JPH09113074A - Vacuum evacuating method for air conditioner unit and heater used for the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to effectively remove the moisture in a refrigerant circuit by vacuum evacuating the circuit after the heated air is supplied into the circuit. SOLUTION: The duct 111 of a heater 110 is connected to the one service valve 83a of an outdoor unit B, the exhaust duct 113 is connected to the other service valve 83b, hot air is supplied from the heater 110, and the hot air supplied from the duct 113 is exhausted. The heater 110 has a blower 115 for supplying the air, a dryer 116 in which desiccant 116a for removing the moisture of the air supplied from the blower 115 is filled, and a heating coil 117 as a heating unit for heating the air from which the moisture is removed. Thereafter, the hose of a vacuum pump unit is connected to the valves 83a, 83b to evacuate in vacuum it.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of vacuuming an air conditioner unit for vacuuming the inside of a refrigerant circuit portion provided in the air conditioner unit in the manufacture of an air conditioner, and a heating device used in the method. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air conditioner of this type, there is a separation type air conditioner composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. However, an outdoor unit (air conditioner unit) of this separation type air conditioner In the assembly, each refrigeration equipment was placed in the housing and connected by a refrigerant pipe (assembly process)
After evacuation (vacuum drawing step), then charging the refrigerant (refrigerant filling step), assembling electrical components (assembling step), inspecting (inspecting step), and attaching exterior parts (exterior step) Shipping.

In a conventional vacuuming process in manufacturing an air conditioner, after assembling an outdoor unit in a manufacturing line of a factory, a refrigerant pipe of the outdoor unit is connected to a vacuuming device (a deaeration device) and pumped. Degassed.

On the other hand, as the refrigerant filled in the refrigerant circuit,
Conventionally, R-12 and R-50 having a chlorine group have been used, but because of the potential for ozone depletion above the ground,
R-22 with low chlorine content for the purpose of environmental protection
(Chlorodifluoromethane), R-32 (difluoromethane) containing no chlorine group, R-125 (pentafluoroethane), R-134a (tetrafluoroethane), or mixtures thereof (hereinafter referred to as HFC refrigerant)
Is used as an alternative refrigerant.

When such an HFC-based refrigerant is used as the refrigerant, HFC-based refrigerant, compatible ester-based oil, ether-based oil, a mixed oil thereof or the like is used as the oil (lubricating oil). Has been done.

[0006]

However, ester-based oils and ether-based oils have high reactivity with water, and when water is present in the refrigerant circuit, they are hydrolyzed to produce acids, alcohols, etc. There is a problem that it reacts with worn metal ions to form metal soap. Then, the metal soap or the like generated by such a reaction adheres to the inner surfaces of the refrigerating equipment such as the compressor and the piping, which causes an abnormality and damage to the refrigerating equipment such as the compressor and the piping. .

