Patent Grant
10928079
The present invention relates to a heat source unit, and particularly a heat source unit where a compressor and an electrical component box are provided inside a casing.
Conventionally, there is an air conditioning system configured as a result of a heat source unit and a utilization unit being connected by pipes. In the heat source unit configuring this kind of air conditioning system, a compressor and an electrical component box are provided inside a casing, such as described in patent document 1 (JP-A No. 2011-158137). Here, a bottom frame forming a bottom surface of the casing has a structure divided in the front and rear direction. Additionally, the compressor is provided on the front-surface-side bottom frame among the bottom frames divided in the front and rear direction, and the electrical component box is placed above the compressor.
In the conventional heat source unit, as described above, the bottom frame with the divided structure is employed, and the compressor and the electrical component box are placed in a space formed by the front-surface-side bottom frame configuring the portion on the front surface side of the casing. This placement may ensure the maintainability of the compressor and the electrical component box.
However, with this placement, both the compressor and the electrical component box come to occupy most of the space formed by the front-surface-side bottom frame, and the positional relationship between the compressor and the electrical component box also becomes limited to the positional relationship where the electrical component box is placed above the compressor.
For this reason, there ends up being less freedom in the placement of the compressor and the electrical component box, and there is the concern that design changes and so forth will not be able to be flexibly accommodated.
One or more embodiments of the present invention may make it possible, in a heat source unit where a compressor and an electrical component box are provided inside a casing, both to achieve greater freedom in the placement of the compressor and the electrical component box and to ensure maintainability.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, a compressor and an electrical component box are provided inside a casing. Additionally, here, a bottom frame forming a bottom surface of the casing has a first bottom frame on which the compressor is provided and a second bottom frame that is adjacent to the first bottom frame. At least half of the electrical component box is placed above the second bottom frame.
Here, the bottom frame is divided in two, and the compressor is provided on one bottom frame (the first bottom frame) and most of the electrical component box is placed above the other bottom frame (the second bottom frame), so compared to the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, it becomes easier to place the compressor and the electrical component box, and interference between the compressor and the electrical component box can also be prevented.
Because of this, here, it is possible both to achieve greater freedom in the placement of the compressor and the electrical component box and to ensure maintainability.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, the first bottom frame and the second bottom frame are placed side by side in the right and left direction when the casing is viewed from its front surface side.
Here, the compressor and the electrical component box are placed side by side to the left and right of each other, so the maintainability of the compressor and the electrical component box can be reliably ensured.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, the electrical component box has the shape of a vertically long box in a state in which it is provided inside the casing.
In a case where the electrical component box has the shape of a vertically long box, in contrast to the conventional heat source unit, it is difficult to place the electrical component box in the space above the compressor.
However, here, as described above, the compressor is provided on the first bottom frame and most of the electrical component box is placed above the second bottom frame, so compared to the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, it becomes easier to prevent interference between the compressor and the electrical component box. Furthermore, in a case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed side by side to the left and right of each other, giving the electrical component box the shape of a vertically long box can reduce the right and left direction width of the electrical component box and can also contribute to making the casing compact.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, the electrical component box is provided on the second bottom frame.
Here, at least half of the electrical component box can be easily placed above the second bottom frame. Furthermore, when assembling the heat source unit, it becomes possible to assemble the heat source unit by providing the compressor on the first bottom frame, separately providing the electrical component box on the second bottom frame, and thereafter uniting the two bottom frames, and because of this, the assemblability of the heat source unit can be improved.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, provided on the first bottom frame are an oil separator that separates refrigerating machine oil from refrigerant after the refrigerant has been discharged from the compressor and a refrigerant vessel that temporarily accumulates the refrigerant.
In the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, both the compressor and the electrical component box come to occupy most of the space formed by the bottom frame, so many of the refrigerant circuit constituent parts other than the compressor, such as the oil separator and the refrigerant vessel, must be provided on the side of the bottom frame where the compressor and the electrical component box are not placed. When this is done, a certain degree of strength also becomes required on the side of the bottom frame where the compressor and the electrical component box are not placed.
Therefore, here, as described above, the oil separator and the refrigerant vessel are provided on the first bottom frame on which the compressor is provided. For this reason, the strength required of the first bottom frame can be increased and the strength required of the second bottom frame can be reduced.
Because of this, here, the plate thickness of the first bottom frame can be increased to enhance strength, and the plate thickness of the second bottom frame can be reduced.
In a heat source unit according to one or more embodiments, the first bottom frame and the second bottom frame are corrugated plate-like members in which ridge portions and furrow portions extending across the front and rear direction of the casing are formed.
