JPH0526476A - Inverter cooler for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cool an inverter effectively in either cooling operation or heating operation. CONSTITUTION:A cooling time suction port 24 is provided in a control parts room 22 at a place where fan room air cannot be suctioned and driven to open and close by a first damper 35. A heating time suction port 25 is provided in the control parts room 22 at a place where the fan room air can be suctioned and driven to open and close by a second damper 36. An actuator 38 operates through a connecting member 37 to open the heating time suction port 25 at a time of heating and to close the cooling time suction port 24 at a time of cooling. Thus, at a time of heating, the fan room air having a temperature which is lowered than outdoor air by a cold-heat exchange between an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor heat exchanger is suctioned to cool an inverter part 23. On the other hand, at a time of cooling, the outdoor air having a lower temperature than the fan room air is taken in to cool the inverter part 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inverter cooling device for an air conditioner, which cools an inverter part for controlling the rotation speed of a compressor in the air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of cooling control parts such as an inverter unit in an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, there is one shown in FIG. 3 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-6239). However, FIG. 3 (a) is a horizontal sectional view and FIG. 3 (b) is a vertical sectional view. In FIG. 3, an outer box 1 of the outdoor unit is provided by a partition plate 2.
A blower room 5 accommodating the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the blower 4
And a machine room 8 accommodating the compressor 6 and a control part 7 such as an inverter unit for controlling the rotation speed of the compressor 6 and the like. Further, the machine room 8 is divided by a partition plate 9 into a compressor room 11 in which the compressor 6 and the refrigerant pipe 10 are housed and a control parts room 12 in which the control parts 7 are housed.

An intake port 13 is provided in a portion of the outer box 1 which constitutes the outer wall of the control component chamber 12 so as to communicate the inside of the control component chamber 12 to the outside. Further, a ventilation port 14 that connects the control component chamber 12 to the blower chamber 5 is provided at a portion of the partition plate 2 that constitutes a side wall of the control component chamber 12. In this way, the negative pressure generated by the rotation of the blower 4 forms an air passage in which the outside air taken in through the intake port 13 passes through the control component 7 and heads toward the ventilation port 14.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional control component cooling structure, the intake port 13 is the only outside air intake port for cooling the control component 7 such as the inverter section. Therefore, the control component 7 is cooled by the outside air taken in through the same intake port 13 regardless of whether it is during cooling or during heating. Here, the service life of the inverter part is greatly affected by temperature. Therefore, if the temperature of the air for cooling the components of the inverter section is as low as possible, the life of each component can be extended. Particularly during heating, the air in the blower chamber 5 is cooled to a temperature lower than the outside air by the cold heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger 3. However, the air having a temperature lower than the outside air is not effectively used for cooling the control component 7.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inverter for an air conditioner capable of effectively cooling the inverter components to improve the reliability of electrical components, whether during heating or during cooling. It is to provide a cooling device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an inverter cooling device for an air conditioner according to the present invention has an outdoor unit 2 for an air conditioner, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
A partition member 32 for partitioning the inside of the fan 1 into a blower chamber 26 in which a fan 28 is stored and a control component chamber 22 in which the inverter unit 23 is stored, and a blowout port 29 from the blower chamber 26 in the outer wall of the control component chamber 22. Heating air intake port 25 provided at a location where the blower room air can be taken in, and cooling air intake provided at a location where the blower room air blown out from the blowout port 29 in the outer wall of the control component chamber 22 cannot be taken in. A vent 24, a ventilation port 31 provided in the partition member 32 for communicating the blower chamber 26 and the control component chamber 22, a first damper 35 for opening and closing the cooling intake port 24, and the heating intake port 2nd damper 3 which opens and closes 25
6, the first damper 35 is driven to the closed side during heating, the second damper 36 is driven to the open side, and the second damper 36 is driven to the closed side during cooling, while the first damper is driven to the first side.
It is characterized in that drive means 37, 38 for driving the damper 35 to the open side are provided.

