JP2024052197A - Heat pump equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] The present disclosure provides a heat pump device that can prevent refrigerant from leaking into an electrical box when refrigerant leaks from a refrigerant circuit. [Solution] In a heat pump device 1 that includes a machine chamber 13 in which a compressor 22 and an expansion device 24 are disposed, and a blower chamber 12 in which a heat exchanger 20 and a blower are disposed, within a housing 10, an electrical box 30 is disposed above the machine chamber 13 and the blower chamber 12 so as to straddle the respective chambers, the electrical box 30 includes an electrical box main body 32 and a lid member 33, an O-ring groove 36 is disposed in the electrical box main body 32 or the lid member 33, an O-ring 38 inserted into the O-ring groove 36 is sandwiched between the lid member 33 and the electrical box main body 32, and the lid member 33 and the electrical box main body 32 are fixed with fixing screws 37A to 37D. [Selected Figure] Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a heat pump device.

Patent Document 1 discloses a heat pump device that includes a refrigerant circuit that circulates a flammable refrigerant, a water circuit (heat medium circuit) that circulates water (heat medium), and a water heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger) that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and water within a housing. An electrical box that houses a control board and the like is located at the top of the housing.

European Patent Application Publication No. 3312531

This disclosure provides a heat pump device that prevents refrigerant leaking from the refrigerant circuit from entering the electrical equipment box.

The heat pump device in the present disclosure includes a housing that includes a machine chamber in which a compressor and an expansion device are disposed, a blower chamber in which a heat exchanger and a blower are disposed, and an electrical box. The electrical box includes an electrical box body and a lid member. An O-ring groove is disposed in the electrical box body or the lid member. An O-ring inserted in the O-ring groove is sandwiched between the lid member and the electrical box body, and the lid member and the electrical box body are fixed with fixing screws.

According to the present disclosure, if refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from entering the electrical box.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat pump device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a heat pump device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a front panel of a heat pump device according to a first embodiment is removed; A circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an electrical box according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an electrical box according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an electrical box according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along plane VIII in FIG. 5 . FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the cover member and the main body of the electrical equipment box shown in FIG. 8 are fixed to each other;

(Knowledge and other information that forms the basis of this disclosure)
At the time when the inventors came up with the idea of the present disclosure, there was a technique for preventing a flammable refrigerant from igniting in a heat pump device.
This heat pump device includes, within a housing, a refrigerant circuit that circulates a flammable refrigerant, a water circuit that circulates water, and a water heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the water. The water circuit is provided with a refrigerant release valve, such as a pressure relief valve and an air vent valve, and the refrigerant release valve releases the refrigerant to the outside of the water circuit. In this way, even if a partition wall that separates the refrigerant circuit and the water circuit in the water heat exchanger is destroyed and flammable refrigerant gets mixed into the water circuit, the flammable refrigerant can be discharged into the water circuit via the pressure relief valve or the air vent valve.
However, the inventors discovered a problem with the above-mentioned heat pump device in that if the refrigerant leaks, the refrigerant will fill the housing, and there is a risk that the refrigerant will seep into the electrical equipment box. In order to solve this problem, they came up with the subject matter of the present disclosure.
In view of the above, the present disclosure provides a heat pump device that prevents refrigerant leaking from a refrigerant circuit from entering an electrical equipment box.

Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming more redundant than necessary and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.
It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable 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 the drawings.
[1-1. Configuration]
[1-1-1. Configuration of heat pump device]
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the heat pump device 1 according to the embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the heat pump device 1 according to the embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a front panel 16 of the heat pump device 1 according to the embodiment 1 is removed.
The heat pump device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an outdoor unit that can be used as a so-called heat pump hot water heater.
1 to 3, the heat pump device 1 includes a box-shaped housing 10. In this embodiment, each part of the housing 10 is formed of a steel plate.

A partition plate 11 extending in the vertical direction is provided inside the housing 10. The partition plate 11 divides the internal space of the housing 10 into a blower chamber 12 and a machine chamber 13.
The housing 10 comprises a bottom plate 14 that forms the bottom surface of the housing 10, a pair of side panels 15 that cover the machine chamber 13 of the housing 10 from the front and rear, a front panel 16 that covers the front surface of the blower chamber 12, and a top plate 17 that covers the top surface of the housing 10.
The front panel 16 is provided with a ventilation section 18 formed in a mesh shape to allow air to pass through.

