JPH10281595A - Refrigerant distributor for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a process and improve working efficiency by improving a limited working process where mounting of an electric package part is done after foaming when freezing circuit parts including as a main part a refrigerant distributor for further branching a flowing refrigerant is constructed with a foamed heat insulating material into a mold structure. SOLUTION: Freezing circuit parts having a plurality of branching passages 12a, 12b, 30 for branching a refrigerant are directly put into a foaming jig and is foamed to form a molded article 31M. Parallely to the molded article 31M electric package parts 60, 60M, etc., are mounted on halved one case 36A as a body case, and further an electric package part 61 is mounted. Finally, the molded freezing circuit parts 31M are accomodated while covering it with two cases 31A, 31B to construct the refrigerant distributor 10. Hereby, there are parallely advanced foaming work and electric parts mounting work to improve working efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-type air conditioner in which a refrigerant is further branched and supplied to a plurality of rooms in a refrigerant path by a refrigerant distribution device, and more particularly, to the formation of a main body of the refrigerant distribution device. The process was improved by making it possible to simultaneously perform the process and the opening and closing control of the electric expansion valve and the like included in the refrigerant distribution device, and the process of assembling the electrical components for ON / OFF control of the compressor. The present invention relates to a structure of a refrigerant distribution device that facilitates the above.

Conventionally, air conditioning of a plurality of rooms in a building is
Using a separate type air conditioner in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit with air conditioning capacity according to the size of the room are set, an indoor unit is installed in each room, and these indoor units and outdoor units are connected. Each was connected by a refrigerant pipe to perform air conditioning.

[0003] However, this method requires the same number of separate type air conditioners as the number of rooms, which is costly and takes time to connect one outdoor unit and one indoor unit with one refrigerant pipe. Therefore, in recent years, one outdoor unit having a sufficient refrigerant supply capacity is used, and the air conditioning is performed by distributing and supplying the refrigerant from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit of each room to be air-conditioned. A multi-type air conditioner has been proposed.

[0004]

However, in the case of this multi-type air conditioning system, if the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are simply connected by a refrigerant pipe, the two refrigerant pipes of the outward path and the return path will have the number of indoor units. Therefore, the total piping distance of the refrigerant pipes becomes longer, and the pressure loss that the refrigerant receives from the pipes increases, so that a large-sized outdoor unit having a large capacity is used to circulate the required amount of the refrigerant. And the piping connection between the outdoor unit main body and the branch pipe and the piping work around the outdoor unit become complicated.

In recent years, the construction technology has been improved, and it becomes possible to provide a room with high airtightness and heat insulation. In addition, the number of rooms has increased, and the living style has tended to be used individually by family members. ing. In such a case, if the air conditioning of each room is conventionally performed and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are piped at a ratio of 1: 1, it is difficult to construct. In addition, since the room is a relatively small room for personal use, an indoor unit that does not require a large air conditioning capacity, that is, a small amount of refrigerant to circulate, may be used.

Therefore, it is desired to form a pipe that can easily install refrigerant pipes in a number of rooms and that can distribute and supply an appropriate amount of refrigerant flow appropriate for each indoor unit.

In order to meet this demand, the present invention proposes to use a unitized refrigerant distribution device that can further divide the flowing refrigerant, and this refrigerant distribution device branches and distributes the refrigerant inside the metal case. In order to deal with the problem that the outer surface of the case is dewed due to the structure for storing the refrigeration circuit components to be formed, means around the refrigeration circuit components contained in the case is foamed with a heat insulating material to insulate them. On the other hand, one side of the case will be equipped with an electrical unit for integrated control such as operation / stop of the compressor and adjustment of the amount of refrigerant circulated. After a certain period of time, the electrical components are attached to the case, which causes a wasteful waiting time and lowers productivity.

