The present disclosure relates to an outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus, the outdoor unit including a rear panel and a top panel.
Conventionally, there is a known outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus, a housing of the outdoor unit being formed from a plurality of panels. In such an outdoor unit, a claw-like part provided on the panel is locked to an opening port formed in another panel or the like, to temporarily fix the panel. Patent Literature 1 discloses an outdoor unit where a locking claw of a side panel is locked to a locking hole of a rear panel.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-60173
However, when the outdoor unit disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is exposed to rain water, moisture may adhere to the locking claw or the locking hole. In general, the housing of the outdoor unit is formed using steel sheets to which rust prevention treatment is applied to prevent the formation of rust. In such an outdoor unit, the locking hole, the locking claw, or the like may be obtained by cutting and molding a rust preventive steel sheet. In this case, rust prevention treatment is not applied to the cut surface of the locking hole, the locking claw, or the like. Accordingly, in Patent Literature 1, in the case where the locking hole, the locking claw, or the like is a part obtained by cutting and molding a rust preventive steel sheet, when the outdoor unit is exposed to rain water, there is a possibility that moisture flowing along the panel or the like adheres to the locking hole or the locking claw, thus allowing rust to form.
The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide an outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus where it is possible to suppress the formation of rust on the locking hole or the locking claw.
An outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a housing configured to form an outer shell; and a heat exchanger provided to extend at a rear portion of the housing from a lower portion toward an upper portion of the housing, wherein the heat exchanger includes a heat exchanger side plate provided on a side portion and having a side plate locking hole at an upper portion, and the housing includes a rear panel being a plate-like part that forms a rear surface and including an upper rear-surface locking claw at an upper portion, the upper rear-surface locking claw being inserted into the side plate locking hole, and a top panel being a plate-like part provided on an upper side of the rear panel and forming a top surface of the housing, the top panel covering the side plate locking hole and the upper rear-surface locking claw.
According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the top panel covers the side plate locking hole and the upper rear-surface locking claw. Therefore, even when the outdoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus is exposed to rain water, the rain water impinges on the top panel and hence, moisture is prevented from easily adhering to the side plate locking hole or the upper rear-surface locking clam. Accordingly, in the outdoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus, it is possible to suppress the formation of rust on the side plate locking hole and the upper rear-surface locking claw.
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Hereinafter, an air-conditioning apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to drawings.
The outdoor unit 2 includes a housing 11, a compressor 12, a flow passage switching device 13, an outdoor heat exchanger 14, outdoor fans 15, an expansion unit 16, and an electric component box 17 (see
Each of the base plate 31, the fan panel 32, the front lower panel 33, the rear lower panel 34, the front panel 35, the rear panel 36, the fan chamber side panel 37 and the top panel 38 is a plate-like part obtained by molding, with dies, a steel sheet to which rust prevention treatment is applied, such as a PCM steel sheet. Rust prevention treatment is not necessarily applied to the end surfaces of each part forming the housing 11. The respective parts forming the housing 11 are fixed by screws or the like to assemble the housing 11. As will be described later, some parts forming the housing 11 have claw-like parts. The claw-like part is used for temporary fixing when the housing 11 is assembled. In Embodiment 1, temporary fixing indicates simply fixing the respective parts without using a tool or the like. With such an operation, the respective parts can be positioned and hence, the housing 11 can be easily assembled. Rust prevention treatment is not necessarily applied to each claw-like part. The partition plate 39 is a plate-like part that divides the inside of the housing 11 into a fan chamber 21 and a machine chamber 22. The fan chamber 21 is a space where the outdoor fans 15 and the like are housed. The machine chamber 22 is a space where the electric component box 17 and the like are housed.
The compressor 12 suctions refrigerant at low temperature and low pressure, compresses the suctioned refrigerant to form refrigerant at high temperature and high pressure, and then discharges the refrigerant. As shown in
The flow passage switching device 13 switches a flow direction of refrigerant, and may be a four-way valve, for example. During a cooling operation, the flow passage switching device 13 connects the discharge side of the compressor 12 with the outdoor heat exchanger 14, and connects the suction side of the compressor 12 with the indoor heat exchanger 18. During a heating operation, the flow passage switching device 13 connects the discharge side of the compressor 12 with the indoor heat exchanger 18, and connects the suction side of the compressor 12 with the outdoor heat exchanger 14. The flow passage switching device 13 is not limited to the four-way valve. The flow passage switching device 13 may be formed such that a plurality of two-way valves or three-way valves, for example, are combined with each other to provide a function similar to the function of the four-way valve.
(Outdoor heat exchanger 14)
The outdoor heat exchanger 14 performs heat exchange between outdoor air and refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 14. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 may be a fin-and-tube heat exchanger, for example. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 serves as a condenser during the cooling operation, and serves as an evaporator during the heating operation. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 is provided to extend at the side portion and the rear portion of the housing 11 from the lower portion toward the upper portion of the housing 11. Further, the outdoor heat exchanger 14 expands over the side surface at positions on the side of the fan chamber 21 and the rear surface of the housing 11. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 has an L shape as viewed in a top plan view. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 includes a heat exchanger body 91 and a heat exchanger side plate 92 (see
As shown in
The outdoor unit 2 includes two outdoor fans 15. Each outdoor fan 15 is a device that is connected to a motor (not shown in the drawing) and rotates due to the driving of the motor to send outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger 14. As shown in
The expansion unit 16 causes refrigerant to expand, thus reducing the pressure of the refrigerant. The expansion unit 16 may be an electronic expansion valve, for example.
A control unit (not shown in the drawing), a power supply (not shown in the drawing), and the like are accommodated in the electric component box 17. The control unit controls the actions of respective devices accommodated in the outdoor unit 2. The power supply supplies power to the respective devices accommodated in the outdoor unit 2. As shown in
The indoor heat exchanger 18 performs heat exchange between indoor air and refrigerant. The indoor heat exchanger 18 serves as an evaporator during the cooling operation, and serves as a condenser during the heating operation.
The indoor fan 19 is a device that sends indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 18.
Next, the action of the air-conditioning apparatus 1 will be described. First, the cooling operation will be described. Refrigerant is suctioned into and compressed by the compressor 12, and is then discharged in a gaseous state at high temperature and high pressure. The discharged refrigerant passes through the flow passage switching device 13, and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 14. The refrigerant that flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 14 is caused to exchange heat with outdoor air, being a heat medium, thus being condensed. The condensed refrigerant flows into the expansion unit 16 of each indoor unit 3, and is caused to expand by the expansion unit 16, thus reducing the pressure of the refrigerant. The refrigerant reduced in pressure flows into the indoor heat exchanger 18. The refrigerant that flows into the indoor heat exchanger 18 is caused to exchange heat with indoor air, thus being evaporated. At this point of operation, the indoor air is cooled, so that the room is cooled. Thereafter, the evaporated refrigerant passes through the flow passage switching device 13, and is then suctioned into the compressor 12.
Next, the heating operation will be described. Refrigerant is suctioned into and compressed by the compressor 12, and is then discharged in a gaseous state at high temperature and high pressure. The discharged refrigerant passes through the flow passage switching device 13, and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 18 of each indoor unit 3. The refrigerant that flows into the indoor heat exchanger 18 is caused to exchange heat with indoor air, thus being condensed. At this point of operation, the indoor air is heated, so that the room is heated. The condensed refrigerant flows into the expansion unit 16, and is caused to expand by the expansion unit 16, thus reducing the pressure of the refrigerant. The refrigerant reduced in pressure flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 14. The refrigerant that flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 14 is caused to exchange heat with outdoor air, being a heat medium, thus being evaporated. Thereafter, the evaporated refrigerant passes through the flow passage switching device 13, and is then suctioned into the compressor 12.
The base plate 31 is a plate-like part forming the bottom surface of the housing 11. The base plate 31 includes a base edge 41 and leg portions 42. The base edge 41 is the edge portion of the base plate 31, and extends upward. The leg portions 42 are leg-like parts provided at the lowest portion of the base plate 31 to support the load of the entire outdoor unit 2.
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The rear lower locking holes 72 are opening ports formed in the side portion of the side surface of the rear lower panel 34, the side surface being at a position on the side of the machine chamber 22. The front lower locking claws 51 of the front lower panel 33 are inserted into the rear lower locking holes 72. The front lower locking claws 51 are respectively inserted into the rear lower locking holes 72.
As shown in
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As shown in
(Fan Chamber Side Panel 37)
As shown in
In Embodiment 1, the top panel 38 covers the side plate locking hole 93 and the upper rear-surface locking claw 61. Therefore, even when the outdoor unit 2 of the air-conditioning apparatus 1 is exposed to rain water, the rain water impinges on the top panel 38 and hence, moisture is prevented from easily adhering to the side plate locking hole 93 and the upper rear-surface locking claw 61. Accordingly, in the outdoor unit 2 of the air-conditioning apparatus 1, it is possible to suppress the formation of rust on the side plate locking hole 93 and the upper rear-surface locking claw 61.
Further, the formation of rust on the side plate locking hole 93 and the upper rear-surface locking claw 61 is suppressed and hence, a pipe (not shown in the drawing) in the housing 11 is not easily corroded due to rust advancing from the side plate locking hole 93 and the upper rear-surface locking claw 61.
In Embodiment 1, the entire side plate end surface 94 is covered by the rear panel 36. Therefore, even when the housing 11 is exposed to rain water, moisture flowing along the rear panel 36 is prevented from easily adhering to the side plate end surface 94. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the formation of rust on the side plate end surface 94.
In Embodiment 1, the rear panel end surface 65 faces toward the inside of the housing 11. Therefore, the rear panel end surface 65 is prevented from being easily seen when viewed from the rear. Accordingly, even when rust is formed on the rear panel end surface 65, design performance of the rear panel 36 is hardly impaired.
In Embodiment 1, the housing 11 is formed using a steel sheet to which rust prevention treatment is applied. Therefore, by suppressing adhesion of rain water to the end surfaces of the respective parts forming the housing 11 and to the claw-like parts used for temporary fixing, for example, it is also possible to suppress the formation of rust across the entire housing 11. Further, the end surfaces of the respective parts forming the housing 11 and the claw-like parts used for temporary fixing are covered by another part and hence, even when rust is formed, the rust is prevented from being easily seen by a user. Accordingly, the outdoor unit 2 of the air-conditioning apparatus 1 can maintain design performance.
1: air-conditioning apparatus, 2: outdoor unit, 3: indoor unit, 4: refrigerant pipe, 11: housing, 12: compressor, 13: flow passage switching device, 14: outdoor heat exchanger, 15: outdoor fan, 16: expansion unit, 17: electric component box, 18: indoor heat exchanger, 19: indoor fan, 21: fan chamber, 22: machine chamber, 31: base plate, 32: fan panel, 33: front lower panel, 34: rear lower panel, 35: front panel, 36: rear panel, 37: fan chamber side panel, 38: top panel, 39: partition plate, 41: base edge, 42: leg portion, 43: fan cover, 51: front lower locking claw, 52: front locking claw, 61: upper rear-surface locking claw, 62: lower rear-surface locking claw, 63: forward rear-surface locking hole, 64: rearward rear-surface locking hole, 65: rear panel end surface, 66: rear-surface upper screw, 67: rear-surface lower screw, 71:
rear lower locking claw, 72: rear lower locking hole, 81: top surface edge, 91: heat exchanger body, 92: heat exchanger side plate, 93: side plate locking hole, 94: side plate end surface
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2020/007610 | 2/26/2020 | WO |