JPH0763373A - Outdoor equipment of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cancel difference in thermal expansion coefficient between raw materials and prevent definitely the generation of cracks at a mounting fixing spot and thereby enhance reliability by constituting a fan guard with thermoplastic resin and an outdoor equipment body with a metal material. CONSTITUTION:In a system where a thermoplastic resin-made fan guard 26 is installed to the front of an outdoor equipment body while a heat exchanger 21, a fan 22 and components, such as electric appliances are laid out in the outdoor equipment body, hook claws 40 and 42 are projectingly installed to the fan guard 26. The hook claws are latched by engaging holes 41 and 43 installed to a bell-mouth so that the fan guard 26 may be mounted to and fixed with the outdoor equipment body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an improvement of a mounting structure of a fan guard and a bell mouth which constitute a front portion of an outdoor unit main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A commonly used air conditioner comprises an indoor unit installed in an air-conditioned room and an outdoor unit installed outdoors in a building connected via a refrigerant pipe or the like. The outdoor unit should be as close as possible to the wall of the building so that it will not get in the way.

Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a top plate portion 10a and a front face portion 10b are integrally and continuously formed, and an L-shaped plate body 10 having an L shape in a side view and both side surface portions 11a. , 11
An outdoor unit main body 12 is configured by a U-shaped plate body 11 having a U-shape in a plan view, in which a and the rear plate portion 11b are integrally formed, and the bottom plate 4.

The rear end of the top plate portion 10a and the upper end of the rear plate portion 11b of the U-shaped plate 11 have a hooking structure with hooking claws. The lower end portions of the L-shaped plate body 10 and the U-shaped plate body 11 with respect to the bottom plate 4 have a fixing structure using screws.

During maintenance of the components, L
The screw for fixing the L-shaped plate body 10 is removed, the hook of the locking claw is removed, and the L-shaped plate body 10 is released, and then pulled up. The L-shaped plate body 10 can be removed relatively easily, and the inside of the outdoor unit body 12 is exposed, so that maintenance can be performed.

That is, the rear plate portion 11b or the side surface portion 1
By arranging 1a close to the building outdoor wall, even if there is no room for a tool, the direction for removing the screw that fixes the L-shaped plate body 10 is unified to the front side, and the removal direction is on the top side. Because of this, there is no problem in removing this plate.

[0007]

By the way, an opening is provided in the front surface portion 10b, and the fan guard 13 is provided there.
Is fitted. As the material of the fan guard 13,
A synthetic resin material is used to maintain the aesthetic appearance and reduce the weight of the outdoor unit itself. Further, a thermoplastic resin material that is easy to mold is often used.

On the other hand, the L-shaped plate body 10 in which the top plate portion 10a and the front face portion 10b are continuously formed integrally is made of sheet metal, and the fan guard 13 has the front face portion via a fixing screw (not shown). It is attached and fixed to 10b.

The external dimensions of the fan guard 13 in the case shown in the figure are relatively small with respect to the area of the front face portion 10b, and are unlikely to be affected by the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion. However, in recent years, in order to reduce the noise caused by the blow-out fan guard 13 and to improve the aesthetic appearance of the fan guard 13, the area of the fan guard 13 tends to be larger, and almost all of the front portion is covered. The area may be the fan guard 13.

In such a case, since the area of the fan guard 13 is increased, it is easily affected by the change of the outside air temperature. Further, for example, during the cooling operation, the hot air blown out from the blower and the outside air temperature are changed. Is large, the synthetic resin material forming the fan guard expands and deforms more than the metal material forming the L-shaped plate body 10.

Therefore, there is a risk that a crack will occur in the portion where the fan guard is fixed by screws, and if the crack becomes large, it will be damaged and the reliability will be impaired. Also,
When the front part is the fan guard 13, the L-shaped plate body 10 must be fixed to the bottom plate 4 with the screw through the fan guard 13, and also in this part, the crack due to the thermal expansion may occur. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention that the fan guard is made of a thermoplastic resin material and the outdoor unit main body is made of a metal material. Absorbs the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of
An object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit for an air conditioner that reliably prevents the occurrence of cracks at mounting and fixing points and improves reliability.

[0013]

An outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a fan guard made of a thermoplastic resin material,
In a case where components such as a heat exchanger, a blower, and electric parts are arranged in the outdoor unit body in front of the outdoor unit body, the fan guard has a hooking portion protruding from the outdoor unit body. Is provided with an engaging portion, and the engaging portion of the fan guard is engaged with the engaging portion, and the fan guard is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit main body.

