KR101457692B1 - Controll box and outdoor unit for air conditioner comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control box and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including the same. In the present invention, a component installed inside the control box is divided into an electric component heated to a relatively high temperature and a component heated to a low temperature by the outdoor air flowing in and out of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the electric component installed inside the control box is more efficiently cooled.

Air conditioner, outdoor unit, control box, electric parts

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control box and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including the same,

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to a control box in which a plurality of electric components are installed and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including the control box.

The air conditioner is an appliance for cooling and / or heating indoor space through heat exchange between refrigerant, indoor air and outdoor air. The separate type air conditioner of the air conditioner includes an indoor unit for cooling or heating the room air through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the room air, and an outdoor unit for cooling or heating the outdoor air through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outdoor air.

The outdoor unit includes a compressor for compressing the refrigerant at a high temperature and a high pressure, an outdoor heat exchanger through which the refrigerant compressed by the compressor flows, a blower fan for exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor air, A fan motor for providing a driving force, and a control box provided with electrical components for controlling the component. A heat dissipation device is provided outside the control box. The heat dissipation element is for cooling the electric component installed inside the control box.

Conventionally, since the air flowing inside the outdoor unit flows and the heat-radiating element, which has received the heat of the electric component installed inside the control box, is cooled, the electric component installed inside the control box indirectly And cooled. Particularly, in the case of a reactor installed inside the control box, the temperature of the reactor is raised to about 100 to 110 ° C at the time of heat generation. Therefore, in the conventional cooling method as described above, it is disadvantageous that the electric component installed inside the control box can not be sufficiently cooled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a control box and a control box configured to cool electric components more efficiently .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: at least one air intake port serving as an inlet through which air is sucked into the inside; At least one air discharge port serving as an outlet through which the air sucked in through the air suction port is discharged to the outside; And at least one air guide for guiding the air sucked in through the air inlet port to partition and flow; .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a first flow path in which air sucked in is flowed and at least one first electrical component is installed; A second flow path partitioned by the first flow path to flow air sucked therein and having at least one second electrical component; And a third flow path defined by the first and second flow paths and flowing through the first and second flow paths to cool the electric component and flow to the outside; .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an outdoor heat exchanger comprising: an outdoor heat exchanger through which a refrigerant flows; A blowing fan for flowing outdoor air to be heat-exchanged with a refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger to the inside and outside; And a control box according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein electric components to be cooled by outdoor air sucked in by driving the blowing fan are installed; .

According to the present invention, there is an advantage that the electric component installed inside the control box is more efficiently cooled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a control box according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a control box constituting an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to this, the base pan 110 forms the bottom surface of the outdoor unit 100. On the upper surface of the base pan 100, various components, which will be described later, which form a heat exchanger, are installed.

At the front end of the base pan 110, a front panel 112 forming an outer surface of the front lower part of the outdoor unit 100 is provided. A front grill 114 is installed on the upper surface of the front panel 112. The front grill 114 serves as an inlet through which outdoor air to be heat-exchanged with refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 180 is sucked into the outdoor unit 100. The upper surface of the front grill 114 is provided with a front upper bracket 116 to which a front end of a motor mount 174 to be described later is fastened.

On the other hand, two compressors 120 and 120 'are installed on the upper surface of the base fan 110. The compressors 120 and 120 'compress the refrigerant to a high temperature and a high pressure in a gas phase. 1, a constant speed compressor 120 for performing a constant speed operation is installed on the upper right portion of the upper surface of the base pan 110. In the left part of the drawing, an inverter compressor 120 (Variable Speed Heat Pump) ') Can be installed.

And an oil separator 122 is provided at an outlet side of the constant-speed compressor 120 and the inverter compressor 120 '. The oil separator 122 serves to filter the oil contained in the refrigerant discharged from the compressors 120 and 120 'and to recover the oil from the compressors 120 and 120'.

A check valve 122 'is installed at the outlet of the oil separator 122. The check valve 122 'prevents reverse flow of the compressed refrigerant into the rest of the stationary compressor 120 or the inverter compressor 120' when the solenoid compressor 120 or the inverter compressor 120 'is operated.