[0007]

[Operation] During heating, the first drive means 37, 38
The damper 35 is driven to the closed side to close the cooling air intake port 24, while the second damper 36 is driven to the open side to open the heating air intake port 25. The fan 23 housed in the blower chamber 26 partitioned by the partition member 32
When is rotated, by heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger,
The blower room air cooled to a temperature lower than the outside air is the air outlet 29.
Is blown from the outside. At that time, the partition member 32
The control parts room 22 separated from the blower room 26 by the
The heating air intake port 25 provided in the air conditioner is provided at a location where the blower room air from the blowout port 29 can be taken in.
Therefore, a part of the blower room air blown out from the blowout port 29 is sucked into the control component chamber 22 having a negative pressure from the heating intake port 25. Then, the sucked air in the blower chamber circulates in the control component chamber 22 to cool the inverter unit 23, and then the partition member 3
The air is sucked into the blower chamber 26 through a ventilation port 31 which is provided in No. 2 and connects the control component chamber 22 and the blower chamber 26. Thus, during heating, the air in the blower chamber 26, which is cooled to a temperature lower than the outside air, effectively cools the inverter unit 23.

During cooling, the second damper 36 is driven to the closing side by the driving means 37, 38 to close the heating intake port 25, while the first damper 35 is driven to the opening side to cool the cooling intake port. 24 is opened. Then, when the fan 23 housed in the blower chamber 26 is rotated, the blower room air that has become higher in temperature than the outside air due to the heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger is blown to the outside from the blowout port 29.
Then, since the cooling air intake port 24 is provided at a location where the blower room air from the blowout port 29 cannot be sucked, outside air having a temperature lower than that of the blower room air is controlled from the cooling air intake port 24 into the control component chamber 22. Is inhaled into. Thus, during cooling, the inverter unit 23 is effectively cooled by the outside air having a temperature lower than that of the blower room air.

[0009]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner showing the concept of an inverter cooling device according to this embodiment. This inverter cooling device is configured as follows. That is, a machine that houses the blower chamber 26 that houses the outdoor heat exchanger 27 and the fan 28 inside the outdoor unit 21 of the air conditioner by the partition member 32, and electric components such as the inverter unit 23 and the compressor (not shown). The chamber is partitioned by a partition member 33 into a compressor room for housing a compressor and the like and a control parts room 22 for housing the inverter section 23 and the like. Further, the control component chamber 22 is provided with two intake ports for intake of outside air, a cooling intake port 24 and a heating intake port 25.

At this time, the position of the heating intake port 25 is such that the blower room air blown by the fan 28 after heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger 27 can be sucked in.
It is provided in the vicinity of the air outlet 29 of the blower chamber 26. On the other hand, the position of the cooling air intake port 24 is set so that the blower room air blown out from the air outlet 29 cannot be sucked in.
It is provided on the rear wall opposite to the air outlet 29. Then, during heating, the intake port 25 during heating is opened, while the intake port 2 during cooling is opened.
Close 4 On the contrary, during cooling, the cooling intake port 24 is opened while the heating intake port 25 is closed.

Thus, during heating, the temperature of the fan 28 becomes lower than that of the outside air due to the rotation of the fan 28 and the cold heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger 27 blown out from the outlet 29 as shown by the arrow (a). Part of the air in the blower room goes around the front panel 30 as shown by the arrow (b) and is sucked into the control component chamber 22 having a negative pressure from the open air intake port 25 during heating. Of. In this way, the air in the blower room, which is cooler than the outside air, effectively cools the inverter. On the other hand, during cooling, the air in the blower chamber 26 becomes hotter than the outside air due to heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger 27. Therefore, the intake port 25 at the time of heating is closed to prevent the intake of air in the blower chamber 26, and the intake port 24 at the time of cooling for opening the blower chamber 26.
The outside air, which has a lower temperature than the inside air, is inhaled.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the control component chamber 22 in the outdoor unit showing a specific example of the opening / closing mechanism for the cooling intake port 24 and the heating intake port 25. In FIG. 2, a first damper 35 that opens and closes the cooling air intake port 24 and a second damper 36 that opens and closes the heating air intake port 25 are both attached rotatably in the vertical direction by a hinge provided on one lower side. .. The upper end of the first damper 35 and the upper end of the second damper 36 are connected by the connecting member 37. Also,
An actuator 38 for swinging the connecting member 37 in the longitudinal direction is installed on the ceiling of the control parts chamber 22. That is, the connecting member 37 and the actuator 38
The above-mentioned drive means is constituted by.

