KR102320553B1 - Outdoor Unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.
The outdoor unit of the present invention includes a case including an outer circumferential surface formed with an inlet and a discharge port, a circumferential plate having an open lower side, and a lower plate disposed under the open lower side of the circumferential plate, and spaced apart from the lower plate to the upper side. A heat exchanger disposed inside the case and through which a refrigerant flows, a heater disposed above the lower plate to radiate heat to the lower plate, and each connected to the heater and the lower plate to transfer heat generated by the heater to the lower plate It includes a heat transfer member. In addition, the lower plate includes an upper panel and a lower panel disposed at a lower position than the upper panel and having a drain hole, the heater is disposed above the upper panel, and the heat transfer member is provided from one side of the heater is connected to and extends to the lower panel.

Description

Outdoor Unit {Outdoor Unit}

The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an outdoor unit having a heater disposed therein for heating a lower plate.

The air conditioner may supply heated air or cooled air to the indoor space through the flow of the refrigerant. The air conditioner may include an indoor unit disposed to discharge air heat-exchanged in the indoor space, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit and disposed in the outdoor space to exchange heat with outdoor air and a refrigerant.

When heated air is supplied to the indoor space, the heat exchanger disposed in the outdoor unit may operate as an evaporator to phase-change the refrigerant into a gaseous refrigerant through the outdoor air. At this time, since the outdoor air flowing through the outdoor air in contact with the heat exchanger is cooled, condensed water may be generated outside the heat exchanger in the heat exchanger disposed in the outdoor unit.

However, in an environment in which the outdoor space is at a cryogenic temperature, a problem of freezing of condensed water generated around the heat exchanger may occur, and also a problem of freezing of condensed water generated in the heat exchanger in the inner lower space of the outdoor unit.

This causes a problem that the condensed water is not smoothly discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit, and thus may deteriorate the heating performance of the product or cause a problem in the reliability of the compressor.

Although Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0105207 discloses a structure in which a heater is disposed inside an outdoor unit, when the heater is disposed directly in a part where condensate is collected, the heater is in direct contact with water and the reliability of the heater is quickly damaged. Alternatively, the condensed water in contact with the heater may be frozen, causing a shape deformation of the heater and shortening the life of the heater.

In addition, the arrangement as described above is a structure in which the heater is disposed below the heat exchanger, which may cause a problem in that a plurality of fin structures formed in the heat exchanger come into contact with the heater, and the heater is damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit that overcomes the problem that a heater is stably disposed inside the outdoor unit and condensed water generated inside the outdoor unit is frozen and cannot be discharged to the outside.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit that prevents condensed water generated inside the outdoor unit from freezing by transferring heat through a heater to a case forming an intake port.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a peripheral plate having an outer peripheral surface formed with an inlet and an outlet, the peripheral plate having an open lower side, and a lower plate disposed below the opening of the peripheral plate. a case, a heat exchanger spaced upward from the lower plate and disposed inside the case, through which a refrigerant flows, a heater disposed above the lower plate and dissipating heat to the lower plate, and the heater and the lower plate are respectively connected and a heat transfer member for transferring the heat generated by the heater to the lower plate. In addition, the lower plate includes an upper panel and a lower panel disposed at a lower position than the upper panel and having a drain hole, the heater is disposed above the upper panel, and the heat transfer member is provided from one side of the heater It is connected to and extends to the lower panel, so that the heater is stably disposed inside the outdoor unit, and the condensed water collected at the lower part of the case can be prevented from freezing.

A plurality of drain holes may be formed in the lower panel, and the heat transfer member may be disposed between the plurality of drain holes to transfer heat to the condensed water collected in the lower panel.

The lower plate includes a protrusion protruding upward from the upper panel to reinforce the rigidity of the lower plate, and the heater is disposed on the upper panel at a position between the protrusion and the lower panel, This pool may be disposed on the upper side of the lower panel.

The upper panel has a downwardly recessed guide groove extending to the lower panel is formed, and the heater is disposed in the upper panel at a position between the protrusion and the guide groove.

The lower panel is disposed below the heat exchanger, and the lower panel includes a shape corresponding to the shape formed by the heat exchanger when viewed from the top, and is disposed below the heat exchanger. This can be placed

The lower panel includes the first lower panel and a second lower panel positioned below the first lower panel, wherein a plurality of first discharge holes are formed in the first lower panel, and the second lower panel At least one second discharge hole is formed in the panel, and the discharge hole is formed in each of the first lower panel and the second lower panel in which water can accumulate.

The heat transfer unit may include a second heat transfer unit connected to the heater at one side and disposed in contact with the second lower panel at the other side, and a first heat transfer unit connected to the heater at one side and disposed on the first lower panel at the other side. A heat transfer unit may be included to supply heat to the water pooled in the first lower panel and the water pooled in the second lower panel.

The first heat transfer unit is disposed between the plurality of first discharge holes, and the second heat transfer unit is disposed between the first discharge hole and the second discharge hole disposed adjacent to the first discharge hole.

The heat transfer unit may be formed of an aluminum material to effectively supply heat generated by the heater to the lower panel.

It is connected to the heat transfer unit and further includes an extended heat transfer unit disposed to contact the circumferential plate in which the suction port is formed, thereby heating the circumferential plate in which the suction port is formed.

The extended heat transfer part is disposed to be in contact with the heat transfer part from one side.

The extended heat transfer unit may include a plurality of branching portions that are branched into several branches at the other end not in contact with the heat transfer unit and contact the circumference plate, thereby supplying heat to a large area of the circumference plate in which the suction port is formed.

The extended heat transfer unit may be formed of the same material as the heat transfer unit, and may supply heat generated from the heater to the lower panel and the peripheral plate.

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the outdoor unit of the present invention, there are one or more of the following effects.

First, in a cryogenic environment, condensed water generated inside the outdoor unit may be discharged to the outside of the case before freezing inside the outdoor unit. This has the advantage of preventing the performance degradation of the air conditioner by freezing the condensed water inside the outdoor unit.

Second, the air supplied to the outdoor unit is preheated to prevent condensed water generated by heat exchange in the heat exchanger from freezing in the heat exchanger, thereby maintaining the performance of the air conditioner in a cryogenic environment.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a perspective view of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a blower fan, a compressor, a case lower plate, and a case peripheral plate, which are internal components of the outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view illustrating the configuration of a heat exchanger, a heater, a heat transfer unit, and a lower plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view of a state in which the heat exchanger is removed in FIG. 3 .
5 is a perspective view for explaining the relationship between a fixing member, a lower plate, and a heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view illustrating a state in which a heater and a heat transfer unit are additionally disposed on the peripheral plate and the lower plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to fully inform those who have the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for explaining an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to embodiments of the present invention.

The outdoor unit of the present invention may be connected to an indoor unit (not shown) that supplies cooled air or heated air to the indoor space through a liquid pipe and an engine.

The outdoor unit (1) of the present invention includes a case (20) forming an outer shape, a compressor (14) disposed inside the case (20) to compress a refrigerant, and a case (20) disposed inside the case (20), the refrigerant and external air An outdoor heat exchanger (hereinafter referred to as 'heat exchanger') that heats include

The case 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and forms a space in which the compressor 14 and the heat exchanger 10 are arranged. Although not shown in the drawing, a spacer member (not shown) for spacing the case 20 from the ground at a predetermined distance may be disposed on the lower side of the case 20 .

The case 20 is an upper plate 22 that covers the upper surface, is disposed below the upper plate 22, forms a peripheral surface, and a peripheral plate 24 on which the suction port 24b and the discharge port 24a are formed. ), and a lower plate 30 disposed on the lower side of the circumferential plate 24 .

The peripheral plate 24 may have an upper and lower open shape. The upper plate 22 is arranged on the opened upper side of the peripheral plate 24 , and the lower plate 30 is arranged on the opened lower side of the peripheral plate 24 .

The circumferential plate 24 may be assembled into a plurality of separable configurations. At one side of the circumferential plate 24 , an inlet through which air flows into the case 20 is formed. On the other side of the circumferential plate 24 , a discharge port 24a through which air inside the case 20 is discharged is formed. The discharge port 24a may be formed at a height at which the blowing fan 12 is located inside the case 20 . A plurality of suction ports may be formed at one side of the circumferential plate 24 on which the heat exchanger 10 is disposed.

A partition plate 50 may be disposed inside the case 20 to partition an area in which the compressor 14 is disposed and an area in which the blower fan 12 and the heat exchanger 10 are disposed. The partition plate 50 may have a structure for guiding air flowing to the blower fan 12 through the heat exchanger 10 .

The lower plate 30 is disposed below the opening of the peripheral plate 24 . A discharge hole 42 for discharging water generated inside the case 20 to the outside is formed in the lower plate 30 .

A fixing member 52 for fixing the arrangement of the compressor 14 or the blowing fan 12 disposed inside the case 20 may be mounted on the lower plate 30 . The fixing member 52 may be fastened to the upper side of the lower plate 30 by a separate fastening means (not shown).

The lower plate 30 includes a protrusion 38 protruding upward in the region where the fixing member 52 is mounted. The protrusion 38 protrudes upward at a predetermined interval on the lower plate 30 , and forms a surface to which the fixing member 52 is connected. The protrusion 38 protruding upward from the lower plate 30 may form a bend in the lower plate 30 to reinforce the rigidity of the lower plate 30 .

The lower plate 30 includes an upper panel 32 and a lower panel 40 disposed below the upper panel 32 and having a plurality of discharge holes 42 formed therein, and an upper panel 32 or a lower panel ( It is disposed on the peripheral surface of the 40, and includes a rim portion 48 connected to the peripheral plate (24). The lower plate 30 is composed of an upper panel 32 and a lower panel 40 having different heights, so that rigidity can be reinforced.

The upper panel 32 is formed in most of the area including the center of the lower surface. The upper panel 32 is disposed below the area where the blowing fan 12 and the compressor 14 are disposed.

The upper panel 32 has a protrusion 38 protruding upward so that the fixing member 52 is mounted thereon. The upper panel 32 has a protrusion 38 protruding upward to reinforce the rigidity of the lower plate 30 .

A guide groove 36 is formed in the upper panel 32 , which has a downwardly recessed shape and extends to the lower panel 40 . The guide groove 36 is formed in a region where the lower panel 40 is not formed and leads to the lower panel 40 .

The upper panel 32 may include a connection surface 34 forming an inclined surface at a portion connected to the lower panel 40 . A heater 60 is disposed above the upper panel 32 . A portion of the heater 60 may be disposed above the connection surface 34 . The heater 60 may be mounted on the lower plate 30 to heat the lower plate 30 .

The lower panel 40 is formed below the heat exchanger 10 . Accordingly, the lower panel 40 includes a shape corresponding to the structure of the heat exchanger 10 . The lower panel 40 may be formed in a 'L' shape or a 'C' shape around the upper panel 32 . Referring to FIG. 3 , the heat exchanger 10 according to the present embodiment may have a ‘L’ shape when viewed from the upper side. Referring to FIG. 4 , the lower panel 40 may have a 'C' shape including a 'L' shape.

The lower panel 40 is located below the upper panel 32 . A plurality of discharge holes 42 are formed in the lower panel 40 . The plurality of discharge holes 42 are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals along the portion where the lower panel 40 is formed. The discharge hole 42 is formed at the lower side of the heat exchanger 10 .

The lower panel 40 includes a first lower panel 40a and a second lower panel 40b positioned below the first lower panel 40a. The first lower panel 40a may be disposed on both sides of the second lower panel 40b.

A plurality of first discharge holes 42a are formed in the first lower panel 40a. At least one second discharge hole 42b is formed in the second lower panel 40b. The first discharge hole 42a may be formed in both directions of the second discharge hole 42b.

The connection surface 34 of the lower panel 40 and the upper panel 32 forms a discharge groove 30a in which water generated in the heat exchanger 10 temporarily accumulates. Water stored in the discharge groove 30a may be discharged to the outside of the case 20 through the discharge hole 42 . The discharge groove 30a may temporarily store condensed water falling from the heat exchanger 10 and discharge it to the outside of the case 20 through the discharge hole 42 .

The heater 60 may generate heat to heat the condensed water generated in the heat exchanger 10 . The heater 60 may use a PTC heater. The heater 60 may continuously supply 50W of electric heat.

Heat generated by the heater 60 may be transferred to the water pooled in the lower panel 40 through the heat transfer unit 70 . The heater 60 may be fixedly disposed on the upper side of the upper panel 32 through a separate fastening member 62 . Referring to FIG. 3 , the heater 60 is disposed above the upper panel 32 at a position spaced apart from the lower side of the region where the heat exchanger 10 is disposed. That is, since the heater 60 is spaced apart from the lower side of the heat exchanger 10 in a vertical direction, contact between the heater 60 and the heat exchanger 10 can be prevented.

The heater 60 may be fixedly disposed on the lower plate 30 by a fixing member 52 disposed on the protrusion 38 . Referring to FIG. 5 , a portion of the lower end of the fixing member 52 for fixing the blower fan 12 and the blower motor may have a shape surrounding the upper periphery of the heater 60 .

That is, the lower end 54 of the fixing member 52 is disposed above the protrusion 38 . At this time, the heater fixing part 56 in the form of surrounding the upper part of the heater 60 so as to fix the upper part of the heater 60 in the part protruding outwardly of the protrusion 38 among the lower ends 54 of the fixing member 52 . can form.

The heater 60 is disposed between the protrusion 38 and the lower panel 40 . The heater 60 is disposed between the protrusion 38 and the guide groove 36 .

The heater 60 may have an approximately 'C' shape at a portion fixed to the upper panel 32 . The heater 60 is fixedly disposed on the upper panel 32 disposed between the lower panel 40 and the guide groove 36 . The heater 60 is disposed on the upper panel 32 along a region in which the lower panel 40 and the guide groove 36 are disposed around the upper panel 32 .

The heat transfer unit 70 is disposed between the plurality of discharge holes 42 . The heat transfer unit 70 may be formed of an aluminum material. The heat transfer unit 70 may be disposed such that one side contacts the heater 60 and the other side contacts the lower panel 40 .

The heat transfer unit 70 may transfer heat generated by the heater 60 to the lower panel 40 . Accordingly, the heater 60 and the heat transfer unit 70 can melt condensed water that is stored in the lower panel 40 under the influence of the outdoor temperature and is frozen without being discharged to the discharge hole 42 .

The heat transfer unit 70 may have a rectangular shape. The heat transfer unit 70 may be fixed from one side to the heater 60 and fastening means (not shown) such as rivets. The heat transfer unit 70 may be adhered to the lower panel 40 by an adhesive means (not shown) from the other side.

The heat transfer unit 70 may include a second heat transfer unit 70b disposed on the second lower panel 40b and a first heat transfer unit 70a disposed on the first lower panel 40a. The first heat transfer unit 70a is disposed between the plurality of first discharge holes 42a. The second heat transfer unit 70b may be disposed between the first discharge hole 42a and the second discharge hole 42b.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the outdoor unit 1 of the present invention further includes an extended heat transfer unit 80 connected to the heat transfer unit 70 and disposed to contact the peripheral plate 24 on which the suction port 24b is formed. .

The extended heat transfer unit 80 is disposed to contact the heat transfer unit 70 , and is in contact with the circumferential plate 24 on which the suction port 24b is formed. The extended heat transfer unit 80 may transfer the heat generated by the heater 60 to the peripheral plate 24 in which the suction port 24b is formed.

If the temperature of the air flowing into the inlet is too low in a state where the outdoor temperature is cryogenic, frost may occur in the heat exchanger 10 because the temperature of the air flowing into the heat exchanger 10 is too low.

The extended heat transfer unit 80 may heat the circumferential plate 24 on which the suction port 24b is formed to heat the air flowing into the suction port 24b. In this case, since the air flowing into the suction port 24b is heated and flows to the heat exchanger 10 , it is possible to prevent the condensed water generated in the heat exchanger 10 from freezing.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the extended heat transfer unit 80 is formed as a separate configuration from the heat transfer unit 70 . However, this is according to one embodiment, and it is also possible that the extended heat transfer unit 80 is formed in one configuration with the heat transfer unit 70 .

The extended heat transfer unit 80 is disposed to be in contact with the heat transfer unit 70 from one side. In addition, the extended heat transfer unit 80 includes a plurality of branch portions 82 that are branched into several branches at the other end not in contact with the heat transfer unit 70 and contact the peripheral plate 24 . Each of the plurality of branches 82 may be in contact with the circumferential plate 24 . The plurality of branch portions 82 formed in the extended heat transfer unit 80 may be in contact with the circumferential plate 24 on which the suction port 24b is formed in a wide area.

The extended heat transfer unit 80 may be formed of the same material as the heat transfer unit 70 . That is, it may be formed of an aluminum material to effectively transfer the heat generated by the heater 60 to the peripheral plate 24 on which the suction port 24b is formed.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Various modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

1: outdoor unit 10: heat exchanger
12: blow fan 14: compressor
20: case 22: upper plate
24: perimeter plate 30: lower plate
32: upper panel 34: connection surface
36: guide groove 40: lower panel
40a: first lower panel 40b: second lower panel
42: discharge hole 42a: first discharge hole
42b: second discharge hole 48: edge part
52: fixing member 54: lower part
56: heater fixing part 60: heater
70: heat transfer unit 70a: first heat transfer unit
70b: second heat transfer unit 80: extended heat transfer unit
82: branch

Claims (13)

A case comprising: an outer circumferential surface formed with a plurality of inlet and outlet ports; a circumferential plate having an open lower side;
a blowing fan disposed inside the case;
a fixing member disposed inside the case and fixing the arrangement of the blowing fan;
a heat exchanger spaced upward from the lower plate and disposed inside the case, through which a refrigerant flows;
a heater disposed above the lower plate to radiate heat to the lower plate;
a heat transfer member connected to the heater and the lower plate, respectively, to transfer heat generated from the heater to the lower plate; and
An extended heat transfer unit in contact with the heat transfer member from one side and in contact with the circumferential plate at the other end not in contact with the heat transfer member,
The lower plate is
upper panel;
It is disposed at a lower position than the upper panel and includes a lower panel in which a drain hole is formed,
The heater is disposed above the upper panel,
The heat transfer member is connected to the heater from one side and extends to the lower panel,
The fixing member is
A heater fixing part is disposed on the upper side of the protruding part protruding upward of the upper panel, and a heater fixing part surrounding the upper part of the heater is formed in a part protruding outwardly of the protrusion part of the lower part,
The extended heat transfer unit,
In contact with the peripheral plate formed with the inlet so that the air flowing in through the inlet is heated, and branched into several branches to include a plurality of branching parts that are in contact with the peripheral plate,
Each of the plurality of branches,
An outdoor unit in contact with the circumferential plate between the plurality of suction ports. The method of claim 1,
A plurality of drain holes are formed in the lower panel, and the heat transfer member is disposed between the plurality of drain holes. The method of claim 1,
The heater is an outdoor unit disposed on the upper panel at a position between the protrusion and the lower panel. The method of claim 1,
The upper panel has a downwardly recessed shape, and a guide groove extending to the lower panel is formed,
The heater is an outdoor unit disposed on the upper panel at a position between the protrusion and the guide groove. The method of claim 1,
The lower panel is disposed below the heat exchanger,
When the lower panel is viewed from above, the outdoor unit includes a shape corresponding to a shape formed by the heat exchanger. The method of claim 1,
The lower panel includes a first lower panel and a second lower panel located below the first lower panel,
An outdoor unit having a plurality of first exhaust holes formed in the first lower panel and at least one second exhaust hole formed in the second lower panel. 7. The method of claim 6,
The heat transfer unit may include a second heat transfer unit connected to the heater at one side and disposed in contact with the second lower panel at the other side, and a first heat transfer unit connected to the heater at one side and disposed on the first lower panel at the other side. An outdoor unit including a heat transfer unit. 8. The method of claim 7,
The first heat transfer unit is disposed between the plurality of first discharge holes, and the second heat transfer unit is an outdoor unit disposed between the first discharge hole and the second discharge hole adjacent to the first discharge hole. . The method of claim 1,
The heat transfer unit is an outdoor unit formed of an aluminum material. delete delete delete The method of claim 1,
The extended heat transfer part is an outdoor unit formed of the same material as the heat transfer part.

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