The blower chamber 12 is provided with a heat exchanger 20 and a blower 21 .
The heat exchanger 20 of this embodiment extends almost to the full height of the housing 10 and is formed in an approximately L-shape when viewed in a plane of the housing 10 so as to face the rear surface 10A and the side surface 10B of the housing 10.
The heat exchanger 20 may be, for example, a fin-tube type heat exchanger.
For example, an axial flow fan having a propeller-shaped impeller is used as the blower 21. The blower 21 is disposed such that the axial flow direction faces the ventilation section 18.

The interior of the machine room 13 accommodates various devices that form a refrigerant circuit, such as a compressor 22, a water heat exchanger (heat medium heat exchanger) 23, and an expansion device 24 (see FIG. 4), as well as refrigerant piping 25 that connects these devices to each other.
The water heat exchanger 23 may be, for example, a plate heat exchanger.
A cutout portion 26 is formed in the upper portion of the partition plate 11, and an electrical equipment box 30 is installed in this cutout portion 26.

[1-1-2. Configuration of the refrigerant circuit]
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the refrigerant circuit according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the compressor 22, the four-way valve 27, the water heat exchanger 23, the expansion device 24 and the heat exchanger 20 are connected in a ring shape via a predetermined refrigerant pipe 25 to form a refrigerant circuit.
A predetermined water supply pipe 28 is connected to the water heat exchanger 23, and heat exchange between the water heat exchanger 23 and the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit is performed in the water heat exchanger 23.
The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22 to a high temperature and pressure flows as shown by the solid arrow in Fig. 4 and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23, where it is cooled and condensed by heat exchange with water flowing through the water supply pipe 28. The water receives heat from the refrigerant and becomes hot water, which is supplied to, for example, a user device.
The refrigerant discharged from the water heat exchanger 23 is decompressed and evaporated in the expansion device 24, and undergoes heat exchange in the heat exchanger 20 to become a gas refrigerant, which is then returned to the compressor 22 again.

4, the refrigerant flows, exchanges heat with the outside air in the heat exchanger 20, is decompressed in the expansion device 24, and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23, thereby cooling the water flowing through the water supply pipe 28. The cold water is supplied to the user device.
In this embodiment, a flammable refrigerant is used as the refrigerant. The flammable refrigerant is R32 or a mixed refrigerant containing 70 weight percent or more of R32, or propane or a mixed refrigerant containing propane.
In addition, a non-flammable refrigerant may be used as the refrigerant instead of a flammable refrigerant.

[1-1-3. Configuration of electrical box]
Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of the embodiment 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of the embodiment 1. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the electrical equipment box 30 of the embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the electrical equipment box 30 is disposed above the blower chamber 12 and the machine chamber 13, straddling the machine chamber 13 and the blower chamber 12.
The electrical box 30 is installed in the cutout portion 26 in the upper part of the partition plate 11 and is supported by the partition plate 11. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the electrical box 30 includes a box-shaped electrical box body 32 made of sheet metal having an opening 31 with an open top, and a resin lid member 33 formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape that closes the opening 31. The electrical box body 32 is made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as a metal material. The lid member 33 is attached to the electrical box body 32 via an O-ring 38.

In this embodiment, the entire electrical box body 32 is made of a metal material, but only the portion located in the blower chamber 12 may be made of a metal material.

As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the electrical box body 32 has a rectangular blower side portion 32A located on the blower room 12 side, and a substantially trapezoidal machine side portion 32B located on the machine room 13 side. The cover member 33 has a rectangular blower side portion 33A located on the blower room 12 side, and a substantially trapezoidal machine side portion 33B located on the machine room 13 side.

The blower side portion 32A of the electrical box body 32 is equipped with a control board 40 made of a printed wiring board and other electronic components 43 electrically connected to the control board 40.

On the control board 40, electronic components such as semiconductor chips such as a CPU, transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc., which are not shown, are mounted to form electric circuits.
A heat sink 41 (heat sink) having a plurality of fins is attached to the underside of the control board 40, and the control board 40 is installed so that the heat sink 41 protrudes downward from a bottom opening 35 provided on the bottom of the blower side section 32A. The heat sink 41 is disposed on the bottom of the blower side section 32A close to the machine side section 32B of the electrical box main body 32. In this embodiment, one end of the heat sink 41 is located at the boundary between the machine side section 32B and the blower side section 32A. In other words, it is located at the boundary separated by the partition plate 11.
A sealant 42 is disposed around the periphery of the bottom opening 35 , and the control board 40 is fixed in place with the bottom opening 35 closed via the sealant 42 .

