JP2018179418A - Outdoor unit, and air conditioner having outdoor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner reduced in influence of wind and influence of snow.SOLUTION: An outdoor unit 2 of an air conditioner includes a housing 20 provided with one or more intake ports and one or more exhaust ports, a heat exchanger disposed inside of the housing, an intake hood 41 covering the intake ports, and an exhaust hood 42 covering the exhaust ports. The intake hood has a facing panel disposed in opposition to the intake port, a top face panel disposed at a top face side of a part between the intake port and the facing panel, and two sheets of side face panels disposed at both side face sides of the part between the intake port and the facing panel. The intake hood has a lower face intake hole 54 at a lower face side of the part between the intake port and the facing panel, and at least one of two sheets of side face panels is provided with a side face intake hole 55.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3C

Description

  The present invention relates to an outdoor unit and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit.

  An outdoor unit (outdoor unit) installed outdoors (outdoor), an indoor unit (indoor unit) installed indoors (indoor), and an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, as a type of air conditioner that harmonizes air. There is a separation type device provided with a connecting refrigerant pipe. Among the separated air conditioners, for example, there is a device that performs cooling operation throughout the year, such as a business device installed in a building.

  In the air conditioner, since the outdoor unit is installed outdoors, when the cooling operation is performed in winter, the cooling operation of the outdoor unit may become unstable as the outside air temperature decreases. For example, when the outside air temperature decreases, the condensation temperature of the refrigerant decreases and the condensation pressure decreases in the outdoor heat exchanger built in the outdoor unit due to the wind blowing on the outdoor unit. As a result, the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger is lowered, and the cooling operation of the outdoor unit becomes unstable. Such unstable operation was particularly likely to occur when the outside air temperature was below the threshold temperature (e.g. -5 [deg.] C).

  Therefore, even if the outside air temperature is less than the threshold temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.), a wind for restricting the air flow so as to suppress the decrease in the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger. It has been practiced to provide an intake port and an exhaust port of an outdoor unit. However, in the configuration in which the windbreak is provided in the outdoor unit, since the restriction of the air flow by the windbreak is constantly performed, when the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.) When the heating operation is performed, the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger is reduced.

  Therefore, the wind direction fan and the exhaust hood having a function of changing the air flow can be used as the intake of the outdoor unit so that the decrease in the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger can be suppressed regardless of the outside air temperature. It has been proposed to provide in the mouth and the exhaust port (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2013-533457 (FIG. 10, FIG. 15A)

  However, in the conventional air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, it is desired to reduce the influence of wind and the influence of snow, as described below.

  For example, in regions such as cold regions and mountain areas (hereinafter referred to as "cold regions etc."), strong winds may blow or relatively large amounts of snow may occur in cold seasons such as winter. When the conventional air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 is used in such a cold area or the like, strong wind blows on the outdoor unit at the time of strong wind, or snow is accumulated at the inlet or the outlet of the outdoor unit at the time of snowfall. Sometimes.

  The outdoor unit stabilizes the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger by controlling the rotation speed of the built-in outdoor fan and adjusting the amount of outside air to be sucked (the amount of outside air suctioned), thereby achieving air conditioning. Control the temperature of the entire machine.

  However, when strong wind blows on the outdoor unit, an unintended amount of outside air (outside air) exceeding the adjustment amount by the rotation speed control of the outdoor fan may intrude into the inside of the outdoor unit. In addition, when snow is accumulated on the intake and exhaust ports of the outdoor unit, the snow inhibits the suction of the outside air, so that only a smaller amount of outside air can be sucked than the adjustment amount by the rotation speed control of the outdoor fan There is.

  Therefore, in these cases, the outdoor unit is inhibited from adjusting the outside air suction amount by the outdoor fan, and as a result, in the outdoor heat exchanger, the condensing temperature and the condensing pressure of the refrigerant decrease and the heat conversion efficiency decreases. Sometimes. As a result, the cooling operation of the outdoor unit may become unstable, and suitable temperature control of the entire air conditioner may be impeded. Therefore, the conventional air conditioner is desired to reduce the effects of wind and snow.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its main object is to provide an air conditioner that reduces the effects of wind and snow.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a case in which one or more inlets and one or more outlets are formed, a heat exchanger disposed inside the case, and the inlet. And an exhaust hood covering the exhaust port, wherein the intake hood is an upper surface side of a portion between the facing panel disposed opposite to the suction port, the suction port and the facing panel And two side panels disposed on both sides of a portion between the intake port and the facing panel, and the intake port and the facing panel An outdoor unit in which a lower surface intake hole is provided on the lower surface side of a portion between the two and a side surface intake hole is provided in at least one of the two side panels, and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit .
Other means will be described later.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the air conditioner which reduces the influence of a wind and the influence of snow can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram of the whole air conditioner concerning embodiment. It is a refrigerating-cycle block diagram of the air conditioner concerning embodiment. It is a front view of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a left view of the outdoor unit concerning an embodiment. It is a rear view of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a front view of the case of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a left view of the case of the outdoor unit concerning an embodiment. It is a rear view of the case of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the intake hood of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the exhaust hood of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (1) of the damper of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (2) of the damper of the outdoor unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a rear view of the outdoor unit to which the suction hood concerning a modification was attached.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as “this embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings are only schematically shown to the extent that the present invention can be sufficiently understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example. Moreover, in each figure, about the component common in common, and the same component, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and those duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Embodiment]
The present embodiment is intended to provide an outdoor unit in consideration of the following points, and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit.

(1) The present embodiment is intended to provide an outdoor unit capable of well controlling the amount of outside air suctioned by the outdoor fan, and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10 of Patent Document 1, the conventional air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-533457) is on the upper surface of the wind deflector attached to the intake port of the outdoor unit. When an opening is provided, snow may be accumulated on the opening of the wind deflector during snowfall, or snow may adhere to the outdoor heat exchanger disposed inside the wind deflector through the opening of the wind deflector. . In this case, since the snow inhibits the suction of the outside air (outside air), the outside air can not be sucked in an amount smaller than the amount adjusted by the control of the rotation speed of the outdoor fan. Further, for example, in the conventional air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, when snow is accumulated in the exhaust hole of the exhaust hood, the snow does not have a means for removing the snow, so the snow is in the exhaust hole of the exhaust hood May remain. In this case, since the flow path of the outside air is partially blocked by the snow, it is possible to suck only a smaller amount of outside air than the adjustment amount by the rotation speed control of the outdoor fan. Then, this embodiment shall provide the outdoor unit which can control outside air suction quantity by an outdoor fan favorably, and the air conditioner which has the outdoor unit.

(2) The present embodiment is intended to provide an outdoor unit in which the size of the hood is miniaturized, and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit.
For example, as shown in FIG. 15A of Patent Document 1, the conventional air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 prevents snow by providing a wind deflector integrated exhaust hood that covers the inlet and the outlet of the outdoor unit. You can get the effect. However, the air conditioner having the configuration shown in FIG. 15A of Patent Document 1 does not reduce the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger between the cooling operation in summer and the heating operation in winter. The opening needs to be large. As a result, the size of the wind direction machine integrated exhaust hood is increased. Along with that, in the air conditioner having the configuration shown in FIG. 15A of Patent Document 1, the size of the outdoor unit is increased, so it is necessary to secure a wide installation place for the outdoor unit. Therefore, the present embodiment provides an outdoor unit in which the size of the hood is reduced, and an air conditioner having the outdoor unit.

<Configuration of air conditioner>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the entire air conditioner. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 1 connects an outdoor unit 2 installed outdoors (outdoor), an indoor unit 3 installed indoors (indoors), and the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3. And a refrigerant pipe 4. A plurality of outdoor units 2 and a plurality of indoor units 3 can be provided. The air conditioner 1 can perform the cooling operation and the heating operation by forming the refrigeration cycle with the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outdoor unit 2 exchanges heat between the compressor 5 for compressing the refrigerant, the four-way valve 6 for reversing the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling operation and the heating operation, and the refrigerant and the outside air. The outdoor heat exchanger 7, the outdoor fan 8 for sending outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger 7, and the outdoor expansion valve 9 for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant are provided.

  The indoor unit 3 includes an indoor heat exchanger 10 that exchanges heat between refrigerant and indoor air, an indoor fan 11 that sends indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 10, and an indoor expansion valve 12 that decompresses and expands the refrigerant. have.

  In the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3, a gas refrigerant pipe 4a through which a gaseous refrigerant (hereinafter simply referred to as "gas refrigerant") flows, and a liquid refrigerant (hereinafter simply referred to as "liquid refrigerant") flow It is connected by the liquid refrigerant pipe 4b. The outdoor unit 2 has a liquid blocking valve 15 at the connecting portion with the liquid refrigerant pipe 4b, and has a gas blocking valve 16 at the connecting portion with the gas refrigerant pipe 4a.

During the cooling operation, the air conditioner 1 operates as follows.
First, in the outdoor unit 2, the compressor 5 compresses the gas refrigerant. As a result, the gas refrigerant is in a high temperature and high pressure state. The compressor 5 discharges a high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant to the four-way valve 6. The four-way valve 6 causes the high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant to flow to the outdoor heat exchanger 7.

  The high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant introduced into the outdoor heat exchanger 7 exchanges heat with the outside air sent by the outdoor fan 8. At this time, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is condensed to be a liquid refrigerant. The outdoor unit 2 flows the liquid refrigerant to the indoor unit 3 via the liquid refrigerant pipe 4b.

  In the indoor unit 3, the liquid refrigerant flows into the indoor expansion valve 12. The indoor expansion valve 12 reduces the pressure to a predetermined pressure to expand the liquid refrigerant. Thereby, the liquid refrigerant becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant in which the gas and the liquid are mixed. The low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flows from the indoor expansion valve 12 to the indoor heat exchanger 10.

The low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 10 exchanges heat with indoor air sent by the indoor fan 11. At this time, the room air is cooled. On the other hand, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant absorbs heat and evaporates to become a gas refrigerant. The indoor unit 3 cools the room by discharging the cooled room air into the room. Further, the indoor unit 3 flows the gas refrigerant to the outdoor unit 2 via the gas refrigerant pipe 4a. In the outdoor unit 2, the four-way valve 6 causes the gas refrigerant to flow to the compressor 5.
Thereafter, the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3 repeat the same operation.

On the other hand, at the time of heating operation, the air conditioner 1 operates as follows.
First, in the outdoor unit 2, the compressor 5 compresses the gas refrigerant. As a result, the gas refrigerant is in a high temperature and high pressure state. The compressor 5 discharges a high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant to the four-way valve 6. The four-way valve 6 causes the high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant to flow to the indoor unit 3 via the gas refrigerant pipe 4 a. That is, in the heating operation, the four-way valve 6 causes the gas refrigerant to flow in the opposite direction to that in the cooling operation.

  In the indoor unit 3, a high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant flows into the indoor heat exchanger 10. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 10 exchanges heat with indoor air sent by the indoor fan 11. At this time, the room air is heated. On the other hand, the high temperature / high pressure gas refrigerant is condensed to be a liquid refrigerant. The indoor unit 3 heats the room by discharging the heated room air into the room. Further, the indoor unit 3 flows the liquid refrigerant to the outdoor unit 2 via the liquid refrigerant pipe 4b.

  In the outdoor unit 2, the liquid refrigerant flows into the outdoor expansion valve 9. The outdoor expansion valve 9 decompresses the pressure to a predetermined pressure to expand the liquid refrigerant. As a result, the liquid refrigerant becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant. The low temperature low pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flows from the outdoor expansion valve 9 to the outdoor heat exchanger 7.

The low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 7 exchanges heat with the outside air sent by the outdoor fan 8. At this time, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant absorbs heat, evaporates, and becomes a gas refrigerant. The outdoor unit 2 flows gas refrigerant from the outdoor heat exchanger 7 to the four-way valve 6. The four-way valve 6 causes the gas refrigerant to flow to the compressor 5.
Thereafter, the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3 repeat the same operation.

<Configuration of outdoor unit>
(Configuration of outdoor unit)
The entire configuration of the outdoor unit 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C. 3A, 3B, and 3C are a front view, a left side view, and a rear view of the outdoor unit 2, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, the outdoor unit 2 has a box-like housing 20, an intake hood 41, and an exhaust hood 42.
The intake hood 41 is a member that covers the intake port 31 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C) provided in the housing 20.
The exhaust hood 42 is a member that covers the exhaust port 32 (see FIGS. 4A to 4C) provided in the housing 20.

  In the present embodiment, three intake hoods 41 a, 41 b and 41 c and one exhaust hood 42 are attached to the housing 20. The detailed structures of the intake hoods 41a, 41b, 41c and the exhaust hood 42 will be described later.

(Configuration of case)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the housing 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C. 4A, 4B, and 4C are a front view, a left side view, and a rear view of the housing 20, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, in the present embodiment, the housing 20 has a substantially square columnar shape whose main body portion is wide in the left-right direction, and two exhaust ports 32 are provided on the upper surface of the main body portion. It has a structure that is protrusively installed.

The compressor 5, the four-way valve 6, the outdoor heat exchanger 7, and the outdoor expansion valve 9 are disposed inside the main body of the housing 20 (see FIG. 2).
In addition, an outdoor fan 8 is disposed inside each exhaust port 32. In the present embodiment, the number of exhaust ports 32 is two. However, the number of exhaust ports 32 can be changed according to the operation.

