KR20220081125A - Air Conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.
The air conditioner of the present invention includes: a heat exchanger through which a refrigerant flows; and a heat exchange chamber in which a fan for supplying external air to the heat exchanger is disposed; a machine room in which a compressor for compressing the refrigerant is disposed; a control box disposed on the upper side of the machine room, the control box having electrical components for controlling driving of the compressor and the fan; a heat sink disposed on the control box and dissipating heat inside the control box to the outside; and a propeller rotatably disposed on the first sidewall of the control box and rotated by an air flow generated by rotation of the fan, wherein the propeller is disposed in the heat exchange chamber and rotates together with the fan a first propeller; and a second propeller disposed inside the control box and rotating together with the first propeller.

Description

Air Conditioner {Air Conditioner}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner including an outdoor unit.

The air conditioner may control the air in the indoor space by flowing the refrigerant. For the flow of the refrigerant, the compressor may compress the refrigerant to form a flow of the refrigerant. The compressor may be disposed inside an outdoor unit disposed in an outdoor space away from an indoor space.

In the outdoor unit, a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the refrigerant and outdoor air, an outdoor unit fan that forms a flow of air through the heat exchanger, and a control box in which an electrical unit for regulating the operation of the compressor and the operation of the outdoor unit fan are disposed. can

Since the outdoor unit is disposed in the outdoor space, the refrigerant may leak from the configuration disposed inside due to an external influence. There are various types of refrigerants used in the outdoor unit, but some refrigerants may cause safety problems such as ignition due to heat or sparks generated from electrical equipment inside the control box.

Therefore, in the prior art, when the refrigerant leaks from the inside of the outdoor unit, the control box is sealed to prevent ignition due to heat or sparks generated from the electrical equipment inside the control box. However, due to the sealing structure of the control box, heat radiation inside the control box is not There was a problem that it did not go smoothly.

Accordingly, in the prior art, for smooth heat dissipation of the control box, the electric part was divided into a heating part and a non-heating part, the heating part was exposed using an explosion-proof part, and the non-heating part was sealed. However, there is a problem in that the electric part must be designed separately and two control boxes are required.

In addition, in the prior art, for smooth heat dissipation of the control box, when the control box was sealed and heat dissipation was not smooth due to a high external temperature, the frequency of the compressor was limited according to a preset safe temperature. However, there is a problem in that the performance of the compressor is limited when the outside temperature is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that smoothly radiates heat inside a sealed control box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner having a single control box with good heat dissipation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner in which the performance of the compressor is not limited even when the outside temperature is high.

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 includes: a heat exchanger in which a refrigerant flows; and a heat exchange chamber in which a fan supplying external air to the heat exchanger is disposed; a machine room in which a compressor for compressing the refrigerant is disposed; a control box disposed above the machine room, the control box having electrical components for controlling the driving of the compressor and the fan; a heat sink disposed on the control box and dissipating heat inside the control box to the outside; and a propeller rotatably disposed on the first sidewall of the control box and rotated by an air flow generated by rotation of the fan, wherein the propeller is disposed in the heat exchange chamber and rotates together with the fan a first propeller; and a second propeller disposed inside the control box and rotating together with the first propeller.

The propeller may include a rotation shaft passing through the sidewall and transmitting the rotational force of the first propeller to the second propeller.

The first propeller may be coupled to one end of the rotary shaft disposed in the heat exchange chamber, and the second propeller may be coupled to the other end of the rotary shaft disposed inside the control box.

It may include a bearing disposed in the through hole formed in the first sidewall and supporting the rotation shaft.

The propeller may be disposed on a first sidewall of the control box in a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of the fan.

The propeller may be disposed at a position higher than the top of the fan.

It is disposed below the control box and may include a barrier dividing the heat exchange chamber and the machine room.

A communication hole may be formed at a lower portion of the barrier to communicate the machine room and the heat exchange chamber.

The barrier may be recessed inwardly on the upper end to form a recess for supporting the control box.

The control box includes: a control box body having an open surface and forming a space in which a printed circuit board is disposed; It may include a control box cover that shields the open surface of the control box body, the heat sink is disposed.

A wire hole through which an electric wire connecting the machine room and the control box passes may be formed in the second sidewall of the control box.

The heat sink may include a heat sink made of a plurality of thin plates, and the heat sink may be arranged in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the control box.

a first temperature sensor disposed inside the machine room and configured to sense a temperature inside the machine room; and A control unit for detecting refrigerant leakage inside the machine room at a rate of change of temperature sensed by the temperature sensor, wherein the control unit comprises: When a refrigerant leak is detected in the machine room, the compressor may be stopped and the fan may be operated.

The first temperature sensor may be disposed below the machine room.

a second temperature sensor disposed inside the control box and sensing a temperature inside the control box; and a controller configured to increase the speed of the fan when the temperature inside the control box sensed by the second temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a preset temperature value.

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, a bidirectional propeller disposed on the side wall of the control box is provided, and the bidirectional propeller rotates together when the outdoor fan rotates to form an air flow inside the control box, so there is an advantage in that the heat inside the control box is smoothly radiated.

Second, as the bidirectional propeller placed on the side wall of the control box is provided, heat dissipation inside the control box is smoothed, so it is not necessary to design two control boxes with separate heating and non-heating parts, which makes the design of the control box simple. There is this.

Third, as the bidirectional propeller disposed on the side wall of the control box is provided, heat dissipation inside the control box is facilitated, so that the performance of the compressor is not limited even under a high external temperature condition.

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 air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view for explaining the structure of a control box according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view of a propeller according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from one side.
5 is a perspective view of a propeller according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the other side.
6 is a block diagram of a control unit and related components according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the air conditioner of the present invention when refrigerant leakage is detected.
8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the air conditioner of the present invention when the temperature inside the control box is high.

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 an air conditioner according to embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1 , an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an outdoor unit disposed in an outdoor space.

The air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a compressor (12) for compressing a refrigerant, a heat exchanger (22) for exchanging the refrigerant discharged from the compressor (12) with outdoor air, and a flow of air through the heat exchanger (22). A fan 24 to form a fan, a motor (not shown) for driving the fan, a motor bracket 26 for fixing the motor and the fan 24, and a gaseous refrigerant flowing into the compressor 12 are separated to separate the gaseous refrigerant It may include an accumulator 14 supplied to the compressor 12 , and a control box 40 in which electrical components for controlling the operation of the compressor 12 and the fan 24 are disposed.

The air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base, a case (not shown) that is disposed on the upper side of the base and forms a space in which a compressor or the like is disposed, a space in which the fan 24 is disposed; It may include a barrier 30 that partitions a space in which the compressor 12 is disposed, and a horizontal panel 19 that partitions a space in which the compressor 12 is disposed and a space in which the control box 40 is disposed.

The air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotatably disposed on the first sidewall 43 (refer to FIG. 2 ) of the control box 40 and is rotated by the air flow generated by the rotation of the fan 24 . It may include a propeller 60 .

The air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a heat sink 50 disposed on the control box 40 and dissipating heat inside the control box 40 to the outside.

The air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 16 for exchanging water with the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 12 .

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the outdoor unit supplies outdoor air to the machine room 10 in which the compressor 12 for compressing the refrigerant is disposed, the heat exchanger 22 through which the refrigerant flows, and the heat exchanger 22 . A heat exchange chamber 20 in which the fan 24 is disposed may be formed. The machine room 10 and the heat exchange room 20 may be partitioned by a barrier 30 ,

A compressor 12 , an accumulator 14 , a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 16 , and an expansion valve (not shown) may be disposed in the machine room 10 . In addition, a first temperature sensor 18 for detecting a temperature change inside the machine room 10 may be disposed inside the machine room 10 .