The machine side portion 32B of the electrical box body 32 has a main power line relay section 50 located at the front side and a lead wire relay section 53 located at the back side. The main power line relay section 50 has a terminal block 51 for connecting the main power line and a cable gland 52 that draws in and seals the main power line. The cable 45 drawn into the cable gland 52 is connected to a specified device such as the compressor 22. The lead wire relay section 53 has a lead wire relay module 55 for drawing in the lead wire.

A terminal block 51 for connecting the cable (main power line) 45 is arranged in the main power line relay section (space) 50. The main power line relay section 50 in which the terminal block 51 is arranged is partitioned by a partition plate 154, and the main power line relay section 50 is sealed within the electrical box body 32. The terminal block 51 is arranged on the partition plate 154A formed at an angle, and faces a window opening 152 formed on the side of the electrical box body 32. A window cover 155 for sealing the main power line relay section 50 is screwed into the window opening 152 with a sealant (not shown) sandwiched therebetween.

A lid member 33 is fixed to the upper end of the electrical box body 32 by fixing screws 37A to 37F via an O-ring 38. This makes the inside of the electrical box body 32 a sealed space. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, a flange 32F formed by bending a metal plate is formed on the peripheral portion of the upper end of the electrical box body 32. As shown in Fig. 5, an O-ring groove 36 is formed on the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the lid member 33, and an O-ring 38 is fitted into the O-ring groove 36, and the lid member 33 is fixed to the flange 32F by six fixing screws 37A to 37F.
As shown in FIG. 7, the flange 32F is provided with a plurality of screw holes 70 into which the fixing screws 37A to 37F are screwed, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cover member 33 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 71 into which the fixing screws 37A to 37F are screwed. When the electrical equipment box main body 32 and the cover member 33 are superimposed, the screw holes 71 are provided in substantially the same positions as the screw holes 70 in a plan view. The electrical equipment box main body 32 and the cover member 33 are fixed together by screwing the fixing screws 37A to 37F into the screw holes 71 and the screw holes 70.

The cover member 33 is fixed to the flange 32F of the machine side portion 32B of the electrical box body 32 with four fixing screws 37A to 37D, and is fixed to the flange 32F of the blower side portion 32A of the electrical box body 32 with two fixing screws 37E and 37F.

The electrical box body 32 has a volume occupied by the machine side portion 32B that is smaller than the volume occupied by the blower side portion 32A, and the machine side portion 32B of the electrical box body 32 is formed into a trapezoidal shape by cutting the corners of the machine side portion 32B.
As a result, the length of the seal portion between the electrical box body 32 and the cover member 33 in the machine side portion 32B of the electrical box body 32 (the length of the O-ring 38) is set short.
In addition, the pitches P1 to P3 of the fixing screws 37A to 37D that fix the machine side portion 32B are set shorter than the pitches P4 to P6 of the fixing screws 37D to 37F that fix the blower side portion 32A. Since the machine side portion 32B has a short sealing length and the pitches P1 to P3 of the fixing screws 37A to 37D are set short, the sealing performance between the electrical box main body 32 and the lid member 33 in the machine side portion 32B can be improved.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the flange 32F is provided with a number of notches 72. The notches 72 are formed by cutting out the flange 32F along the width direction, which is the direction in which the flange 32F extends away from the bottom surface 34 of the electrical box in a plan view. The notches 72 are formed by cutting out the flange 32F at a dimension shorter than the width dimension of the flange 32F. At least one of these notches 72 is provided between each of the screw holes 70.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along plane VIII in FIG.
8, the O-ring groove 36 has a groove shape formed by being recessed from the lower surface side to the upper surface side of the cover member 33. The O-ring groove 36 is disposed at a position overlapping the flange 32F in a plan view when the electrical equipment box body 32 and the cover member 33 are overlapped with each other.

