JP2008128496A - Air conditioner outdoor unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To realize downsizing and noise reduction of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.
An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention has a heat exchanger 5 housed in a housing 3 having a rectangular horizontal section, and a cylindrical shape that is disposed on the top of the housing and houses an axial fan 9. The heat exchanger 5 is formed so that the horizontal cross section is substantially U-shaped symmetrically along the opening formed on the three side walls of the housing, and when projected from above, the shroud 7 Is located between the U-shaped facing surfaces of the heat exchanger and spaced apart from the U-shaped facing surfaces, and the axial center of the axial fan 9 is the wall surface of each housing in the U-shaped facing surface direction. The separation dimension of the part where the air flow formed in the space surrounded by the heat exchanger 5 turns and exits toward the opening side of the heat exchanger is larger than the separation dimension of the other part. It is characterized by being located as follows.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

  As an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, for example, a heat exchanger is housed in a housing whose horizontal cross section is formed in a rectangular shape, air is sucked from three sides of the housing, and heat is exchanged by the heat exchanger. 2. Description of the Related Art An upper blowing type outdoor unit configured to blow out heat-exchanged air from an axial fan connected to an upper portion of a housing is known.

  In this upper blow-out type outdoor unit, for example, an opening serving as an air suction port is provided on the three side surfaces of the housing, and a heat exchanger is arranged so that the horizontal cross section is substantially U-shaped facing the open side surface. It is installed. A cylindrical shroud is provided in the upper part of the housing, and an axial fan is accommodated in the shroud. Furthermore, an electric box or the like for storing electric components such as a compressor, an inverter, and a control board is provided in the casing. The outdoor unit configured as described above is connected to a plurality of indoor units through refrigerant piping.

  By the way, in an air conditioner for a building or a store, since outdoor units are generally installed on the roof of a building or between buildings, an outdoor unit with as low noise as possible is required. On the other hand, in cities where buildings are densely populated, the space for outdoor units is limited, so downsizing of outdoor units is required. Further, when the capacity of the outdoor unit is reduced, it can be put on a truck or the like, so that the transportability is improved and the installation work is facilitated.

  On the other hand, for example, a first heat exchanger having a U-shaped horizontal section is arranged in the housing, and a panel-like second heat exchanger is provided on the side surface of the housing which is the opening side of the first heat exchanger. An outdoor unit is disclosed in which the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger is improved in a limited volume (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a heat exchanger having a U-shaped horizontal cross section is arranged in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing so that the outer diameter of the axial fan provided at the top of the casing is substantially the same as the dimension in the short direction of the casing. An outdoor unit has been disclosed that can be reduced in size by increasing the amount of blown air (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-254565 A JP 2004-156872 A

  As described above, in the conventional outdoor unit, the performance of the outdoor unit is improved by increasing the heat exchange area or increasing the outer diameter of the axial fan within the limited housing volume and installation area. In order to achieve miniaturization and low noise.

  However, according to Patent Document 1, since the second heat exchanger is required in addition to the first heat exchanger, the configuration of the outdoor unit becomes complicated, and for example, there is a possibility that the maintainability may be reduced. is there. Further, according to Patent Document 2, since it is necessary to increase the diameter of the axial fan from the size of the outdoor unit to the maximum allowable size, the cost may increase in terms of design and manufacturing. In this respect, it is necessary to find a new technology that can realize space saving and noise reduction in the outdoor unit.

  An object of the present invention is to achieve downsizing and noise reduction of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

  An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention includes a housing having a rectangular horizontal section, a heat exchanger housed in the housing, a cylindrical shroud disposed on an upper portion of the housing and housing an axial fan. An air conditioner outdoor unit equipped with a heat exchanger, the horizontal section of which is symmetrically formed in a substantially U shape along the opening surface formed on the three side walls of the casing, and projected from above In this case, the shroud is located between the U-shaped facing surfaces of the heat exchanger and is spaced apart from the U-shaped facing surfaces, and the axial center of the axial fan is located in each case in the U-shaped facing surface direction. The separation dimension of the wall of the heat exchanger is different, and the separation dimension of the part where the air flow formed in the space surrounded by the heat exchanger swirls out to the opening side of the heat exchanger is larger than the separation dimension of the other part It is characterized by being positioned to be larger.

  The present inventors conduct a flow analysis on the air flow in the housing, and shift the axial center position in any direction from the center between the U-shaped facing surfaces in the direction of the U-shaped facing surface of the heat exchanger. It has been found that the flow resistance of the air flowing through the heat exchanger through the heat exchanger decreases, and the ventilation rate of the outdoor unit increases.

