JP2021038864A - Outdoor unit of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner including an electrical equipment module in which cooling of heat generating electronic components can be performed sufficiently without being connected to a heat sink.SOLUTION: An electrical equipment module 200 includes: a fixing plate 230 orthogonal to a partition plate and mounted on a machine chamber side of the partition plate in parallel with a bottom surface panel in the frontward/backward direction of the machine chamber; a heat sink 240 mounted on an upper surface of the fixing plate 230 so as to sandwich part of a refrigerant pipeline 30L between the fixing plate 230 and itself; a printed substrate 210 where a power device 211 of a control circuit for performing control of an air conditioner is loaded on a lower surface; and a substrate holder 220 for holding the printed substrate 210 by covering an upper surface of the printed substrate 210 and surrounding the periphery of the printed substrate 210. The printed substrate 210 is mounted on the fixing plate 230 by the power device 211 being connected to the heat sink 240. An internal space of the electrical equipment module 200 is surrounded by the substrate holder 220 and the fixing plate 230.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which an electrical component module is attached to a machine room.

As shown in FIG. 10, a general air conditioner includes an outdoor unit 10 installed outdoors and an indoor unit 20 installed indoors. The outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 30 to form a refrigeration cycle.

The outdoor unit 10 is provided with an outdoor heat exchanger 11 that exchanges heat between outdoor air and a refrigerant, a blower fan 11F, a compressor 12 that compresses the refrigerant, and a lubricating oil from a mixed fluid of the lubricating oil and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12. An oil separator 13 for separation, an expansion valve 14 for expanding and reducing the pressure of the inflowing refrigerant, an accumulator 15 for separating the inflowing refrigerant into gas and liquid, a four-way valve 16 for switching between heating operation and cooling operation, and the like are provided. Further, the indoor unit 20 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 21 for exchanging heat between indoor air and a refrigerant, a blower fan 21F, and the like. The refrigerant pipe 30 connects the outdoor heat exchanger 11, the compressor 12, the oil separator 13, the expansion valve 14, the accumulator 15, the four-way valve 16, and the indoor heat exchanger 21. The refrigerant pipe 30 includes a liquid-side refrigerant pipe 30L and a gas-side refrigerant pipe 30G.

FIG. 11 is a view of the outdoor unit 10 as viewed from the front side. As shown in FIG. 11, in the outdoor unit 10, the inside of the housing 17 is divided into a heat exchanger room 10A and a machine room 10B by a partition plate 171 provided in the housing 17, and the heat exchanger room 10A has a heat exchanger room 10A. The above-mentioned outdoor heat exchanger 11 and blower fan 11F are arranged. The above-mentioned compressor 12, oil separator 13, expansion valve 14, accumulator 15, four-way valve 16 and the like are housed in the machine room 10B, and these are externally formed by removing a service panel (not shown) on the front surface of the housing 17. It is possible to maintain from. In FIG. 11, some of the parts are hidden and not shown.

Further, in the machine room 10B, an electrical component module 40 is arranged at a substantially intermediate position in the vertical direction thereof. The electrical component module 40 is supplied from the outside, a control circuit that controls the overall operation of the air conditioner, a setting circuit for making various settings of the air conditioner, a display circuit that displays the operating state of the air conditioner, and an external supply. It is a module equipped with a converter circuit that converts AC power into DC power and outputs it, an inverter circuit that converts DC power output from the converter circuit into AC power of a desired frequency and outputs it, and other circuits. A plurality of electronic components for realizing these circuits are mounted on the substrate 41. The printed circuit board 41 is composed of one printed circuit board 41 so as to secure a piping space on the back side of the machine room 10B, and is mounted in the electrical component module 40 in a vertical posture.

FIG. 12 shows a view of the printed circuit board 41 as viewed from the back side. The printed circuit board 41 is divided into a light electric region 41A and a high electric region 41B in the vertical direction. In the low electric power region 41A, for example, an electronic component 41A1 such as a microcomputer that constitutes a part of the control circuit, a switch 41A2 that constitutes a setting circuit, a low power connector 41A3 for inserting and removing a plug, an LED 41A4 as a display, and the like are used. Light electrical electronic components are installed. Further, in the high-power region 41B, a plurality of high-power electronic components for power conversion, for example, a power device 41B1 such as a converter circuit IC or an inverter circuit IC, a large-capacity electrolytic capacitor 41B2 for smoothing, and a converter. A reactor 41B3, a high-power connector 41B4, and other electronic components (not shown) are mounted.

