The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioning device. In further detail, the present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioning device in which a structure of a bottom plate of a casing of the outdoor unit is improved.
An outdoor unit of an air conditioning device is generally formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, in which a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and the like are accommodated in a casing including a top plate, side plates, and a bottom plate manufactured by a steel plate.
In such an outdoor unit of a type in which an outdoor heat exchanger is mounted on a bottom plate, it is known that in order to efficiently discharge a drainage fluid dropped after frost attached to fins of the outdoor heat exchanger is melted at the time of defrosting to an exterior, drainage holes are formed in the bottom plate under the outdoor heat exchanger (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2). In the outdoor unit described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, supplementary drainage holes for discharging a drainage fluid incapable of being discharged through the discharge holes under the outdoor heat exchanger are formed in a bottom plate part not under the outdoor heat exchanger.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-300131
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-071531
When the drainage holes of the drainage fluid are provided at positions away from a point where the drainage fluid generated at the time of defrosting is dropped (positions under fins of the outdoor heat exchanger), there is a fear that the drainage fluid is frozen again while the drainage fluid dropped from the fins of the outdoor heat exchanger is reaching the drainage holes. Thus, the drainage holes are desirably concentrated under the outdoor heat exchanger.
As a method of concentrating the drainage holes under the outdoor heat exchanger, it is thought to increase an area of the drainage holes as far as possible. However, with this method, there is a problem that strength of the bottom plate is lowered.
The present invention is achieved in consideration with the situation described above, and an objective thereof is to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioning device capable of increasing an opening area for discharging a drainage fluid under a heat exchanger while ensuring strength of a bottom plate.
(1) An outdoor unit of an air conditioning device (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the “outdoor unit”) of the present invention is an outdoor unit of an air conditioning device in which a heat exchanger is arranged in a bottom plate in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape casing including a top plate, side plates, and the bottom plate, wherein the heat exchanger is mounted on a plurality of expanded portions formed in the bottom plate,
a first drainage hole through which a drainage fluid from the heat exchanger is discharged to an exterior is formed in each of the expanded portions, and
a second drainage hole smaller than the first drainage hole is formed in the bottom plate under the heat exchanger excluding the expanded portions.
In the outdoor unit of the present invention, the heat exchanger is mounted on the plurality of expanded portions formed in the bottom plate forming the casing. The first drainage hole through which the drainage fluid is discharged to the exterior is formed in each of the expanded portions on which the heat exchanger is mounted, and the second drainage hole smaller than the first drainage hole is formed in the bottom plate under the heat exchanger excluding the expanded portions. Thus, the drainage fluid dropped from fins of the heat exchanger at the time of defrosting can be efficiently discharged from the drainage hole to the exterior. The first drainage hole is formed in the expanded portion whose strength is increased. Thus, an opening area thereof can be larger, so that discharge efficiency of the drainage fluid can be improved.
The first drainage hole and the second drainage hole are formed under the heat exchanger. Thus, the drainage fluid from the heat exchanger can be promptly discharged to the exterior, so as to avoid a problem that “the drainage fluid is frozen again” as in a case where a drainage fluid is discharged from a drainage hole formed at a point away from a position under a heat exchanger.
(2) In the above outdoor unit of (1), the second drainage hole may be formed between the adjacent expanded portions. In this case, the drainage fluid not discharged from the first drainage hole which is formed in the expanded portion can be promptly discharged from the second drainage hole to the exterior.
(3) In the above outdoor unit of (1) or (2), preferably, the first drainage hole is formed at a position close to the windward side of an airflow passing through the heat exchanger. Frost is often attached to the fins on the windward side of the heat exchanger. By forming the first drainage hole at the position close to the windward side of the airflow passing through the heat exchanger in the expanded portion, the drainage fluid can be efficiently discharged to the exterior.
(4) In the above outdoor unit of (1) to (3), the expanded portions may be formed in a long circle shape and arranged at predetermined intervals along a planar shape of the heat exchanger.
(5) In the above outdoor unit of (4), the first drainage hole may be a long hole, and may be formed in each of the expanded portions in such a manner that a long axis of the long hole is along the longitudinal direction of the expanded portion.