A number of engagement pieces 74 are provided at the tip of the peripheral portion of the underside of the lid member 33. Each of the engagement pieces 74 is formed in a claw shape and is provided at a position that overlaps with each of the notches 72 in a plan view when the electrical equipment box body 32 and the lid member 33 are overlapped. When the lid member 33 is attached to the electrical equipment box body 32, each of the engagement pieces 74 engages with each of the notches 72. In other words, the electrical equipment box body 32 and the lid member 33 are fixed to each other by screw fastening with the fixing screws 37A to 37F and by engagement between each of the engagement pieces 74 and each of the notches 72.

As a result, the electrical box body 32 and the lid member 33 are fixed to each other by the engagement of each of the engagement pieces 74 with each of the notches 72 with a tightening force equivalent to that of a screw. Therefore, in the electrical box 30, the number of screw-fastened parts can be reduced without compromising airtightness, improving work efficiency when attaching the electrical box body 32 and the lid member 33. Hereinafter, the fixing structure in which each of the engagement pieces 74 is fixed to each of the notches 72 is referred to as the claw mechanism.

8, the O-ring 38 has a circular cross section. The radial length of the O-ring 38 is longer than the depth of the O-ring groove 36 in the vertical direction of the electrical box 30.
The O-ring 38 is made of foamed rubber with an air layer S provided therein. In this embodiment, the O-ring 38 is made of chloroprene rubber. Chloroprene rubber is a material that has a relatively low propane permeability, which is a flammable gas, compared to other resin materials. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of propane that permeates the O-ring 38 in the electrical box 30, thereby improving the airtightness.

The O-ring 38 in the present embodiment is formed in an annular shape. The O-ring 38 is formed so that the length dimension in the circumferential direction is shorter than the length dimension in the circumferential direction of the O-ring groove 36.
As a result, in the electrical equipment box 30, when the O-ring 38 is fitted into the O-ring groove 36, the O-ring 38 has a length dimension shorter than the actual circumferential length of the O-ring groove 36, making it easier for the O-ring 38 to fit tightly into the O-ring groove 36. As a result, in the electrical equipment box 30, the tightness between the O-ring groove 36 and the O-ring 38 is improved, further improving the airtightness.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic state in which the cover member 33 and the electrical box body 32 shown in FIG. 8 are fixed to each other.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the cover member 33 is attached to the electrical box body 32, the O-ring 38 is sandwiched between the O-ring groove 36 and the flange 32F, and elastically deforms inside the O-ring groove 36.
As described above, the O-ring 38 is made of foam rubber. In this way, in the electrical box 30, by using the O-ring 38 made of foam as a sealing material, the repulsive force of the O-ring 38 is prevented from becoming too strong, and the compression rate is increased. Therefore, in the electrical box 30, the design value of the compression rate of the O-ring 38 can be set higher, and the length dimension of the O-ring 38 in the radial direction can be set longer than the depth dimension of the O-ring groove 36. Then, the screw-in allowance into the O-ring groove 36 is increased, and the adhesion force and the elasticity that can maintain the adhesion force can be improved. That is, in the electrical box 30, the design value of the compression rate of the O-ring 38 can be set higher, so that the change in the compression rate due to component variations can be reduced compared to when a solid rubber is used for the O-ring 38.

The heat exchanger 20 is formed in an L-shape facing the rear surface 10A and the side surface 10B of the housing 10. A shielding member 60 is provided between the header pipe of the heat exchanger 20 facing the rear surface 10A of the housing 10 and the machine side portion 32B of the electrical box body 32, as shown in FIG. 7. By providing the shielding member 60 near the seal portion of the machine side portion 32B near the header pipe, even if the refrigerant is ejected from the refrigerant circuit, the phenomenon of the refrigerant directly colliding with the vicinity of the seal portion is suppressed, and the mass transfer rate of the refrigerant penetrating the O-ring 38 (e.g., foam rubber) can be reduced.

The electrical box 30 is positioned so that the height of the top surface of the cover member 33 is lower than the height of the top end of the heat exchanger 20. A ventilated space is formed between the top surface of the cover member 33 and the bottom surface of the top plate 17 of the housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, a partition member 39 is provided on the upper surface of the cover member 33. The partition member 39 is arranged at the boundary between the blower side portion 33A and the machine side portion 33B in a manner that closes the above-mentioned space. In other words, the upper surface 39A of the partition member 39 is in contact with the lower surface of the top plate 17. The partition member 39 has a plurality of openings 100 formed at equal intervals, and partial ventilation is possible between the machine chamber 13 and the blower chamber 12 through the openings 100.