A cooler 50 for cooling the heat generated by the power device 41B1 is further arranged in the high electric power region 41B. The cooler 50 includes a heat sink (not shown) attached to the liquid side refrigerant pipe 30L of the refrigerant pipe 30. The heat sink is arranged on the front side of the printed circuit board 41 so that the heat generated by the power device 41B1 is transferred. With reference to FIG. 10, in the liquid side refrigerant pipe 30L, the refrigerant condensed by the outdoor heat exchanger 11 flows during the cooling operation, and the refrigerant condensed by the indoor heat exchanger 21 and depressurized by the expansion valve 14 flows during the heating operation. The refrigerant cools the heat sink of the cooler 50, and the temperature of the power device 41B1 is kept below a predetermined value. The air conditioner described above is described in Patent Document 1.

However, in the structure in which the printed circuit board 41 is mounted in the vertical direction as described above, it is necessary to increase the vertical size of the machine room 10B, and the height of the outdoor unit itself becomes high. In recent years, air conditioners are required to have a compact outdoor unit with a high degree of freedom of installation, and a structure in which the height of the outdoor unit is increased goes against the demand.

Therefore, the printed circuit board 41 is divided into a main board on which the electronic components arranged in the light electric area 41A are mounted and a power board on which the electronic components are arranged in the high electric area 41B described above, and the machine room 10B is formed. It is conceivable to mount the main board on one surface of the fixing plate mounted in the vertical direction and mount the power board on the other surface. According to this, the vertical size of each of the main board and the power board can be made smaller than the vertical size of one printed circuit board 41 corresponding to the case where the main board and the power board are arranged in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the outdoor unit in the vertical direction.

However, when two printed circuit boards, a main board and a power board, are used in this way, there is a problem that an increase in connecting wires between the main board and the power board and an increase in assembly man-hours lead to an increase in cost.

In order to solve this problem, a heat sink attached to the liquid side refrigerant pipe 30L of the refrigerant pipe 30 is attached to the upper surface of the fixing plate, and the fixing plate is attached in the machine room 10B in the left-right direction so as to be orthogonal to the partition plate 171. To realize an electrical component module in which a single printed circuit board 41 having a power device mounted on the lower surface is mounted above the fixing plate, and the power device is thermally combined with a heat sink on the upper surface of the fixing plate. Can be considered.

According to this electrical component module, the size of the outdoor unit in the vertical direction can be reduced without incurring a high cost, and the power device can be cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe.

Japanese Patent No. 5472364

However, in the above structure, although effective cooling is performed for the power device that is in contact with the heat sink and thermally coupled, there is a problem that the cooling of the heat-generating electronic component that is not in contact with the heat sink is insufficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner provided with an electrical component module capable of sufficiently cooling even a heat-generating electronic component that does not come into contact with a heat sink.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the housing is provided in a heat exchanger room in which a heat exchanger and a fan are arranged and a machine room in which a refrigerant pipe and a compressor are arranged by a partition plate provided in the housing having a bottom panel. In the outdoor unit of the air exchanger in which the inside of the air conditioner is partitioned and the electrical component module including a part of the refrigerant pipe is arranged in the machine room, the electrical component module is orthogonal to the partition plate and is located in the machine room. A heat sink attached to the upper surface of the fixing plate so as to sandwich a part of the refrigerant pipe between the fixing plate attached to the machine room side of the partition plate parallel to the bottom panel in the front-rear direction. A printed substrate on which the power device of the control circuit for controlling the air exchanger is mounted on the lower surface, and a substrate holder that covers the upper surface of the printed substrate and surrounds the printed substrate to hold the printed substrate. The printed substrate is attached to the fixing plate by coupling the power device to the heat sink, and the internal space of the electrical component module is surrounded by the substrate holder and the fixing plate. ..

Further, a heat radiating fin extending from the heat sink or a heat radiating fin thermally coupled to the heat sink is provided, and the heat radiating fin is exposed in the internal space of the electrical component module.

Further, the heat-generating electronic component is mounted on the lower surface of the printed circuit board, and the heat-dissipating fin is located in the vicinity of the heat-generating electronic component.