In order to solve the inconvenience of this point, in the present invention, only the refrigeration circuit component is contained in a foaming jig and foamed, while the electric component is mounted on the outer surface of the case separately. At the same time, the foaming process,
An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant distribution device of an air conditioner that can improve productivity by using a method of assembling in a case.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an indoor unit installed in a plurality of rooms by a distribution refrigerant pipe from an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a heat source side heat exchanger. In a multi-type air conditioner that supplies air to the use side heat exchanger of the air conditioner and air-conditions it, it can be inserted into any distribution refrigerant pipe, further branch the flowing refrigerant and adjust the flow rate, Refrigeration circuit parts to be supplied to the indoor unit,
A pair of split cases made of a sheet metal or the like constituting an outer box for housing the refrigeration circuit component, wherein the refrigeration circuit component is set in a foaming jig having a foaming space of the same type as the outer box. On the other hand, the electric parts are attached to the outer surface of the one divided case, and the divided case is united with a refrigeration circuit part taken out of the foaming jig and molded around with a foamed heat insulating material. And a refrigerant pipe provided in the refrigeration circuit component is drawn out of the outer box to form a refrigerant distribution device of an air conditioner.

[0010]

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

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an air-conditioning system for air-conditioning a room on the first floor and a room on the second floor using the refrigerant distribution device of the present invention.

In this figure, indoor units 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e are provided one by one in a plurality of rooms R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 on the first and second floors of a two-story house. It is installed by mounting it on a wall. Each indoor unit 1a, 1
Each of b, 1c, 1d, and 1e has a use-side heat exchanger, a use-side blower, and the like installed therein. In this case, the rooms R1, R2, and R3 on the second floor are larger than the rooms R4 and R5 on the first floor. Because it is a small room, indoor units 1a, 1 on the second floor
The air conditioners b and 1c have a smaller air-conditioning capacity than the indoor units 1d and 1e on the first floor, that is, those having a smaller amount of refrigerant circulating. On the other hand, the indoor unit on the first floor is a model in which the amount of the refrigerant circulated is larger.

Reference numeral 3 denotes one outdoor unit installed on the ground, in which a compressor, a heat source side heat exchanger, a pressure reducing device such as a capillary tube and an electric expansion valve, a heat source side blower and the like are mounted.

From the outdoor unit 3, a plurality of, for example, three-way distribution refrigerant pipes 5a, 5b, 5c configured to branch and supply refrigerant discharged from the compressor in substantially equal amounts.
Are drawn up, and both of them rise vertically on the outer wall 6b of the building 6. Two of them, the distribution refrigerant pipes 5b and 5c, are piped to the ceiling 7 on the first floor, and the refrigerant pipe 5b is attached to the inner wall of the room. Connected to the indoor unit 1d. The refrigerant pipe 5c is connected to the indoor unit 1e attached to the inner wall of the room by piping.

On the other hand, the distribution refrigerant pipe 5a, which is the remaining one path through which the refrigerant having substantially the same flow rate as the previous two paths flows, is raised to the height of the roof on the second floor, and then bent at a right angle to the attic 8. Piping to

The three indoor units 1a, 1b, 1 installed in the room on the second floor are provided at the end of the distribution refrigerant pipe 1a in this path.
In order to divide and supply the refrigerant to c in a substantially equal amount, a refrigerant distribution device 10 is disposed on the attic 8.

As is understood from the refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. 11, the refrigerant distribution device 10 is provided with a refrigerant distribution device 11 for dividing and supplying the refrigerant to a plurality of paths.
Branch pipes 12a, 12b, and 12c formed by installing pipes so as to branch from the refrigerant divider 11 are provided.
Respective refrigerant distribution tubes 13a, 13b, 13c are connected to respective end ports of the distribution channels 12a, 12b, 12c of the distribution tubes, and the indoor units 1a, 1a, 2c in the rooms R1, R2, R3 on the second floor are connected.
The pipe is connected to 1b and 1c.

The refrigerant distribution device 10 is provided with an electric expansion valve 15 for each of the distribution pipes 12a, 12b, 12c inside the refrigerant distribution device 10, and the electric expansion valve 15 allows the refrigerant to be supplied to each indoor unit. The refrigerant is adjusted to an appropriate flow rate and flows out and flows into each of the refrigerant distribution pipes 13a, 13b, and 13c.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the refrigerant distribution device 10 is inserted into any one of a plurality of paths 5a, 5b, 5c from the outdoor unit 3, for example, the distribution refrigerant 5a, and a plurality of indoor units 1a, By forming a refrigerant circuit between 1b and 1c,
It is explanatory drawing explaining the advantage that the total refrigerant | coolant piping length can be shortened compared with the conventional case where the outdoor unit 3 and each indoor unit 1a, 1b, 1c are individually connected by the refrigerant pipe of an outbound path and a return path.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of outdoor units 3, in this case, five indoor units 1
When a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1e are operated, the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are individually connected by a total of ten refrigerant pipes 16a to 16e, each of which is a forward path and a return path. there were. Moreover, the pipe length is, for example, a total of 2 × {2 × 10 m} 40 m long pipes for connecting the two indoor units 1 d and 1 e having a distance of 10 m from the outdoor unit 3, and the outdoor unit 3 is connected to the outdoor unit 3 by, for example, 20 m. Indoor units 1 with different distances
a, 1b, 1c is connected to 3 × {2 × 20m}
A 20-meter long pipe was required.