A fan 24 and a heat exchanger 22 may be disposed in the heat exchange chamber 20 . When viewed from the upper side, the heat exchanger 22 may be bent in a 'L' shape. The fan 24 may be disposed on one side of the heat exchanger 22 to form an air flow to the heat exchanger 22 .

A horizontal panel 19 may be disposed between the machine room 10 and the control box 40 . The horizontal panel 19 may partition the area where the control box 40 is disposed and the machine room 10). The horizontal panel 19 may support the arrangement of the control box 40 .

The barrier 30 may be disposed below the control box 40 . The barrier 30 may include a recessed portion 31 recessed inwardly from the upper end of the barrier 30 .

The recessed portion 31 is formed between the ribs with both ends protruding upward, and when the barrier 30 is viewed from the front, it may be formed in a “U” shape. Accordingly, the recessed part 31 may fix and support the control box 40 .

A communication hole 32 for communicating the machine room 10 and the heat exchange chamber 20 may be formed at a lower portion of the barrier 30 . Accordingly, when a refrigerant heavier than air leaks inside the machine room 10 , the leaked refrigerant flows from the machine room 10 to the heat exchange chamber 20 through the communication hole 32 , and is It may be discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit.

Hereinafter, the structure of the control box 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 .

The control box 40 may be disposed above the machine room 10 . The control box 40 has one side open, and the control box body 41 forming a space portion 47 in which electrical equipment is disposed, shields the open side of the control box body 41, and heats the upper part. It may include a control box cover 42 on which the sink 50 is disposed.

The control box 40 may be coupled to the control box body 41 and the control cover 42 to seal the inside and outside of the control box 40 . Accordingly, it is possible to block the air flowing through the upper side of the machine room 10 from flowing into the control box 40 .

The control box body 41 may be formed with a space portion 47 in which electrical equipment is disposed. The control box body 41 may include a first sidewall 43 facing the heat exchange chamber 20 and a second sidewall 44 facing the first sidewall 43 .

The first sidewall 43 may have a through hole 45 in which the propeller 60 is disposed. The through hole 45 may be formed in a central portion of the first sidewall 43 .

The second sidewall 44 may have a wire hole 46 through which an electric wire (not shown) electrically connecting the control box 40 and the internal configuration of the machine room 10 passes. The number of the wire holes 46 may be formed in plurality if necessary.

The heat sink 50 disposed on the control box cover 42 may include a heat sink 51 formed of a plurality of thin plates. The heat sink 51 may be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the control box 40 .

Hereinafter, an internal arrangement structure of the control box 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

A printed circuit board 48 for controlling the operation of the compressor 12 or the fan 24 may be disposed in the space portion 47 of the control box 40 . A second temperature sensor 49 for detecting a temperature change inside the control box 40 may be disposed inside the control box 40 .

A rotatable propeller 60 may be disposed on the first sidewall 43 of the control box 40 . The propeller 60 may be disposed in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the fan 24 . The propeller 60 may be disposed at a higher position than the top of the fan 24 .

Accordingly, the propeller 60 may be rotated by the air flow generated by the rotation of the fan 24 disposed in the heat exchange chamber 20 .

The propeller 60 is disposed in the heat exchange chamber and rotates together with the fan 24, the first propeller 61, and the control box 40, the second propeller 62 is disposed inside the first propeller 61 and rotates together. ) may be included.

The propeller 60 is inserted into the through hole 45 formed in the first sidewall 43 , and transmits the rotational force of the first propeller 61 rotating together with the rotation of the fan 24 to the second propeller 62 . It may include a rotating shaft 63 that is.

The propeller 60 may include a bearing 65 supporting the rotation shaft 63 . The bearing 65 may be disposed in the through hole 45 formed in the first sidewall 43 of the control box 40 .

The first propeller 61 may be disposed inside the heat exchange chamber 20 and may be coupled to one end of the rotation shaft 63 disposed in the heat exchange chamber 20 .

The second propeller 62 is disposed inside the control box 40 , and may be coupled to the other end of the rotation shaft 63 disposed inside the control box 40 .

The first propeller 61 and the second propeller 62 may be respectively coupled to both ends of the rotation shaft 63 .

As for the propeller 60, when the fan 24 rotates, the first propeller 61 rotates together, and the rotational force of the first propeller 61 is transmitted to the second propeller 62 through the rotation shaft 63 to the second The propeller 62 may be rotated. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly dissipate heat inside the sealed control box 40 by forming an air flow inside the control box 40 without separate power.

In addition, there is no need to install a box fan to help heat dissipation inside the control box 40, and accordingly, reliability problems such as failure of the box fan may not occur.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a compressor 12 and a controller 70 for controlling the operation of the fan 24 .

The control unit 70 may detect the leakage of the refrigerant based on the temperature change rate detected by the first temperature sensor 18 disposed inside the machine room 10 .

The controller 70 may control the operation of the compressor 12 and the fan 24 based on the temperature change rate detected by the first temperature sensor 18 .

The control unit 70 may determine whether to accelerate the fan 24 based on the temperature sensed by the second temperature sensor 39 disposed inside the control box 40 .

The controller 70 may control the operation of the fan 24 based on the temperature sensed by the second temperature sensor 39 .

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7 , when the refrigerant leaks inside the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention, the determination of the leak and the operation step S100 of the internal configuration will be described.

By operating the compressor 12 , the operation of the air conditioner 1 may be performed ( S110 ). The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 12 flows through the heat exchanger 22 and undergoes phase change to control the temperature of the indoor space.

The first temperature sensor 18 disposed under the machine room 10 may sense the temperature inside the machine room 10 . The first temperature sensor 18 may go through a step (S120) of detecting a temperature change inside the machine room 10 to determine whether the refrigerant is leaking.

The first temperature sensor 18 may determine that the refrigerant leaks when the temperature changes rapidly inside the machine room 10 . This is, based on the temperature change per hour when the general compressor 12 is operated, when the temperature change per hour is made more rapidly than the general case, the leakage of the refrigerant can be detected.

The change in the temperature change rate of the first temperature sensor 18 according to the leakage of the refrigerant may be grasped through experimental data or the like. That is, when the rate of change of temperature according to the refrigerant leakage identified in the experimental data is set as a set value, when the rate of change of temperature exceeding the set value is detected, it can be determined that the refrigerant is leaked.

When refrigerant leakage is detected through the first temperature sensor 18, the operation of the compressor 12 is stopped and the operation of the fan 24 is maintained (S130). Accordingly, it is possible to minimize leakage of the refrigerant by driving the compressor 12 . In addition, the refrigerant leaked inside the air conditioner 1 may be discharged to the outside by the operation of the fan 24 .

The refrigerant leaked from the machine room 10 may be introduced into the heat exchange chamber 20 through the communication hole 32 formed in the lower portion of the barrier 30 . The refrigerant introduced into the heat exchange chamber 20 may be discharged to the outside by the operation of the fan 24 .

Thereafter, the propeller 60 disposed in the control box 40 rotates according to the operation of the fan 24 , so that the refrigerant leaked into the air conditioner 1 can be blocked from flowing into the control box 40 . have.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 8, when the temperature inside the control box rises according to an embodiment of the present invention, determination of whether the fan 24 is accelerated and the operation step 200 of the internal configuration accordingly will be described.

A step S210 of operating the air conditioner 1 by operating the compressor 12 may be performed. The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 12 flows through the heat exchanger 22 and undergoes phase change to control the temperature of the indoor space.

The second temperature sensor 49 disposed inside the control box 40 may detect the temperature inside the control box 40 . The second temperature sensor 49 detects the temperature inside the control box 40 and determines whether the fan 24 is accelerated (S220).