According to the present invention, since the internal space of the electrical component module including the heat sink and the printed circuit board is surrounded by the substrate holder and the fixing plate, the cooling effect of the heat-generating electronic component that does not come into contact with the heat sink can be enhanced.

It is a perspective view of an outdoor unit. It is a perspective view of the outdoor unit which made only the bottom panel of the housing. It is a perspective view of the outdoor unit which made the housing only the bottom panel and disassembled the electrical component module. It is a top view of the printed circuit board of an electrical component module. It is a top view of the fixing plate of an electrical component module. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a right end view of an electrical component module. It is sectional drawing of the electrical component module of another example. It is a right side view of the electrical component module of another example. It is a circuit diagram of the refrigerant circuit of an air conditioner. It is a front view which removed the service panel of the conventional outdoor unit. It is a front view of the conventional electrical component module.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described. The same ones as described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit 100 has a front panel 111, a service panel 112 on the right side of the front panel 111, a right side panel 113, a left side panel 114, a top panel 115, and a back surface. A panel 116 and a bottom panel 117 are provided, and legs 118 are attached to the bottom panel 117.

In the following description, the front panel 111 side is the front, the back panel 116 side is the rear, the right side panel 113 side is the right, the left side panel 114 side is the left, the top panel 116 side is the top, and the bottom panel 117 side is the bottom. To do.

2 and 3 show the state of the internal parts from which the front panel 111, the service panel 112, the right side panel 113, the left side panel 114, the top panel 115, and the back panel 116 of the housing 110 have been removed. In the housing 110, the inside of the housing 110 is partitioned in the left-right direction by a partition plate 119, the rear side of the front panel 111 which is the left partition becomes the heat exchanger room 110A, and the rear of the service panel 112 which is the right partition. The side is the machine room 110B.

In the heat exchanger room 110A, the outdoor heat exchanger 11 and the blower fan 11F described with reference to FIG. 12 are arranged. The indoor heat exchanger 11 is erected in an L shape so as to cover the inside of the left side panel 114 from the inside of the back panel 116 of the heat exchanger chamber 110A. The blower fan 11F is supported by the fan support frame 61 and is provided in the center of the heat exchanger chamber 110A. The lower end of the fan support frame 61 is attached to the bottom panel 117, the upper end thereof is supported by the outdoor heat exchanger 11 by the mounting bracket 62, and the upper end thereof is attached to the front panel 111 by the mounting bracket 63 joined to the upper end of the fan support frame 61. It is supported.

The machine room 110B houses the refrigerant pipe 30, the compressor 12, the oil separator 13, the expansion valve 14, the accumulator 15, the four-way valve 16 and the like described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. Shows only a part of it. The machine room 110B can be visually recognized from the front side of the outdoor unit 100 by removing the service panel 112.

Reference numeral 200 shown in FIG. 3 is an electrical component module. The electrical component module 200 includes a printed circuit board 210, a board holder 220 detachably attached to the printed circuit board 210 so as to cover the upper surface 210a of the printed circuit board 210, and a power device 212 mounted on the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210. A heat sink 240 for cooling the heat sink 240 and a fixing plate 230 to which the heat sink 240 is attached are provided.

In the state where the upper lid 221 is removed, the substrate holder 220 can visually recognize the upper surface 210a of the printed circuit board 210 from above via the arm 222.

The fixing plate 230 is made of sheet metal, and is formed in an L shape in a side view by a vertical plate 231 and a horizontal plate 232. Then, the vertical plate 231 is attached to the partition plate 119 in a state of facing the machine room 110B side of the partition plate 119. The horizontal plate 232 extends in the direction orthogonal to the partition plate 119 and in the front-rear direction of the machine room 11B so as to be parallel to the bottom plate panel 117. The printed circuit board 210 is arranged in the internal space 60 surrounded by the fixing plate 230 and the substrate holder 220.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210 is divided into a front region 210b3, a central region 210b1, and a rear region 210b2 from the front side to the rear side. In the central region 210b1, three power devices 211 such as power ICs are mounted. An opening 212 is formed in the central region 210b1 where the power devices 211 are mounted. Further, a high-power electronic component including an input AC filter (not shown) is mounted in the rear region 210b2, and a light-power electronic component including an external connection connector (not shown) is mounted in the front region 210b3.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the substrate holder 220 includes an upper lid 221, an arm 222 arranged in a grid shape, and a frame plate 223 surrounding the arm 222. The frame plate 223 is formed with a triangular claw 224 whose slope faces diagonally inward and downward. The claw 224 is locked to the front edge portion and the trailing edge portion of the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210. Then, the arm 222 presses the upper surface 210a of the printed circuit board 210, so that the printed circuit board 210 is held in the substrate holder 220. If the lower end of the frame plate 223 of the substrate holder 220 is widened in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, the frame plate 223 bends outward and the claw 223 comes off from the printed circuit board 210, and the printed circuit board 210 can be removed. When the printed circuit board 210 is held by the substrate holder 220, the printed circuit board 210 may be pushed into the substrate holder 220 from the time when the edge of the printed circuit board 210 is pressed against the claw 223 until it comes into contact with the arm 222.