  A front (front) panel 21, a side panel 22a on the left, a side panel 22b on the right, and a rear (rear) panel 23 are disposed on the front (front), left side, right side and rear side of the housing 20, respectively. ing.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the front (front) panel 21 has a flat surface and a rectangular shape as a whole.
As shown to FIG. 4B, the side panel 22a of the left side is a structure by which the rectangular inlet 31a was formed in the rectangular flat surface. Although not shown, the side panel 22b on the right side, like the side panel 22a on the left side of the housing 20, has a structure in which a rectangular air inlet 31b is formed in a rectangular flat surface. The left side panel 22a and the side panel 22b have a symmetrical structure and the same size with the front (front) panel 21 and the back (rear) panel 23 interposed therebetween.
As shown in FIG. 4C, the rear (rear) panel 23 has a structure in which a rectangular air inlet 31c is formed in a rectangular flat surface.

  Hereinafter, the side panel 22a on the left side and the side panel 22b on the right side are collectively referred to as "side panel 22". Moreover, when naming inlet ports 31a, 31b, and 31c generically, it calls "the inlet port 31."

  An outdoor heat exchanger 7 is disposed in the housing 20. The outdoor heat exchanger 7 is exposed to the outside through the air inlets 31a, 31b, and 31c.

  In the present embodiment, the shapes of the air inlets 31a, 31b, and 31c are rectangular. However, the shapes of the air inlets 31a, 31b, and 31c are not limited to rectangles, and can be changed to any shape according to operation.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the number of intake ports 31 is three, that is, the intake ports 31a, 31b, and 31c. However, the number of intake ports 31 can be changed according to the operation. That is, it is possible not to provide any one of the intake ports 31 in the housing 20, to divide any one of the intake ports 31 into a plurality, or to provide an additional intake port 31 in the housing 20. Therefore, for example, by providing only the intake ports 31a and 31b in the housing 20 and not providing the intake ports 31c in the housing 20, the housing 20 changes the number of the intake ports 31 to two. Can. Further, for example, by providing only the intake port 31c in the casing 20 and not providing the intake ports 31a and 31b in the casing 20, the casing 20 changes the number of the intake ports 31 to one. You can also.

The upper portion of the housing 20 has a structure in which two exhaust ports 32 are provided on the upper surface of a rectangular flat surface.
The lower portion of the housing 20 is configured to be in partial contact with the ground (see FIG. 3B). Thereby, the case 20 makes the contact area with the ground small, and makes it difficult to corrode.

(Intake hood configuration)
The configuration of the intake hood 41 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the intake hood 41 viewed obliquely from below. Here, the intake hood 41a attached to the left side panel 22a (see FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C) is illustrated as an example of the intake hood 41, and the configuration of the intake hood 41 will be described using the intake hood 41a. .

  In the present embodiment, the intake hood 41b (see FIGS. 3A and 3C) attached to the right side panel 22b (see FIGS. 3A and 3C) has the same structure and the same size as the intake hood 41a. . On the other hand, although the intake hood 41c (see FIGS. 3B and 3C) attached to the rear (rear) panel 23 has the same structure as the intake hoods 41a and 41b, the lateral width is the rear (rear) panel 23 The difference is that the width is changed to conform to the formed intake port 31c (see FIG. 3C).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the intake hood 41 includes a facing panel 51 disposed opposite to the intake port 31 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C), an intake port 31 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C), and the facing panel 51. Between the upper surface panel 53 disposed on the upper surface side of the portion between the two, and two side panels 52a disposed on both side surfaces of the portion between the intake port 31 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C) and the facing panel 51, And 52b.

  The side panel 52 a is a panel disposed on the right side of the facing panel 51. On the other hand, the side panel 52 b is a panel disposed on the left side of the facing panel 51. Hereinafter, the side panel 52a and the side panel 52b are collectively referred to as "side panel 52".

  The intake hood 41 is provided with a lower intake hole 54 on the lower surface side of a portion between the intake port 31 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C) and the facing panel 51, and at least two side panels 52a and 52b. A side air intake hole 55 is provided on one side. In the illustrated example, side intake holes 55a and 55b are provided as side intake holes 55 on both side panels 52a and 52b.

  In the present embodiment, the lower air intake hole 54 is described as being constituted by a single relatively large opening. Further, the side air intake holes 55 (55a, 55b) will be described as being constituted by a plurality of relatively small openings. However, the side air intake holes 55 (55a, 55b) can also be configured with a single relatively large opening.

  The top panel 53 has a flat surface and a rectangular shape as a whole. The top panel 53 is disposed such that the outer end (the end farther from the housing 20) is lower than the inner end (the end closer to the housing 20). Therefore, the outer end of the upper surface panel 53 is the lower end, and the inner end of the upper surface panel 53 is the upper end.

  Further, the facing panel 51 has a flat surface and a rectangular shape as a whole. The facing panel 51 is disposed such that the outer end (the end farther from the housing 20) is lower than the inner end (the end closer to the housing 20). Therefore, the outer end of the facing panel 51 is the lower end, and the inner end of the facing panel 51 is the upper end. The inner end (upper end) of the facing panel 51 is connected to the outer end (lower end) of the upper surface panel 53. Since the surfaces of the upper surface panel 53 and the facing panel 51 are flat, the intake hood 41 makes it easy for snow to fall at the time of snowfall.

  The right end portions of the top panel 53 and the facing panel 51 are connected to the right side panel 52a. Further, the left end portions of the top panel 53 and the facing panel 51 are connected to the left side panel 52 b. The two side panels 52 a and 52 b are shaped according to the arrangement positions of the top panel 53 and the facing panel 51.

  The side panel 52 a is formed with a side air intake hole 55 a for passing outside air into the air intake hood 41. Similarly, the side panel 52 b is formed with a side air intake hole 55 b for passing outside air into the intake hood 41. In the illustrated example, the side air intake holes 55a and the side air intake holes 55b are respectively constituted by a plurality of relatively small openings formed in a long hole shape so as to extend in the lateral direction. The side air intake holes 55a and the side air intake holes 55b are preferably provided at mutually symmetrical positions of the two side panels 52a and 52b so that the wind blown to the side panels 52 of the air intake hood 41 is released from each other. Good to have.

  A cover 56 opened downward is provided above the side intake holes 55a, 55b (strictly speaking, relatively small openings forming the side intake holes 55a, 55b). Thus, the intake hood 41 can prevent snow from entering the intake hood 41 from the side intake holes 55a and 55b.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the intake hood 41 has a shape in which the lower end portion of the side panel 52 extends in a substantially horizontal direction (that is, a shape extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the casing 20 of the outdoor unit 2). It is presenting. A lower surface intake hole 54 (see FIG. 5) is formed on the lower surface of the intake hood 41.

  The intake hood 41 is disposed so as to cover the intake ports 31 (31a, 31b, 31c) formed in the side panels 22a and 22b and the rear (rear) panel 23, respectively. The lower end portion of the intake hood 41 covers the intake port 31 (31a, 31b, 31c) with a desired covering amount t1. The covering amount t1 is preferably set to 10 mm or more (more preferably, 50 mm or more) in order to efficiently suppress the intrusion of the wind into the casing 20.

  In addition, the intake hood 41 is disposed such that the lower end portion forms a desired gap t2 with the ground. The interval of the gap t2 is a value capable of taking in the amount of outside air manageable by the rotational speed control of the outdoor fan 8 into the interior of the casing 20 while efficiently suppressing the intrusion of wind into the casing 20 (for example, , About 40 mm).

  The outdoor unit 2 takes outside air into the inside of the housing 20 through the gap t2 by rotating the outdoor fan 8 (see white arrows Aa1, Ab1, and Ac1 in FIG. 3C). At this time, the outside air enters the inside of the intake hood 41 through the lower surface intake hole 54 (see FIG. 5) and the side intake holes 55 of the intake hood 41, and passes through the intake port 31 of the housing 20 and the housing 20. Invade inside of Then, the outside air that has entered the inside of the housing 20 proceeds in the direction of the outdoor fan 8 and is discharged to the inside of the exhaust hood 42 through the exhaust port 32 (see dashed dotted arrows Aa2, Ab2, Ac2 in FIG. 3C). . Outside air exhausted to the inside of the exhaust hood 42 is exhausted to the outside of the exhaust hood 42 through the exhaust hole 63 (see FIG. 3B) of the exhaust hood 42.

(Configuration of exhaust hood)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the exhaust hood 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3B and 6. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the exhaust hood 42 viewed obliquely from below.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the exhaust hood 42 has a shape in which the front end portion protrudes forward of the front (front) panel 21 of the housing 20. At the front end portion, an exhaust hole 63 for exhausting the outside air taken into the exhaust hood 42 is provided.

  Further, the exhaust hood 42 internally includes an openable / closable damper 61 disposed adjacent to the exhaust hole 63 and a damper controller 62 connected to the damper 61 and operated electrically. Furthermore, the exhaust hood 42 is provided with an opening 64 at a position in the lower front of the damper 61 within the working range of the damper 61. The opening 64 is formed to discharge the snow accumulated near the exhaust hole 63 inside the exhaust hood 42 to the outside of the exhaust hood 42.

  The outdoor unit 2 includes an outside air temperature sensor SN and a control board 60 for controlling the operation of each part of the outdoor unit 2 including the damper operating device 62 inside the housing 20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, at the front end of the exhaust hood 42, the above-described exhaust hole 63 is provided. In the lower part of the exhaust hood 42, the above-mentioned opening 64 and an opening 65 are provided. The opening 65 is formed to take in the outside air discharged from the housing 20 into the exhaust hood 42.

(Damper operation)
The operation of the damper 61 provided inside the exhaust hood 42 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. 7 and 8 are explanatory views of the operation of the damper 61, respectively. FIGS. 7A and 7B show states before and after the operation in the case where the damper 61 is rotated in the fully closed direction. 8 (a) and 8 (b) show states before and after the operation in the case where the damper 61 is rotated in the full opening direction.

  For example, (a) a condition that the rotational speed of the outdoor fan 8 is the minimum speed, (b) a condition that the outside air temperature is less than a threshold temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.), When all of the conditions of the cooling operation are satisfied, an instruction signal for rotating the damper 61 in the fully closed direction is output from the damper control terminal (not shown) to the damper operating device 62. In response to this, the damper operator 62 rotates the damper 61 in the fully closed direction (see arrow A1 shown in FIG. 7B).

  At that time, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the damper 61 scrapes the snow SW which has entered the inside of the exhaust hood 42 and accumulated between the exhaust hole 63 and the opening 64. The broken snow is discharged from the opening 64 to the outside of the exhaust hood 42.

  In addition, the control board 60 has (a) a condition that the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 8 is the minimum speed, (b) a condition that the outside air temperature is less than a threshold temperature (eg -5 ° C), and (c) an operation mode When at least one of the conditions for the cooling operation is deviated, an instruction signal for rotating the damper 61 in the fully open direction is output from the damper control terminal (not shown) to the damper operating device 62. In response to this, the damper operator 62 rotates the damper 61 in the fully open direction (see arrow A2 shown in FIG. 8B).

  At that time, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the damper 61 intrudes into the inside of the exhaust hood 42 and scrapes the snow SW accumulated between the damper 61 and the opening 64. Then, the scraped snow SW is discharged from the opening 64 to the outside of the exhaust hood 42.

<Operation of whole outdoor unit>
The outdoor unit 2 operates as follows during the cooling operation or the heating operation.
The outdoor unit 2 takes in the outside air from the outside of the casing 20 through the air inlet 31 (31a, 31b, 31c) by rotating the outside fan 8, and takes the outside heat exchanger 7 into the taken outside air. Let it pass. At this time, the outdoor unit 2 exchanges heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant supplied from the compressor 5 and the outside air. The outdoor unit 2 discharges the outside air from the inside of the housing 20 to the outside through the exhaust port 32.

  The rotational speed of the outdoor fan 8 is controlled by the control board 60. The control board 60 controls the rotational speed of the outdoor fan 8 based on the rotational speed of the compressor 5 and the measured temperature value of the outside air temperature sensor SN so as to maintain the refrigerant pressure necessary to continue the cooling operation. The rotational speed of the outdoor fan 8 decreases with the decrease of the outside air temperature. And when outside temperature is less than threshold temperature (for example, -5 ° C), rotation speed of outdoor fan 8 serves as the minimum speed.

<Main Features of Outdoor Unit>
(1) The outdoor unit 2 is configured to include the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c). Thereby, the outdoor unit 2 can obtain the following characteristics.

  (A) Temporarily, when the outdoor unit 2 is not provided with the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c), the outdoor heat exchanger 7 is connected via the intake port 31 (31a, 31b, 31c). And exposed to the outside of the case 20. Therefore, in this configuration, when strong wind blows on the outdoor unit 2, an unintended amount of outside air exceeding the adjustment amount by the rotation speed control of the outdoor fan 8 intrudes into the inside of the housing 20 and the outdoor heat exchanger Spray 7 Therefore, in this configuration, in the outdoor heat exchanger 7, the condensation temperature and the condensation pressure of the refrigerant decrease, and as a result, the heat conversion efficiency decreases.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the outdoor unit 2 includes the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c). Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when strong wind blows on the outdoor unit 2, an unintended amount of outside air exceeding the adjustment amount by the rotational speed control of the outdoor fan 8 intrudes into the inside of the housing 20. There is no blow to the outdoor heat exchanger 7. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the outdoor heat exchanger 7, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the condensing temperature and the condensing pressure of the refrigerant, and as a result, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the heat conversion efficiency.

  Therefore, by using such an outdoor unit 2, the air conditioner 1 performs adjustment by the rotational speed control of the outdoor fan 8 even when strong wind blows on the outdoor unit 2 in a cold season such as winter. It is possible to prevent an unintended amount of outside air exceeding the amount from intruding into the inside of the housing 20 of the outdoor unit 2. Thereby, the air conditioner 1 can ensure the adjustment of the outside air suction amount by the outdoor fan 8. As a result, in the outdoor heat exchanger 7, the air conditioner 1 can suppress the variation in the heat exchange amount in the outdoor heat exchanger 7 due to the decrease in the condensation temperature and the condensation pressure of the refrigerant. Thereby, air conditioner 1 can control that heat conversion efficiency in outdoor heat exchanger 7 falls, and can realize suitable temperature control of air conditioner 1 whole. Further, by using the exhaust hood 42, the air conditioner 1 can secure a flow path of air around the exhaust port 32, and can eliminate the influence of snowfall. Such an air conditioner 1 can improve the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger 7 even when the outside air temperature is low (e.g., less than the threshold temperature of -5 [deg.] C.). Therefore, the air conditioner 1 can satisfactorily perform the cooling operation throughout the year in a cold region or the like.

  (B) Further, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) is provided with a lower intake hole 54 on the lower surface side of a portion between the intake port 31 and the facing panel 51, and two side panels 52a , 52b are provided with side air intake holes 55. Therefore, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) can allow the outside air to pass therethrough by the total opening area of the lower surface intake hole 54 and the side surface intake hole 55. By using the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c), the air conditioner 1 can suitably cope with the case where it is desired to increase the outside air suction amount by the outdoor fan in summer or the like. Therefore, the air conditioner 1 can be made not to affect the heat conversion efficiency in the heating operation in winter and the cooling operation in summer.

  (C) Furthermore, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) can reduce the opening area of the lower surface intake hole 54 by the opening area of the side surface intake hole 55. Therefore, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) can be formed in a relatively small size. By using the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c), the outdoor unit 2 can realize downsizing while securing an intake area required to maintain heat conversion efficiency.

  The intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) has a structure in which an intake hole (side intake hole 55) is provided in the side panel 52 without providing an intake hole in the facing panel 51 or the top panel 53. This is because strong wind is likely to blow to the facing panel 51 in cold season such as winter, and even if strong wind blows to the facing panel 51, the influence thereof is suppressed. In other words, even when strong wind blows on the outdoor unit 2 in cold seasons such as winter season, an unintended amount of outside air exceeding the adjustment amount by the rotation speed control of the outdoor fan 8 is This is to suppress intrusion into the inside of the housing 20. Below, this reason is demonstrated in detail.

  For example, when the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) has a structure in which intake holes are provided in the facing panel 51 and the top panel 53, a strong wind blows the outdoor unit 2 in a cold season such as winter. When turned on, there is a possibility that the wind may intrude into the inside of the housing 20 through the air inlet and blow it to the outdoor heat exchanger 7. As a result, the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger 7 may be reduced. So, in this embodiment, in order to suppress the fall of the heat conversion efficiency of outdoor heat exchanger 7, intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) does not provide an intake hole in facing panel 51 or top panel 53, The side panel 52 has a structure in which intake holes (side intake holes 55) are provided. Thereby, the outdoor unit 2 can take in the amount of outside air manageable by the rotational speed control of the outdoor fan 8 into the inside of the housing 20, manage the heat exchange amount of the outdoor heat exchanger 7, and perform air conditioning. Favorable temperature control of the whole machine 1 can be realized.

  (2) The exhaust hood 42 has a damper 61 which can be opened and closed, and a damper controller 62 connected to the damper 61 inside. The exhaust hood 42 is provided with an opening 64 at a position within a working range of the damper 61 and at an obliquely lower front portion (lower portion outside the damper 61) of the damper 61. The outdoor unit 2 scrapes the snow SW accumulated in the exhaust hole 63 of the exhaust hood 42 with the damper 61 by using the exhaust hood 42 and discharges the snow SW from the opening 64 to the outside of the exhaust hood 42 it can. That is, the outdoor unit 2 constitutes a means for removing the snow accumulated in the exhaust hole 63 of the exhaust hood 42 by the damper 61, the damper operating device 62, and the opening 64. Therefore, the air conditioner 1 can ensure the flow path of the air around the exhaust port 32, and can eliminate the influence of snow. Therefore, also by this, the air conditioner 1 can control the outside air suction amount by the outdoor fan 8 well. Therefore, the air conditioner 1 can improve the heat conversion efficiency of the outdoor heat exchanger 7 even when a relatively large amount of snow falls. Such an air conditioner 1 can be favorably used in cold regions and the like.

  As mentioned above, according to the air conditioner 1 which concerns on this embodiment, the influence of a wind and the influence of snow can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments are described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Further, part of the configuration of the embodiment can be replaced with another configuration, and another configuration can be added to the configuration of the embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, and replace another configuration for part of each configuration.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) has a structure in which the cover 56 is provided above the side intake holes 55. However, the intake hood 41 may have a structure in which the cover 56 is not provided (that is, a structure in which only the side intake holes 55 are provided).

  Further, for example, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) may have a configuration in which a louver (not shown) that performs opening and closing operations is provided in the side intake holes 55 (55a, 55b). In the case of this configuration, the outdoor unit 2 outputs an operation instruction from the control board 60 to a louver (not shown) to change the direction of the louver (not shown), so that the amount of external air taken from the outside Amount) can be adjusted.

  Also, for example, in the embodiment described above, the intake hood 41 (41a, 41b, 41c) is attached to the outdoor unit 2 (see FIG. 3C). The intake hood 41 has a shape in which the lower end portion of the side panel 52 extends in a substantially horizontal direction (that is, a shape extending in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the housing 20 of the outdoor unit 2). However, the intake hood 141 shown in FIG. 9 may be attached to the outdoor unit 2 instead of the intake hood 41. FIG. 9 is a rear view of the outdoor unit 2 to which an intake hood 141 (141a, 141b, 141c) according to a modification is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the intake hood 141 (141a, 141b, 141c) according to the modification, the inner end (end closer to the housing 20) of the lower end of the side panel 52 is the outer end (housing It has a shape which is inclined so as to be lower than the end remote from the body 20). The intake hoods 141a, 141b, and 141c are attached to the left side panel 22a, the right side panel 22b, and the back (rear) panel 23, respectively. The intake hood 141a and the intake hood 141b have the same structure and the same size. On the other hand, although the intake hood 141c has the same structure as the intake hoods 141a and 141b, the width is changed to a width that conforms to the intake port 31c formed in the back (rear) panel 23 of the housing 20. Are different in that they The intake hood 141 (141a, 141b, 141c) according to the modification can be miniaturized as well as the intake hood 41 according to the above-described embodiment, and can obtain an operation effect capable of cooling operation at low outside air temperature. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Outdoor unit 3 Indoor unit 4 Refrigerant piping 4a Gas refrigerant piping 4b Liquid refrigerant piping 5 Compressor 6 Four-way valve 7 Outdoor heat exchanger 8 Outdoor fan 9 Outdoor expansion valve 10 Indoor heat exchanger 11 Indoor fan 12 Indoor expansion valve 15 Liquid blocking valve 16 Gas blocking valve 20 Case 21 Front (front) panel 22 (22a, 22b) of the case Side panel 23 of case 23 Rear (rear) panel 31 Case 31 (31a, 31b, 31c) ) Intake port 32 Exhaust port 41 (41a, 41b, 41c), 141 Intake hood 42 Exhaust hood 51 Face panel 52 (52a, 52b) Side panel 53 Top panel 54 Bottom intake hole 55 (55a, 55b) Side intake hole 56 Cover 60 control board 61 damper 62 damper operating unit 63 exhaust hole 64, 65 opening SN outside temperature sensor t Covered amount t2 gap

Claims (5)

A housing in which one or more inlets and one or more outlets are formed;
A heat exchanger disposed inside the housing;
An intake hood covering the intake port;
And an exhaust hood covering the exhaust port;
The intake hood is
A facing panel disposed opposite to the air inlet;
An upper surface panel disposed on an upper surface side of a portion between the intake port and the facing panel;
And two side panels disposed on both sides of a portion between the air inlet and the facing panel;
A lower surface intake hole is provided on the lower surface side of a portion between the intake port and the facing panel, and
An outdoor unit characterized in that a side intake hole is provided in at least one of the two side panels. In the outdoor unit according to claim 1,
The outdoor unit is characterized in that the side intake holes are provided at symmetrical positions of the two side panels. In the outdoor unit according to claim 1,
A cover is provided above the side air intake holes. In the outdoor unit according to claim 1,
The exhaust hood has therein an openable / closable damper and a damper operating unit connected to the damper, and further, within an operation range of the damper, and at an obliquely forward lower portion of the damper An outdoor unit characterized in that an opening is provided at a position. The outdoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is installed outdoors.
Indoor units installed indoors,
An air conditioner comprising: a refrigerant pipe connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.

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