JP2021021510A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner which can early find the leakage of a refrigerant gas even at an operation stop, and can secure the safety of a user, in the air conditioner having a combustible refrigerant as an operating refrigerant.SOLUTION: An air conditioner comprises: a box body; a blower; a suction port for sucking air from the outside of the box body by the blower; a blowout port for blowing out air from the inside of the box body by the blower; and a heat exchanger arranged in the middle of a wind circuit for connecting the suction port and the blowout port that exchanges heat between air and refrigerant. Auxiliary piping for arranging refrigeration piping between the inside and the outside of the box body is arranged at the heat exchanger. A refrigeration detection part for detecting the presence or absence of the refrigerant is arranged in the box body, outside the wind circuit, at a lower part of the auxiliary piping, and at a lower end of the heat exchanger or lower in a vertical direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner.

Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioner that detects and controls a refrigerant gas leak into a living space by a refrigerant gas sensor provided in a remote controller for the air conditioner.
This air conditioner includes an air conditioner main body and a remote controller.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-35267

The present disclosure provides an air conditioner that uses a flammable refrigerant as an operating refrigerant and can detect refrigerant gas leaks at an early stage and improve user safety even when the operation is stopped. To do.

The air conditioner in the present disclosure includes a housing, a blower, a suction port for sucking air from the outside of the housing by the blower, an air outlet for blowing air from the inside of the housing by the blower, and the suction. A heat exchanger that is arranged in the middle of a wind circuit connecting the mouth and the air outlet to perform a heat exchanger between the air and the refrigerant, and the heat exchanger between the inside and the outside of the housing. In an air conditioner provided with an auxiliary pipe for arranging a refrigerant pipe, the heat exchanger is located inside the housing and outside the wind circuit, below the auxiliary pipe, and in the vertical direction. A refrigerant detection unit that detects the refrigerant is provided at a position below the lower end.

The air conditioner in the present disclosure is an air conditioner that has a flammable refrigerant as an operating refrigerant, and can detect refrigerant gas leaks at an early stage and improve user safety even when the operation is stopped. it can.

External perspective view of the housing of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment Three views of the housing of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment AA sectional view of the housing of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. BB sectional view of the housing of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. Front view and side view of the refrigerant detection unit according to the first embodiment.

(Knowledge, etc. that was the basis of this disclosure)
At the time when the inventors came up with the present disclosure, the situation was as follows regarding the control technology for detecting refrigerant gas leaks in air conditioners.

That is, a refrigerant gas sensor is provided in the remote controller that instructs the operation of the air conditioner to detect the leakage of the refrigerant gas in the place where the user is, and if detected, the operation of the air conditioner is forcibly stopped and the refrigerant is temporarily stopped. After detecting a gas leak and stopping the operation, the operation cannot be performed.

Under these circumstances, the inventors will operate the air conditioner when the refrigerant gas leaks while the air conditioner is not operating, or when the refrigerant gas is a flammable refrigerant. We have found that even if it is not, it may interfere with safety.

That is, when the refrigerant gas leaks inside the housing of the air conditioner and the air conditioner does not operate, the blower is stopped and the refrigerant gas is mainly stored inside the housing. I will go. Therefore, it cannot be detected by the refrigerant gas sensor in the place where the user is.

Even if the refrigerant gas sensor is installed inside the housing, if the refrigerant gas leak is not detected at an early stage, the concentration of the leaked refrigerant gas in or around the housing may increase, which may hinder safety. There is.

In order to solve this problem, the subject matter of the present disclosure has been constructed.

Therefore, in the present disclosure, the wind connecting the housing, the blower, the suction port for sucking air from the outside of the housing by the blower, the air outlet for blowing air from the inside of the housing by the blower, and the suction port and the air outlet. A heat exchanger is provided in the middle of the circuit to perform a heat exchanger between the air and the refrigerant, and an auxiliary pipe for arranging the refrigerant pipe between the inside and the outside of the housing is provided in the heat exchanger. In the air conditioner, a refrigerant detection unit for detecting the refrigerant is provided in the housing and outside the wind circuit, below the auxiliary pipe, and at a position below the lower end of the heat exchanger in the vertical direction. Provide an air conditioner.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or duplicate explanations for substantially the same configuration may be omitted.

It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the housing of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.

The indoor unit of this type of air conditioner is generally installed and used in a limited space in a top bag or a base bag.

In the figure, the impeller inside the blower 3 connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 4 is rotationally driven by the motor 4 to suck in the indoor air from the suction port 8 of the blower 3, and the heat exchanger 7 shown in FIG. Heat is exchanged and air is blown into the room from the outlet 9.

The inside of the housing 2 is mainly divided into two areas by a partition plate 10, and the side with the heat exchanger 7 and the air outlet 9 is the side with the positive pressure chamber 12 and the blower 3 with respect to the partition plate 10. Is a negative pressure chamber 13.

Further, a through hole 11 is provided in a part of the partition plate 10 so as to communicate between the positive pressure chamber 12 and the negative pressure chamber 13. With this configuration, a plurality of refrigerant gas detecting means are not required.

The heat exchanger 7 is brazed and connected to the auxiliary pipe 6, and the auxiliary pipe 6 is extended by another pipe and is annularly connected to a heat source side unit (outdoor unit) (not shown) to form a refrigeration cycle.

A flammable refrigerant (for example, R32) is sealed in the refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerant gas is configured to circulate throughout the refrigeration cycle by driving a compressor in the heat source side machine.