The hook portion of the fan guard is a hooking claw, and the outdoor unit main body having a hooking portion for hooking the hooking claw is for guiding the air blown from the blower. The hook is a bell mouth, and the hooking claw is set so as to face away from the hooking portion of the bell mouth when the fan guard is thermally expanded and deformed.

In the outdoor unit for an air conditioner of the second aspect of the invention, a fan guard is provided on the front surface of the outdoor unit main body, and components such as a heat exchanger, a blower and electric parts are arranged in the outdoor unit main body. In the above, the fan guard is attached and fixed to a bell mouth which constitutes a front surface portion of the outdoor unit main body and guides air blown out from the blower, and the bell mouth is attached to the fan guard in the outdoor unit. An insertion hole with a diameter larger than the head diameter of the fixing screw that is attached and fixed to the main body is provided, and this insertion hole is closed with a removable cap when the bell mouth is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit main body with the fixing screw. It is characterized by being done.

[0016]

In the first aspect of the invention, since the hook portion of the fan guard is hooked to the hook portion on the front surface of the outdoor unit body to fix the fan guard to the outdoor unit body, the fan guard made of a thermoplastic resin material is used. And absorbs the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the metal material and the outdoor unit body.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the fan guard is attached and fixed to the bell mouth, the fan guard is provided with an insertion hole having a diameter larger than the diameter of the fixing screw, and the fixing screw is inserted through the hole to attach the bell mouth to the outdoor unit. Since it is attached and fixed to the main body, and the insertion hole is detachably closed with a cap, the fan guard and bell mouth can be integrally attached and detached, and the appearance is not impaired, and the bell mouth and the bottom plate are fixed with screws. Since it does not go through the fan guard, thermal expansion of the fan guard does not cause cracks at the screw fixing points.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is
The outdoor unit main body 20 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 21, an air blower 22, a refrigeration cycle component 23 such as a compressor, and an electrical component 24 arranged in the outdoor unit main body 20.

The outdoor unit main body 20 has an L-shaped plate 27 which is a connection body of the top plate 25 and the fan guard 26, a bottom plate 28 on which the respective components are mounted, both side surface portions 29a, 29a and a rear plate. The part 29b is integrally formed and is configured by a U-shaped plate body 29 having a U-shape in a plan view.

The fan guard 26 is the outdoor unit body 20.
The front surface 26a is located on the front surface, and almost the entire area of the front surface portion 26a forms a lattice-like air guide structure, and only the peripheral portion is left in a plate shape. Side portions 26b that extend laterally are integrally provided along both ends of the front surface portion 26a, and are formed in a U shape in a plan view.

This fan guard 26 is made of a synthetic resin material, especially a thermoplastic resin material, whereas the top plate 25, the bottom plate 28 and the U-shaped plate body 29 are all made of sheet metal. Is.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fan guard 26
A bell mouth 30 is provided on the inner surface side of the. The assembly structure of the bell mouth 30 and the fan guard 26 will be described later.

In actual assembly of the outdoor unit, however, the outdoor heat exchanger 21, the blower 22 and the refrigeration cycle component 23 are placed at predetermined positions on the bottom plate 28, and attached and fixed to the bottom plate by appropriate means. Eggplant

Next, the space chamber on the bottom plate 28 in which the outdoor heat exchanger 21 and the blower 22 are arranged, and the refrigeration cycle component 2
A partition plate 32 for partitioning a space on the bottom plate where 3 is arranged is attached and fixed at a predetermined position. By mounting an electric parts box having electric parts 24 on the refrigeration cycle part 23, the assembling of all the constituent parts is completed.

Next, the molding of the outdoor unit body 20 is started. First, the U-shaped plate 29 is placed on the bottom plate 28. More specifically, the lower edge of the U-shaped plate 29 is aligned with the peripheral edge of the bottom plate 28.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, one side portion 29a of the U-shaped plate member 29 comes into contact with the end plate 21a of the outdoor heat exchanger 21, so that the screws 32 are connected and fixed to each other. Further, the lower end portion of the U-shaped plate body 29 and the contact portion of the bottom plate 28 are connected and fixed with a screw. The packed valve cover 33 is attached and fixed to the other side portion 29a.

In another sub line, the top plate 25 and the fan guard 26 are integrally connected to each other to form an L-shaped plate 27. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (B), the fan guard 26 is provided at its upper end portion with pieces 26c, 26c projecting rearward, which are provided at the attachment piece 25d on the front surface of the top plate 25. The upper and lower positions of the fan guard 26 are determined by being inserted into and engaged with the locking holes 25a, 25a.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the mounting piece 25d of the top plate 25 abuts on the upper end of the front surface 30a of the bell mouth 30 and is fixed to each other with the screw 33. This screw 33
As described later, the fan guard 26 and bellmouth 3
By attaching it to 0, the front surface is shielded.