Therefore, when such an HFC type refrigerant is used as the refrigerant, it is necessary to surely remove water in the refrigerant circuit in the air conditioner. In particular, there is a problem that the moisture adhering to the inner surface of each refrigerating device or the refrigerant pipe or the inner surface of the clearance cannot be reliably removed only by degassing with a vacuum pump at room temperature.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for vacuuming an air conditioner unit that can reliably remove water in the refrigerant circuit section when vacuuming the air conditioner unit. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method for vacuuming an air conditioner unit according to the invention as set forth in claim 1 is for manufacturing an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit. At that time, after assembling an air conditioner unit having a refrigerant circuit part that constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit, in a vacuuming method of an air conditioner unit for vacuuming the inside of the refrigerant circuit part, in the refrigerant circuit part. After the heated air is blown, the refrigerant circuit section is evacuated.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the heated air is blown to the refrigerant circuit portion housed in the air conditioner unit to adhere to the inner surfaces of the refrigerating equipment and the refrigerant pipe forming the refrigerant circuit portion. Since the water in the refrigerant circuit is evacuated after the water is sufficiently evaporated and discharged, the water in the refrigerant circuit can be reliably removed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for vacuuming an air conditioner unit, wherein, when manufacturing an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant circuit constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit. After assembling an air conditioner unit having a portion, in a vacuuming method of an air conditioner unit for vacuuming the inside of the refrigerant circuit part, after blowing heated and dried air into the refrigerant circuit part, the refrigerant circuit The part is evacuated.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the air blown to the refrigerant circuit portion is heated and dehumidified, so that the moisture in the refrigerant circuit portion can be more surely removed. Can be removed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when manufacturing an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit, an air conditioner unit having a refrigerant circuit portion that constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit is assembled. After that, before evacuation of the inside of the refrigerant circuit part, a heating device for heating the inside of the refrigerant circuit part, a blower for blowing air, and a dehumidifier for dehumidifying the moisture from the blowing air filled with a moisture adsorbent, And a heater for heating the blown air.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively heat and dehumidify the air sent into the refrigerant circuit section with a simple structure.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a general household air conditioner, that is, a so-called separation type air conditioner.
This air conditioner includes an indoor unit (use side unit) A arranged indoors and an outdoor unit (heat source side unit) B as an air conditioner unit arranged outdoors, both of which are connected by a refrigerant pipe 300. It is connected.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a refrigeration cycle (refrigerant circuit) of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a compressor including a motor section and a compression section driven by the motor section. Reference numeral 2 is a muffler for suppressing vibration and noise due to pulsation of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1. Reference numeral 3 is a four-way switching valve for switching the flow of refrigerant during cooling / heating operation. 4 is a heat source side heat exchanger, 5 is a capillary tube, 6 is a screen filter, 7 is a use side heat exchanger, 8 is a muffler, 9 is an accumulator, and 10 is an electromagnetic on-off valve.

The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 is shown by a solid line arrow (cooling operation), a dotted line arrow (heating operation), and a solid line in accordance with the switching position of the four-way switching valve 3 and the opening / closing of the electromagnetic opening / closing valve 10. Like the dotted arrow (defrosting operation), the flow direction is determined according to the three modes. During cooling operation,
The heat source side heat exchanger 4 functions as a condenser, and the use side heat exchanger 7 functions as an evaporator. During the heating operation, the use side heat exchanger 7 functions as a condenser and the heat source side heat exchanger 4 functions as an evaporator. During the defrosting operation (during the heating operation), a part of the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 is directly supplied to the heat source side heat exchanger 4 in order to raise the temperature of the heat source side heat exchanger 4. Is done. As a result, the temperature of the heat source side heat exchanger 4 rises and defrosting is performed. When the defrosting operation does not function sufficiently (especially when the outside air temperature is low), defrosting is forcibly performed by reverse cycle defrosting (flow indicated by a solid arrow).

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of the air conditioner.
The left side shows the control circuit of the utilization side unit A, and the right side shows the control circuit of the heat source side unit B with the dashed line in the center of FIG. 3 as the boundary. Both control circuits have power line 10
0 and the control line 200.

The user side unit A includes a rectifying circuit 11 and
A power supply circuit 12 for the motor, a power supply circuit 13 for the control, a motor drive circuit 15, a switch board 17,
The receiving circuit 18a, the display board 18, and the flap motor 1
9 and 9 are provided.

The rectifying circuit 11 rectifies the 100V AC voltage supplied by the plug 10a. The motor power supply circuit 12 adjusts the DC voltage supplied to the DC fan motor 16 to a voltage of 10 to 36V. The DC fan motor 16 is for blowing out conditioned air into the room to be conditioned according to a signal sent from the microcomputer 14.

The control power supply circuit 13 generates a 5V DC voltage supplied to the microcomputer 14. The motor drive circuit 15 responds to a signal from the microcomputer 14 based on the rotational position information of the DC fan motor 16 to control the timing of energizing the stator winding of the DC fan motor 16. The switch board 17 is fixed to the operation panel of the utilization side unit A, and the switch board 17 is provided with an on / off switch, a trial run switch, and the like. The receiving circuit 18a receives a remote operation signal (for example, an on / off signal, a cooling / heating switching signal, a room temperature setting signal, or the like) from the wireless remote controller 60. The display board 18 displays the operating state of the air conditioner. The flap motor 19 functions to move a flap that changes the blowing direction of cold / warm air.

