JP2004271168A - Outdoor machine of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an outdoor machine of an air conditioner capable of cooling the inside of an electrical equipment box effectively. <P>SOLUTION: This outdoor machine 1 of the air conditioner is constituted by arranging the electrical equipment box 7 provided in an upper part of a partition plate 3 and extending substantially horizontally across an upper part of a machine chamber B and an upper part of a heat exchanger chamber A. A first opening part 25 on a machine chamber B side, a second opening part 28 on a side face on a heat exchanger chamber A side, and an air passage 46 communicating the first opening part 25 with the second opening part 28 are provided in the electrical equipment box 7. A plurality of heat sinks 35, 36 are vertically arranged in the second opening part 28. A clearance part 43 is provided between these heat sinks 35 and 36. Waterproofing means 42c, 42d, 45 for preventing rainwater from intruding into the electrical equipment box 7 are provided in this clearance part 43. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to cooling inside an electrical box provided in an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

  Generally, an outdoor unit in which a compressor, a heat exchanger, a blower, and the like are housed in a box is known. In this type, the box is composed of a bottom plate and a cover made of a steel plate, and a front plate, a side plate, and a back plate are arranged around the bottom plate, and a top plate is placed on the front plate, the side plate, and the back plate. It is mounted and assembled. The inside of the box is divided into a heat exchanger room and a machine room by a partition plate erected on the bottom plate, a heat exchanger and a blower are arranged in the heat exchanger room, and a compressor and An accumulator and the like are arranged.

On the upper part of the partition plate, an electrical box is disposed substantially horizontally across the upper part of the machine room and a part of the upper part of the heat exchanger room. In the electrical box, for example, a control board for controlling the operation of the air conditioner is provided. On this control board, electric components such as a power module for an inverter and an electrolytic capacitor are arranged, and heat generated by the power module and the like is provided. A heat sink extending to the heat exchanger chamber is attached to the element (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-2002-243210

  By the way, when the capacity and function of the outdoor unit as described above are improved in design, the electric capacity of the electric component is increased, and the dimensions of the components such as the compressor and the heat exchanger and the size of the electric component are increased. is there.

  However, it is demanded that the external unit be as small as possible in external dimensions.For example, even if the electric capacity of electric parts is increased or the number of parts is increased, the size of the electrical box is the same. Can be suppressed. For this reason, the inside of the electrical box becomes overcrowded, and the temperature inside the electrical box rises and sometimes exceeds the upper limit of the temperature, which has a problem of affecting the life and performance of the electrical components.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner in which the inside of an electrical box is effectively cooled in view of the above-described conventional circumstances.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a partition plate is erected on a bottom plate constituting a box body, and a machine room having a compressor with the partition plate as a boundary, a heat exchanger and a blower An air conditioner provided with an electrical box that is provided above the partition plate and that extends substantially horizontally across the upper part of the machine room and the upper part of the heat exchanger room. In the outdoor unit, the electrical box includes a first opening on a machine room side, a second opening on a side surface on a heat exchanger room side, and a ventilation path communicating the first opening and the second opening. A plurality of heat sinks are arranged vertically above and below the second opening, and a gap is provided between the heat sinks, and the gap is provided with waterproof means for preventing rainwater from entering the electrical box. It is characterized by the following.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the first aspect, the heat sink has a base portion and a plurality of plate-shaped radiating fins erected on the base portion. The radiation fins are mounted horizontally, and the waterproofing means is composed of radiation fins disposed above and below the gap, and the upper radiation fin is provided so as to cover the gap and the front of the lower radiation fin. It is characterized by having been done.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, the first opening is provided on a surface facing the second opening, and a plurality of electrical units are provided in the electrical box. A control board is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, the electrical box is provided with a third opening that opens toward the heat exchanger room. .

  In the electrical box of the present invention, the second opening for disposing the plurality of heat sinks is provided on the side surface extending into the heat exchanger chamber, and the gap is provided between the heat sinks. The discharged air flows out of the gap into the heat exchange chamber. This allows the cooling air to flow smoothly in the electrical box, so that the inside of the electrical box can be efficiently cooled.

  Further, since the gap portion is surrounded on the heat exchanger room side by the radiating fins of the heat sink, it is possible to prevent rainwater that has entered the heat exchange room from entering the electrical component box.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a box-shaped outdoor unit. In the outdoor unit 1, a partition plate 3 also made of a steel plate is erected on a bottom plate 2 made of a steel plate, and on both sides of the partition plate 3. A heat exchanger room A and a machine room B are provided.

  In the machine room B, a compressor 4, an accumulator 5, a refrigerant pipe 6, an electrical box 7, etc., which constitute a part of a refrigeration cycle, are arranged. In the heat exchanger room A, an outdoor heat exchanger 8, an outdoor blower 9 and so on.

  The outdoor unit 1 has left and right side plates 12, 13 made of steel plate, a top plate 14, a front panel 15, and a back plate 16. A plurality of openings having a door are formed in the left side plate 12, and the right side plate 13 is formed. The front panel 15 is formed with an opening to which a grid is attached.