At the upper end of the fan guard 26, a plurality of hooking claws 40, which are hooking parts, are provided. These hooks are inserted and locked in the upper square hole 41, which is a hooking part provided on the top plate 25. Then, the upper end of the fan guard is fixed.

Further, at the lower end of the fan guard 26,
A hooking claw 42 that is a hooking portion is provided, and the hooking claw 42 that is a hooking portion provided at the lower end portion of the bell mouth 30 is hooked to fix the lower end portion of the fan guard.

As is clear from the figure, each hook 4
0 and 42 are set so that the direction of the claw portions of each of them is upward, which is the inward direction. This is because when the outdoor unit itself is in an extremely high temperature atmosphere, even if the fan guard 26 undergoes thermal expansion deformation, the hooking claws 40, 42 cause the upper and lower corner holes 42, 43 to be bent.
It is possible to prevent accidental damage due to stress concentration.

As shown in FIG. 4, on the front surface portion 26a of the fan guard 26, on the left side portion in the drawing, there is provided a hooking claw 44 which is a hooking portion projecting to the back side, and this is a bell mouth 30. It is hooked in a hooking hole 45 which is a hooking portion provided in the.

As shown in the figure, on the front surface portion 26a of the fan guard 26, on the right side portion in the drawing, there are hooking pawls 46 and stopper ribs 47 which are hooking portions projecting inward.
Are provided, and these are hooked in hooking holes 48, which are hooking portions provided in the bell mouth 30.

The direction of the hooking claws 44, 46 and the claws of the stopper rib 47 is also set inward.
Even if the fan guard 26 undergoes thermal expansion deformation, the hooking claws and stopper ribs can be easily removed from the engaging holes 45, 48, and damage accidents due to concentration of stress can be prevented in advance.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3A again, at the lower end portion of the fan guard 26, at the portion facing the fixing screw 34 for fixing the lower end portion of the bell mouth 30 to the bottom plate 28, the above-mentioned screw is provided. An insertion hole 50 having a diameter larger than the head diameter is provided. The peripheral surface of the insertion hole 50 is a screw hole, and the cap 51 is screwed into the screw hole.

By closing the insertion hole 50 with the cap 51, the fixing screw 34 is shielded, and the appearance is maintained. Then, for example, at the time of maintenance, the cap 51 can be removed with a driver, the same driver can be inserted into the insertion hole 50, and the fixing screw 34 can be removed. That is, the bell mouth 30 can be removed in an integrated state with the L-shaped plate body 27 including the top plate 25 and the fan guard 26.

In this way, the fan guard 26 is attached to the bell mouth 30, and the top plate 25 and the fan guard 26 are attached.
The L-shaped plate body 27 in which and are integrally connected is attached to the U-shaped plate body 29 and the bottom plate 28 which are previously attached and fixed.

First, the bottom plate 2 is attached to the lower end of the fan guard 26.
Place on top. At the same time, the fan guard side portion 26b,
It engages with both side ends of the U-shaped plate body 29, and the top plate edge portion 25b.
To the upper end of the U-shaped plate.

To explain further, as shown in FIG. 5, a receiving claw 52 is provided on the side portion 29a of the U-shaped plate 29, and the side end portion of the bell mouth 30 is engaged therewith. Figure 3
As shown in (C), a hook 36 is provided at the upper end of the rear plate portion 29b of the U-shaped plate body 29, and the top plate edge portion 2 is provided there.
5b is engaged, and the top plate 25 and the U-shaped plate member 29 are engaged and fixed.

Next, the lower end of the bell mouth 30 and the bottom plate 28
The front part is fixed with a screw 34. At this time, the cap 51 is removed, the driver and the fixing screw 34 are inserted through the insertion hole 50, and the screwing operation is performed. After screwing,
The cap 51 is screwed into the insertion hole 50 to close it.

Finally, by mounting the packed valve cover 33 on the U-shaped plate 29, the outdoor unit is completed. In the above embodiment, the L-shaped plate body 27 in which the top plate 25 and the fan guard 26 are integrally connected in advance is prepared, and later, the bottom plate 28 and the U-shaped plate body 29 are assembled. Although it is designed to be attached to an object, it is not limited to this, and the top plate 25
Then, the fan guard 26 may be sequentially attached and fixed on the assembly line.