A refrigerant pipe 30L is arranged in the center of the upper surface 232a of the horizontal plate 232. The refrigerant pipe 30L is drawn into the electrical component module 200 from the opening 223a1 provided on the right side surface 223a of the frame plate 223 of the substrate holder 220 with reference to FIG. 7, and the portion 31 on the side facing the partition plate 119. It is bent so that it has a U-shape. The bent refrigerant pipe 30L is arranged so as to line up in parallel with the bottom plate panel 117 in the front-rear direction, and is bent downward by the bent portion 32 at the opposite side of the horizontal plate 232 to the vertical plate 231, that is, at the tip on the right side in FIG. ing.

Returning to FIG. 6, in the heat sink 240, two grooves 241 formed in a half-round shape are formed on the lower surface, and the refrigerant pipe 30L arranged on the upper surface 232a of the horizontal plate 232 of the fixing plate 230 is formed in the groove 241. It is attached to the horizontal plate 232 by screws B1 and B2 so as to be pressed against the horizontal plate 232. The power device 211 described above is soldered to the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210 by the leads 211a, and when thermally coupled to the heat sink 240, a Phillips screwdriver is inserted through the opening 212 formed in the printed circuit board 210. It is screwed to the heat sink 240 with the screw B3. The printed circuit board 210 is attached to the fixing plate 230 by connecting the power device 211 to the heat sink 240 with screws B3.

From the above, according to the electrical component module 200 of the present embodiment, since the electrical component module 200 including the printed substrate 210 is mounted in the machine room 110B substantially parallel to the bottom plate panel 117 in the front-rear direction, the machine is mounted in the vertical direction. Compared with the case where it is installed in the room 110B, the size of the electrical component module 200 occupied in the vertical direction of the outdoor unit 100 can be significantly reduced, and the outdoor unit 100 can be miniaturized.

Further, since the number of printed circuit boards 210 is one, it is possible to prevent an increase in connecting wires and an increase in assembly man-hours between the two printed circuit boards and realize a low cost as compared with the case where two printed circuit boards are used. can do.

Further, the power device 211 mounted on the mask 210b of the printed circuit board 210 is cooled by the heat sink 240 cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 30L. Therefore, the power device 211 is sufficiently cooled.

Further, the internal space 60 surrounded by the substrate holder 220 and the fixing plate 230 so as to include the printed circuit board 210 is surrounded by the printed circuit board 210 and the substrate holder 220 except for the opening 223a1 of the substrate holder 220 for drawing in the refrigerant pipe 30L. Therefore, the air in the internal space 60 is effectively cooled by the heat sink 240. Therefore, the heat-generating electronic components of the high-voltage system mounted on the rear region 210b2 of the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210 are cooled by the air even if they are not in direct contact with the heat sink 240.

Further, by providing the upper lid 221 that covers the upper surface of the printed circuit board 210, it is possible to prevent the electronic components in the electrical component module 200 from dew condensation generated from the refrigerant pipe 30L or the like.

Further, as described above, the lower surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210 is mounted with electronic components of a strong electric system including an input AC filter and the like in the rear side region 210b2, and the front side region 210b3 is a weak electric system including a connector for an external contact portion and the like. Electronic components are installed. Therefore, since the external connection component is arranged on the service panel 112 side in front, access is facilitated and workability at the time of assembly or maintenance is improved.

