-side open band is arranged on both sides of the drain pan heater,
Crossing over the drain pan heater, both ends of the metal wire are respectively held by the open recesses of the one-side open band disposed on both sides of the drain pan heater, so that the metal wire holds the drain pan heater to the drain pan. Unit cooler to be fixed.   2. The unit cooler according to claim 1, wherein the metal wire has a convex portion that restricts movement of the drain pan heater, and the drain pan heater is disposed between the drain pan and the convex portion.   A compressor that compresses the refrigerant; a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor; a decompression unit that decompresses the refrigerant condensed by the condenser; and an evaporation that evaporates the refrigerant decompressed by the decompression unit. A refrigeration cycle apparatus comprising: the unit cooler according to claim 1 or 2 used as a container.