The second temperature sensor 49 detects whether the temperature inside the control box 40 exceeds a set temperature that is a reference for determining whether the fan 24 is accelerated, and can determine whether acceleration of the fan 24 is necessary. .

The set temperature, which is a criterion for determining whether acceleration of the fan 24 is necessary, can be grasped through experimental data or the like. That is, when a temperature exceeding the set value is detected, with the temperature at which the performance degradation of the electrical components disposed inside the control box 40 identified through the experiment occurs as the set value, acceleration of the fan 24 is required. can judge

When it is determined through the second temperature sensor 49 that acceleration of the fan 24 is necessary, a step S230 of accelerating the fan 24 may be performed. Therefore, as the fan 24 is accelerated, the propeller 60 is also accelerated and rotates faster, so that heat generated inside the control box 40 can be radiated to the outside more smoothly.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated 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 belongs, 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
10: machine room
20: heat exchange chamber
30: barrier
40: control box
50: heat sink
60: propeller
70: control unit

Claims (15)

a heat exchanger chamber in which a heat exchanger through which a refrigerant flows and a fan supplying external air to the heat exchanger are disposed;
a machine room in which a compressor for compressing the refrigerant is disposed;
a control box disposed above the machine room, the control box having electrical components for controlling the driving of the compressor and the fan;
a heat sink disposed on the control box and dissipating heat inside the control box to the outside; and
and a propeller rotatably disposed on the first sidewall of the control box and rotated by an air flow generated by rotation of the fan,
The propeller is
a first propeller disposed in the heat exchange chamber to rotate together with the fan; and
and a second propeller disposed inside the control box and rotating together with the first propeller.
According to claim 1,
The propeller is
and a rotation shaft passing through the sidewall and transmitting the rotational force of the first propeller to the second propeller.
3. The method of claim 2,
The first propeller is
coupled to one end of the rotation shaft disposed in the heat exchange chamber;
The second propeller,
An air conditioner coupled to the other end of the rotation shaft disposed inside the control box.
3. The method of claim 2,
and a bearing disposed in a through hole formed in the first sidewall and supporting the rotation shaft.
According to claim 1,
The propeller is
An air conditioner disposed on a first sidewall of the control box in a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of the fan.
According to claim 1,
The propeller is an air conditioner disposed at a higher position than an upper end of the fan.
According to claim 1,
and a barrier disposed below the control box and partitioning the heat exchange chamber and the machine room.
8. The method of claim 7,
The barrier is
An air conditioner in which a communication hole is formed at a lower portion to communicate the machine room and the heat exchange chamber.
8. The method of claim 7,
The barrier is
An air conditioner in which a recess is formed in the upper end to support the control box.
According to claim 1,
The control box is
a control box body having an open surface and forming a space in which a printed circuit board is disposed;
and a control box cover for shielding an open surface of the control box body and on which the heat sink is disposed.
According to claim 1,
An air conditioner having a wire hole through which a wire connecting the machine room and the control box passes is formed in the second sidewall of the control box.
The method of claim 1,
The heat sink is
An air conditioner comprising: a heat sink made of a plurality of thin plates, wherein the heat sink is arranged in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the control box.
According to claim 1,
a first temperature sensor disposed inside the machine room and configured to sense a temperature inside the machine room; and
A control unit for detecting refrigerant leakage inside the machine room at a rate of change of temperature sensed by the first temperature sensor,
The control unit is
An air conditioner for stopping the operation of the compressor and operating the fan when a refrigerant leak is detected in the machine room.
15. The method of claim 14,
The first temperature sensor is an air conditioner disposed under the machine room.
According to claim 1,
a second temperature sensor disposed inside the control box and sensing a temperature inside the control box; and
and a controller configured to increase the speed of the fan when the temperature inside the control box sensed by the second temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a preset temperature value.

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