[1-2. motion]
Next, the operation of the heat pump device 1 configured as above will be described.
When the heat pump device 1 is driven, the compressor 22 and the blower device 21 are operated, and the axial flow fan also starts to operate.
As a result, when hot water is used, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22 to a high temperature and pressure flows as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 4 and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23. The water is cooled by heat exchange with water flowing through a water supply pipe 28 by the refrigerant 23, and the water is heated by the heat of the refrigerant and is supplied to a predetermined location.
The refrigerant discharged from the water heat exchanger 23 is decompressed in the expansion device 24, undergoes heat exchange in the heat exchanger 20, and becomes a gas refrigerant, which is returned to the compressor 22 again.

In addition, when cold water is used, by switching the four-way valve 27, the refrigerant flows as shown by the dashed arrows in Figure 4, exchanges heat with the outside air in the heat exchanger 20, is reduced in pressure in the expansion device 24, and is sent to the water heat exchanger 23, thereby cooling the water flowing through the water supply pipe 28.
During these operations, the blower device 21 is operated, so that air flows toward the electrical equipment box 30 located in the blower chamber 12 .

Furthermore, since a space allowing ventilation is formed between the lower surface of the top plate 17 of the housing 10 and the upper surface of the cover member 33 of the electrical equipment box 30 , air also flows over the upper surface of the cover member 33 .
These air flows allow the entire surface of the electrical box 30 to be cooled by air, and an increase in temperature of the electronic components 43 housed inside the electrical box 30 can be suppressed.

In addition, air flows through the heat sink 41 due to the operation of the blower 21. This allows the heat sink 41 to be cooled, and the control board 40 to be cooled through the heat sink 41.

The machine chamber 13 houses many connections of refrigerant piping, and is separated from the blower 21. In the heat pump device 1, if refrigerant leaks from the machine chamber 13, there is a risk that the refrigerant concentration in the machine chamber 13 will reach a predetermined value or higher.
In the electrical box 30 of this embodiment, when the cover member 33 is attached to the electrical box main body 32, the O-ring 38 is sandwiched between the O-ring groove 36 and the flange 32F, and elastically deforms inside the O-ring groove 36, thereby sealing the gap between the cover member 33 and the electrical box main body 32.
In the electrical box 30, when the cover member 33 and the electrical box body 32 are fastened together, the repulsive force of the O-ring 38 housed in the O-ring groove 36 strengthens the adhesion between the cover member 33, the O-ring 38, and the electrical box body 32, improving the sealing performance. In addition, in the electrical box 30, when the cover member 33 is attached to the electrical box body 32, the O-ring 38 is not crushed more than necessary, ensuring airtightness and maintaining the durability of the O-ring 38 over a long period of time.
In this manner, in the heat pump device 1 , since the electrical box 30 is sealed, the refrigerant leaking from the refrigerant circuit is prevented from entering the interior of the electrical box 30 .

[1-3. Effects, etc.]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the heat pump device 1 includes, within the housing 10, the machine chamber 13 in which the compressor 22 and the expansion device 24 are disposed, and the blower chamber 12 in which the heat exchanger 20 and the blower device 21 are disposed. The heat pump device 1 includes an electrical equipment box 30. The electrical equipment box 30 includes an electrical equipment box main body 32 and a lid member 33. In the electrical equipment box 30, an O-ring groove 36 is disposed in the electrical equipment box main body 32 or the lid member 33, an O-ring 38 inserted into the O-ring groove 36 is sandwiched between the lid member 33 and the electrical equipment box main body 32, and the lid member 33 and the electrical equipment box main body 32 are fixed to each other with fixing screws 37A to 37D.

In this way, in the electrical box 30, by fixing the cover member 33 and the electrical box body 32 with the fixing screws 37A-37D, the repulsive force of the O-ring 38 housed in the O-ring groove 36 strengthens the adhesion between the cover member 33, the O-ring 38, and the electrical box body 32, improving the sealing performance. Therefore, in the electrical box 30, airtightness can be ensured, and when the cover member 33 is attached to the electrical box body 32, the O-ring 38 is not crushed more than necessary, and the long-term durability of the O-ring 38 can be maintained.

