JP6116491B2 - Branching device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a branching device that branches a pipe extending from an outdoor unit and connects a plurality of indoor units.

  The conventional branching device is composed of a total of 6 sheet metal plates, top, bottom, front, back, left and right, and screws are fastened to store and fix the refrigeration circuit parts in a body case (outer shell) formed into a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The side connection port and the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports are configured to protrude in opposite directions from the outer shell (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Moreover, in such a thing, the 1st connection port connected to an outdoor unit on the board | plate member of the same shape as a 1st opening part is provided in the housing | casing (outer wall) of a branch apparatus, and indoors. There is one in which a branch pipe unit including a plurality of second connection ports connected to the unit and a plurality of refrigerant control valves is provided and attached from the first opening. In this case, since the first connection port and the plurality of second connection ports are arranged in the opposite directions and the direction in which the plate member is attached can be reversed, the positional relationship between the first connection port and the second connection port is reversed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-238900 (paragraph [0045], FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-265377 (summary, FIG. 2)

  However, in the branching device of Patent Document 1 configured so that the outdoor unit side connection port and the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrude in opposite directions from the outer shell, the outdoor unit side piping and the indoor unit side piping are The direction is limited. For this reason, depending on the installation environment, extra piping may be necessary or piping may be difficult.

  Further, a branch pipe unit in which a first connection port and a plurality of second connection ports are arranged in reverse directions is provided on a plate member having the same shape as the first opening of the outer shell, and is attached from the first opening. In the branch device of Patent Document 2, the positional relationship between the first connection port (outdoor unit side connection port) and the plurality of second connection ports (indoor unit side connection ports) is reversed by reversing the mounting direction of the plate member. be able to. However, the orientation of the outdoor unit side connection port or the indoor unit side connection port with respect to the direction of the indoor unit side connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port remains unchanged in one direction.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has a plurality of types of orientations of the outdoor unit side connection port or the indoor unit side connection port based on the indoor unit side connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port. It aims to be able to choose from.

  A branch device according to the present invention is arranged between an outdoor unit of an air conditioner and a plurality of indoor units, and a branch pipe for branching a pipe from the outdoor unit to the plurality of indoor units in the outer case, and a plurality of units A plurality of expansion valves for adjusting the refrigerant flow rate to the indoor unit and a plurality of valve drive coils for driving the expansion valves, and the direction of the outdoor unit side connection port and the direction of the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports In the branching device in which the connection ports protrude from the outer case at right angles, the outer case includes the upper surface panel, the bottom surface panel, and the outer surface on the side facing the opening surface on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrude. A rear panel forming a surface, a first side panel formed with a notch through which the outdoor unit side connection port is inserted, and a second side panel forming an outer surface on the side facing the first side panel, Board support to support the printed circuit board inside the back panel And the first side panel, the second side panel, and the board support panel are screwed to the top panel, the bottom panel, and the back panel, so that the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrude. The first side panel, the second side panel, and the substrate support panel are rotated in a vertical plane with reference to the indoor unit side connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port. The screw holes are arranged so that they can be screwed to the top panel, the bottom panel, and the back panel even when they are turned upside down.

  According to the branching device of the present invention, the first side panel, the second side panel, and the substrate support panel are rotated upside down by rotating in the vertical plane with respect to the indoor unit side connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port. Even in this case, since the screw holes are arranged so that the top panel, the bottom panel, and the back panel can be screwed, the first side panel, the second side panel, and the board support panel can be reversed, so that the indoor unit side Without changing the direction of the connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port, the direction of the outdoor unit side connection port or the indoor unit side connection port can be reversed 180 degrees. For this reason, the direction of the outdoor unit side connection port can be selected from a plurality of types according to the installation environment, and piping becomes easy.

It is a refrigerant circuit figure of the air harmony device provided with the branching device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the branch apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure at the time of rotating each side panel and board | substrate support panel of a branching device which concerns on embodiment of this invention in a vertical surface on the basis of an indoor unit side connection port, and turning upside down.

The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of an air conditioner including a branch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner includes an outdoor unit 1, a plurality of indoor units 2, and a branching device 3 that connects the outdoor unit 1 and the plurality of indoor units 2. The outdoor unit 1 includes a compressor 4 that compresses the refrigerant, a four-way valve 5 that switches between cooling and heating by switching the flow direction of the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 6 that exchanges heat with the outside air, and an accumulator that stores the refrigerant. 7. The indoor unit 2 includes a plurality of indoor heat exchangers 8 that exchange heat with room air. The branching device 3 includes branch pipes 11a and 11b that branch the pipe from the outdoor unit 1 in a direction orthogonal to the plurality of indoor units 2, and a plurality of expansion valves for adjusting the refrigerant flow rate to the plurality of indoor units 2. 12 and a plurality of valve drive coils (not shown) for driving the expansion valves 12.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the branching device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
2, the branch pipes 11a and 11b are arranged horizontally as shown in FIG. 2, and each of the branch pipes 11b is provided with an expansion valve 12 and a valve drive coil 13 for driving the expansion valve 12 sideways. . The branch pipes 11a and 11b are provided with indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b so as to be orthogonal to the direction of the outdoor unit side connection ports 14a and 14b. And the refrigerant | coolant piping part 16 containing these branch pipes 11a and 11b, each expansion valve 12, and each valve drive coil 13 is covered with the heat insulating material 20 in the outer case 30, and outdoor unit side connection port 14a, 14b and The indoor unit side connection ports 15 a and 15 b protrude from the outer case 30.

  The heat insulating material 20 is inserted between the upper heat insulating material 21 and the lower heat insulating material 22 sandwiching the refrigerant pipe portion 16 from above and the branch pipes 11a and 11b to prevent the branch pipe 11a and the branch pipe 11b from contacting each other. Spacer heat insulating material 23 to be used.

  The outer case 30 includes a top panel 31, a bottom panel 32, a rear panel 37 that forms an outer surface facing the opening surface on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b protrude, and an outdoor unit side. The first side panel 33 is provided with a notch 33a through which the connection ports 14a, 14b are inserted, and the second side panel 34 forms an outer surface on the side facing the first side panel 33. A substrate support panel 35 that supports the printed circuit board 36 is disposed inside the back panel 37. The first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, and the substrate support panel 35 are screwed to the top panel 31, the bottom panel 32, and the back panel 37, so that the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b are connected. Is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an opening surface on the protruding side. The opening surface of the outer case 30 on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports 15 a and 15 b protrude is closed by the heat insulating material 20.

  Further, a printed circuit board 36 having an expansion valve driving element mounted thereon is attached to the outer surface of the substrate support panel 35 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration in which each side panel and the substrate support panel of the branching device according to the embodiment of the present invention are rotated in the vertical plane with the indoor unit side connection port as a reference and turned upside down. is there.
When the first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, and the substrate support panel 35 are rotated in the vertical plane with reference to the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b as shown in FIGS. However, screw holes A to J are arranged so that the top panel 31, the bottom panel 32, and the back panel 37 can be screwed. The spacer heat insulating material 23, the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34 are provided with screw holes K and L for attaching the spacer heat insulating material 23 to the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34. ing. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the screw hole fastened together between each member. That is, the screw holes A and C are common screw holes arranged at positions where they can be used between the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34 even if they are reversed. It has become. The screw holes F and G are common screw holes arranged at positions where they can be used between the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34 even if they are reversed. It has become. Further, the screw holes H and I are common screw holes arranged at positions where they can be used with each other even when the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34 are reversed. It has become. Further, since the screw holes B, D, E, and J of the substrate support panel 35 are also provided at the upper and lower positions of the substrate support panel 35, even if the substrate support panel 35 is turned upside down, this and the bottom panel 32 are provided. The first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, and the back panel 37 are common screw holes arranged at positions where they can be used.

  Therefore, the refrigerant pipe section 16 is rotated together with the heat insulating material 20 in the vertical plane with the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b as a reference to be turned upside down, and the first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, and the printed board 36. And the substrate support panel 35 are rotated in the vertical plane with reference to the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b and turned upside down, so that the orientation of the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b is not changed, and the outdoor unit side connection is made. The directions of the mouths 14a and 14b can be reversed 180 degrees. For this reason, according to an installation environment, direction of outdoor unit side connection port 14a, 14b can be selected from multiple types, and piping becomes easy.

  In addition, each expansion valve 12 is arranged in the outer case 30 so that each valve drive coil 13 is in a lateral direction (direction facing the first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, or the back panel). Therefore, even if the refrigerant piping part 16 is turned upside down, the coil is turned sideways. In general, expansion valves have specifications that cannot be used when the coil is faced down.However, if the coil is placed sideways as in this embodiment, the number of types of expansion valves that can be used increases and the degree of design freedom increases. Increase.

  In addition, the refrigerant piping portion 16 including the plurality of expansion valves 12 in the outer case 30 is covered with the heat insulating material 20, and the opening surface on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b of the outer case 30 protrudes is Since it is blocked by the heat insulating material 20, it is not necessary to treat the internal condensed water.

  Here, the case where each side panel and the substrate support panel of the branching device are rotated in the vertical plane with the indoor unit side connection port as a reference and turned upside down has been described as an example. However, in the branching device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first side panel 33, the second side panel 34, and the substrate support panel 35 are based on the outdoor unit side connection ports 14a and 14b as shown in FIGS. The screw holes A to J are arranged so that they can be screwed to the top panel 31, the bottom panel 32, and the back panel 37 even when they are rotated in the vertical plane and turned upside down.

  Therefore, the refrigerant pipe section 16 is rotated together with the heat insulating material 20 in the vertical plane with the outdoor unit side connection ports 14a and 14b as a reference and turned upside down, and the printed circuit board 36 and the substrate support panel 35 are connected to the outdoor unit side connection port. 14a and 14b are rotated in a vertical plane with reference to 14b and turned upside down, and the back panel 37 is disposed outside the printed circuit board 36 with the front and rear direction reversed, and further, the first side panel 33 and the second side panel 34 are arranged. Are turned upside down without changing the direction at the same position, the direction of the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b can be reversed 180 degrees without changing the direction of the outdoor unit side connection ports 14a and 14b. For this reason, the direction of the indoor unit side connection ports 15a and 15b can be selected from a plurality of types according to the installation environment, and piping becomes easy.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outdoor unit, 2 Indoor unit, 3 Branching device, 4 Compressor, 5 Four way valve, 6 Outdoor heat exchanger, 7 Accumulator, 8 Indoor heat exchanger, 11a, 11b Branch pipe, 12 Expansion valve, 13 Valve drive coil , 14a, 14b Outdoor unit side connection port, 15a, 15b Indoor unit side connection port, 16 Refrigerant piping part, 20 Thermal insulation material, 21 Upper thermal insulation material, 22 Lower thermal insulation material, 23 Spacer thermal insulation material, 30 Outer case, 31 Top panel , 32 Bottom panel, 33 First side panel, 33a Notch, 34 Second side panel, 35 Substrate support panel, 36 Printed circuit board, 37 Back panel, A to L Screw holes.

Claims (3)

A branch pipe that is arranged between an outdoor unit of an air conditioner and a plurality of indoor units, branches a pipe from the outdoor unit to the plurality of indoor units in an outer case, and to the plurality of indoor units A plurality of expansion valves for adjusting the refrigerant flow rate and a plurality of valve drive coils for driving the expansion valves, and the direction of the outdoor unit side connection port and the direction of the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports are orthogonal to each other. In the branching device in which each connection port protrudes from the outer case,
The outer case includes an upper panel, a bottom panel, a rear panel that forms an outer surface facing the opening surface on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrude, and the outdoor unit side connection port. A first side panel in which a cutout is formed, and a second side panel forming an outer surface on the side facing the first side panel,
Inside the back panel, a substrate support panel that supports the printed circuit board is disposed,
The plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrude by screwing the first side panel, the second side panel, and the substrate support panel to the top panel, the bottom panel, and the back panel. Formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having the opening surface on the side,
Even when the first side panel, the second side panel, and the substrate support panel are turned upside down by rotating in a vertical plane with respect to the indoor unit side connection port or the outdoor unit side connection port, A branching device, wherein screw holes are arranged so as to be screwed to the top panel, the bottom panel, and the back panel.   The plurality of expansion valves are arranged in the outer case so that each of the valve driving coils is oriented to face the first side panel, the second side panel, or the back panel. The branching device according to claim 1, wherein   The refrigerant piping portion including the plurality of expansion valves in the outer case is covered with a heat insulating material, and the opening surface on the side from which the plurality of indoor unit side connection ports protrudes is blocked with the heat insulating material. The branching device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

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