According to the outdoor unit of the air conditioning device of the present invention, the opening area for discharging the drainage fluid under the heat exchanger can be increased while ensuring strength of the bottom plate.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an outdoor unit of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
In the outdoor unit 2, compressors 11, a four way valve 12, an outdoor heat exchanger 13, an outdoor expansion valve 14, fans 23, and the like are provided. In the indoor unit 3, an indoor expansion valve 15, an indoor heat exchanger 16, and the like are provided. The four way valve 12 and the indoor heat exchanger 16 are connected by a gas side refrigerant communication pipe 17a, and the outdoor expansion valve 14 and the indoor expansion valve 15 are connected by a liquid side refrigerant communication pipe 17b. A gas side stop valve 18 and a liquid side stop valve 19 are provided in terminal portions of the inside refrigerant circuit of the outdoor unit 2. The gas side stop valve 18 is arranged on the side of the four way valve 12, and the liquid side stop valve 19 is arranged on the side of the outdoor expansion valve 14. The gas side refrigerant communication pipe 17a is connected to the gas side stop valve 18, and the liquid side refrigerant communication pipe 17b is connected to the liquid side stop valve 19.
In the outdoor unit 2 of the present embodiment, the two compressors 11 are provided in parallel. The two compressors 11 may be combination of a variable-capacity inverter compressor for performing speed control by an inverter and a constant-capacity compressor of constant capacity for performing on-off control, or may be combination of two inverter compressors having the same capacity or different capacities or combination of two constant-capacity compressors.
In a case where a cooling operation is performed in the air conditioning device 1 with the above configuration, the four way valve 12 is retained in a state shown by solid lines in
Meanwhile, in a case where a heating operation is performed, the four way valve 12 is retained in a state shown by broken lines in
The outdoor unit 2 has a casing 22, and the outdoor heat exchanger 13 arranged along side surfaces of this casing 22. The casing 22 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by a steel plate or the like, and includes a bottom plate 30, a top plate 31, support pillars 32, lateral members 33a to 33d, side plates 44, 54, and 55, and the like.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Two support bases 41 are bridged side by side in the left and right direction between the front lateral member 33c and the rear lateral member 33d. Motors 23a of the fans 23 are supported on the support bases 41. As shown in
As shown in
The outdoor heat exchanger 13 is bent in a substantially square shape along the four side surfaces of the casing 22. Specifically, the outdoor heat exchanger 13 has a front heat exchange portion 50 along the side surface on the front side of the casing 22 (front surface), a right heat exchange portion 51 along the side surface on the right side, a rear heat exchange portion 52 along the side surface on the rear side (rear surface), and a left heat exchange portion 53 along the side surface on the left side. A part between the front heat exchange portion 50 and the right heat exchange portion 51, a part between the right heat exchange portion 51 and the rear heat exchange portion 52, and a part between the rear heat exchange portion 52 and the left heat exchange portion 53 are bent at 90 degrees or at an angle close to 90 degrees. In the present embodiment, a left end of the front heat exchange portion 50 forms the one side end portion 13a of the outdoor heat exchanger 13, and a front end of the left heat exchange portion 53 forms the other side end portion 13b.
The front heat exchange portion 50 is provided along a substantially right half range in the front surface of the casing 22. The left heat exchange portion 53 is provided along a substantially rear half range in the left side surface of the casing 22. Therefore, between the one side end portion 13a of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and the other side end portion 13b, that is, in a left half of the front surface of the casing 22 and a front half of the left side surface, an opening portion 20 where the outdoor heat exchanger 13 does not exist is formed.
As shown in
As shown in
The devices such as the compressors 11 and the valves arranged inside the casing 22 are subjected to regular inspection and maintenance, and these tasks can be performed via the opening portion 20. A replacement task of the devices arranged in the casing 22 can also be performed via the opening portion 20. At the time of performing these tasks, when a tool to be used for the maintenance or the like and the devices and the like to be replaced are brought into contact with the U shape tubes 48a protruding from the side end portion 13a of the outdoor heat exchanger 13, there is a fear that the U shape tubes 48a are damaged. Thus, the cover member 21 for covering the U shape tubes 48a is provided in the outdoor unit 2 of the present embodiment, and the U shape tubes 48a are protected by this cover member 21.
The outdoor unit 2 of the present invention is characterized by a structure of the bottom plate 30 forming the above casing 22.
As described above, the bottom plate 30 is formed in a square shape in a plan view and in particular, an oblong shape elongated in the left and right direction, and can be manufactured by pressing a steel plate. A plurality of expanded portions 60, specifically fourteen expanded portions 60 are formed in a peripheral edge portion of the bottom plate 30 to match a planar shape of the outdoor heat exchanger 13. The expanded portions 60 are not formed over the entire side length of all the four sides of the bottom plate 30. However, the expanded portions are arranged along at least a part of each of the sides. In the example shown in
Meanwhile, in a center part of the bottom plate 30, convex portions 61 for mounting the devices such as the compressors 11 and the accumulator 45 to be arranged in the space surrounded by the outdoor heat exchanger 13, and band shape recessed portions 62 for reinforcement are formed by pressing as well as the expanded portions 60. Positions and shapes of the convex portions 61 and the band shape recessed portions 62 can be appropriately selected in accordance with arrangement points of the devices such as the compressors 1, strength required in the bottom plate 30, or the like.