In addition, in this embodiment, the electrical box main body 32 is made of sheet metal and has a flange 32F on the peripheral portion of the upper end, the cover member 33 is made of resin and has an O-ring groove 36, and an O-ring 38 may be sandwiched between the cover member 33 and the flange 32F of the electrical box main body 32.
As a result, in the electrical box 30, the gap between the cover member 33 and the electrical box body 32 can be sealed outside the interior of the electrical box body 32 in which electrical components such as the control board 40 are housed. Therefore, in the electrical box 30, the interior of the electrical box body 32 can be made into a sealed space.

In addition, in this embodiment, a claw mechanism is formed by an engagement piece 74 formed on the cover member 33 and a notch 72 formed on the flange 32F of the electrical box main body 32, and one or more claw mechanisms may be arranged between the fixing screws 37A to 37D.
As a result, the electrical box body 32 and the cover member 33 are fixed to each other by the claw mechanism with a tightening force equivalent to that of screw fastening. Therefore, in the electrical box 30, the number of screw fastening parts can be reduced without reducing the airtightness, and the work efficiency when attaching the electrical box body 32 and the cover member 33 is improved.

In addition, in this embodiment, the electrical box main body 32 is arranged to straddle the machine chamber 13 and the blower chamber 12, and the proportion of the volume occupied by the machine side part 32B is made smaller than the volume occupied by the blower side part 32A, and the length of the O-ring 38 in the machine side part 33B may be shortened.
As a result, in the electrical equipment box 30, the portion of the O-ring 38 disposed in the machine chamber 13 can be shortened in the circumferential length dimension thereof. Therefore, the portion of the O-ring 38 exposed to the leaked refrigerant at a concentration equal to or higher than a predetermined level is reduced, and the long-term durability of the O-ring 38 can be improved.

In this embodiment, the O-ring 38 may be made of foam rubber.
This prevents the repulsive force of the O-ring 38 from becoming too strong and increases the compression ratio, so that the electrical box 30 has a larger screw-in allowance for the O-ring groove 36, improving the adhesion and the elasticity that can maintain the adhesion.

In the present embodiment, the O-ring 38 may be made of chloroprene rubber.
This reduces the amount of propane that permeates through the O-ring 38 in the electrical equipment box 30. As a result, the airtightness of the electrical equipment box 30 can be improved.

In this embodiment, the length of the O-ring 38 is set to be shorter than the length of the O-ring groove 36 .
As a result, in the electrical equipment box 30, when the O-ring 38 is fitted into the O-ring groove 36, the O-ring 38 has a length dimension shorter than the actual circumferential length of the O-ring groove 36, making it easier for the O-ring 38 to fit tightly into the O-ring groove 36. As a result, in the electrical equipment box 30, the tightness between the O-ring groove 36 and the O-ring 38 is improved, further improving the airtightness.

Other Embodiments
As described above, the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made. In addition, it is also possible to combine the components described in the first embodiment to create a new embodiment.

In the above-described first embodiment, the heat pump device 1 is an outdoor unit that can be used for a so-called heat pump hot water heater. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the heat pump device 1 can be applied to various devices equipped with a refrigerant circuit, such as a water heater or an air conditioner.

The above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology disclosed herein, and various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. may be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

[Configuration supported by the above embodiment]
The above embodiment supports the following configurations.

(Additional Note)
(Technology 1) A heat pump device including a machine chamber in which a compressor and an expansion device are disposed, a blower chamber in which a heat exchanger and a blower are disposed, and an electrical box within a housing, the electrical box including an electrical box main body and a lid member, an O-ring groove being disposed in the electrical box main body or the lid member, an O-ring inserted into the O-ring groove being sandwiched between the lid member and the electrical box main body, and the lid member and the electrical box main body being fixed with fixing screws.
According to this configuration, in the electrical box, by fixing the cover member and the electrical box body with fixing screws, the repulsive force of the O-ring placed in the O-ring groove strengthens the adhesion between the cover member, the O-ring, and the electrical box body, improving the sealing performance. Therefore, the electrical box can ensure airtightness, and when the cover member is attached to the electrical box body, the O-ring is not crushed more than necessary, and the durability of the O-ring can be maintained over a long period of time.

(Technology 2) A heat pump device described in Technology 1, in which the electrical box body is made of sheet metal and has a flange on the peripheral edge of the upper end, the cover member is made of resin and has an O-ring groove, and the O-ring is sandwiched between the cover member and the flange of the electrical box body.
According to this configuration, in the electrical box, the gap between the cover member and the electrical box body can be sealed outside the interior of the electrical box body in which electrical components such as a control board are housed, and therefore the interior of the electrical box body can be made into a sealed space.

(Technology 3) A heat pump device as described in Technology 2, in which a claw mechanism is formed by a hook portion formed on the cover member and a receiving portion for the hook portion formed on the flange of the electrical box body, and one or more claw mechanisms are arranged between the fixing screws.
According to this configuration, the electrical box body and the cover member are fixed to each other by the claw mechanism with a tightening force equivalent to that of screw fastening, which allows the number of screw fastening parts to be reduced without compromising the airtightness of the electrical box, improving work efficiency when attaching the electrical box body and the cover member 33.

(Technology 4) A heat pump device described in any one of Technology 1 to Technology 3, in which the electrical box main body is arranged to straddle the machine room and the blower room, the proportion of the volume occupied by the machine side part is smaller than the volume occupied by the blower side part, and the length of the O-ring in the machine side part is shortened.
With this configuration, the electrical equipment box can shorten the circumferential length of the O-ring at the portion disposed in the machine room, thereby reducing the number of portions of the O-ring exposed to the leaked refrigerant at a concentration equal to or higher than a predetermined level, thereby improving the long-term durability of the O-ring.

(Technology 5) A heat pump apparatus according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 4, wherein the O-ring is made of foam rubber.
With this configuration, the repulsive force of the O-ring is prevented from becoming too strong and the compression ratio is increased, so that the screw-in allowance of the O-ring into the groove of the electrical box is increased, improving the adhesion and the elasticity required to maintain the adhesion.

(Technology 6) The heat pump apparatus according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 5, wherein the O-ring is made of chloroprene rubber.
According to this configuration, the amount of propane that permeates through the O-ring can be reduced, thereby improving the airtightness of the electrical equipment box.

(Technology 7) A heat pump apparatus according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 6, wherein the length of the O-ring is set shorter than the length of the O-ring groove.
According to this configuration, when an O-ring is fitted into the O-ring groove, the O-ring has a length dimension shorter than the actual circumference of the O-ring groove, which makes it easier for the O-ring to fit tightly into the O-ring groove. As a result, the O-ring fits tightly into the O-ring groove in the electrical box, improving airtightness.

This disclosure is suitable for use in heat pump devices that can suppress an increase in refrigerant concentration around electrical components housed in an electrical box in the event of a refrigerant leak.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 heat pump device 10 housing 12 blower room 13 machine room 20 heat exchanger 21 blower device (blower)
22 Compressor 23 Water heat exchanger 24 Expansion device 30 Electrical box 32 Electrical box body 33 Lid member 34 Electrical box bottom 35 Bottom opening 36 O-ring groove 37A, 37D, 37E, 37F Fixing screw 38 O-ring 39A Top surface 70 Screw hole 71 Screw hole

Claims (7)

A heat pump apparatus including a machine chamber in which a compressor and an expansion device are disposed, a blower chamber in which a heat exchanger and a blower are disposed, and an electrical equipment box,
The electrical equipment box includes an electrical equipment box body and a cover member.
A heat pump device in which an O-ring groove is arranged in the electrical box body or the lid member, an O-ring inserted into the O-ring groove is sandwiched between the lid member and the electrical box body, and the lid member and the electrical box body are fixed with fixing screws. The heat pump device according to claim 1, in which the electrical box body is made of sheet metal and has a flange on the periphery of the upper end, the lid member is made of resin and has an O-ring groove, and the O-ring is sandwiched between the lid member and the flange of the electrical box body. The heat pump device according to claim 2, in which a claw mechanism is formed by a hook portion formed on the lid member and a receiving portion for the hook portion formed on the flange of the electrical box body, and one or more claw mechanisms are arranged between the fixing screws. The heat pump device according to claim 1, in which the electrical box body is arranged to straddle the machine room and the blower room, the ratio of the volume occupied by the machine side part to the volume occupied by the blower side part is made smaller, and the length of the O-ring in the machine side part is made shorter. The heat pump device of claim 1, wherein the O-ring is made of foam rubber. The heat pump device of claim 1, wherein the O-ring is made of chloroprene rubber. The heat pump device of claim 1, wherein the length of the O-ring is set shorter than the length of the O-ring groove.

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