A four-way valve 124 is connected to the oil separator 122 by piping. The four-way valve 124 serves to change the flow direction of the refrigerant in accordance with the cooling / heating operation. To this end, each port of the four-way valve 124 is connected to the outlet (or oil separator) of the compressors 120, 120 ', the inlet (or accumulator) of the compressors 120, 120', the outdoor heat exchanger 180 And an indoor unit (not shown).

A valve support 126 is installed at the center of the upper surface of the base pan 110. The valve support base 126 includes an outdoor liquid pipe 210 through which the liquid refrigerant flows, an outdoor engine 212 through which the gas refrigerant flows, and a valve support bracket 126 for maintaining balance of the refrigerant between the outdoor units And serves to support and guide the high-pressure common pipe 214. The valve support 126 is provided with a service valve 128. Meanwhile, the pipes 210, 212 and 214 supported by the valve support 126 are drawn out through a pipe inlet 188 'of a side panel 188 to be described later and connected to an indoor unit (not shown).

A supercooler 130 is installed at the left rear end of the upper surface of the base fan 110. The subcooler 130 further serves to cool the refrigerant heat-exchanged in the outdoor heat exchanger 180. The subcooler 130 is positioned at one side of the outdoor liquid pipe 210 connected to the outlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 180.

Although not shown, a drier is installed at one side of the outdoor liquid pipe 210. The dryer serves to remove moisture contained in the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor liquid pipe 210.

Next, an accumulator 132 is installed in the center of the base fan 110, that is, between the constant-speed compressor 120 and the inverter compressor 120 '. The accumulator 132 functions to filter the refrigerant in the liquid phase so that only gaseous refrigerant flows into the compressors 120 and 120 '. That is, when the liquid refrigerant that can not evaporate from the refrigerant flowing from the indoor unit flows into the compressors 120 and 120 ', the compressors 120 and 120' compress the refrigerant into the high temperature, high pressure, ) Is increased. Therefore, the liquid refrigerant that has not evaporated in the refrigerant flowing into the accumulator 132 is relatively lower in weight than the gaseous refrigerant, and thus is stored in the lower portion of the accumulator 132, and only the gaseous refrigerant in the upper portion of the accumulator 132 And then flows into the compressors 120 and 120 '.

Front frames 134 and 134 'are respectively installed on both sides of the front end of the base fan 110. The front frames 134 and 134 'are vertically provided on both sides of the front end of the base pan 110. The front frames 134 and 134 'support the front upper bracket 116, the front grill 114, and a control box 200 to be described later.

At the center of the front frames 134 and 134 ', both ends of the center frame 136, which are elongated left and right, are fixed. A barrier 150 is installed on the central frame 136.

The barrier 150 divides the inside of the outdoor unit 100 into an upper space and a lower space. In other words, the barrier 150 divides the inside of the outdoor unit 100 into a lower space in which the compressors 120 and 120 'are installed and an upper space in which the outdoor heat exchanger 180 is installed. The barrier 150 includes a horizontal part 150 'extending rearward from the center frame 136 and an inclined part 150' extending downward at a predetermined angle from a rear end of the horizontal part 150 ' 1, an air guide hole 152 is formed in the horizontal part 150 'of the left barrier 150. The air guide hole 152 is formed in the horizontal part 150' Is a place where air that cooled the electric component installed in the control box 200 flows.

On the other hand, the top panel 160 forms the top surface of the outdoor unit 100. The upper panel 160 is formed of a pair of rectangular plates. And an outlet 162 is formed in the upper panel 160. A cylindrical shroud 164 is provided on the bottom surface of the upper panel 160 corresponding to the rim of the discharge port 162. The shroud 164 is integrally formed with the upper panel 160 and serves to guide the air blown by the blowing fan 170 to the outside. A discharge grill 166 is mounted on the discharge port 162.

A blowing fan 170 is installed inside the shroud 164. The air blowing fan 170 forms a flow of air circulating inside and outside the outdoor unit 100. That is, when the blowing fan 170 is driven, the outdoor air is sucked into the outdoor unit 100 through the front grill 114 and exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 180, And is discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit 100, that is, outdoors.

A fan motor (172) is installed in the outdoor unit (100) below the blowing fan (170). The fan motor 172 is fixed by a motor mount 174. The motor mount 174 is fixed to the front upper bracket 116 and the rear upper bracket 194, respectively.

An outdoor heat exchanger (180) is installed inside the outdoor unit (100) below the upper panel (160). The outdoor heat exchanger 180 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing inside the outdoor heat exchanger 180 and outdoor air. The outdoor heat exchanger 180 includes a front heat exchanger 182 disposed below the top end of the top panel 160 and a rear heat exchanger 184 disposed below the rear end of the top panel 160 .

A drain pan 186 is provided below the outdoor heat exchanger 180. The drain pan 186 collects the condensed water generated during the heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 180 and the outdoor air and discharges the condensed water to the outside of the outdoor unit 100.

On the other hand, side panels 188 are installed on both sides of the upper surface of the base fan 110. The side panel 188 forms the side surface of the outdoor unit 100. A plurality of pipe access holes 188 'are formed at the lower end of the side panel 188.

A rear panel 190 is installed at a rear end of the base fan 110. The rear panel 190 forms an outer surface of the rear lower surface of the outdoor unit 100.

A rear grill 192 is installed at the upper end of the rear panel 190. Like the front grill 114, the rear grill 19 serves as an inlet through which the outdoor air that is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant flowing in the outdoor heat exchanger 180 is sucked into the outdoor unit 100 do. The rear grill 192 may be formed to correspond to the size of the rear heat exchanger 184.

Further, a rear upper bracket 194 is provided at an upper end of the rear grill 192. The rear upper bracket 194 is formed long left and right. The motor mount 174 is supported on the rear upper bracket 194.

A rear frame 196 is installed on both sides of the rear end of the base fan 110. The rear frame 196 is formed long up and down. The rear frame 196 serves to support the rear grill 192, the rear panel 190, and the top panel 160.

On the other hand, a control box 200 is installed on a rear upper surface of the front panel 112. In this embodiment, the control box 200 is provided on the rear surface of the front panel 112. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The control box 200 includes a box body 210 and a box cover 220. The box body 210 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having one side opened. The box cover 220 is formed in a rectangular plate shape corresponding to one opening of the box body 210. The box cover 220 selectively opens and closes one side of the box body 210 that is opened. Therefore, the control box 200, that is, the box body 210 and the box cover 220 are formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole.

Referring to FIG. 2, air intake ports 211 and 211 'are provided on the bottom surface of the box body 210. The air intake ports 211 and 211 'serve as an inlet through which air is sucked into the control box 200. An air outlet 213 is provided at an upper end of one side of the box body 210. The air outlet 213 serves as an outlet through which the air sucked into the control box 200 is discharged to the outside. The air outlet 213 may be positioned adjacent to the air guide hole 153 when the control box 200 is installed on the rear surface of the front panel 112.

In addition, first and second air guides 220 and 230 are provided inside the box body 210. The first and second air guides 220 and 230 serve to guide the air sucked into the control box 200. That is, the air sucked into the control box 200 through the air inlets 211 and 211 'is guided by the first and second air guides 220 and 230, The control box 200 is opened.

More specifically, the first air guide 220 extends upwardly from the bottom surface of the box body 210. At this time, the upper end of the first air guide 220 is separated from the upper surface of the box body 210 by a predetermined distance. The air inlet 211 and the air inlet 211 'are partitioned to the left and right by the first air guide 220. 2, the right side of the first air guide 220 is referred to as a first air inlet 211, and the left side thereof is referred to as a second air inlet 211 '. Also, the first air guide 220 serves to partition the first and second flow paths P2, which will be described later.

The second air guide 230 extends from the right side of the box body 210 corresponding to the lower side of the air outlet 213 toward the left side. At this time, the left end of the second air guide 230 is spaced from the left side of the box body 210 by a predetermined distance. The bottom surface of the second air guide 230 is spaced apart from the upper end of the first air guide 220 by a predetermined distance. Further, the second air guide 230 extends downward from the left end toward the right end. The second air guide 230 also serves to partition the first and second flow paths P2 and P3, which will be described later. However, the second air guide 230 extends downward at the right end thereof from the left end thereof. Therefore, the third flow path P3 is partitioned by the second air guide 230 into the first and second flow paths P2 so that the flow cross-sectional area gradually increases.

The first to third flow paths P1, P2, and P3 are provided in the control box 200 by the first and second air guides 220 and 230. More specifically, the first flow path P1 is formed by a part of the bottom surface portion and the right surface portion of the box body 210, and a part of the first air guide 220 and the second air guide 230 . The second flow path P2 is formed by a part of the bottom surface and the left side surface of the box body 210 and a remaining part of the first air guide 220 and the second air guide 230. The third flow path P3 is formed by the top surface, the left and right side surface portions of the box body 210, and the second air guide 230.

Further, the lower end of the first and second flow paths P2, that is, the upstream side of the flowing air, communicates with the first air inlet 211 or the second air inlet 211 ', respectively. The first and second flow paths P2 communicate with each other through a space between the upper end of the first air guide 220 and the bottom surface of the second air guide 230. [ The first and second flow paths P2 and P3 communicate with each other through a space between a left side surface of the box body 210 and a left side end of the second air guide 230 .

On the other hand, a plurality of electric components are installed inside the control box 200, that is, inside the box body 210. For example, a plurality of electric components such as a reactor 240, a printed circuit board 240, and a capacitor 250 are installed in the box body 210. The reactor 240 serves to suppress an instantaneous voltage drop. A plurality of electrical parts are mounted on the printed circuit board 240, and the capacitor 250 accumulates electric charges to serve as a small capacity battery.

In this embodiment, the reactor 240, which generates heat at a relatively high temperature, is installed on the first flow path P1. The printed circuit board 240 and the capacitor 250, which generate a relatively low temperature as compared with the reactor 240, are installed on the second flow path P2. However, the electrical parts provided on the first and second flow paths P2 are not limited to the reactors 240, the printed circuit board 240, and the capacitors 250, And selectively installed on the second flow path P2.

Hereinafter, the operation of the control box and the outdoor unit of the air conditioner including the control box according to the present invention will be described.

First, the operation of the embodiment of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention will be described.

When the air conditioner is in the cooling mode, the outdoor LEV 102 is opened, and the gaseous refrigerant flowing from the indoor unit flows into the accumulator 132 through the four-way valve 124. And a gaseous refrigerant having a part of the liquid phase filtered while passing through the accumulator 132 flows into the compressors 120 and 120 '.

The gaseous refrigerant flowing into the compressors 120 and 120 'is compressed to a high temperature and a high pressure and is transferred to the oil separator 122. The oil contained in the refrigerant transferred to the oil separator 122 is separated and recovered to the compressors 120 and 120 '.

Meanwhile, the refrigerant having passed through the oil separator 122 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 180 through the four-way valve 124. The refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 180 is supplied to the outdoor unit 100 through the front grill 114 and the rear grill 192 by driving the blowing fan 170, Exchanged and cooled. The refrigerant having passed through the outdoor heat exchanger (180) is further cooled while passing through the subcooler (130).

The refrigerant passing through the subcooler 130 flows into the indoor unit through the common liquid pipe 210 after passing through the dryer for removing moisture contained therein. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor unit flows through an indoor heat exchanger (not shown) installed in the indoor unit, exchanges heat to cool the room, and then flows into the outdoor unit 100 again.

Next, the flow of air for cooling the control box constituting the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air flow according to an embodiment of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

As described above, outdoor air is sucked into the outdoor unit 100 through the front grill 114 and the rear grill 192 when the blowing fan 170 is driven. The outdoor air sucked into the outdoor unit 100 is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 180 and is discharged through the outlet 162 by the continuous driving of the blowing fan 170. [ And is discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit (100). The flow of air is performed in the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 corresponding to the upper part of the barrier 150.

On the other hand, by the driving of the blowing fan 170, a flow of air from the lower side toward the upper side is formed in the inside of the outdoor unit 100. The air in the upper space of the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 adjacent to the air blowing fan 170 is lowered so that the air in the lower space of the outdoor unit 100 flows into the outdoor unit 100 through the air guide hole 152, As shown in FIG. Of course, the front grill 114 and the rear grill 194, which serve as an inlet through which the outdoor air is sucked, are not provided in the lower space of the outdoor unit 100, like the upper space of the outdoor unit 100, Outdoor air is sucked into the lower space of the outdoor unit 100 because the lower space of the outdoor unit 100 is not completely sealed from the outside.

In other words, when the blowing fan 170 is driven, outdoor air is sucked into the lower space of the outdoor unit 100. The outdoor air sucked into the lower space of the outdoor unit 100 flows into the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 through the air guide hole 152. [

A part of the air flowing into the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 from the lower space of the outdoor unit 100 through the air guide holes 152 flows into the control box 200. More specifically, outdoor air flows into the control box 200 through the first and second air intake openings 211 and 211 '.

The outdoor air flowing into the control box 200 cools the electric components while flowing through the first and second flow paths P2. That is, outdoor air flowing through the first flow path (P1) cools electric components that generate heat at a relatively high temperature such as the reactor (240). The outdoor air flowing through the second flow path P2 cools electrical components that generate heat to a relatively low temperature, such as the printed circuit board 240 and the capacitor 260.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the electric component, which generates heat at a relatively high temperature, and the electric component, which generates heat at a relatively low temperature, are cooled and separated from each other among the electric components installed in the control box 200. Therefore, the electric component heated to a relatively high temperature and the electric component heated to a relatively low temperature by the cooled outdoor air are prevented from being heated, whereby cooling of the electric component can be performed more efficiently.

On the other hand, the outdoor air that has cooled the electric component while flowing through the first and second flow paths P2 is transferred to the third flow path P3. The outdoor air passing through the third flow path P3 and flowing into the third flow path P3 is discharged to the outside of the control box 200 through an air outlet 213. [ The air discharged to the outside of the control box 200 flows into the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 through the air guide holes 152. The outdoor air that has flowed into the upper space of the outdoor unit 100 is discharged to the outdoor unit 100 through the discharge port 162 together with the outdoor air cooled by the outdoor heat exchanger 180 by driving the blowing fan 170. [ 100).

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. .

In the above-described embodiment, the air flow for cooling the electric components of the control box is formed by driving the blowing fan that forms the air flow for cooling the outdoor heat exchanger, but is not limited thereto. For example, separate fans and fan motors may be provided in the control box to form a flow of air flowing through the first to third flow paths.

According to the control box of the present invention configured as described above and the outdoor unit of the air conditioner including the control box, the following effects can be expected.

First, in the present invention, electric components installed inside the control box are cooled by outdoor air circulating inside and outside of the outdoor unit. Accordingly, more efficient cooling of electrical components installed inside the control box is achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, the electric component provided inside the control box is divided into electric component parts which generate heat at a relatively high temperature and electric component components which generate heat at a relatively low temperature and are cooled. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the overall cooling efficiency from being lowered by heating the electric component that generates heat at a relatively low temperature by the electric component that generates heat at a high temperature.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing a control box constituting an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air flow according to an embodiment of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

Claims (9)

A main body having at least one air intake port through which air is sucked; An electrical component installed inside the main body; At least one air discharge port through which the air sucked in through the air suction port is discharged to the outside of the main body; A first air guide for guiding the flow of the air to cool the electric component; And And a second air guide for guiding air guided by the first air guide toward the air outlet. delete The method according to claim 1, The first air guide is formed in parallel with a direction in which air is sucked through the air inlet, And the second air guide is formed parallel to a direction in which air is discharged through the air outlet. A first flow path through which the air sucked into the inside flows, and at least one first electrical component is installed; A second flow path partitioned by the first flow path to flow air sucked therein and having at least one second electrical component; And A third flow path partitioned by the first and second flow paths and flowing through the first and second flow paths to cool the electrical component and flow to the outside; A control box containing. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the first electric component includes a reactor that generates heat at a relatively high temperature as compared with the second electric component and suppresses instantaneous voltage drop. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the first and second flow paths are defined by an air guide formed in parallel with a direction in which air flows through the first and second flow paths. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the first and second flow paths and the third flow path are defined by an air guide formed in parallel with a direction in which air flows in the third flow path. 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the air guide divides the first and second flow paths and the third flow path in a direction in which the flow cross sectional area of the third flow path increases in a direction in which air flows through the third flow path. An outdoor heat exchanger through which the refrigerant flows; A blowing fan for flowing outdoor air to be heat-exchanged with a refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger to the inside and outside; And A control box according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an electric component to be cooled by outdoor air sucked in by driving the blowing fan is provided; And an outdoor unit of the air conditioner.

Images