On the other hand, the distance to the outdoor unit is 20 m3.
FIG. 10A shows a configuration in which the pipes to the indoor units 1a, 1b, and 1c are branched and piped using a refrigerant distribution device 10 arranged at a distance of 15 m from the outdoor unit 3 to supply the refrigerant.
According to the system of the present invention shown in the figure, the three indoor units 1a, 1b, and 1c are simple in that only one path of the refrigerant pipe 17 is required between the three indoor units 1a, 1b, and 1c. The communication between the refrigerant distribution device 10 and each of the indoor units 1a, 1b, 1c is performed by 3 × {2 × 5m} 30m, and the distance between the outdoor unit 3 and the refrigerant distribution device 10 is {2 × 15m}. 30m,
The pipe length is 60 m in total, and the length can be reduced to half of the conventional length of 120 m, so that cost and construction can be improved.

In this case, the refrigerant distribution device 10
Is desirably installed at a position closer to the three indoor units 1a, 1b, and 1c and at substantially the same distance as the three indoor units 1a, 1b, and 1c. By doing so, the pipe length required between the refrigerant distribution device 10 and each of the three indoor units 1a, 1b, 1c becomes shorter, so that the workability can be improved and the entire pipe length can be shortened. Will be able to

When the refrigerant distribution device 10 is provided, the distribution refrigerant pipe 5a drawn from the outdoor unit 3 moves up and down along the outer wall 6b of the building 6, and is affected by gravity due to the flow of the refrigerant. By avoiding the vertical pipe section 5V where the pressure loss becomes high, and providing it in the horizontal pipe section 5H which is placed indoors such as the attic 8 and arranged horizontally, the refrigerant circulation becomes easy, and the outdoor unit having a small capacity can be used. It can be used advantageously.

FIG. 11 shows a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioning system using the above-described refrigerant distribution device 10.

That is, the air conditioning system includes a compressor 18 for compressing the refrigerant, a heat source side heat exchanger 19 for exchanging heat between the outside air and the refrigerant, and an electric expansion valve 2 as a pressure reducing device.
And a plurality of use-side heat exchangers, ie, indoor units 1a, 1 for exchanging heat between the air and the refrigerant blown into each air-conditioned room.
b, 1c, 1d, 1e (hereinafter, the indoor unit will be described as a use-side heat exchanger), a four-way switching valve 22 for switching the circulation direction of the refrigerant during cooling and heating, and the electric expansion valve 21. One path 5 of the three paths of distribution refrigerant pipes 5a to 5c
a, and a refrigerant distribution pipe 13a for connecting the refrigerant distribution apparatus 10 to the three indoor units 1a, 1b, 1c through which the distribution refrigerant pipes 5a to 5c and the refrigerant branched by the distribution apparatus 10 flow. , 13b, 13c to form a refrigeration cycle for air-conditioning the first floor and two rooms. Each of the distribution refrigerant pipes 5a to 5c also has an electric expansion valve 20a to 20c.
0c is provided.

The refrigeration cycle includes a strainer 7.
1, a muffler 72a, 72b, 72c, etc. are provided, and a defrosting valve 73 and a receiver tank 74 are interposed, and a high-temperature refrigerant is supplied to the heat source side heat exchanger 19 and the use side heat exchangers 1a to 1e during defrosting. The configuration is such that a defrosting circuit 75 for allowing gas to flow is also provided. In addition, the piping connection with the heat source side heat exchanger and the use side heat exchanger is performed by service valves 76 and 76.

By switching the four-way switching valve 22 in the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant circulates in the direction of the solid arrow during cooling, and circulates in the direction of the dotted arrow during heating. The arrow with a circle at the center indicates the flow of the hot gas at the time of defrosting.

Here, the refrigerant distribution device 10 includes a flow divider 11 that branches the refrigerant into three so as to branch the refrigerant into the three use-side heat exchangers 1a to 1c,
An electric expansion valve 15 is provided for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchangers a, 12b, and 12c so that the refrigerant flows through the respective use-side heat exchangers 1a to 1c.

Next, the structure of the refrigerant distribution device 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 12 to 21, the refrigerant distribution device 10 has a main body case 36 made of sheet metal and formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape.
(See FIG. 16), two small-diameter and large-diameter connection pipes 30 for connection to the distribution refrigerant pipe 5a and the small diameter through which the liquid refrigerant flows are provided in the metal main body case 36. Shunt 11 connected to the connecting pipe 30 on the side of
The pipes are made of two pipes each having a small diameter and a large diameter, each of which is provided so as to branch and meander, and is connected to each of the external use-side heat exchangers 1a to 1c to distribute the refrigerant.
System branch lines 12a to 12c and the branch lines 12a
12c is provided with a built-in refrigeration circuit component 31 formed of a component body such as the electric expansion valve 15 disposed respectively.

At the base of each of the branch pipes 12a to 12c, the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into and out of the heat utilization side heat exchangers 1a to 1c is measured, and an appropriate refrigerant flow is determined based on the detected value. A temperature sensor 33 such as a thermistor for controlling each of the electric expansion valves 15 is inserted and mounted as shown in FIG. Also, the liquid pipe portion 15 of the electric expansion valve 15
d includes a sound insulating member 43 such as rubber as shown in FIG.
To reduce unpleasant noise caused by the flow of the liquid refrigerant.

Also, as shown in FIG.
Are connected to a ground terminal fitting 34K and, as shown in FIG. 12, the two connection pipes 30 protruding from one end of the main body and the respective branch pipe lines 12a, 1 protruding from the other end of the main body.
2b and 12c are provided with a covering member 35 formed of a rubber material or the like.
a and 35b are covered and protected. Further, the entire refrigeration circuit component 31 is covered and protected by a rubber member 79 for vibration absorption.

Now, the refrigeration circuit component 31 of the refrigerant distribution device 10 composed of the above-mentioned component bodies has a total of 6
The sheet metal plates are assembled, screwed, and stored and fixed in a main body case 36 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, thereby forming the refrigerant distribution device 10 having a unit structure.

Here, since the refrigerant distribution device 10 is installed on the attic 8 or the like, dew condensation occurs on the low-temperature metal main body case 36, which causes problems such as leakage of water indoors.
Although it is necessary to consider ancillary facilities such as drain pans and drain pipes indoors, construction costs and construction periods are unnecessarily increased, so it is not advisable to take such measures. Molding with a heat insulating material to accommodate in the main body case 36 for heat insulation prevents dew condensation.

Next, a method of holding and fixing the refrigeration circuit component by the heat insulating material will be described.

In this case, a generally conceivable molding method is a procedure as shown in FIGS.

That is, the bottom plate 41 and the front and rear side plates 6
2. The left and right side plates 63 are assembled in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the refrigeration circuit component 31 is placed in a main body case 36 made of sheet metal having an open upper surface (step in FIG. 5). At this time, the left and right side plates 6 are arranged so that the connection pipes 30 and the refrigerant distribution pipes 12a to 12c provided on both sides of the refrigeration circuit component 31 can be drawn out of the main body case 36.
18 have semicircular notches 42, 42 in which the insertion holes 42A are formed when they are aligned vertically.
And a pair of upper and lower divided side plates 63a and 63b as shown in FIG. Reference numerals 37, 37 denote fixing screws.

After the refrigeration circuit component 31 is stored, the main body case 3
The upper plate 40 is attached to 6 and the lid is closed (step in FIG. 6). When closing the upper plate 40, the ground wire 34 is pulled out through a cutout portion 44 provided on one side of the upper plate 40 as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the main body case 36 is set on a foaming jig (not shown), and the foaming jig is heated to perform urethane foaming while maintaining the main body case 36 at a required temperature for good foaming. (Step of FIG. 7). At this time, the injection port of the urethane foam may be on any side surface of the main body case 36, but at the location of the bottom plate 41 as shown by the dashed line P in FIG. Therefore, the main body case 36 is set in the foaming jig with the bottom plate 41 side facing upward, and urethane foam is injected from the foaming machine 90 in the arrow direction X.

The injected urethane 50 falls on the inner surface of the lower upper plate 40 of the main body case 36, and the internal space of the main body case 36 takes a long time due to natural foaming, as shown by the arrow Y. It foams from the 40 side toward the lower plate 41 side. The air inside by foaming escapes from an air escape hole provided at an appropriate position on the peripheral surface of the main body case 36.

Here, the direction of the arrow Y direction in which foaming proceeds,
A valve driving coil 15C of the electric expansion valve 15 using a stepping motor is fitted and attached to the valve body 15A of the cylindrical metal case containing the valve body and is fitted by the arrow Z as shown in FIG. Since the direction is the same, the valve driving coil 15C can be pressed by the foaming pressure, and the valve driving coil 15C of the electric expansion valve 15 can be securely fixed.

Since the refrigerant distribution device 10 is installed indoors, the urethane foam 50 is flame-retardant so as not to spread the fire in the event of a fire or the like. A urethane material is used which has a property of hardly causing secondary foaming or the like that absorbs and expands and damages the main body case 36.

When the foaming is completed in this manner, the air conditioning system is used to operate and stop the compressor and to control the throttle of the electric expansion valve by using one surface (mounting surface) 46 of the main body case 36 as a mounting portion for electrical components. An electric board 45 and the like for executing the entire operation control are attached, and an electric component 61 having a structure as shown in FIG. 4 is formed (step in FIG. 8).

As shown in FIG. 4, the electrical component 61 includes an electric board 45 on which a microcomputer chip 60M and various circuit components 60 are mounted, a transformer 49 and a terminal board 51.
It is composed of electric components and the like installed around the mounting surface 46, such as a wire and a wire holder.

Here, the electric board 45 and the electric parts 4
When installing 9, 51, etc., immediately after foaming, the body case 3
Since 6 is a high temperature, after a certain period of time has passed and the surface of the main body case has cooled down to a normal temperature state, they are mounted.

In mounting the electric board 45, the wiring section on the back of the electric board 45 is attached to the mounting surface 4 of the main body case 36.
In order not to cause a short circuit accident due to contact with the metal part 6 and to make the control operation impossible, the insulating sheet 47 is attached to the mounting surface 46 of the main body case, and the electric boards 45 are set up at the four corners. The mounting feet 80, 80 made of resin or the like, which are made of resin or the like, are floated from the mounting surface 46 of the metal part and are fixed at a fixed distance (insulation distance) with sufficient insulation. In this way, as shown in FIG. 4, a refrigerant distribution device in which the electrical component 61 is provided on one surface 46 of the main body case is formed.

However, if the refrigerant distribution device 10 is manufactured by performing urethane foaming by following such a procedure, mounting of electric components on the main body case 36 and other assembling until the urethane foaming is completed. There is a drawback that you can not.

The connecting pipe 30 and the branch pipes 12a to 12
Electrical components must be attached to the main body case 36 on which c and the like protrude, resulting in a problem that workability is poor and productivity is reduced.

Therefore, in the present invention, when foaming around the refrigeration circuit component, instead of placing the refrigeration circuit component in a sheet metal (body case) and foaming, the refrigeration circuit component portion is formed in a foaming jig. After being foamed and taken out, it is put in a main body case formed of sheet metal or the like.

According to this forming method, during the foaming operation, it is possible to attach an electric part or the like forming an electric part to the main body case and to perform other assembling operations in parallel with the foaming operation. And the productivity of the refrigerant distribution device can be improved.

Next, the improvement plan according to the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigeration circuit component 31 is directly set between the upper mold 100A and the lower mold 100B of the foaming jig 100. At this time, the downward recess 111 formed in the upper mold 100A and the upward recess 11 formed in the lower mold 100B are formed.
2, when formed, a foaming space 113 having the same size as the main body case 36 is formed.

In this way, the refrigeration circuit component 31 is
After setting to 00, urethane is foamed by a foaming machine 90 by injecting a predetermined amount of urethane from an inlet through an injection hose 90b. The injected urethane is combined with the upper mold 10
0A downward concave 111 and lower mold 100B upward concave 1
12, the foam is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped foaming space 113 formed around the refrigeration circuit component 31, and is molded into a rectangular parallelepiped shape with urethane foam.

When the foaming is completed and the foaming jig 100 is taken out, the refrigeration circuit component 31 as shown in FIG. 2 is embedded in the urethane foam 50, and the urethane foam is
A molded product 31M having the same rectangular parallelepiped outer shape as the main body case 36 is formed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the molded product 31M is accommodated in a pair of upper and lower split cases 36A and 36B formed of sheet metal which is combined to form the main body case 36.

Here, separately from the operation of foaming the refrigeration circuit component 31, the pair of divided cases 36A, 3A
6B, an electric board 45 and other electric components 49, 5
1 and so on. Thus, the electrical component 61
Can be formed independently of the foaming operation.

Then, the divided case 36A with the electric component 61 mounted thereon is so wrapped around the mold 31M from both sides.
And another divided case 36B are united to form a main body case 36 and housed therein.

At this time, the refrigerant pipes such as the connection pipe 30 and the branch pipes 12a to 12c provided in the refrigeration circuit component 31 must be drawn out of the main body case 36. , 36B are formed with semicircular notches 118a, 118b in their side plates 117a, 117b, so that the circular insertion holes 119 formed by combining these notches 118a, 118b are formed. The connecting pipe 30 and the branch pipes 12a to 12c are clamped and pulled out. Then, the assembly of the main body case 36 is completed by screwing the overlapping portion of the combined two divided cases 36A and 36B with a plurality of screws, and the refrigerant distribution device 10 is assembled and completed.

As described above, when the refrigerant distribution device 10 is formed, the process of assembling the electrical component unit to the main body case separately from the foaming process of urethane foaming the refrigeration circuit component proceeds in parallel. Can be. Therefore, if the foaming process is not completed as in the related art, the inconvenience of being unable to attach the electric parts and being ineffective during that time is eliminated, and the entire process is shortened and overwhelmed, thereby increasing the productivity.

Further, in the prior art, since the electrical components are mounted on the heavy body containing the refrigeration circuit components, it is not easy to change the orientation of the body so that the components can be easily attached. According to the present invention, the electrical components are mounted on a lightweight split case that does not yet contain a refrigeration circuit component and is not integrated with the urethane foam. Therefore, the split case is repositioned so that the electrical components can be easily mounted. Such operations can be performed without any effort, reducing labor and efficiently mounting components.

After the electric part 61 is mounted on the one surface 46 of the main body case, finally, several cover plates 54 shown in FIG. 20 are protected so as to protect the electric board 45 and other electric parts 49, 51 and the like. The electrical component cover 54 formed in combination is covered and screwed to the main body case 36 so as to prevent the circuit portion from being dusty and to prevent the covered wire from being damaged by a mouse or the like. An explanation board 55 for a branch circuit and the like are attached to the surface of the electrical cover 54.

In this way, the refrigeration circuit component 31 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which the refrigeration circuit component 31 having a structure for diverting the refrigerant is embedded in the urethane foam material 50 and fixed to the sheet metal main body case 36 is completed.

Then, the completed refrigerant distribution device 10
4 and 21 have fixing holes 58, 58 and a hooking hole 59 for attachment on one side surface of the main body case 36, so that any one of the plurality of heat-using-side heat exchangers to be divided is used. Choose a location that is as equidistant as possible,
Installed in the attic 8, etc.
If the fixing holes 58 and 58 and the hook holes 59 and 59 are used for bolting and fixing, the refrigerant pipe can be easily installed.

The attached refrigerant distribution device 10 has a heat insulating structure made of a foamed heat insulating material 50 such as urethane filling the inside of the main body case 36, so that there is no dew condensation on the main body case 36, and drain water is drained to the attic 8. It is not necessary to take measures such as forming a road, and the installation of the air conditioner can be facilitated.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, in parallel with the step of directly placing the refrigeration circuit component for re-dividing the refrigerant in the foaming jig and performing the foaming, the outer housing for the refrigeration circuit component is housed. It is possible to proceed with the process of mounting the electrical components in one of the two divided cases constituting the box. Finally, the refrigeration circuit component molded with the foamed heat insulating material is placed in the outer box in which the divided cases are combined. If it is stored in the refrigeration system, the refrigerant distribution device will be completed, so there is no longer the restriction that the mounting of electrical components and other assembling can only be done after the completion of foaming as in the past. And productivity is improved.

Also, when the electrical components are mounted, they are mounted in a lightweight split case instead of the heavy main body portion filled with foamed heat insulating material as in the prior art, so that the labor is reduced and the work is simplified. The effect of reducing the reject rate can also be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a foaming process diagram showing an aspect in which foaming is directly performed on a refrigeration circuit component in a foaming jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a molded product in which foaming has been completed and the periphery of a refrigeration circuit component has been molded into a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a foamed heat insulating material.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view showing a state in which a two-piece case is combined with the molded product and housed in a main body case.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a substantially completed refrigerant distribution device in which an electric board and electric circuit components are mounted on one surface to form an electric component;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a frozen component storage process which is a first stage process of creating a refrigerant distribution device having a structure in which a conventional refrigeration circuit component is housed in a sheet metal main body case, foamed, and a space is filled with a heat insulating material. is there.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a refrigeration circuit component is stored in a conventional sheet metal main body case.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a conventional foaming step showing a mode in which urethane foaming is performed by a foaming machine in a sheet metal main body case containing a refrigeration circuit component.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an aspect of a conventional electrical component mounting step in which electrical components are mounted after foaming.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an air conditioner that performs indoor air conditioning of the present invention.

10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams illustrating advantages of an air conditioner according to the system of the present invention in comparison with air conditioners of a conventional system. FIG. 10A is a piping diagram of the present invention, and FIG. It is a piping diagram.

FIG. 11 is a refrigeration cycle diagram of the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front structural view of a refrigeration circuit component that is a main part of the refrigerant distribution device used in the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the refrigeration circuit component.

FIG. 14 is a front view of an electric expansion valve that is a part of a refrigeration circuit component.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the refrigeration circuit component before being incorporated in the main body case.

FIG. 16 is a structural view of a refrigerant distribution device showing a state before a refrigeration circuit component is housed in a main body case, covered with an upper plate, and before the foam insulation is filled therein, and also shows a form of foaming of the insulation. is there.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an aspect in which a refrigerant temperature detecting temperature sensor for controlling an electric expansion valve is attached to a refrigerant pipe.

FIG. 18 is a side view of a refrigerant distribution device which is almost completed with an electrical component mounted with a control electric board and the like.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a mounting surface of a main body case in a state where circuit components other than an electric board are mounted.

FIG. 20 is a plan view and left and right side views of an electrical cover for protecting an electrical board, electrical components, and the like.

FIG. 21 is a front view, a plan view, and a right side view showing the outer shape of the assembled refrigerant distribution device, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a to 1e Indoor unit 3 Outdoor unit 5a to 5c Distribution refrigerant pipe 12a to 12c Dividing flow path 13a to 13c Refrigerant distribution pipe 10 Refrigerant distribution apparatus 11 Distributor 12a to 12c Refrigerant pipe 30 Connection pipe 31 Refrigeration circuit component 36 Main case 36A, 36B Split case 45 Electric board 50 Heat insulating material 61 Electrical part 46 Mounting surface 100 Foaming jig 113 Foaming space 118a, 118b Notch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner in which a refrigerant is supplied from an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a heat source side heat exchanger to a use side heat exchanger of an indoor unit individually installed in a plurality of rooms by a distribution refrigerant pipe. In the multi-type air conditioner to be performed, a refrigeration circuit component that can be inserted into an arbitrary distribution refrigerant pipe, further branches the flowing refrigerant, regulates the flow rate, and supplies the refrigerant to a plurality of indoor units, and houses the refrigeration circuit component A pair of split cases made of a sheet metal or the like constituting an outer box to be formed, while the refrigeration circuit components are set and foamed in a foaming jig having a foaming space of the same type as the outer box, An electrical component is mounted on the outer surface of the one split case, and a refrigeration circuit component taken out of the foaming jig and molded around with a foamed heat insulating material is housed in an outer box formed by combining the split cases. And outside the outer box Refrigerant flow device of an air conditioning apparatus characterized in that it is formed by pull the refrigerant pipe provided in the refrigeration circuit components.