Outdoor unit

An outdoor unit (100, 110), comprising a housing (1, 20) having fans (2) provided thereon and a compressor (4) and heat exchanger (3-1, 3-2, 23-1, 23-2) disposed on a base (10, 210) thereof; a left-right pair of side covers (8, 28, 9, 29) each being bent and having two surfaces, one surface covering a portion of a side of housing (1, 20), and the other surface covering a portion of the front of the housing (1, 20); a controller housing (7) fixed to the upper section of the surface of at least one side cover (8, 28, 9, 29), of said left-right pair of said covers (8, 28, 9, 29), that covers a portion of the front of the housing (1, 20), said controller housing (7) being fixed at a height allowing the compressor (4) to be moved into and out of the housing unobstructed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, a refrigerator and so forth and, in particular, relates to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner or the refrigerator by which it becomes possible to promote compactification, cost reduction and so forth.

BACKGROUND ART

An air conditioner which cools and heats an office, a factory and so forth is equipped with an indoor unit which is installed indoors and an outdoor unit which is installed outdoors. The outdoor unit makes a refrigerant which passes through refrigerant piping and outdoor air exchange heat by a heat exchanger provided in a housing, evaporates or condenses the refrigerant and thereafter supplies the refrigerant to the indoor unit. The indoor unit cools or heats indoor air by utilizing latent heat of the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit.

In a case where a comparatively large air-conditioning capacity is requested as in an air conditioner for building, a so-called modular-type form that one refrigerant system is configured by connecting a plurality of the outdoor units with one another has become mainstream in recent years.

In a case of the modular-type one like this, since the outdoor unit is configured by continuously installing the plurality of outdoor units, there is such an issue that the total installation area of the outdoor units which are continuously installed is increased. Therefore, there are cases where a configuration is made in such a manner that a height of the heat exchanger is made large or the heat exchanger extends not only to a back face of a housing but also up to side faces and a front face of the housing in order to secure a necessary heat exchanger capacity while suppressing the installation area of the single-body outdoor unit.

Incidentally, as related art of this kind, there is the one described in Patent Literature 1 and so forth.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

In the one according to the related art described in Patent Literature 1 and so forth, the heat exchanger is made to extend from the back face to the side faces of the housing and thereby it is possible to secure the predetermined heat transfer area without increasing the height dimension of the outdoor unit. However, in such a case, it is necessary to provide a large opening in the housing which covers the side faces in order to expose the heat exchanger because the heat exchanger is made to extend up to the side faces of the housing. Consequently, there is such an issue that the area of a sheet metal member which supports the side faces of the housing is reduced and strength of the housing is lowered.

An object of the present invention is to obtain an outdoor unit of an air conditioner or a refrigerator which makes maintenance of the strength of the housing and installation with the saved installation area possible after securing a necessary heat exchange performance by making the heat exchanger extend to the whole areas of the back face and both of the side faces of the housing.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above-described issue, in the present invention, in an outdoor unit of an air conditioner or a refrigerator, this outdoor unit is configured by including a housing with a fan being mounted and with a compressor and a heat exchanger being loaded on a bottom base, a controller housing in which a controller which controls the fan and the compressor is built and one pair of left and right side covers which have two faces formed by being bent and cover parts of side faces of the housing with one faces and cover parts of the front of the housing with the other faces and is configured in such a manner that the controller housing is fixed to a position of a height at which the controller housing does not become an obstacle when the compressor is put out of and into the inside of the housing, on an upper part of a face of at least one side cover which covers the part of the front of the housing in one pair of the left and right side covers.

In addition, in order to solve the above-described issue, in the present invention, in an outdoor unit of air conditioner or refrigerator, this outdoor unit is configured by including a fan which sucks and expels air, a heat exchanger, a compressor which compresses a refrigerant, a controller housing in which a controller which controls the fan or the compressor is built and a housing section which houses therein the heat exchanger, the compressor and the controller housing and to an upper face of which the fan is attached and is configured in such a manner that the housing section is equipped with one pair of left and right side covers which have two faces formed by being bent and which cover parts of side faces of the housing with one faces and cover parts of the front of the housing with the other faces and a maintenance panel which is detachably attached to parts of one pair of the left and right side covers which cover the parts of the front of the housing section and the controller housing is fixed with a fixing member to a position of a height at which the controller housing does not become an obstacle when the compressor is put out of and into the inside of the housing section, on the inner side of the maintenance panel on a face of at least one side cover which covers the part of the front of the housing section in one pair of the left and right side covers.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, the controller housing also serves to reinforce the housing of the outdoor unit and thereby it becomes possible to compensate for strength poverty of the cover of the housing without using an extra reinforcement member. In addition, since the controller housing is disposed above the housing and on the front of the housing of the outdoor unit, a thing which would become an obstacle when the compressor is put out of and into the housing of the outdoor unit from the front face thereof is not present and thereby it becomes possible to perform attachment and detachment of the compressor with ease.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is configured in such a manner that, in an outdoor unit of an air conditioner or a refrigerator, a controller housing of the outdoor unit is fixed to upper parts of side covers which cover side faces and parts of the front of a housing of the outdoor unit so as to reinforce bending strength and torsional strength of the housing of the outdoor unit and to eliminate a thing which would become an obstacle when a compressor is put out of and into a front face of the housing of the outdoor unit and thereby assemblability and maintainability of the outdoor unit are improved.