The opening / closing mechanism configured as described above operates as follows. That is, during heating, the cooling / heating switch
Switch (not shown) to the heating side. Then, Figure 2
As shown in (a), the actuator 28 operates to move the connecting member 37 to the first damper 35 side. Then, as the connecting member 37 moves, the first damper 35 closes the cooling air intake port 24. At the same time, the second damper 36 opens the intake port 25 during heating. As a result, as described above, part of the blown air that is lower than the outside air and is blown out from the blower chamber 26 is sucked into the control component chamber 22 from the heating intake port 25 to cool the inverter unit 23. ..

On the other hand, during cooling, the cooling / heating changeover switch is switched to the cooling side. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the second damper 36 is moved by the movement of the connecting member 37 in accordance with the operation of the actuator 28 so that the heating intake port 25
To close. At the same time, the first damper 35 opens the cooling air intake port 24. As a result, as described above, the outside air having a temperature lower than that of the air blown from the blower chamber 26 is sucked into the control component chamber 22 from the cooling air intake port 24,
The inverter unit 23 is cooled.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the heating intake port 25 is provided in the control parts chamber 22 in the vicinity of the air outlet 29 of the air blower chamber 26, while the air in the air blower chamber cannot be sucked from the air outlet 29. Inlet 24 for cooling
To provide. Then, by the actuator 38 and the connecting member 37, the first damper 35 that opens and closes the cooling air intake port 24 and the second damper 36 that opens and closes the heating air intake port 25.
One of them is opened and the other is closed at the same time.

Therefore, at the time of heating, the intake port 2 at the time of heating
5 is opened while the cooling air intake port 24 is closed, a blow-down air temperature lower than the outside air blown out from the blower chamber 26 is taken into the control component chamber 22, and the inverter unit 2
3 can be cooled effectively. That is, according to the above-described embodiment, the inverter 23 can be effectively cooled by constantly taking in air of a low temperature, whether during heating or during cooling.

The actuator 3 in the above embodiment
The specific configuration of 8 is not particularly limited. That is, as described above, an electric actuator such as a solenoid that operates in synchronization with the switching of the cooling / heating switch may be used. Further, it may be a temperature detection type actuator that automatically operates according to the outside air temperature, such as a shape memory alloy.

[0018]

As is apparent from the above, the inverter cooling device for an air conditioner according to the present invention uses an air intake port for sucking outside air into the control component chamber to blow air from the blower room air blown out of the blower chamber. Two inlets are provided, one for heating, which is located at a location where air can be taken in, and one for cooling, which is located at a location where air inside the blower from the air outlet cannot be taken in. While closing the mouth, the second damper opens the heating intake port, and during cooling, the second damper closes the heating intake port, while the first damper opens the cooling intake port. During heating, the inverter part can be cooled by sucking a part of the air inside the blower room that is cooler than the outside air and is blown out from the air outlet into the control component room. Is the outside air temperature lower than the ventilator room air can be cooled inverter unit sucks in the control component chamber. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively cool the inverter unit and improve the reliability of the electrical components both during heating and during cooling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an inverter cooling device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment embodying the conceptual diagram of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a method for cooling a control component in a conventional outdoor unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 ... Outdoor unit, 22 ... Control parts room, 23 ... Inverter part, 24 ... Air-conditioning inlet, 25 ... Heating inlet, 26 ... Blower room, 27 ... Outdoor heat exchanger, 28 ... Fan, 29 ... Blowout outlet , 31 ... Ventilation port, 32 ... Partition member, 35 ... First damper, 36 ... Second damper, 37 ... Coupling member, 38 ... Actuator.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. An outdoor unit (21) of an air conditioner is provided with a fan.
Blower room (26) accommodating (28) and inverter section (2
A partition member for partitioning the control part room (22) in which 3) is housed
(32), and the blower chamber (2 on the outer wall of the control component chamber (22)
6) Inlet for air heating (25) provided at a location where the air in the blower room blown out from the air outlet (29) can be taken in, and the air outlet (29) on the outer wall of the control parts chamber (22).
The blower room (26) is provided in the cooling air intake port (24) provided at a location where the air blown from the blower room cannot be taken in, and the partition member (32).
And a control part chamber (22), a ventilation port (31), and a first damper (35) for opening and closing the cooling air intake port (24).
And a second damper (36) for opening and closing the air intake (25) during heating
When heating, the first damper (35) is driven to the closing side, while the second damper (36) is driven to the opening side, and when the cooling is performed, the second damper (36) is driven to the closing side while the first damper (35) is driven to the closing side. 1
Drive means (37, 38) for driving the damper (35) to the open side
An inverter cooling device for an air conditioner, comprising: