KR20210128573A - Airconditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner which comprises: a first drain pan disposed in a lower portion of a heat exchanger and collecting condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger; and a second drain pan disposed between an upper heat exchanger and a lower heat exchanger and preventing at least a portion thereof from being disposed to be vertically overlapped with the upper heat exchanger. The condensed water condensed in the upper heat exchanger is drained without flowing the lower heat exchanger, and the condensed water is accumulated in a lower portion of the heat exchanger to prevent degradation of heat exchanging performance.

Description

air conditioner {Airconditioner}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner having a drain pan disposed in a heat exchanger.

In general, an air conditioner is a device that cools or heats a room using a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion mechanism, and an indoor heat exchanger. The air conditioner may include two assemblies of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The double outdoor unit is installed outside and includes a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger. The indoor unit is installed indoors and includes an indoor heat exchanger.

When the heat exchanger is used as an evaporator, water vapor in the air is condensed on the surface of the fin and condensed water flows downward. For example, in the outdoor heat exchanger during heating operation, heat from outdoor air moves to the refrigerant, the outdoor air is cooled, and water vapor in the outdoor air is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger. Similarly, in the indoor heat exchanger during the cooling operation, heat from the indoor air moves to the refrigerant, and the indoor air is cooled, and water vapor in the indoor air is condensed in the indoor heat exchanger.

The condensed water condensed on the surface of the heat exchanger flows to the lower part, and as it gradually accumulates in the process of flowing to the lower part, a large amount of condensed water flows to the lower part of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the amount of air flowing in the lower portion of the heat exchanger is reduced, and heat exchange performance is reduced, resulting in a problem in that the performance of the heat exchanger is deteriorated. In addition, when the temperature of the heat exchanger is very low, there is a problem that the condensed water may freeze due to implantation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that prevents the performance of the heat exchanger from being deteriorated as condensed water accumulates in the lower portion of the heat exchanger.

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 air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention exchanges heat between a refrigerant flowing inside and air flowing outside, and is provided with an upper heat exchanger located at the upper portion and a lower heat exchanger located at the lower portion a second heat exchanger disposed under the heat exchanger, a first drain pan for collecting condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger, a second disposed between the upper heat exchanger and the lower heat exchanger and at least partially overlapping with the upper heat exchanger Includes drain pan.

Also, the second drain pan may include at least one inclined surface.

In addition, the second drain pan may include a first surface having an opening for discharging condensed water, and a second surface having one end disposed at the front end of the first surface and the other end disposed higher than the first end.

In addition, the second drain pan has a third surface having one end disposed on one end of the first surface and the other end higher than the first end, and one end disposed on the other end of the first surface to face the third surface. and the other end may include a fourth surface disposed higher than the first end.

Also, at least a portion of the second drain fan protrudes downstream from the heat exchanger based on the air flow direction, and may include an opening formed through one side of the protruding portion.

In addition, a drain pipe connecting the first drain pan and the second drain pan may be further included.

The drain pipe may be disposed downstream in the air flow direction of the lower heat exchanger.

The drain pipe may be formed in a circular shape.

In the drain pipe, an upstream width may be narrower than a downstream width based on the air flow direction.

The drain pipe may be connected to one end of the drain pan.

The second drain pan may further include a fastening member formed at one side end and fastened to one side end of the heat exchanger.

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

According to the air conditioner of the present invention, there are one or more of the following effects.

First, the second drain pan is disposed between the upper heat exchanger and the lower heat exchanger, and at least a part of the upper heat exchanger and the upper heat exchanger are vertically overlapped, and the condensed water condensed in the upper heat exchanger is drained without flowing through the lower heat exchanger There is an advantage of securing the heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger.

Second, since the second to fourth surfaces of the second drain pan form inclined surfaces, condensed water present in the second drain pan is easily collected and discharged.

Third, since the drain pipe is disposed at the downstream side of the heat exchanger to be spaced apart from the heat exchanger, there is an advantage in that the condensed water flowing through the drain pipe is prevented from being implanted and the heat exchange performance of the lower heat exchanger is secured.

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 structural diagram of a general air conditioner;
2 is an internal structural diagram of a general outdoor unit having an outdoor heat exchanger;
3 is a rear perspective view showing a heat exchanger having a drain pan according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a perspective view showing a second drain pan and a drain pipe of FIG. 3;
5 is a plan view of the second drain pan of FIG. 3;
6 is a rear view of the second drain pan of FIG. 3;
7 is a left side view of the second drain pan of FIG. 3;
8 is a left cross-sectional view of the center of the second drain pan of FIG. 3 viewed from the left;
9 is a perspective view showing a second drain pan to which a drain pipe of a different shape is coupled, according to another embodiment of the present invention;
10 is a perspective view illustrating a second drain pan to which a drain pipe disposed to be biased to one side is coupled, according to another 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, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for explaining the air conditioner 1 according to embodiments of the present invention.

The direction of the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention is defined. Based on the air flow direction, the direction in which the air is introduced is defined as the front, and the direction in which the air is discharged is defined as the rear. 4, for example, the upper left side of FIG. 4 through which air is introduced is defined as the front of the air conditioner 1, and the lower right side of FIG. 4 through which air is discharged is defined as the rear side of the air conditioner 1, and , The lower left side of FIG. 4 is defined as the left side of the air conditioner 1 , and the upper right side of FIG. 4 is defined as the right side of the air conditioner 1 .

<Air conditioner>

The air conditioner 1 is disposed outdoors to exchange heat with a refrigerant and external air, and includes an outdoor unit that radiates heat of the refrigerant to the outside, and is disposed indoors to exchange heat with the refrigerant and indoor air, and to absorb internal heat. Includes indoor unit. The refrigerant may be a gas refrigerant.

The air conditioner (1) includes a compressor (11) for compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (12) installed outdoors to exchange heat with outdoor air and a refrigerant, an expansion mechanism (13) for expanding the refrigerant, and an indoor air installed indoors and an indoor heat exchanger 14 for exchanging heat with the refrigerant.

The compressor 11 compresses the incoming low-temperature-low pressure refrigerant into high-temperature-high pressure refrigerant. The compressor 11 is generally disposed in an outdoor unit. The compressor 11 may have various structures, and may be a reciprocating compressor using a cylinder and a piston or a scroll compressor using an orbiting scroll and a fixed scroll. Although one compressor is illustrated in the present invention, a plurality of compressors 11 may be provided according to embodiments.

The compressor 11 guides the high-temperature-high pressure refrigerant to the switching valve 15 .

The switching valve 15 is a device to which a plurality of pipes are connected and switched to switch the refrigerant flow path. Referring to FIG. 1 , the switching valve 15 is connected to the compressor 11 , the outdoor heat exchanger 12 , the indoor heat exchanger 14 , and the accumulator 16 . The switching valve 15 may switch to a cooling operation and a heating operation according to switching.

1 shows the switching valve 15 during heating operation. During the heating operation, the switching valve 15 connects the outlet end of the compressor 11 and the indoor heat exchanger 14 , and the accumulator 16 and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 .

Although not shown, during the cooling operation, the switching valve 15 connects the outlet end of the compressor 11 and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 , and connects the accumulator 16 and the indoor heat exchanger 14 .

An accumulator 16 may be disposed in the refrigerant inflow direction of the compressor 11 . The accumulator 16 is a device for preventing damage to the compressor 11 by preventing excessive refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 11 . In the accumulator 16 , the refrigerant may exist in a liquid phase and a gas phase, and only the gaseous refrigerant flows to the compressor 11 to prevent damage to the compressor 11 .

The indoor heat exchanger 14 is disposed in the indoor space and exchanges heat with the indoor air between the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant supplied from the compressor 11 based on the heating operation. During the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 14 heats the room by emitting heat to the indoor air. During the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 14 acts as a condenser that cools and condenses the refrigerant. The indoor heat exchanger 14 cools the high-temperature-high-pressure refrigerant and discharges it as the low-temperature-high-pressure refrigerant. The low-temperature-high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger (14) flows to the expansion mechanism (13).

During the cooling operation, the indoor air is condensed by discharging heat as a refrigerant, and moisture contained in the indoor air is condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 14 in some cases.

The expansion mechanism 13 is a device for discharging low-temperature-low-pressure refrigerant by expanding the refrigerant. The expansion mechanism 13 may be disposed in an outdoor unit or an indoor unit. Preferably, the expansion mechanism 13 may be disposed in the outdoor unit in order to reduce noise of the indoor unit and to reduce the size of the indoor unit. During the heating operation, the expansion mechanism 13 is completely opened to allow the refrigerant to pass through, so that the low-temperature-high pressure refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger 14 is discharged in a cryogenic-low pressure state. The low-temperature-low-pressure refrigerant discharged from the expansion mechanism 13 flows to the outdoor heat exchanger 12 .

The outdoor heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat with the low-temperature-low pressure refrigerant and outdoor air, and absorbs heat from the outdoor air. The outdoor heat exchanger 12 is disposed in the outdoor unit. The outdoor heat exchanger 12 acts as an evaporator for evaporating a refrigerant during a heating operation. The refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger (12) flows back to the compressor (11). During the heating operation, outdoor air is condensed by discharging heat as a refrigerant, and moisture contained in outdoor air is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger (12) in some cases.

The heat exchanger 100 described in the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention may be an indoor heat exchanger 14 or an outdoor heat exchanger 12 . More specifically, it may correspond to the outdoor heat exchanger 12 during heating operation, and may correspond to the indoor heat exchanger 14 during cooling operation. 2 to 10, the outdoor heat exchanger 12 is exemplified on the assumption of heating operation, but it is obvious that it can be applied to the indoor heat exchanger 14 if cooling operation is assumed.

The air conditioner (1) according to the present invention relates to a drain pan that collects and discharges condensed water condensed in a heat exchanger (12) by dividing it into a part and the rest.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a low-temperature refrigerant flows inside the heat exchanger 12 and absorbs heat from high-temperature air. The water vapor contained in the air from which heat is lost may be liquefied and condensed in the heat exchanger 12 . The condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger 12 flows down by gravity, and the flowing condensate gradually accumulates, so the amount of condensed water collected at the bottom of the heat exchanger 12 is much greater than the amount of condensed water present at the top. Therefore, according to the prior art, there is a problem in that the heat exchange performance of the lower end of the heat exchanger 12 is inferior. Accordingly, the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention maintains the performance of the heat exchanger 12 by bypassing some condensed water condensed at the top of the heat exchanger 12 to a drain pan disposed below the heat exchanger 12 . let it do

Referring to FIG. 3 , the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention includes a first drain fan 100 and a second drain fan 300 . When the heat exchanger 12 provided in the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention is divided into an upper heat exchanger 121 and a lower heat exchanger 122 , the first drain fan 100 is a lower heat exchanger 122 . ) collects the condensed water, and the second drain pan 300 collects the condensed water condensed in the upper heat exchanger 121 . The drain pipe 200 is connected to the second drain pan 300 , and the condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 flows inside the drain pipe 200 , and does not flow through the lower heat exchanger 122 . It flows directly to the first drain pan 100 .

<First drain pan>

The first drain pan 100 is a device for collecting condensed water.

The first drain fan 100 is disposed under the heat exchanger 12 . The outdoor unit or the indoor unit may be disposed at a lower end of the heat exchanger 12 and may include a bottom supporting the heat exchanger 12 . At least one condensate outlet through which the condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger 12 is discharged is formed at the bottom. The drain pan collects the condensed water discharged from the condensate outlet.

The first drain pan 100 has a wide plate shape.

The first drain pan 100 has a drain hole. The drain hole may be disposed at one side of the first drain pan 100 . The drain hole discharges the collected condensate to the outside.

The first drain pan 100 may be disposed to vertically overlap with the lower heat exchanger 122 . The first drain pan 100 may be disposed to vertically overlap with the condensate outlet on the floor. The first drain pan 100 collects condensed water condensed in the lower heat exchanger 122 .

<2nd drain pan>

The second drain pan 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

The second drain pan 300 is a device for collecting condensed water. The second drain pan 300 collects condensed water condensed in the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The second drain fan 300 is disposed between the upper heat exchanger 121 and the lower heat exchanger 122 , and at least a portion thereof is disposed to vertically overlap the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The second drain fan 300 may be disposed at a lower end of the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The second drain pan 300 includes at least one inclined surface. Since the second drain pan 300 includes an inclined surface, the condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 converges to one side and is collected.

The second drain pan 300 includes a first surface 310 on which an opening 312 for discharging condensed water is formed.

The first surface 310 may be flat. The first surface 310 may be horizontally disposed from the floor.

The first surface 310 is disposed at the lowermost portion of the second drain pan 300 . Accordingly, the condensed water present on the second surface 312 to the fourth surface 340 is collected on the first surface 310 by gravity.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the first surface 310 may be disposed to be biased downstream of the second drain pan 300 . The first surface 310 may be disposed downstream with respect to the air flow direction.

The first surface 310 is disposed at the lowermost end compared to the second surface 320 to the fifth surface 350 .

The first surface 310 is formed through the opening 312 for discharging the condensed water.

The opening 312 discharges the condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 . Since the drain pipe 200 is connected to the opening 312 , the condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 flows downward.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the first surface 310 may be disposed downstream of the heat exchanger 12 and spaced apart from the heat exchanger 12 . The first surface 310 may be spaced apart by L2 from the rear end of the heat exchanger 12 . The first surface 310 is spaced apart by L2 from the rear end of the heat exchanger 12 to prevent condensed water from losing heat to the heat exchanger 12 and being implanted.

The second drain pan 300 includes a second surface 320 having one end disposed at the front end of the first surface 310 and the other end disposed higher than the first end.

The rear end of the second surface 320 is disposed on the front end of the first surface 310 .

The second surface 320 extends forward and upward. The other end of the second surface 320 may be disposed higher than the first end. The second surface 320 is disposed in front of the first surface 310 , and the height increases as the distance from the first surface 310 increases. The condensed water existing on the second surface 320 moves backward along the slope, and flows to the first surface 310 disposed at the rear end of the second surface 320 .

The left and right distances of the second surface 320 become progressively longer toward the front. The left and right distances of the front end of the second surface 320 may be longer than the left and right distances of the upper drain pan.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the front end of the second surface 320 may be supported in contact with the front-lower end of the upper heat exchanger 121 . The second surface 320 may be supported in contact with the rear-top of the lower heat exchanger 122 . Since the second surface 320 is in contact with the heat exchanger 12 at two points, it may be stably supported.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the rear end of the second surface 320 may protrude downstream of the heat exchanger 12 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , a support 322 may be formed on the second surface 320 .

The support 322 may be disposed on the second surface 320 . The protrusion height of the support part 322 may gradually increase toward the rear.

The support part 322 may be disposed in front of the first surface 310 . The first surface 310 is disposed at the lowermost end of the second drain pan 300 , and is therefore the most unstable. Accordingly, by disposing the support part 322 in front of the first surface 310 , vibration is effectively prevented and the second drain pan 300 is most stably supported.

The upper end of the support part 322 may be formed horizontally. The upper end of the support part 322 may be in surface contact with the lower end of the upper heat exchanger 121 to stably support the second surface 320 to the lower end of the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The second surface 320 is formed to be inclined, and if the upper heat exchanger 121 is disposed in the vertical direction, only the front end may be in contact with the upper heat exchanger 121 and thus may not be stably supported. Therefore, the upper end is provided with a horizontal support portion 322 so that the front and rear ends of the second surface 320 are supported in contact with the upper heat exchanger 121 at the same time.

The support part 322 is shown only in the second drain pan 300 of FIG. 10 and is not shown in the second drain pan 300 shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 , but the second drain pan shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 . It is obvious that it may be formed on the second surface 320 of the 300 .

The second drain pan 300 includes a third surface 330 having one end disposed on one end of the first surface 310 and the other end disposed higher than the first end.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the right end of the third surface 330 is disposed on the left end of the first surface 310 . The left end of the third surface 330 is in contact with the lower left end of the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The third surface 330 extends upwardly to the left. The left end of the third surface 330 may be disposed higher than the right end. The height of the third surface 330 increases as the distance from the first surface 310 increases. The condensed water existing on the third surface 330 moves to the right along the slope, and flows to the first surface 310 disposed at the right end of the third surface 330 .

The front end of the third surface 330 is in contact with the rear end of the second surface 320 .

The third surface 330 may be integrally formed with the first surface 310 or the second surface 320 . Alternatively, the third surface 330 may be formed separately from the first surface 310 or the second surface 320 and then combined.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the left and right lengths of the third surface 330 gradually decrease toward the front. The front and rear lengths of the third surface 330 gradually increase toward the left side.

The left end of the third surface 330 is in contact with the left end of the upper heat exchanger 121 , and the right end of the fourth surface 340 is in contact with the right end of the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The left end of the third surface 330 is in contact with the lower left end of the upper heat exchanger 121 . A left fastening member 332 is formed at the left end of the third surface 330 , and the third surface 330 is coupled to the upper heat exchanger 121 or the lower heat exchanger 122 through the left fastening member 332 . and is supported from the upper heat exchanger 121 or the lower heat exchanger 122 .

The left fastening member 332 may be integrally formed with the third surface 330 . Alternatively, the left coupling part may be formed separately from the third surface 330 and then coupled thereto.

The second drain pan 300 includes a fourth surface 340 having one end disposed on the other end of the first surface 310 and the other end higher than the first end.

The fourth surface 340 faces the third surface 330 .

The left end of the fourth surface 340 is disposed on the right end of the first surface 310 . The right end of the fourth surface 340 is in contact with the lower right end of the upper heat exchanger 121 .

The fourth surface 340 extends upwardly to the right. The right end of the fourth surface 340 may be disposed higher than the left end. The height of the fourth surface 340 gradually increases as the distance from the first surface 310 increases. The condensed water existing on the fourth surface 340 moves to the left along the slope, and flows to the first surface 310 disposed at the right end of the fourth surface 340 .

The front end of the fourth surface 340 is in contact with the rear end of the second surface 320 .

The fourth surface 340 may be integrally formed with the first surface 310 or the second surface 320 . Alternatively, the fourth surface 340 may be formed separately from the first surface 310 or the second surface 320 and then combined.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the left and right lengths of the fourth surface 340 gradually decrease toward the front. The front and rear lengths of the fourth surface 340 gradually increase toward the right side.

The right end of the fourth surface 340 is in contact with the lower right end of the upper heat exchanger 121 . A right fastening member 342 is formed at the right end of the fourth surface 340 , and the fourth surface 340 is coupled to the upper heat exchanger 121 or the lower heat exchanger 122 through the right fastening member 342 . and is supported from the upper heat exchanger 121 or the lower heat exchanger 122 .

The right fastening member 342 may be integrally formed with the fourth surface 340 . Alternatively, the right fastening member 342 may be formed separately from the fourth surface 340 and then coupled thereto.

The second drain pan includes a fifth surface 350 having one end disposed at the rear end of the first surface 310 and the other end disposed higher than one end.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the fifth surface 350 may be formed in a vertical direction. The lower end of the fifth surface 350 is disposed at the rear end of the first surface 310 . The upper end of the fifth surface 350 is spaced apart from the rear end of the upper heat exchanger 121 . The fifth surface 350 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the rear end of the upper heat exchanger 121 by L1 . L1 may be determined experimentally.

Alternatively, unlike FIG. 8 , the fifth surface 350 may form an inclined surface whose height gradually increases toward the rear.

The upper end of the fifth surface 350 may be formed horizontally. The lower end of the fifth surface 350 may gradually increase in height as it moves away from the first surface 310 . The fifth surface 350 may be formed in a triangular shape.

The left end of the fifth surface 350 may be in contact with the left end of the third surface 330 , and the right end of the fifth surface 350 may be in contact with the right end of the fourth surface 340 .

The second drain pan may include a sixth surface 360 disposed in front.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the sixth surface 360 may be disposed at the front end of the second surface 320 . The sixth surface 360 may extend vertically downward from the front end of the second surface 320 . The upper end of the sixth surface 360 is in contact with the front end of the second surface 320 , and may be supported by the lower surface of the upper heat exchanger 121 . The lower end of the sixth surface 360 may be supported by the upper surface of the lower heat exchanger 122 .

The sixth surface 360 prevents the flowing air from leaking into the gap between the upper heat exchanger 121 and the lower heat exchanger 122 .

Referring to FIG. 8 , the front end of the second drain fan 300 may contact the front end of the upper heat exchanger 121 , and the rear end of the second drain fan 300 may protrude downward of the heat exchanger 12 . can

At least a portion of the second drain fan 300 may protrude downstream in the air flow direction.

The protrusion may be disposed to protrude to the rear of the heat exchanger 12 by a distance L1.

The first surface 310 may be formed on one side of the protrusion. The opening 312 may be formed through one side of the protrusion.

The front end of the second surface 320, the left end of the third surface 330, the right end of the fourth surface 340, and the upper end of the fifth surface 350 are disposed at the lower end of the upper heat exchanger 121, It is supported by the upper heat exchanger (121).

Referring to FIG. 3 , the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention includes a drain pipe 200 connecting the first drain pan 100 and the second drain pan 300 . The drain pipe 200 is a component that guides the condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 to the first drain pan 100 .

The upper end of the drain pipe 200 is connected to the first surface 310 . In more detail, the upper end of the drain pipe 200 is connected to the opening 312 . The condensed water collected in the second drain pan 300 flows inside the drain pipe 200 through the opening 312 .

The upper end of the drain pipe 200 may be coupled to the first surface 310 , and the lower end of the drain pipe 200 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the first drain pan 100 .

4 and 5 , the drain pipe 200 may be disposed at the center of the second drain pan 300 in the left and right directions. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9 , the second drain pan 300 may be disposed to be biased toward one side.

The drain pipe 200 is disposed downstream of the heat exchanger 12 . The drain pipe 200 is spaced apart from the rear of the lower heat exchanger 122 . The drain pipe 200 may be disposed at a distance by L2 to the rear of the lower heat exchanger 122 . L2 may be determined by experimentation. The drain pipe 200 is spaced apart from the rear of the lower heat exchanger 122 to prevent the condensed water from being deprived of heat in the heat exchanger 12 to be implanted.

4 to 7 , the drain pipe 200 may be formed in a streamlined shape. In more detail, the drain pipe 200 may be formed in a circular shape. The drain pipe 200 is formed in a streamlined or circular shape to minimize air resistance.

Referring to FIG. 9 , an upstream width of the drain pipe 200 may be narrower than a downstream width with respect to the air flow direction. In more detail, the drain pipe 200 may be formed in a triangular shape having a vertex on the upstream side. The drain pipe 200 is formed so that the width of the upstream is narrower than the width of the downstream, so that air resistance can be minimized.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the vertex of the front end of the drain pipe 200 may be disposed at the front end of the first surface 310 .

Referring to FIG. 9 , the rear end of the drain pipe may be opened. Referring to FIG. 9 , the drain pipe 200 may be formed in a 'V' shape in which only two surfaces exist on both sides of the vertex of the front end. A portion of the air passing through the drain pipe 200 forms a vortex at the rear end of the drain pipe 200 . Alternatively, the condensed water flowing through the drain pipe 200 forms a surface tension. Due to the vortex of the flowing air and/or the surface tension of the condensed water, there is an effect that the condensed water does not scatter even if the rear end of the drain pipe 200 does not exist.

Hereinafter, the second drain pan 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Referring to FIG. 10 , according to another embodiment of the present invention, the drain pipe 200 may be connected to one end of the second drain pan 300 . In other words, the drain pipe 200 may be disposed to be biased toward one side rather than the center of the second drain pan 300 .

The first surface 310 of the second drain pan 300 may be disposed to be biased toward one side of the second drain pan 300 . The first surface 310 may be disposed at the left end as shown in FIG. 10 , or may be disposed at the right end although not shown.

One end of the second surface 320 of the second drain pan 300 is disposed at the front end of the first surface 310 and the other end is disposed higher than the first end.

One end of the second surface 320 may extend forward, and the other end of the second surface 320 may extend laterally. More specifically, referring to FIG. 10 , the left end of the second surface 320 may extend forward-upward, and the right end of the second surface 320 may extend right forward-upward. That is, the second surface 320 may be in the form of a right-angled triangle extending to the right from the front end of the first surface 310 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , a support part 322 is formed on the second surface 320 . The right fastening member 342 formed on the right end of the fourth surface 340 may be fastened to the right end of the upper heat exchanger 121 , and the support part 322 of the second surface 320 is the upper heat exchanger 121 . can support the left end of

Although not shown in FIG. 10 , referring to FIG. 4 , the right fastening member 342 is disposed on the right end of the fourth surface 340 to be fastened to the right end of the heat exchanger 12 , and the left fastening member 332 . ) may be disposed on the left side of the first surface 310 to be coupled to the left end of the heat exchanger 12 .

Since the drain pipe 200 is disposed to be biased toward one end of the second drain pan 300 , air resistance may not occur.

The operation of the air conditioner 1 according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3 .

In the outdoor heat exchanger 12 during heating operation or the indoor heat exchanger 14 during cooling operation, the heat contained in the flowing air moves to the refrigerant of the heat exchanger 12, and the temperature of the air is lowered and the temperature is lowered. Accordingly, the moisture contained in the air is condensed and condensed on the heat exchanger (12). The condensed water condensed on the heat exchanger 12 flows downward according to gravity.

The condensed water formed on the lower heat exchanger 122 is collected by the first drain pan 100 .

The condensed water formed on the upper heat exchanger 121 is collected by the second drain pan 300 . The second surface 320 to the fourth surface 340 are formed as inclined surfaces, and condensed water is collected by the first surface 310 disposed at the lowermost end. An opening 312 is formed in the first surface 310 , and the condensed water collected on the first surface 310 is discharged. A drain pipe 200 is connected to the opening 312 , and the discharged condensate flows along the drain pipe 200 . The discharged condensed water is bypassed to the first drain pan 100 through the drain pipe 200 without flowing through the lower heat exchanger 122 .

According to the present invention, some condensed water condensed in the upper heat exchanger 121 is directly guided to the first drain pan 100 without flowing through the lower heat exchanger 122 . Therefore, all the condensed water flows down along the heat exchanger 12 and accumulates, thereby preventing deterioration of heat exchange performance at the lower end of the heat exchanger 12 .

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: Air conditioner
100: first drain pan 200: drain pipe
300: second drain pan 310: first side
312: opening 320: second surface
330: the third side 340: the fourth side
350: page 5
L1: the rear projection distance of the second drain pan
L2: Distance between the rear end of the heat exchanger and the drain pipe

Claims (11)

a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between a refrigerant flowing inside and air flowing outside, and having an upper heat exchanger positioned at an upper portion and a lower heat exchanger positioned at a lower portion;
a first drain pan disposed under the heat exchanger and collecting condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger;
and a second drain fan disposed between the upper heat exchanger and the lower heat exchanger, at least a part of the second drain fan being vertically overlapped with the upper heat exchanger. According to claim 1,
The second drain pan is
An air conditioner comprising at least one inclined surface. 3. The method of claim 2,
The second drain pan is
a first surface formed with an opening for discharging condensed water;
An air conditioner comprising a; a second surface having one end disposed at the front end of the first surface and the other end disposed higher than the first end. 4. The method of claim 3,
The second drain pan is
a third surface having one end disposed on one side end of the first surface and the other end disposed higher than the first end;
and a fourth surface having one end disposed on the other side end of the first surface and having the other end higher than the first end so as to face the third surface. According to claim 1,
The second drain pan is
Based on the air flow direction, at least a part protrudes downstream from the heat exchanger,
An air conditioner including an opening formed through one side of the protruding portion. According to claim 1,
The air conditioner further comprising a drain pipe connecting the first drain pan and the second drain pan. 7. The method of claim 6,
The drain pipe is
An air conditioner disposed downstream in an air flow direction of the lower heat exchanger. 7. The method of claim 6,
The drain pipe is an air conditioner formed in a circular shape. 7. The method of claim 6,
The drain pipe is
Based on the air flow direction, the upstream width is narrower than the downstream width. 7. The method of claim 6,
The drain pipe is
An air conditioner connected to one end of the second drain fan. 3. The method of claim 2,
The second drain pan is
An air conditioner comprising a; a fastening member formed at one side end and fastened to one side end of the heat exchanger.

Images