  The front panel 15 and the top plate 14 are integrally formed to form a substantially L-shape, and the rear side of the heat exchanger chamber A is open, and the outdoor heat exchanger 8 is disposed on the open rear side. On the back side of the machine room B, a back plate 16 integrally formed with the right side plate 13 in a substantially L-shape is provided. In addition, a reinforcing plate 17 is disposed above the outdoor heat exchanger 8, and the reinforcing plate 17 is provided over substantially the entire width of the heat exchanger room A and the machine room B. The top plate 14 is mounted and fixed on the left and right side plates 12 and 13 and the reinforcing plate 17 disposed above the outdoor heat exchanger 8. These constitute a box surrounding the heat exchanger room A and the machine room B.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the outdoor unit with the front panel 15 removed. In FIG. 2, an electrical box 7 is provided substantially horizontally above the partition plate 3, and the electrical box 7 extends from the machine room B side to the heat exchanger room A side across the partition plate 3. A sponge-like sealing material 18 is arranged on the electrical box 7 from the top surface to the front surface. The sealing member 18 is disposed above the position where the partition plate 3 is disposed, and the sealing member 18 is disposed on the top surface and the front surface of the electrical component box 7 and, although not shown, the top plate 14 and the front panel of the outdoor unit 1. 15, the heat exchanger room A and the machine room B are kept watertight.

  As a result, rainwater enters the heat exchanger room A from the front (front panel 15) and left side openings, but the machine room B is covered by the top plate 14, the front panel 15, the right side plate 13, and the back plate 16. This prevents rainwater from entering.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the electrical box in which the front plate is partially cut away, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electrical box, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3 and 4, the electrical component box 7 has a box shape and includes an upper plate 21, a front plate 22, a rear plate 23, and a lower plate 24. The front plate 22, the rear plate 23, and the lower plate 24 are provided. Are integrally formed, and an upper plate 21 as a lid is attached to the opened upper surface. The upper plate 21 is attached after electric components such as control boards 31a and 31b, which will be described later, are disposed in the electrical component box 7.

  The right side surface is opened as a first opening 25 to the electrical box 7, and a lower part thereof is provided with a terminal plate mounting plate 26 for fixing one end to the right side plate 13 (see FIG. 1) of the outdoor unit 1. A terminal board 27 for wiring to a power supply and an indoor unit is mounted on the mounting plate 26. On the left side surface, there is provided a second opening 28 which opens to the heat exchanger chamber A and serves as a mounting portion for a component (heat sink). The lower plate 24 has a left end, which is disposed on the heat exchanger room A side, opened downward (hereinafter, referred to as a third opening 29), and the third opening 29 has an end opening toward the partition plate 3. A guide duct 29a is formed. The upper surface is entirely open and the upper plate 21 functions as a lid,

  Inside the electrical box 7, two control boards 31a and 31b are disposed horizontally at the top and bottom, and electric components are provided on these upper and lower control boards 31a and 31b, respectively.

  A flange is provided inside the second opening 28 at the periphery of the opening, and the flange is provided with a plurality of screw holes. Heat sinks 35 and 36 are screwed and fixed to these screw holes. Each of the heat sinks 35 and 36 has a square plate-like base portion 41 and a plurality of rectangular plate-like heat radiation fins 42 and is integrally formed of aluminum. These radiating fins 42 are vertically coupled to the base portion 41 and extend over the entire width of the base portion 41. Heat generating elements (diodes, power modules) 32, 33 that generate a large amount of heat when the compressor is operated are attached to these heat sinks 35, 36 in close contact with each other, and up and down control is performed via connecting tools 51a, 51b. The boards 31a and 31b are connected, and the combination of the control boards 31a and 31b, the upper and lower heat sinks 35 and 36, and the heating elements 32 and 33 is not mistaken.

  These heat sinks 35 and 36 are disposed in the second opening 28 in two stages, with the radiation fins 42 being horizontal. Then, the second opening 28 is attached so as to cover the surfaces of the base portions 41 a and 41 b and to have a horizontally long slit-shaped gap 43 between the heat sinks 35 and 36. The heat from the heating elements 32 and 33 is transmitted to the heat sinks 35 and 36 and the temperature rises. However, the heatsinks 35 and 36 pass through the heat exchanger chamber A because the base portion 41 and the radiating fins 42 extend to the heat exchanger chamber A. The heat sinks 35 and 36 are cooled by the air, and the heating elements 32 and 33 are sufficiently cooled.