That is, the U-shaped plate member 29 is attached with the components arranged on the bottom plate 28. Bellmouth 30
The lower part is attached and fixed to the bottom plate 28 with the screw 34, and the top plate 2 is attached to the upper part.
5 is mounted and attached and fixed with the screw 33. After that, the fan guard 26 is engaged with the bell mouth 30 and the packed valve cover 33 is attached to the U-shaped plate body 29 to complete the outdoor unit.

After the outdoor unit thus shipped is installed on the installation site and connected to an indoor unit (not shown), the refrigeration cycle operation becomes possible. At the time of maintenance of the components of the outdoor unit S, the L-shaped plate 27 is removed from the outdoor unit main body 20.

Specifically, after removing the cap 51 with a driver, the same driver is inserted into the insertion hole 50 and the fixing screw 34 connecting the fan guard 26 and the bottom plate 28 is removed.

At this time, since the fixing screw 33 for connecting and fixing the top plate 25 and the bell mouth 30 is shielded by the fan guard 26, it is necessary to remove this screw.
There is no erroneous work.

Then, the L-shaped plate 27 is pulled up. The hooks 36 of the top plate 25 and the U-shaped plate 29 are disengaged, and the end portion of the bell mouth 30 side and the U-shaped plate 29 are released.
Disengages with.

The bell mouth 30 is removed integrally with the L-shaped plate member 27, which saves time and effort. The installation after the maintenance is completed is also done in the same manner, which saves the trouble.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the fan guard is provided with the hooking portion, and the outdoor unit main body is provided with the hooking portion. The hooking portion of the fan guard is attached to the hooking portion. Since the fan guard is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit body, the fan guard is made of a thermoplastic resin material and the outdoor unit body is made of a metal material. The effect of absorbing the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, reliably preventing the occurrence of cracks at the mounting and fixing points, and improving the reliability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the fan guard is attached and fixed to the bell mouth, the fan guard is provided with an insertion hole having a diameter larger than the diameter of the fixing screw, and the fixing screw is inserted through the hole to insert the bell mouth. Since it is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit main body and the insertion hole is detachably closed with a cap, the fan guard and bell mouth can be attached / detached together, and workability during assembly and maintenance can be improved. In addition, since the screw fixing structure between the bell mouth and the bottom plate does not pass through the fan guard, the thermal expansion of the fan guard does not cause a crack in the screw fixing portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention in which an L-shaped plate is disassembled from an outdoor unit main body.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the outdoor unit body of the embodiment, in which a fan guard and a backed valve cover are disassembled.

FIG. 3A is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the outdoor unit front surface portion of the embodiment. (B) is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the outdoor unit front surface portion of a portion different from (A). (C) is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rear surface portion of the outdoor unit.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of an L-shaped plate body according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the outdoor unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an outdoor unit body of a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

26 ... Fan guard, 20 ... Outdoor unit main body, 21 ... Heat exchanger, 22 ... Blower, 24 ... Electrical parts, 40,42,4
4, 46 ... Hooking claws, 47 ... Stopper ribs, 41 ... Upper square holes, 43 ... Lower square holes, 45, 48 ... Engaging holes, 30 ...
Bell mouth, 34 ... Fixing screw, 50 ... Hole for insertion, 51 ...
cap.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Seiya Aoto 336 Tatehara, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Toshiba Corporation Fuji Factory (72) Inventor Junichi Sakamoto 336 Tatehara, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Toshiba Corporation Fuji Factory, Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fan guard made of a thermoplastic resin material,
In the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, which is provided in the front part of the outdoor unit main body, and in which the components such as the heat exchanger, the blower, and the electric parts are arranged in the outdoor unit main body, the hook portion is projected from the fan guard. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, characterized in that a hooking portion is provided on the outdoor unit body, and a hooking portion of the fan guard is hooked on the hooking portion, and the fan guard is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit body. . 2. The outdoor unit body having a hooking portion for hooking the hooking hook, wherein the hooking portion of the fan guard is a hooking hook.
A bell mouth for guiding the air blown out from the blower, wherein the hooking claw is set to face away from the hooking portion of the bell mouth when the fan guard is thermally expanded and deformed. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 1. 3. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising a fan guard on the front surface of the outdoor unit main body, wherein components such as a heat exchanger, a blower and electric parts are arranged in the outdoor unit main body. The guard is attached and fixed to a bell mouth which constitutes the front surface of the outdoor unit body and guides the air blown from the blower, and the bell mouth is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit body to the fan guard. An insertion hole with a diameter larger than the head diameter of the fixing screw is provided, and this insertion hole is closed by a removable cap when the bell mouth is attached and fixed to the outdoor unit body with the fixing screw. An outdoor unit of an air conditioner.