This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2019/015292 filed on Apr. 8, 2019, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to an outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus and a positioning structure of an electric component box.
In existing air-conditioning apparatuses, the inside of an outdoor unit is partitioned into an air-passage chamber and a machine chamber by a separator. In the air-passage chamber, a fan is provided, and in the machine chamber, a compressor is provided. Furthermore, the outdoor unit includes an electric component box that houses a communication substrate for communication with an indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus and a control substrate for control of components in the outdoor unit. The fan and the compressor are provided on a base plate located on a bottom surface of the outdoor unit, and the electric component box is provided at an upper part of the outdoor unit.
Outdoor units include a given type of outdoor unit in which a claw is provided at a rear side of an electric component box and a window portion formed at a plate of a heat exchanger is hooked to the claw, thereby fixing the electric component box. Furthermore, Patent Literature 1 discloses an outdoor unit having a configuration in which a tongue-piece portion is provided at an electric equipment box that is an electric component box, and the electric equipment box is fixed to part of a heat exchanger that is located on a rear side of the outdoor unit, using the tongue-piece portion.
When an electric component box is set, it is necessary to position the electric component box such that the electric component box is fixed by a fixing mechanism provided on the back side of the electric component box. To be more specific, a worker searches for a set position of the electric component box, while supporting the electric component box with his or her hand. The electric component box houses a communication substrate and a control substrate, and thus has such a weight that the worker cannot easily stably support the electric component box with his or her hands. Therefore, for any of various types of outdoor units, the worker must search for the position where the electric component box is to be set, and the workability of positioning the electric component box is not satisfactory.
The present disclosure is applied to solve the above problem, and relates to an outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus that is improved in workability of positioning an electric component box.
An outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a housing; a heat exchanger provided in the housing; an electric component box provided in the housing; and a separator that partitions an inside of the housing into a first chamber and a second chamber. The separator is provided at a front surface of the heat exchanger. The first chamber and the second chamber are provided side by side in a lateral direction as viewed in a head-on view of the outdoor unit. The electric component box is provided at the front surface of the heat exchanger and above the separator. The outdoor unit includes a first positioning member and a second positioning member. The first positioning member is provided on the electric component box, and determines a position of the electric component box in a vertical direction and a front-rear direction relative to the heat exchanger. The second positioning member is provided on a bottom surface of the electric component, and determines a position of the electric component box in the lateral direction relative to the separator.
In the outdoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the position of the electric component box in the vertical direction and in the front-rear direction relative to the heat exchanger is determined by the first positioning member, and the position of the electric component box in the lateral direction relative to the separator is determined by the second positioning member. In other words, the accuracy of positioning of the electric component box is improved. Accordingly, the workability at the time of setting the electric component box at the outdoor unit is improved.
Embodiments of an outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The descriptions concerning the embodiments are not limiting, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the present disclosure covers all combinations of combinable ones of configurations described below regarding the embodiments. The outdoor units of the air-conditioning apparatuses as illustrated in the figures are merely examples of outdoor units of air-conditioning apparatuses according to the present disclosure, and illustration of the outdoor units of the air-conditioning apparatuses in the figures is not limiting. Furthermore, in the following description, in order that the embodiments be easily understood, terms related to directions (such as “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, front”, and “rear”) are used as appropriate. However, these terms are used only for explanation, that is, they do not limit the embodiments. In addition, in each of the figures, components that are the same as or equivalent to those in a previous figure or figures are denoted by the same reference signs, and the same is true of the entire text of the present specification. In the figures, relative relationships in size or shape between components may be different from those of actual components.
The upper fan 31 and the lower fan 32 are provided in the air-passage chamber 1B. Each of the upper fan 31 and the lower fan 32 is a propeller fan. In the air-passage chamber 1B, a fan-motor fixing metal plate 30 is provided. The fan-motor fixing metal plate 30 is fixed to a base 70 provided at a bottom portion of the outdoor unit 1. A motor of the upper fan 31 and a motor of the lower fan 32 are fixed to the fan-motor fixing metal plate 30. The upper fan 31 is provided at the upper portion of the outdoor unit 1, and the lower fan 32 is provided at a lower portion of the outdoor unit 1. The compressor 20 is provided in the machine chamber 1A. The compressor 20 is provided at the base 70. The upper and lower fans 31 and 32 and the compressor 20 are provided side by side in the lateral direction as viewed in the head-on view of the outdoor unit 1.
The heat exchanger 40 has a function of causing heat exchange to be performed between refrigerant and air that is supplied by driving the upper and lower fans 31 and 32. The heat exchanger 40 is L-shaped as viewed in plan view, and is located at the rear surface and at the left side surface as viewed in the head-on view of the outdoor unit 1. The heat exchanger 40 is provided on the base 70.
The electric component box 50 is a box-shaped member having a substantially cuboid shape as a whole. The electric component box 50 houses a control substrate that controls components provided in the outdoor unit 1, and a communication substrate for use in communication between the outdoor unit 1 and an indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus. The electric component box 50 is provided at the front surface of the heat exchanger 40 and above the separator 60.
A first positioning member 101 is provided at the top surface portion 51 of the electric component box 50. The first positioning member 101 includes a first plate portion 101A and a second plate portion 101B. The first plate portion 101A is in contact with the top surface portion 51 of the electric component box 50, and extends in a direction away from the electric component box 50 along a direction from the front surface portion 52 toward the rear surface portion 53. The second plate portion 101B intersects the first plate portion 101A at a right angle, and extends downward. As illustrated in
The first plate portion 101A is fixed to the electric component box 50 by a fixing member such as a screw not illustrated. The first positioning member 101 can be detached from the electric component box 50 by detaching the fixing member that fixes the first plate portion 101A. In other words, the first positioning member 101 is detachably attached to the electric component box 50.
A second positioning member 102 is provided on the bottom surface portion 54 of the electric component box 50. The second positioning member 102 is a plate member. As illustrated in
At the bottom surface portion 54 of the electric component box 50, the second positioning member 102 is provided closer to the front surface portion 52 than to the rear surface portion 53.
The second positioning member 102 may be formed integrally with the bottom surface portion 54. Alternatively, the second positioning member 102 may be formed separate from the electric component box 50 and fixed to the bottom surface portion 54 by, for example, a screw or an adhesive.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As described above, at the bottom surface portion 54, the second positioning member 102 is located apart from the left side portion 56 by the distance L2 slightly greater than the thickness of the separator 60. Thus, when the electric component box 50 is positioned in the lateral direction by the second positioning member 102, a surface of the left side portion 56 of the electric component box 50 that is closer to the air-passage chamber 1B and a surface of the first surface 60A of the separator 60 that is closer to the air-passage chamber 1B are substantially flush with each other. That is, when the electric component box 50 is positioned by the second positioning member 102, the left side portion 56 of the electric component box 50 partitions together with the separator 60 the inside of the housing 10 into the machine chamber 1A and the air-passage chamber 1B.
The electric component box 50 is provided in the outdoor unit 1 in the following manner. As illustrated in
According to Embodiment 1, the electric component box 50 is easily positioned by the first positioning member 101 and the second positioning member 102 in the above temporarily fixing step before the electric component box 50 is fixed. That is, it is possible to improve a positioning accuracy in the case where the electric component box 50 is temporarily fixed. Therefore, the workability at the time of setting the electric component box 50 at the outdoor unit 1 is improved.
According to Embodiment 1, the gap is provided between the second plate portion 101B of the first positioning member 101 and the rear surface portion 53 of the electric component box 50. In the temporarily fixing step before the electric component box 50 is fixed, a worker is required to position the upper end of the heat exchanger 40 relative to the gap between the second plate portion 101B and the rear surface portion 53 and then insert the upper end of the heat exchanger 40 into the gap. More specifically, the worker roughly positions the electric component box 50 such that the electric component box 50 is located above the heat exchanger 40, and moves the electric component box 50 downward toward the heat exchanger 40. Next, the worker finely adjusts the position of the electric component box 50 in the front-back direction, with the second plate portion 101B kept in contact with the upper end of the heat exchanger 40. Thus, the worker can insert the upper end of the heat exchanger 40 into the gap between the second plate portion 101B and the rear surface portion 53. That is, the worker does not need to view the rear surface of the electric component box 50, and can easily temporarily fix the electric component box 50 only with his or her feeling at hand.
According to Embodiment 1, during work in which the electric component box 50 is fixed by the first positioning member 101 and the second positioning member 102 by, for example, screws, displacement of the electric component box 50 from the position where the electric component box 50 is temporarily fixed is reduced. It is therefore stably fix the electric component box 50, thereby improving the workability at the time of setting the electric component box 50 at the outdoor unit 1.
According to Embodiment 1, the electric component box 50 is set on the separator 60 while temporarily fixed by the first positioning member 101 and the second positioning member 102. Therefore, it is possible to stably support the electric component box 50 during the work.
According to Embodiment 1, the electric component box 50 is held in the vertical direction by the first plate portion 101A of the first positioning member 101 and the separator 60. It is therefore possible to prevent the electric component box 50 from falling during the work.
According to Embodiment 1, at the bottom surface portion 54 of the electric component box 50, the second positioning member 102 is provided closer to the front surface portion 52 than to the rear surface portion 53. Therefore, the worker can bring the second positioning member 102 into contact with the separator 60 while viewing the second positioning member 102 from the front side of the outdoor unit 1, thus easily doing the work.
The first positioning member 101 is subjected to the adhesion bending process. Therefore, even if the first positioning member 101 comes into contact with another component or portion when the electric component box 50 is temporarily fixed and when the first positioning member 101 is detached, the possibility that the above other component or portion will be cut by the first positioning member 101 is reduced.
Regarding Embodiment 1, the work of temporarily fixing the electric component box 50 is described above; however, it is an example of the work to be done in Embodiment 1. That is, the work to be done in Embodiment 1 is not limited to the work of temporarily fixing the electric component box 50. Also, in work of repairing the outdoor unit 1 or maintenance work for the outdoor unit 1, that is, maintenance or repair service after installation of the outdoor unit 1, the same advantages as described above are obtained.
In Embodiment 2, two claws 110 are provided at the first surface 60A of the separator 60. Each of the claws 110 is formed by cutting part of the first surface 60A and raising the cut part toward the machine chamber 1A. The two claws 110 are provided side by side in the front-back direction at the first surface 60A. In addition, two openings 120 are provided in the second positioning member 102 of the electric component box 50. The two openings 120 are located side by side in the front-rear direction at the second positioning member 102. The distance between the two claws 110 in the front-back direction is nearly equal to that between the two openings 120 in the front-rear direction.
According to Embodiment 2, displacement of the electric component box 50 in the vertical direction and in the front-rear direction is reduced by engagement of the claws 110 with the openings 120. Thus, the electric component box 50 is temporarily fixed with a higher reliability.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2019/015292 | 4/8/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/208675 | 10/15/2020 | WO | A |
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20100294466 | Shimaoka | Nov 2010 | A1 |
20180372344 | Abukawa et al. | Dec 2018 | A1 |
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Entry |
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Office Action dated Dec. 28, 2022 issued in corresponding CN patent application No. 201980093933.0 (and English machine translation). |
International Search Report dated May 14, 2019, issued in corresponding International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2019/015292 (and English Machine Translation). |
Examination Report dated May 9, 2022 issued in corresponding AU Patent Application No. 2019445121. |
Office Action dated May 31, 2022 issued in corresponding CN Patent Application No. 201980093933.0 (and English translation). |
Office Action dated Jul. 15, 2023 issued in corresponding CN patent application No. 201980093933.0 (and English translation). |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220128247 A1 | Apr 2022 | US |