  That is, with the outdoor unit projected from above, for example, with an axial fan that rotates counterclockwise, with the opening side of the heat exchanger down, the axial center position is in the right direction from the center between the U-shaped facing surfaces. When the air moves upward, the air that rises by turning counterclockwise in the casing passes through the space formed on the left side of the center between the U-shaped opposed surfaces, and the interval between the fluxes becomes large, and the ventilation resistance is reduced. Decrease. Therefore, by shifting the axial center position in a predetermined direction corresponding to the rotational direction of the axial fan, the degree of negative pressure in the housing accompanying the decrease in ventilation resistance can be increased, and the outdoor The air flow of the machine can be increased.

  Further, since the heat exchange efficiency is improved by increasing the ventilation rate of the outdoor unit, for example, it is possible to reduce the noise by suppressing the fan rotation speed, or to reduce the size while maintaining the performance of the outdoor unit. In addition, the same effect can be acquired irrespective of the rotation direction of a fan by moving an axial center position to a predetermined direction between U-shaped opposing surfaces according to the rotation direction of an axial fan.

  In this case, when the heat exchanger is projected from above, the length from the bent portion to the end portion with the larger separation dimension of the U-shaped facing surface may be longer than the other length. In this way, by increasing the length of the heat exchanger that faces the space where the ventilation resistance decreases, the ventilation resistance can be reduced and the ventilation volume can be increased, so the noise and size of the outdoor unit can be reduced. Can be realized.

  Furthermore, the electric box housed in the housing is arranged outside the space surrounded by the heat exchanger when projected from above, on the opening side of the heat exchanger, and in the direction of the U-shaped facing surface of the heat exchanger You may make it arrange | position by shifting to the one where a space | interval dimension is smaller than the center of the width | variety of this housing | casing. According to this, the air ventilation resistance can be reduced in the space with the larger separation dimension in the housing and the collision of the air with the electric box can be suppressed. Noise reduction and miniaturization can be realized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, size reduction and noise reduction of the outdoor unit of an air conditioner are realizable.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram in which an outdoor unit to which the present invention is applied is projected from above. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an outdoor unit to which the present invention is applied as viewed from the front side.

  The outdoor unit 1 of the present embodiment constitutes an air conditioner, and is installed, for example, on the roof of a building and connected to the outdoor unit via a refrigerant pipe.

  The outdoor unit 1 includes a housing 3, a heat exchanger 5 housed in the housing 3, a shroud 7 formed by being connected to the upper portion of the housing 3, and an axial fan housed in the shroud 7. 9 and. The housing 3 includes a rectangular bottom base plate 11, a front plate 13, a rear plate 15, and a pair of side plates 17. The rear plate 15 and the side plate 17 are formed with air inlets through which air flows. Two clamp members 19 are bridged by connecting both ends to the upper end surfaces of the front plate 13 and the rear plate 15. A flat plate 21 is supported on the clamp member 19, and the axial fan 9 is connected to the flat plate 21. On the base plate 11, tanks 23 including a compressor are installed.

  The shroud 7 includes a frame body 25 having a rectangular horizontal section formed by extending the four surfaces of the housing (front plate 13, rear plate 15, and a pair of side plates 17) upward, and the frame body upward. There are provided a connecting portion 27 formed by constricting in the shape of a transverse cross section R and a cylindrical body 29 having a circular horizontal cross section formed so as to extend above the connecting portion. The axial fan 9 is configured by connecting a propeller fan 33 to a rotational drive shaft of a fan motor 31. The propeller fan 33 is disposed at a height position of the cylindrical body 29, and a rotation shaft is disposed coaxially with the cylindrical body 20. Hereinafter, when the arrangement of the shroud 7 is described, the position of the cylindrical body 29 is meant.

  In addition, an electrical box 35 having a rectangular horizontal cross section is accommodated in the housing 3, and the electrical box 35 has a predetermined height from the bottom base 11 so as to face the front plate 13 and the one side plate 17. Arranged in position. When the outdoor unit 1 is projected from above, the electric box 35 is disposed outside the space surrounded by the heat exchanger and on the opening side of the heat exchanger. The electrical box 25 houses electrical components such as an inverter and a control board.

  The heat exchanger 5 is formed by bending the horizontal section symmetrically in a U shape so as to face the air suction ports of the rear plate 15 and the pair of side plates 17, and extends in the vertical direction of the housing 3. Has been placed. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the outdoor unit is projected from above, the heat exchanger 5 is arranged with the opening side of the heat exchanger 5 positioned on the front plate 13 of the housing 3, that is, the front side. Yes. Moreover, although the heat exchanger 5 is formed by bending an integrated heat exchanger, the heat exchanger 5 is not limited to this, and may be formed by connecting separate heat exchangers with refrigerant pipes. Furthermore, the heat exchanger 5 may be bent at a predetermined obtuse angle or may be bent at a right angle as in this embodiment.