Further, since the low-voltage electronic components are arranged on the front service panel 112 side and the high-voltage electronic components to which a high voltage is applied are arranged on the back panel 116 side, it is possible to prevent electric shock during maintenance.

Further, since the power device 211 is arranged in the central region 210a between the rear region 210b2 and the front region 210b3, the refrigerant pipe 30L is arranged below the power device 211 without bypassing the rear region 210b2 and the front region 210b3. Therefore, the routing distance of the refrigerant pipe 30L can be shortened, and the structure can be simplified.

8 and 9 are views showing another example of the heat sink 240. Here, the heat radiating fins 242 are continuously formed on the heat sink 240, and the radiating fins 242 are in the vicinity of the rear side region 210b2 on which the electronic components of the high electric system including the input AC filter on the back surface 210b of the printed circuit board 210 are mounted. I am trying to extend to. At this time, it is desirable to form an opening 250 for taking in air in a portion of the right side surface 223a of the frame plate 223 of the substrate holder 220 near the heat radiation fin 242.

By providing the heat radiating fins 242 in this way, the heat radiating fins 242 can be brought closer to the rear side region 210b2 of the printed circuit board 210, so that the cooling effect of the heat generating electronic components mounted on the rear side region 210b2 can be enhanced. it can. Further, by forming the opening 250, the air heated to some extent in the internal space surrounded by the substrate holder 220 and the fixing plate 230 and the air taken in from the opening 250 and not heated are also cooled to cool the rear region 210b2. Since the heat-generating electronic component can be cooled, the cooling becomes more effective. The heat radiating fins 242 may be replaced with heat radiating fins having a structure different from that of the heat sink 240, and the heat radiating fins having a different structure may be brought into contact with the heat sink 240 and thermally coupled.

100: Outdoor unit, 110: Housing, 110A: Heat exchanger room, 110B: Machine room, 111: Front panel, 112: Service panel, 113: Right side panel, 114: Left side panel, 115: Top panel, 116: Back panel, 117: Bottom panel, 118: Legs, 119: Partition plate 200: Electrical component module, 210: Printed circuit board, 210a: Top surface, 210b: Bottom surface, 210b1: Central area, 210b2: Rear area, 219b3: Front area, 212: Power device, 220: Board holder, 221: Top lid, 222: Arm, 223: Frame plate, 223a: Right side, 224: Claw, 230: Fixed plate, 321: Vertical plate, 232: Horizontal plate, 240: Heat sink, 241: Groove, 242: Heat dissipation fin, 250: Opening 30: Refrigerant pipe, 30L: Liquid side refrigerant pipe, 30G: Gas side refrigerant pipe,
B1, B2, B3: Screw

Claims (4)

The inside of the housing is partitioned by a partition plate provided in the housing having a bottom panel into a heat exchanger room in which a heat exchanger and a fan are arranged and a machine room in which a refrigerant pipe and a compressor are arranged. In the outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which an electrical component module including a part of the refrigerant pipe is arranged in the machine room.
The electrical component module is formed between a fixing plate mounted on the machine room side of the partition plate at right angles to the partition plate and parallel to the bottom panel in the front-rear direction of the machine room, and the refrigerant between the fixing plates. A printed circuit board on which a heat sink attached to the upper surface of the fixing plate so as to sandwich a part of the pipe, a power device of a control circuit for controlling the air conditioner is mounted on the lower surface, and the upper surface of the printed circuit board are covered. A board holder that surrounds the printed circuit board and holds the printed circuit board is provided.
The printed circuit board is attached to the fixing plate by coupling the power device to the heat sink.
An outdoor unit characterized in that the internal space of the electrical component module is surrounded by the substrate holder and the fixing plate. In the outdoor unit according to claim 1,
An outdoor unit characterized in that a heat radiating fin extending from the heat sink or a heat radiating fin thermally coupled to the heat sink is provided, and the heat radiating fin is exposed in the internal space of the electrical component module. In the outdoor unit according to claim 2.
An outdoor unit characterized in that a heat-generating electronic component is mounted on the lower surface of the printed circuit board, and the heat-dissipating fin is located in the vicinity of the heat-generating electronic component. In the outdoor unit according to claim 2 or 3.
The substrate holder is an outdoor unit characterized in that an opening for taking in air is formed in a portion in the vicinity of the heat radiation fin.