In all drawings for describing the present embodiments, the same symbols are assigned to things having the same functions and repetitive description thereof is omitted in principle. In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail on the basis of the drawings.

However, the present invention shall not be interpreted by limiting to contents described in the following embodiments. A person skilled in the art would readily understand that a specific configuration thereof may be modified and altered within a range not deviating from the idea and the gist of the present invention.

First Embodiment

Embodiments of the present invention will be described by giving an outdoor unit of an air conditioner by way of example.

FIG. 1is a front sectional diagram of an outdoor unit100of an air conditioner1000according to a first embodiment andFIG. 2is a sectional diagram along the A-A line inFIG. 1.

InFIG. 1andFIG. 2, 1is a housing of the outdoor unit100of the air conditioner,2is a fan which performs air-sucking into and air-expelling out of the housing1,3-1and3-2are heat exchangers respectively,4is a compressor,5is an accumulator,6is a header pipe and7is a controller housing and control circuit components are housed therein.8is a housing left cover which covers left-side front face and side face of the housing1,81is a housing left rear cover which covers the left rear side of the housing1,9is a housing right cover which convers right-side front face and side face of the housing1,91is a housing right rear cover of the right rear side of the housing1,10is a baseplate onto which the compressor4and the accumulator5are loaded and fixed,11is a fixture, and12is a maintenance panel which covers the front face of the housing and is detachably attached to the housing1.

The baseplate10is, an end part of a circumference is bent upward and thereby an edge part101is formed. Although various kinds of piping and electric wiring are stretched in the housing1, illustration thereof is omitted for simplification of illustration.

The housing left cover8, the housing left rear cover81, the housing right cover9and the housing right rear cover91are each fastened to the edge part101which is bent to the upper side of the end part of the baseplate10with a screw or a bolt in the vicinity of a lower end part thereof and the vicinity of an upper end part of each of them is fastened with a screw or a bolt and fixed to a top plate which is not illustrated and is attached to an upper face of the housing1.

InFIG. 1, two fans2are arranged above the housing1of the air conditioning outdoor unit, side by side on the left and the right viewing from the housing front and are provided so as to expel air upward.

Containers such as the compressor4and the accumulator5are loaded in the housing1and further they are fixed to the baseplate10of the housing1. In addition, although not illustrated in the drawings, they are connected with a four-way valve adapted to change a flowing direction of a refrigerant which flows in the heat exchangers3-1and3-2, the header pipes6(seeFIG. 2) provided on end parts of the heat exchangers3-1and3-2and so forth by not illustrated refrigerant piping thereby to form a refrigerating cycle.

InFIG. 1, the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9are provided on the front left side and right side of the housing1respectively. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9have faces which face the front side of the housing1(a lower-side face of the housing1illustrated inFIG. 2) and faces which face the side-face sides thereof (the right-side or left-side face of the housing1illustrated inFIG. 2). Parts of the faces of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9which face the front side of the housing1are shaped into stepped-forms of two steps. Although not illustrated in the drawings, the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9, and the housing left rear cover81and the housing right rear cover91play parts of supporting heavy goods which are disposed above the housing1such as fan motors which rotate the fans, clamps which support the fan motors and shrouds which surround the fans.

In addition, inFIG. 1andFIG. 2, the controller housing7which builds therein a control circuit part adapted to drive the compressor4and the fan motors is disposed above the housing1so as to run along the front thereof. The controller housing7is configured by a sheet metal member which houses therein electric components such as a circuit board and a terminal block of the not illustrated control circuit part and therefore is the heavy good. Also this controller housing7is held by the aforementioned housing left cover8and housing right cover9.

In addition, inFIG. 2, the two almost U-shaped heat exchangers3-1and3-2are arranged side by side on the left and the right viewing from the front of the housing1similarly to the fans2and are provided so as to surround the left and right fans2respectively. Incidentally, these heat exchangers3-1and3-2are provided along the side faces of the housing1except the front thereof on the left and the right respectively. In addition, bent lengths of the respective left and right heat exchangers3-1and3-2are configured to be longer on the housing side-face sides (the right-side face side and the left-side face side of the housing1inFIG. 2) and to be shorter on the housing inner sides (the sides on which they are connected with the header pipes6).

