Patent ID: 9010143
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: F24F,F25B

Abstract:
1. An air conditioner comprising: a refrigerating cycle including: a compressor compressing a refrigerant; an indoor heat exchanger exchanging heat between said refrigerant and indoor air; a pressure-reducing expansion mechanism reducing pressure of and expanding said refrigerant; and an outdoor heat exchanger exchanging heat between said refrigerant and outdoor air and including: a group of fins formed of a plurality of fins each having rectangular shape and arrayed with a longitudinal direction vertically directed, being spaced apart such that the fins are not in physical contact with one another, and in parallel to one another; and a refrigerant piping provided to horizontally penetrate through said group of fins, said air conditioner including: a base plate arranged below said outdoor heat exchanger and having a drain outlet formed as a through hole at a position opposing an undersurface of said outdoor heat exchanger; and a freeze prevention pipe having two portions connected by a turning part, and arranged between said outdoor heat exchanger and said base plate in a manner, in plain view, to at least partially pass across a region of said drain outlet, arranged so that a portion of the through hole of the drain outlet exists on respective outer sides of said two portions of said freeze prevention pipe, and to be along and out of contact with the undersurface of said outdoor heat exchanger, said freeze prevention pipe being connected in series between said outdoor heat exchanger and said indoor heat exchanger in said refrigerating cycle, said freeze prevention pipe has said turning part, so that a section where the two portions of said freeze prevention pipes are arranged in parallel to each other is formed, and in said section a spacing between outer sides of said two parallel portions of said freeze prevention pipe is smaller than a width of said drain outlet in an orthogonal direction to a direction along which said freeze prevention pipe extends, throughout the entire period of heating operation, said refrigerant in a high-temperature state being discharged from said compressor toward said indoor heat exchanger and via said indoor heat exchanger, passing through said freeze prevention pipe before flowing into said outdoor heat exchanger, and in defrosting operation switched from the heating operation so that the direction of the flow of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger is reversed, said refrigerant in a high-temperature state is discharged from said compressor toward said outdoor heat exchanger, said refrigerant at a high temperature flowing from said refrigerant piping at a bottom portion of said outdoor heat exchanger into said outdoor heat exchanger and exchanging heat before flowing into said freeze prevention pipe, whereby frost is thawed from a lower portion to an upper portion of said outdoor heat exchanger and thaw water dripping down affects ice at or in the vicinity of said drain outlet heated by said freeze prevention pipe throughout the entire period of heating operation to have an elevated temperature, and thawing of said ice is facilitated.