Further, the control circuit includes a room temperature sensor 20 for measuring the room temperature, a heat exchanger temperature sensor 21 for measuring the temperature of the utilization side heat exchanger, and a room humidity sensor. A humidity sensor 22 is provided. The measured values detected by these sensors are A / D converted and taken into the microcomputer 14. The control signal from the microcomputer 14 is sent to the heat source side unit B through the serial circuit 23 and the terminal board T3. Further, the triac 26 and the heater relay 27 are controlled by the microcomputer 14 through the driver 24, thereby stepwise controlling the electric power supplied to the reheat heater 25 used during the dry operation.

Reference numeral 30 is an external ROM that stores specific data indicating the type and characteristics of the air conditioner. These specific data are taken out from the external ROM immediately after the power switch is input and the operation is stopped. When the power switch is input, commands are input from the wireless remote controller 60 or ON / OFF until the extraction of specific data from the external ROM 30 is completed.
The state of the switch or the trial run switch (operation will be described later) is not detected.

Next, the control circuit of the heat source side unit B will be described.

In the heat source side unit B, the terminal board T'1
, T'2, T'3 are respectively connected to terminal plates T1, T2, T3 arranged in the use side unit A. Reference numeral 31 is a varistor connected in parallel to the terminal plates T'1 and T'2, 32 is a noise filter, 34 is a reactor, 35 is a voltage doubler for doubling the voltage, 36 is a noise filter, and 37 is 100V AC voltage to about 280V DC
It is a ripple filter for obtaining a voltage.

Reference numeral 39 is a serial circuit for converting the control signal supplied from the user side unit A through the terminal board T'3, and the converted signal is transmitted to the microcomputer 41. 40 is the heat source side unit B
And a current detector that detects the current supplied to the load in the current transformer (CT) 33, rectifies the current into a DC voltage, and applies the DC voltage to the microcomputer 41.
41 is a microcomputer, 42 is a switching power supply circuit for generating power for operating the microcomputer 41, 38 is PW of power supplied to the compressor 1 based on a control signal from the microcomputer 41.
It is a motor driver that achieves M control. The six power transistors of the motor driver 38 are connected in the form of a three-phase bridge to form a so-called inverter unit. Reference numeral 43 is a compressor motor for operating the compressor 1 of the refrigeration cycle, and 44 is a supply temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant on the supply side of the compressor. Reference numeral 45 is a fan motor that controls the speed in three stages and sends air to the outdoor heat exchanger, and the four-way switching valve 3 and the solenoid valve 10 switch the refrigerant passage of the refrigeration cycle as described above. Further, the heat source side unit B has an outdoor temperature sensor 4 for detecting the outdoor temperature.
8 is arranged in the vicinity of the air intake port, and an outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 49 for detecting the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger is arranged. The detected values obtained by these temperature sensors 48, 49 are A / D converted and are taken into the microcomputer 41.

Reference numeral 50 designates an external ROM of the user side unit A.
It is an external ROM having the same function as 30. The specific data of the heat source side unit B is the same as that described for the external ROM 30, but is stored in the ROM 50.

The symbol F in each control circuit of the heat source side unit B and the use side unit A is a fuse.

Each of the microcomputers (control members) 14 and 41 is a ROM storing a program in advance,
A RAM that stores reference data and a CPU that calculates a program are stored in the same container (87C196MC (MC sold by Intel Corporation).
S-96 series)).

Next, the refrigerant will be described.

As the refrigerant used in this embodiment, either a single refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant can be used. In particular, HFC type refrigerants such as R-410A and R-410B are used. It is effective in some cases. R-410A is a mixed refrigerant of two-component system, 50 wt% of R-32, R-1
25 has a composition of 50 wt% and a boiling point of -52.2 ° C.
The dew point is -52.2 ° C. R-410B is R-32
Is 45 wt% and R-125 is 55 wt%.

When a mixed refrigerant such as R-410A and R-410B is used, since the boiling points of the refrigerants of the respective components are close to each other, it is difficult for the refrigerant composition to change and the temperature caused by the change in the refrigerant composition. There is no need to consider issues such as glide. Therefore, it becomes easy to control the entire air conditioner during operation.

As other HFC refrigerants, R-32 is 23%, R-125 is 25% by weight, and R-143a is
Mixed refrigerant containing 4% by weight (so-called 407c refrigerant) or 44% by weight of R-125, 52% by weight of R-143a and 4% by weight of R-134a (so-called 4 refrigerant).
04a refrigerant), a single R134a refrigerant is also used.

Next, the lubricating oil will be described.

As the refrigerant, R-410A as described above is used.
When an HFC-based refrigerant such as R-410B or R-410B is used, an ester-based lubricating oil, an ether-based lubricating oil, a mixed oil thereof or the like compatible with the HFC-based refrigerant is used as the lubricating oil. Ester-based lubricating oils and ether-based lubricating oils have high reactivity with water, and when water is present in the refrigerant circuit, they hydrolyze to generate acids, alcohols, etc., and further react with worn metal ions to react with metal. Prone to produce soap. Then, the metal soap produced by such a reaction is mixed in the refrigerant as sludge and adheres to the refrigerant circuit to narrow the flow path,
It may clog.

Therefore, when the HFC type refrigerant is used as the refrigerant, it is necessary to surely remove the water in the refrigerant circuit section before charging the refrigerant.

Next, a method of manufacturing the air conditioner will be described.

When the above-mentioned air conditioner is manufactured in a factory, the indoor unit A and the outdoor unit B are manufactured separately, and the indoor unit A and the outdoor unit B are connected to the refrigerant pipe at the site where the air conditioner is installed. It is connected at 300.

As shown in FIG. 7, the manufacture of an outdoor unit (air conditioner unit) equipped with various refrigeration equipment such as a compressor is performed by forming a compressor 1 and an outdoor heat exchanger so as to form a part of a refrigerant circuit. Refrigerant circuit section 82 by connecting the container 4 and the like with a refrigerant pipe
Assembling process 70 for assembling, and then refrigerant circuit section 82
A vacuuming step 72 for vacuuming, a refrigerant charging step 73 for charging the vacuumed refrigerant circuit portion 82 with a refrigerant, an electrical component step 74 for assembling various electrical components to the outdoor unit B,
The product is shipped through an inspection process 75 for inspecting refrigerant leaks, refrigeration equipment and electrical components, and an exterior process 76 for exteriorizing the outdoor unit.

In the assembling process 70, as shown in FIG. 6, a refrigerant circuit portion 82 forming a part of the refrigerant circuit is formed in a case (housing) 81. The refrigerant circuit section 82 is assembled by connecting the compressor 1, the four-way switching valve 3, the heat source side heat exchanger 4, the capillary tube 5 and the like by a refrigerant pipe in the refrigerant circuit diagram shown in FIG.

The heating step 71 is a step performed before the evacuation step 72, and the heated air is blown from the heating device 110 to the refrigerant circuit portion 82 to make the compressor 1 and the compressor constituting the refrigerant circuit portion 82. The water adhering to the inner surfaces of the refrigeration equipment such as the heat source side heat exchanger 4 and the refrigerant pipe is sufficiently evaporated and discharged.

In this heating step 71, as shown in FIG. 4, the duct 111 of the heating device 110 is connected to one service valve 83a of the outdoor unit B, and the exhaust duct 113 is connected to the other service valve 83b. Then, the hot air is blown from the heating device 110 and the hot air blown from the exhaust duct 113 is discharged.

The heating device 110 includes a blower 115 for blowing air.
And a dryer 116 filled with a desiccant 116a for removing the moisture of the air blown from the blower 115, and a heating coil 11 as a heater for heating the air from which the moisture has been removed.
7, and in the present embodiment, the heating device 110 has a simple structure and is compact.

By providing the heating step 71, the moisture in the refrigerant circuit portion 82 can be surely removed together with the next evacuation step 72. However, in particular, only the evacuation step 72 is performed inside the compressor 1. Although it is difficult to remove the water adhering to the wall surface forming the gap, the heating step 71 can also reliably remove the adhering water in such a gap.