FIG. 2 is a three-view view of the housing of the indoor unit of the air conditioner. (A) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view.
The AA cross section in the figure is shown in FIG. 3, and the BB cross section in the figure is shown in FIG.

In such a configuration, the refrigerant gas detection device 5 is provided at a position as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

In order to solve the problem of the present application, the installation position of the refrigerant gas detection device 5 is extremely important.
That is, inside the housing 2, outside the wind circuit connecting the suction port 8 and the air outlet 9, below the auxiliary pipe 6, and at a position below the lower end of the heat exchanger in the vertical direction. , Provide a refrigerant gas detection device. The reason for this is as follows.

In the indoor unit, there are some places where the refrigerant gas is likely to leak.
That is, the part where the heat exchanger 7 and the auxiliary pipe 6 are connected by brazing, the part where the end of the auxiliary pipe 6 is connected to another extension pipe, and the pipes in each stage in the heat exchanger 7 are return bends. This is the part that is brazed with.

If the refrigerant gas leaks from any of the above-mentioned locations while the air conditioner 1 is stopped, the flammable refrigerant (for example, R32) is heavier than the air, so that it precipitates inside the housing 2. Store. Further, although the inside of the housing 2 is partitioned by a plate-shaped member in some sections, it is not sealed and has a through hole 11, and the refrigerant gas is discharged from the bottom of the housing 2 through the through hole 11. Store almost the entire part.
At this time, if the refrigerant gas detection device is provided at the above-mentioned location, the refrigerant gas can be sensitively detected without delay even if the leakage occurs from any of the above-mentioned locations.

Further, the housing 2 is provided with an air outlet 9.
The air outlet 9 has an opening for blowing out the wind. Therefore, the refrigerant gas leaked into the housing may overflow from the opening, but the portion below the lower end 9a of the outlet 9 tends to be stored in the housing 2 without overflowing the refrigerant gas. It is in.
Therefore, the position of the refrigerant gas detection device is preferably provided at a position vertically below the lower end portion 9a of the outlet 9.

Subsequently, the details of the refrigerant gas detection device 5 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the refrigerant gas detection device 5.
The refrigerant gas detection device 5 mainly includes a protective frame 5b and a refrigerant gas detection sensor 5a provided on a substrate (not shown) housed therein, and the refrigerant gas contacts the refrigerant gas detection sensor 5a. Then, it is detected as a refrigerant gas leak.

The protective frame 5b has a role of guiding the refrigerant gas to the refrigerant gas detection sensor 5a portion in addition to the role of protecting the refrigerant gas sensor 5a from impacts and the like.

Therefore, when the refrigerant gas leaked into the housing 2 reaches any part of the protective frame 5a, it is promptly guided to the refrigerant gas detection sensor 5a and the leakage is detected.

Therefore, the position of the refrigerant gas detection device 5 in the vertical direction is preferably such that the upper end position of the protective frame 5a is lower than the lower end position of the heat exchanger. Since the flammable refrigerant is heavier than air and is stored in a lower place in the housing, if it is below the lower end of the heat exchanger 7 in the vertical direction, the refrigerant can be leaked from any place of the heat exchanger 7. This is because the refrigerant gas can always come into contact with the gas detection sensor 5a.

Further, the refrigerant gas detection device is preferably provided on the negative pressure chamber side. With such a configuration, the leaked refrigerant gas easily flows to the negative pressure chamber side, and the probability of being detected by the refrigerant gas detection device on the negative pressure chamber side increases.

Although the structure of the present invention has been described above, the control after detecting the leakage of the refrigerant gas is not particularly limited. For example, the blower may be operated so as to diffuse the refrigerant gas after the detection, or the control may be performed to notify the user or the like of the leak. Further, it may be possible not to restart the operation after the leakage is detected.

According to the present disclosure, even when the operation of the air conditioner having a flammable refrigerant as an operating refrigerant is stopped, the refrigerant gas leakage can be detected at an early stage and the safety of the user can be improved. It can be applied to air conditioners that use flammable refrigerant gas and other refrigeration equipment, regardless of whether they are air conditioners or multi-type air conditioners.

1 Indoor unit of air conditioner 2 Housing 3 Blower 4 Motor 5 Refrigerant detector 6 Auxiliary piping 7 Heat exchanger 8 Suction port 9 Blowout 10 Partition plate 11 Through hole 12 Positive pressure chamber 13 Negative pressure chamber

Claims (5)

The housing, the blower, the suction port for sucking air from the outside of the housing by the blower, the air outlet for blowing air from the inside of the housing by the blower, and the suction port and the air outlet are connected. A heat exchanger that is arranged in the middle of the wind circuit and performs a heat exchanger between the air and the refrigerant, and a refrigerant pipe for arranging the refrigerant pipe between the inside and the outside of the housing in the heat exchanger. In an air conditioner provided with an auxiliary pipe, the refrigerant is located inside the housing and outside the wind circuit, below the auxiliary pipe, and at a position below the lower end of the heat exchanger in the vertical direction. An air conditioner characterized by having a refrigerant detection unit that detects the presence or absence of The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant detection unit is housed in a protective frame and installed in the housing. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the lower end position of the protective frame is below the lower end of the air outlet in the vertical direction. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the upper end position of the protective frame is lower than the lower end position of the heat exchanger in the vertical direction. The inside of the housing is divided into a positive pressure chamber and a negative pressure chamber by a partition plate, the partition plate is provided with a through hole for communicating the positive pressure chamber and the negative pressure chamber, and the refrigerant detection unit is used as the negative pressure chamber. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air conditioner is provided in.

Images