Here, the first bottom frame and the second bottom frame are configured to be corrugated plate-like members, so high-strength bottom frames can be obtained. Moreover, here, the ridge portions and the furrow portions of the corrugated plate-like first bottom frame and second bottom frame are formed extending across the front and rear direction of the casing, so this is suited for placing the first bottom frame and the second bottom frame side by side to the left and right of each other when the casing is viewed from the front surface side.
Embodiments of a heat source unit pertaining to the invention, and example modifications thereof, will be described below on the basis of the drawings. It will be noted that the specific configurations of the heat source unit pertaining to the invention are not limited to those in the following embodiments and the example modifications thereof and can be changed in a range that does not depart from the spirit of the invention.
The air conditioning system 1 is a system that can perform cooling and heating of rooms in a building, for example, by performing a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The air conditioning system 1 is configured as a result of mainly the heat source unit 2 and utilization units 3a and 3b being connected. Here, the heat source unit 2 and the utilization units 3a and 3b are connected via a liquid refrigerant communication pipe 4 and a gas refrigerant communication pipe 5. That is, a vapor compression refrigerant circuit 6 of the air conditioning system 1 is configured as a result of the heat source unit 2 and the utilization units 3a and 3b being connected via the refrigerant communication pipes 4 and 5.
The heat source unit 2 is installed outdoors (e.g., on the roof of the building or adjacent to a wall surface of the building) and configures part of the refrigerant circuit 6. The heat source unit 2 mainly has an accumulator 7, a compressor 8, an oil separator 9, a four-port switching valve 10, a heat source-side heat exchanger 11, a heat source-side expansion valve 12, a liquid-side stop valve 13, a gas-side stop valve 14, a heat source-side fan 15, and an electrical component box 25. The devices and valves are connected to each other by refrigerant pipes 16 to 24.
The utilization units 3a and 3b are installed in rooms (e.g., living rooms or spaces on the reverse sides of ceilings) and configure part of the refrigerant circuit 6. The utilization unit 3a mainly has a utilization-side expansion valve 31a, a utilization-side heat exchanger 32a, and a utilization-side fan 33a. The utilization unit 3b mainly has a utilization-side expansion valve 31b, a utilization-side heat exchanger 32b, and a utilization-side fan 33b.
The refrigerant communication pipes 4 and 5 are refrigerant pipes constructed on site when installing the air conditioning system 1 in an installation location such as a building. One end of the liquid refrigerant communication pipe 4 is connected to the liquid-side stop valve 13 of the heat source unit 2, and the other end of the liquid refrigerant communication pipe 4 is connected to liquid-side ends of the utilization-side expansion valves 31a and 31b of the utilization units 3a and 3b. One end of the gas refrigerant communication pipe 5 is connected to the gas-side stop valve 14 of the heat source unit 2, and the other end of the gas refrigerant communication pipe 5 is connected to gas-side ends of the utilization-side heat exchangers 32a and 32b of the utilization units 3a and 3b.
<Overall Structure>
The heat source unit 2 has what is called an upward-blowing structure that takes air into a casing 40 from below and blows the air out to the outside of the casing 40 from above. The heat source unit 2 mainly has the casing 40, which is shaped substantially like a rectangular parallelepiped box, the heat source-side fan 15, refrigerant circuit constituent parts that configure part of the refrigerant circuit 6 and include the devices 7, 8, 9, and 11 such as the compressor and the heat source-side heat exchanger, the valves 10 and 12 to 14 such as the four-port switching valve and the heat source-side expansion valve, and the refrigerant pipes 16 to 24, and the electrical component box 25. It will be noted that in the following description, unless otherwise specified, “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “front,” “rear,” “front surface,” and “back surface” will mean directions in a case where the heat source unit 2 shown in
The casing 40 mainly has a bottom frame 51 that bridges a pair of mounting feet 41 extending in the right and left direction, struts 61 that extend in the vertical direction from corner portions of the bottom frame 51, a fan module 71 that is attached to the upper ends of the struts 61, and a front surface panel 81.
The bottom frame 51 forms a bottom surface of the casing 40, and the heat source-side heat exchanger 11 is provided on the bottom frame 51. Here, the heat source-side heat exchanger 11 is a heat exchanger that is substantially U-shaped as seen in a plan view and faces the back surface and both right and left side surfaces of the casing 40, and substantially forms the back surface and both right and left side surfaces of the casing 40.
The fan module 71 is provided on the upper side of the heat source-side heat exchanger 11 and forms a top surface of the casing 40 and sections of the front surface, the back surface, and both right and left side surfaces of the casing 40 on the upper side of the struts 61. Here, the fan module 71 is a composite body where the heat source-side fan 15 and a bell mouth 72 are housed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box whose upper surface and lower surface are open, and an air outlet grille 73 is provided in the opening in the upper surface.
The front surface panel 81 bridges the struts 61 on the front surface side and forms a front surface of the casing 40.
Also housed inside the casing 40 are refrigerant circuit constituent parts other than the heat source-side fan 15 and the heat source-side heat exchanger 11 (
<Detailed Structure (Including Plan for Placement of Compressor 8 and Electrical Component Box 25)>
The bottom frame 51 is a corrugated plate-like member in which ridge portions and furrow portions extending across the front and rear direction of the casing 40 are formed, and the bottom frame 51 has a first bottom frame 51a and a second bottom frame 51b that result from the bottom frame 51 being divided in two in the right and left direction. Here, the first bottom frame 51a configures the left portion of the bottom frame 51 when the casing 40 is viewed from the front surface side, and the first bottom frame 51a is a corrugated plate-like member in which ridge portions 52a and furrow portions 53a extending across the front and rear direction of the casing 40 are formed. The second bottom frame 51b configures the right portion of the bottom frame 51 when the casing 40 is viewed from the front surface side, and the second bottom frame 51b is a corrugated plate-like member in which ridge portions 52b and furrow portions 53b extending across the front and rear direction of the casing 40 are formed. The first bottom frame 51a and the second bottom frame 51b are placed side by side in the right and left direction when the casing 40 is viewed from the front surface side. The first bottom frame 51a and the second bottom frame 51b bridge the mounting feet 41. End portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b on sides (here, in the front and rear direction) where the ridge portions 52a and 52b and the furrow portions 53a and 53b can be seen are supported by the mounting feet 41. An outer wall portion 55a that extends upward beyond the ridge portions 52a and the furrow portions 53a is formed on the end portion of the first bottom frame 51a orthogonal (here, in the right and left direction) to the front and rear direction end portions of the first bottom frame 51a and on the side (here, the left side) distant from the second bottom frame 51b. A connecting wall portion 59a that borders the second bottom frame 51b is formed on the end portion of the first bottom frame 51a orthogonal (here, in the right and left direction) to the front and rear direction end portions of the first bottom frame 51a and on the side (here, the right side) close to the second bottom frame 51b. Furthermore, an outer wall portion 55b that extends upward beyond the ridge portions 52b and the furrow portions 53b is formed on the end portion of the second bottom frame 51b orthogonal (here, in the right and left direction) to the front and rear direction end portions of the second bottom frame 51b and on the side (here, the right side) distant from the first bottom frame 51a. A connecting wall portion 59b that borders the first bottom frame 51a is formed on the end portion of the second bottom frame 51b orthogonal (here, in the right and left direction) to the front and rear direction end portions of the second bottom frame 51b and on the side (here, the left side) close to the first bottom frame 51a. Additionally, in contrast to the right and left direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b, outer wall portions are not formed on the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b, and so the shapes of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b are simplified.
Furthermore, here, the first bottom frame 51a and the second bottom frame 51b are configured to be corrugated plate-like members, so high-strength bottom frames 51a and 51b can be obtained. Moreover, here, the ridge portions 52a and 52b and the furrow portions 53a and 53b of the corrugated plate-like first bottom frame 51a and second bottom frame 51b are formed extending across the front and rear direction of the casing 40, so this is suited for placing the first bottom frame 51a and the second bottom frame 51b side by side to the left and right of each other when the casing 40 is viewed from the front surface side.
The mounting feet 41 are members that are substantially C-shaped as seen in a side view and extend in the right and left direction of the casing 40. The mounting feet 41 each mainly have an anchored portion 42 that becomes anchored to an installation surface, a vertical portion 43 that extends upward from an end portion of the anchored portion 42 on one side in the front and rear direction, and a support portion 44 that extends horizontally from the upper end portion of the vertical portion 43 toward the other side in the front and rear direction. The support portions 44 support the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b from below. Furthermore, the mounting feet 41 each have a wall portion 45 that extends upward from the end portion of the support portion 44 on the other side in the front and rear direction. The wall portions 45 are positioned on outer sides of the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b. That is, in the case of the mounting foot 41 placed on the front surface side of the casing 40, the wall portion 45 is positioned on the front side of the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b, and in the case of the mounting foot 41 placed on the back surface side of the casing 40, the wall portion 45 is positioned on the back surface side of the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b. Additionally, the wall portions 45 of the mounting feet 41 function as outer wall portions of the front and rear direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b. That is, here, the wall portions 45 of the mounting feet 41 have the same function as the outer wall portions 55a and 55b of the right and left direction end portions of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b, while simplifying the shape of the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b.
In the heat source unit 2 employing the bottom frame 51 with this divided structure, the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 are provided inside the casing 40, but at this time it is desired to make it possible both to achieve greater freedom in the placement of the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 and to ensure maintainability.
Therefore, here, as described above, the bottom frame 51 is divided in two (the first and second bottom frames 51a and 51b), and the compressor 8 is provided on one bottom frame (the first bottom frame 51a) and most (at least half) of the electrical component box 25 is placed above the other bottom frame (the second bottom frame 51b). Specifically, the compressor 8 is placed on the portion of the first bottom frame 51a near the front surface, and the electrical component box 25 is placed on the portion of the second bottom frame 51b near the front surface. Furthermore, here, all of the electrical component box 25 (i.e., the entire outline of the electrical component box 25 when the casing 40 is viewed from above) is placed above the second bottom frame 51b.
Additionally, by employing this structure, compared to the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, it becomes easier to place the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25, and interference between the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 can also be prevented. Because of this, here, it is possible both to achieve greater freedom in the placement of the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 and to ensure maintainability. Furthermore, here, the compressor and the electrical component box are placed side by side to the left and right of each other, so the maintainability of the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 can be reliably ensured.
Furthermore, here, the electrical component box 25 has the shape of a vertically long box in a state in which it is provided inside the casing 40. Here, in a case where the electrical component box 25 has the shape of a vertically long box, in contrast to the conventional heat source unit, it is difficult to place the electrical component box 25 in the space above the compressor 8. However, here, as described above, the compressor 8 is provided on the first bottom frame 51a and most of the electrical component box 25 is placed above the second bottom frame 51b, so compared to the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, it becomes easier to prevent interference between the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25. Furthermore, as described above, in a case where the compressor 8 and the electrical component box 25 are placed side by side to the left and right of each other, giving the electrical component box 25 the shape of a vertically long box can reduce the right and left direction width of the electrical component box 25 and can also contribute to making the casing 40 compact.
Furthermore, here, the electrical component box 25 is provided on the second bottom frame 51b. For this reason, here, at least half of the electrical component box 25 can be easily placed above the second bottom frame 51b. Furthermore, when assembling the heat source unit 2, it becomes possible to assemble the heat source unit 2 by providing the compressor 8 on the first bottom frame 51a, separately providing the electrical component box 25 on the second bottom frame 51b, and thereafter uniting the two bottom frames 51a and 51b, and because of this, the assemblability of the heat source unit 2 can be improved.
Furthermore, here, provided on the first bottom frame 51a are the oil separator 9 that separates the refrigerating machine oil from the refrigerant after the refrigerant has been discharged from the compressor 8 and the accumulator 7 serving as a refrigerant vessel that temporarily accumulates the refrigerant. Here, in the conventional case where the compressor and the electrical component box are placed on the same bottom frame, both the compressor and the electrical component box come to occupy most of the space formed by the bottom frame, so many of the refrigerant circuit constituent parts other than the compressor, such as the oil separator and the refrigerant vessel, must be provided on the side of the bottom frame where the compressor and the electrical component box are not placed. When this is done, a certain degree of strength also becomes required on the side of the bottom frame where the compressor and the electrical component box are not placed. However, here, as described above, the oil separator 9 and the accumulator 7 are provided on the first bottom frame 51a on which the compressor 8 is provided. For this reason, the strength required of the first bottom frame 51a can be increased and the strength required of the second bottom frame 51b can be reduced. Because of this, here, the plate thickness of the first bottom frame 51a can be increased to enhance strength, and the plate thickness of the second bottom frame 51b can be reduced. Furthermore, by increasing the plate thickness of the first bottom frame 51a, the propagation of operational vibrations of the compressor 8 is also reduced, so this can also contribute to improving vibration and noise performance.
<A>
In the air conditioning system 1 of one or more embodiments (see
With respect to such changing or adding of the refrigerant circuit constituent parts (here, mainly adding the receiver 26 and the degassing pipe 27), here, as shown in
In this way, here, the receiver 26 and the degassing pipe 27 are provided on the second bottom frame 51b, so the gas injection function can be added without changing the placement of the refrigerant circuit constituent parts such as the compressor 8 provided on the first bottom frame 51a. That is, here, design changes such as function additions can also be flexibly accommodated.
<B>
In the embodiments and example modification A, the first bottom frame 51a configures the left portion of the bottom surface of the casing 40 and the second bottom frame 51b configures the right portion of the bottom surface of the casing 40, but the first bottom frame 51a and the second bottom frame 51b are not limited to this and may also be switched in the right and left direction.
The present invention is widely applicable to a heat source unit where a compressor and an electrical component box are provided inside a casing.
Although the disclosure has been described with respect to only a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that various other embodiments may be devised without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
Patent Document 1: JP-A No. 2011-158137
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2016-084984 | Apr 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/007844 | 2/28/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/183311 | 10/26/2017 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 102141272 | Aug 2011 | CN |
| 2354683 | Aug 2011 | EP |
| 2354683 | Aug 2011 | EP |
| 2767766 | Aug 2014 | EP |
| 2011-158137 | Aug 2011 | JP |
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| Entry |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190154279 A1 | May 2019 | US |