  Here, the front, back, and left sides of the outdoor unit 1 are open, and rainwater enters the heat exchanger room A through these openings, while a slit-like opening is formed in the second opening 28 of the electrical box 7. Since the gap 43 is provided, there is a possibility that rainwater may enter the electrical component box 7 through the gap 43. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, a quadrangular plate-shaped auxiliary fin 45 vertically extending from the middle of the lower surface of the fin has a full width in the lowermost heat radiation fin (hereinafter referred to as upper heat radiation fin) 42c of the upper heat sink 35. It is provided in. The auxiliary fins 45 cover the front of the gap 43 and the front of the uppermost radiator fin (hereinafter referred to as lower radiator fin) 42d of the lower heat sink 36. The lower radiating fin 42d is formed to have a shorter projecting length, and its tip is closer to the base portion 41 than the auxiliary fin 45, and a space is provided between the lower radiating fin 42d and the auxiliary fin 45 to form the gap 43. It has air permeability with the heat exchanger room A. The upper radiating fins 42c, the auxiliary fins 45, and the lower radiating fins 42d are arranged so as to surround the gap 43 to prevent rainwater from entering the electrical box 7 through the gap 43. The front panel 15 and the heat exchanger 8 are arranged on the front side and the rear side of the fins 42c, 45, and 42d and have some clearance. However, almost no rainwater enters the electrical box 7 through the gap 43. .

  In the outdoor unit 1 of the air conditioner configured as described above, when the outdoor blower 9 operates during the air conditioning operation, the outside air taken into the heat exchanger room A through the heat exchanger 8 is blown out from the front panel 15. As a result, the wind pressure in the heat exchanger room A decreases. As a result, the air in the electrical equipment box 7 is discharged from the gap 43 and the third opening 29 of the electrical equipment box 7 extending to the heat exchanger room A, and is discharged. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the outside air that has entered the machine room B through the first opening 25 flows into the electrical component box 7 through the air-permeable gap and prevents the air from entering the control board 31a, 31b. Flows through. In this way, as shown by solid arrows in FIGS. 4 and 5, inside the electrical component box 7, the ventilation path 46 that communicates from the first opening 25 to the gap 43, and the first opening 25 to the third opening Air flows into the ventilation passage 47 communicating with the air passage 29 and the inside is cooled.

  In the outdoor unit 1 of the present invention, since the ventilation passages 46 and 47 are formed in the electrical box 7 and the heat sinks 35 and 36 extend into the heat exchanger room A, heat in the electrical box 7 is discharged. , And the heating elements 32, 33 are cooled. Thereby, the performance and the life of the electric component can be kept good.

  In addition, the electrical boards 31a, 31b and the heat sinks 35, 36 are arranged in two stages, upper and lower, of the electrical box 7, and the upper plate 21 serves as a lid, so that the upper surface of the electrical box 7 is entirely open. The boards 31a, 31b and the heat sinks 35, 36 can be easily attached, and the electrical box 7 can be easily assembled.

  As mentioned above, although the present invention was carried out based on one example, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible.

  In the present embodiment, the auxiliary fin 45 is vertically connected to the upper heat radiation fin 42c, but the angle is not limited, and the angle may be changed if necessary. Further, the connection position between the auxiliary fin 45 and the upper radiation fin 42c can also be changed.

  In this embodiment, two heat sinks 35, 36 are used and one gap 43 is provided between the heat sinks 35, 36. However, three or more heat sinks are used, May be provided with a gap portion and waterproof means, respectively.

It is an exploded perspective view of the outdoor unit in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the outdoor unit which removed the front board. It is a perspective view of an electrical box. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an electrical box. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3.

Explanation of reference numerals

A heat exchanger room B machine room 1 outdoor unit 2 bottom plate 3 partition plate 4 compressor 7 electrical box 8 outdoor heat exchanger 9 outdoor blower 12 left side plate 13 right side plate 14 top plate 15 front plate 18 sealing material 21 upper plate 22 front Plate 23 Rear plate 24 Lower plate 25 First opening 28 Second opening 29 Third opening 31a Upper control board,
31b lower control board,
32, 33 Heating elements 35, 36 Heat sinks 41, 41a, 41b Bases 42, 42a, 42b Radiation fins 42c Upper radiation fins (waterproof means)
42d Lower radiation fins (waterproof means)
43 gap 45 auxiliary fins (waterproof means)
46, 47 ventilation path

Claims (4)

A partition plate is erected on a bottom plate constituting a box body, and the partition plate is partitioned into a machine room having a compressor and a heat exchanger room having a heat exchanger and a blower, and an upper portion of the partition plate. In the outdoor unit of an air conditioner provided with an electrical component box extending substantially horizontally across the upper part of the machine room and the upper part of the heat exchanger room,
The electrical box is provided with a first opening on the machine room side, a second opening on a side surface on the heat exchanger room side, and a ventilation path communicating the first opening and the second opening. A plurality of heat sinks are arranged vertically above and below the two openings, and a gap is provided between the heat sinks, and the gap is provided with waterproof means for preventing rainwater from entering the electrical box. Air conditioner outdoor unit.   The heat sink has a base portion, and a plurality of plate-shaped heat radiation fins erected on the base portion. The heat radiation fins are mounted horizontally, and the waterproofing means is provided above and below the gap. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the outdoor heat fins are arranged so that the upper heat radiation fins are provided so as to cover the gap and the front of the lower heat radiation fins.   The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the first opening is provided on a surface facing the second opening, and a plurality of control boards are provided in the electrical component box. . The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a third opening that opens toward a heat exchanger room is provided in the electrical box.

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