The temperature of the air blown from the heating device 110 in this embodiment may be higher than room temperature, but is higher than this because the boiling point of water at 1 atm is 100 ° C. It is preferable that 60 ° C. is used to sufficiently evaporate the water adhering to the inside of the refrigerant circuit section 82.
The range of to 150 ° C is preferable. In the present embodiment, in order to surely evaporate the water in the refrigerant circuit section 82, about 120
° C. Further, the ventilation time of the heated air differs depending on the temperature of the heated air, but it is 2 in order to surely remove water.
0 second to 2 minutes is preferable, and when the heating temperature is about 120 ° C., sufficient water can be removed when the heating temperature is passed for about 30 seconds.

In the evacuation step 72, evacuation is performed before the refrigerant circuit section 82 is filled with the refrigerant, and the hoses of the vacuum pump unit 85 are connected to the service valves 83a and 83b to perform the evacuation.

This vacuum pump unit 85 includes a vacuum pump 86, a motor 87, and a vacuum pump 8 as shown in FIG.
6 is provided with a belt 88 attached to a pulley 91 and a pulley 89 attached to a motor 87. Further, the vacuum pump unit 85 can be easily moved by the casters 93.

After the evacuation step 72, as shown in FIG. 7, the refrigerant filling step 7 for filling the refrigerant circuit section 82 with the refrigerant.
3, the outdoor unit B is manufactured through an electrical component process 74 for assembling electrical components, an inspection process 75 for performing an inspection, and an exterior process 76.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the separation type air conditioner has been described as an example, but the same effect can be achieved in an integrated type air conditioner. In this case, in the air conditioner unit, the refrigerant circuit section means the entire refrigerant circuit.

[0053]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a vacuuming method for an air conditioner unit in which the refrigerant circuit section is evacuated before the refrigerant circuit section is filled with the refrigerant, the air heated in the stored refrigerant circuit section is Be sure to remove the water in the refrigerant circuit because it blows air to evaporate the water adhering to the inside of the refrigeration equipment and refrigerant pipes that make up the refrigerant circuit and evacuate it. You can

Therefore, it is particularly effective for evacuation of a refrigerant circuit using an HFC type refrigerant which is liable to undergo hydrolysis even if a small amount of water remains.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1,
In the invention described in (1), since the air blown to the refrigerant circuit section is heated and dehumidified, the water in the refrigerant circuit section can be removed more reliably.

According to the invention of claim 3, claim 1
Since the configuration of the heating device used in the vacuuming method described in (1) is configured to include a blower, a dehumidifier, and a heater,
Water removal of the refrigerant circuit section can be achieved with a simple configuration.

[0057]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of the refrigerant circuit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a heating device and a usage state thereof.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the evacuation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an outdoor unit.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a manufacturing process of an air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 82 Refrigerant circuit part 110 Heating device 115 Blower 116 Dehumidifier 117 Heater B Outdoor unit (air conditioner unit)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Masahiro Kobayashi 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Kawanabe 2-chome, Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Atsumi Ishikawa 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture Sanyo Denki Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshitaka Hara Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture 2-5-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When manufacturing an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit, after assembling an air conditioner unit having a refrigerant circuit part that constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit, the inside of the refrigerant circuit part The method for evacuating the air conditioner unit according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant circuit unit is evacuated after the heated air is blown into the refrigerant circuit unit. 2. In the manufacture of an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit, after assembling an air conditioner unit having a refrigerant circuit part that constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit, the inside of the refrigerant circuit part is assembled. In the vacuuming method of an air conditioner unit for vacuuming, a method for vacuuming an air conditioner unit, comprising: heating and drying air in the refrigerant circuit part, and then vacuuming the refrigerant circuit part. How to pull. 3. In the manufacture of an air conditioner in which a refrigerant is circulated in a refrigerant circuit, after assembling an air conditioner unit having a refrigerant circuit part that constitutes a part or all of the refrigerant circuit, the inside of the refrigerant circuit part This is a heating device that heats the inside of this refrigerant circuit before evacuation of the air. It is a blower for blowing air, a dehumidifier that is filled with a moisture adsorbent to dehumidify the moisture from the blown air, and heats the blown air. A heating device comprising: a heater.