  Here, the shroud 7 is disposed between the U-shaped facing surfaces (5a, 5b) of the heat exchanger 5, and the outer peripheral surface of the shroud 7 is provided separately from the U-shaped facing surface. The axial fan 9 is set to rotate counterclockwise (rotation direction arrow 37) in FIG. 1 (hereinafter, the fan rotation direction is defined based on FIG. 1). Further, in the U-shaped facing direction of the heat exchanger, the axial center 41 of the axial fan is a dimension between the axial center and the left side surface 17 with respect to the width dimension W of the housing 3 when the outdoor unit is viewed from the front side. W1, the dimension W2 between the axis center and the right side surface 17 is shifted by a predetermined amount to the right from the position where W1> W2, that is, the center position of the width dimension W of the housing 3.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described focusing on the air flow.

  In the present embodiment, during the operation of the outdoor unit, the axial fan 9 is driven to rotate, so that air flows through the air suction ports provided on the three surfaces (the rear plate 15 and the pair of side plates 17) of the casing. Inhaled into the housing. The air sucked into the housing passes through the heat exchanger 5 provided opposite to the air suction port and is heat-exchanged. The heat-exchanged air flows upward in the housing while turning. The air is blown out from the air outlet 39 by the axial fan 9.

  Here, in order to easily understand the operation of the present embodiment, the relationship between the arrangement of the electric box of the outdoor unit and the air volume will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The outdoor unit to be evaluated has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 1 except that, when projected from above, the shroud is arranged at the center of the casing and the arrangement of the electric box is changed. Further, the rotational direction of the axial fan is set counterclockwise, and the rotational speed is arbitrarily set. In addition, arrangement | positioning of the electric box of a figure has shown arrangement | positioning when an outdoor unit is seen from the front side.

  The layout of this electric box is as follows: (1) When the horizontal placement is the standard, (2) The vertical placement on the right increases the air volume (blowing volume per unit time) by about 6%, and (3) The vertical placement on the left The air volume increases by about 2%. This is because the ventilation resistance of the air flowing in the housing differs depending on the arrangement of the electric box. When the electric box is placed horizontally, most of the air rising in the housing collides with the electric box protruding inward from the front plate, and thus the ventilation resistance increases. On the other hand, when arranged vertically, the ratio of the air colliding with the electric box is smaller than in the horizontal position, so that the ventilation resistance is reduced. Further, the difference in the air volume between the vertical arrangement on the right side and the left side is caused by the rotation direction of the fan. In other words, when the fan rotates counterclockwise, in the case of the right side arrangement, the air sucked from the side plate and the rear plate swirls so as to swirl in the rotation direction of the fan, and rises without colliding with the electric box. On the other hand, in the case of the left side arrangement, the air sucked from the side plate or the rear plate easily collides with the electric box depending on the turning direction.

  From this, it can be seen that in order to reduce the ventilation resistance of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, there is a close relationship particularly between the configuration in the housing and the rotation direction of the fan.

  In FIG. 5, the result of having compared the air volume about the outdoor unit which applied the characteristic technique of the conventional outdoor unit and this invention is shown. Here, in the conventional outdoor unit, as shown in FIG. 8, the axial center 41 of the axial fan is arranged in the center with respect to the lateral width direction of the casing (W1 = W2). In the embodiment of the outdoor unit of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the axial center 41 of the axial fan is shifted from the center in the lateral width direction of the housing to the right side (W = 1, W1 = 0.54, W2 = 0.46). Further, the fan rotation speeds are all set counterclockwise, and the rotation speed is arbitrarily fixed. As a result, according to the configuration of the outdoor unit of the present embodiment, it was confirmed that the air volume increased by about 2.2% compared to the conventional outdoor unit.

  Here, FIG. 3 shows the air flow when the outdoor unit of the present embodiment is projected from above, and FIG. 4 shows the air flow when the conventional outdoor unit is projected from above. The dotted line in the figure represents the airflow flowing through the housing 3, and the solid line represents the airflow flowing through the shroud 7. In any outdoor unit, since the electric box 35 is arranged on the right side, the air that has passed through the heat exchanger 5 swirls counterclockwise in the direction of the arrow 43, and does not collide with the electric box 35. To rise.

  Here, when the air flows of both outdoor units are compared focusing on part A, the flux interval in FIG. 3 is wider than the flux interval in FIG. 4. That is, in the present embodiment, the axial center 41 of the axial fan is made to correspond to the rotational direction of the axial fan, rather than the center in the width direction of the casing, that is, the center between the U-shaped opposing surfaces of the heat exchanger 5. When the air swirling counterclockwise in the space surrounded by the substantially U-shaped heat exchanger flows in the space of the A part on the left side of the center between the U-shaped opposed surfaces because it is shifted to the right , The resistance to flow decreases. The increase of 2.2% in the air volume in FIG. 5 is an effect accompanying the decrease in the ventilation resistance.