The expanded portions 60 in the present embodiment have small expanded portions 60a having a small mount area, and large expanded portions 60b having a larger mount area than that of the small expanded portions 60a. Both the small expanded portions 60a and the large expanded portions 60b are formed in a long circle shape. One long hole 63 is formed in each of the small expanded portions 60a, and two long holes 63 are formed in each of the large expanded portions 60b. The long holes 63 function as drainage holes (first drainage holes) through which a drainage fluid dropped after frost attached to the fins of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is melted at the time of defrosting is directly discharged to an exterior. Any of the long holes 63 is formed in such a manner that a long axis thereof is along the longitudinal direction of the small expanded portion 60a and the large expanded portion 60b. The two long holes 63 formed in the large expanded portion 60b are continuously formed while having a predetermined gap between the long holes along the longitudinal direction of the large expanded portion 60b.
The long holes 63 serving as drainage fluid discharge holes are formed in the expanded portions 60 on which the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is mounted, that is, formed under the outdoor heat exchanger 13. Thus, the drainage fluid can be efficiently discharged from the long holes 63 to the exterior. Furthermore, through the long holes 63, the drainage fluid is not discharged to the exterior via a drainage tube or the like but the drainage fluid can be “directly” discharged to the exterior. Thus, the drainage fluid dropped from the fins of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is not frozen again on an inner surface of the bottom plate 30 or in the drainage tube before being discharged to the exterior.
In the present embodiment, one pair of large expanded portions 60b is arranged closely to each other in each of three corner portions among four corner portions of the bottom plate 30 (in the example shown in
The expanded portions 60 can increase strength against a load in comparison to a case where no expanded portions are formed. Thus, an area of the long holes 63 formed in the expanded portions 60 can be increased. Thereby, the drainage fluid from the outdoor heat exchanger 13 can be efficiently discharged to the exterior.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, circular holes 65 (second drainage holes) serving as supplementary discharge holes are formed between the expanded portion 60 and the expanded portion 60 adjacent to each other, and before the first expanded portion 60-f and after the last expanded portion 60-e among the series of expanded portions 60 arranged in a line form. In other words, the circular holes 65 are formed on both sides of the expanded portion 60 with respect to the longitudinal direction of the expanded portion 60.
The circular holes 65 are formed in a bottom portion 66a of a groove 66 formed in the peripheral edge portion of the bottom plate 30 so as to be along an outer shape of the bottom plate 30 and under the outdoor heat exchanger 13. As shown in
Through the circular holes 65, a drainage fluid not discharged from the long holes 63 to the exterior but flowing into the groove 66 of the drainage fluid dropped from the fins of the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is discharged to the exterior. At the time, as shown in
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but can be variously changed within the scope described in the claims. For example, the first drainage holes are long holes and the second drainage holes are circular holes in the above embodiment. However, as long as the drainage fluid can be discharged, a shape of the drainage holes is not particularly limited. For example, the first drainage holes can be circular holes and the second drainage holes can be long holes. Further the holes can also be formed, for example in a polygonal shape other than the long holes and the circular holes.
Although a shape of the expanded portions on which the outdoor heat exchanger is mounted is a long circle shape in the above embodiment, the shape may be other shapes such as a rectangular shape.
The outdoor heat exchanger is arranged so as to substantially face the four side plates of the casing in the above embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this but the present invention can also be applied to an outdoor unit of a type in which an outdoor heat exchanger is arranged so as to face only one side plate, two side plates, or three side plates of a casing. In these cases, an effect of increasing the opening area for discharging the drainage fluid under the heat exchanger while ensuring strength of the bottom plate can be exerted.
1: AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE
2: OUTDOOR UNIT
3: INDOOR UNIT
10: REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT
11: COMPRESSOR
13: OUTDOOR HEAT EXCHANGER
22: CASING
30: BOTTOM PLATE
31: TOP PLATE
32: SUPPORT PILLAR
33
a to 33d: LATERAL MEMBER
35: VENTILATING HOLE
36: GRILLE
60: EXPANDED PORTION
61: CONVEX PORTION
62: BAND SHAPE RECESSED PORTION
63: LONG HOLE (FIRST DRAINAGE HOLE)
65: CIRCULAR HOLE (SECOND DRAINAGE HOLE)
66: GROOVE
66
a: BOTTOM PORTION
67: FLANGE PORTION
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2011-261105 | Nov 2011 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2012/079085 | 11/9/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/29/2014 |