  In this way, by actively forming a space area in the housing that reduces the ventilation resistance in correspondence with the rotational direction of the axial fan, the degree of negative pressure in the housing increases, and the amount of ventilation of the outdoor unit Can be increased. And, by increasing the ventilation rate of the outdoor unit and improving the heat exchange efficiency, for example, it is possible to reduce the noise by suppressing the number of fan rotations, and to reduce the size while maintaining the performance of the outdoor unit be able to.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral surface of the shroud 7 is provided separately from the U-shaped facing surface. In this way, by not providing the shroud 7 with the region overlapping the heat exchanger 5, the above-described effect of reducing the ventilation resistance can be exhibited over the entire outer periphery of the shroud 7. As a result, the amount of ventilation is increased. Can bring.

  In the present embodiment, the position of the axial center 41 of the axial fan is defined as a predetermined position in the direction of the U-shaped facing surface of the heat exchanger 5, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. As long as it does not deviate from the above, it can be determined appropriately depending on, for example, the number of fan rotations, housing dimensions, heat exchanger dimensions and the like.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since it is only necessary to change the position of the axial center 41 of the axial fan, for example, there is no need to change the fan shape or add a new heat exchanger, which is economical. is there.

  In this embodiment, the example in which the rotational direction of the axial fan is counterclockwise has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the rotational direction is clockwise, the shaft of the axial fan is The same effect can be obtained if the center 41 is shifted to the left by a predetermined amount from the center between the U-shaped opposing surfaces of the heat exchanger 5.

  Next, another embodiment of the outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram of an outdoor unit to which the present invention is applied projected from above. When this outdoor unit is projected from above, the rotational direction of the axial fan is set counterclockwise, and the axial center 41 of the axial fan is shifted to the right from the center between the U-shaped opposed surfaces of the heat exchanger 45. When arranged (W1> W2), the length from the bent portion of the left U-shaped facing surface 45a to the end is longer than the length of the right U-shaped facing surface 45b. The configuration of is the same as FIG.

  Thus, since the heat exchanger 45a extending facing the space where the ventilation resistance decreases is formed long, the ventilation resistance can be further reduced and the ventilation volume can be increased. And miniaturization can be achieved.

It is the figure which projected the outdoor unit of the air conditioner to which this invention is applied from the top. It is the sectional side view which looked at the outdoor unit of the air conditioner to which this invention is applied from the front side. It is a figure explaining the flow of air when the outdoor unit of the air conditioner of this embodiment is projected from the top. It is a figure explaining the flow of air when the outdoor unit of the conventional air conditioner is projected from the top. It is a figure which compares and shows the air volume about the conventional outdoor unit and the outdoor unit to which this invention is applied. It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning of the electric box of the outdoor unit of an air conditioner, and the relationship of an air volume. It is the figure which projected the outdoor unit of the air conditioner to which this invention is applied from the top. It is the figure which projected the outdoor unit of the conventional air conditioner from the top.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outdoor unit 3 Case 5 Heat exchanger 7 Shroud 9 Axial fan 13 Front plate 23 Tanks including compressor 31 Fan motor 33 Propeller fan 35 Electric box 41 Center of axis

Claims (3)

An outdoor unit of an air conditioner comprising a rectangular housing having a horizontal cross section, a heat exchanger housed in the housing, and a cylindrical shroud disposed on the housing and housing an axial fan. There,
The heat exchanger has a horizontal cross section formed substantially symmetrically in a U shape along an opening surface formed on the three side walls of the housing.
When projected from above, the shroud is located between the U-shaped facing surfaces of the heat exchanger and spaced from the U-shaped facing surfaces, and the axial center of the axial fan is The distance between the casing and the wall surface of each housing in the letter-opposing surface direction is different, and the air flow formed in the space surrounded by the heat exchanger swirls out to the opening side of the heat exchanger and exits the part An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, characterized in that the separation dimension is positioned to be larger than the separation dimension of the other part. The heat exchanger is characterized in that, when projected from above, the length from the bent portion to the end portion of the U-shaped facing surface having the larger separation dimension is longer than the other length. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to claim 1. The electric box housed in the housing is disposed outside the space surrounded by the heat exchanger when projected from above, and is disposed on the opening side of the heat exchanger, and is opposed to the U shape of the heat exchanger. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is arranged so as to be shifted in a direction in which the separation dimension is smaller than a center of the width of the casing in the surface direction.

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