It is possible to secure the necessary volumes of the heat exchangers3-1and3-2without expanding the installation area of the housing1by disposing the heat exchangers3-1and3-2along the back face and both of the left and right side faces of the housing1in this way. However, since the heat exchangers3-1and3-2serve as air suction ports of the fans2, it is necessary to form it into such a structure that it is possible to take the outdoor air into the housing1via the heat exchangers3-1and3-2. Accordingly, it is formed into a structure that spaces are left between the housing left cover8and the housing left rear cover81and between the housing right cover9and the housing right rear cover91so as to attach them therebetween respectively. Therefore, the strength of the housing1is lowered in comparison with a case where the surrounding thereof is covered with a full cover.

In addition, to put the compressor4out of and into inside of the housing2, it is not possible to dispose a thing on the front face of the housing1(the lower-side face of the housing1inFIG. 2) which would become an obstacle when the compressor4is put out of and into inside of the housing1. Accordingly, there is no reinforcement on the front face of the housing1when left as it is and the housing1is formed into a structure which is fragile against bending and torsion.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, it is formed into a configuration that end parts71and72are formed on the both sides of the controller housing7, and the end parts71and72on the both sides are fastened to a part of the housing left cover8which is bent to the front-face side of the housing1and a part of the housing right cover9which is bent to the front-face side of the housing1with at least one fixture11each. As the fixture11, for example, the one that a bolt is combined with a nut may be used.

The controller housing7is formed into a box shape as illustrated inFIG. 2, is large in rigidity in comparison with a case of a one-sheet plate and is difficult to deform even when force of bending and torsion is imposed. It is possible to compensate for the poverty of strength of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9against bending and torsion by configuring to fix the end parts71and72on the both sides of the controller housing7to the faces of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9which are bent to the front-face side of the housing1respectively in this way.

The parts of the faces of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9which face the front side of the housing1are shaped into the stepped forms of the two steps. They are made in such a manner that the maintenance panel12is attached to the first step of this stepped form part with a not illustrated fixture and the controller housing7is attached to the second step of the stepped form part thereby to normally cover the front face with the maintenance panel12so as not to expose the controller housing7directly to the outdoor air. Incidentally, the maintenance panel12is detachably attached to the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9with the bolts or the screws.

A state where the maintenance panel12which covers the front face of the housing1is removed is illustrated inFIG. 1. Although in the configuration illustrated inFIG. 1, an example that the end part71of the controller housing7is fixed to the housing left cover8with one fixture11is illustrated, in the present embodiment, they may be fixed to the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9respectively by using the plurality of fixtures11, not limited to this.

In addition, the controller housing7also serves to reinforce the housing1and thereby it is possible to compensate for the strength poverty of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9without using the extra reinforcement member.

Further, since the controller housing7is disposed upper part of the housing1and on the front of the housing1, there is no thing which would become the obstacle when the compressor4is put out of and into the housing1from the front (the front face) thereof and it is possible to perform attachment and detachment of the compressor4with ease. Further, since it is excellent in maintainability and it is possible to dispose the compressor4on the center and on the front face of the housing1, it is excellent in exchangeability in failure of the compressor4and the center of gravity of the whole housing1is well-balanced.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 3is a front sectional diagram of an outdoor unit110according to a second embodiment andFIG. 4is a sectional diagram along the B-B line inFIG. 3. In the respective drawings, parts to which the same symbols are assigned indicate the same parts.

The outdoor unit110according to the second embodiment indicates the outdoor unit110in a case where the cooling and heating capacity which is larger than that of the outdoor unit100according to the first embodiment is requested. Although the basic configuration thereof is similar to that of the outdoor unit100according to the first embodiment, the heat transfer areas of heat exchangers23-1and23-2are increased by expanding a baseplate210and increasing a width of a housing20.

Since heavy goods such as fans22which are provided above the housing20and not illustrated fan motors and shrouds become heavier in comparison with those of the first embodiment, additional strength is necessary for a housing left cover28and a housing right cover29, the housing left rear cover81, the housing right area cover91and so forth to be fixed to an edge part211of the baseplate210and a not illustrated top plate. However, it is difficult to thicken sheet thicknesses of components such as the housing left cover28and the housing right cover29, the housing left rear cover81, the housing right rear cover91and so forth in cost, and in addition, it is desirable that sharing of the housing left cover8and the housing right cover9, the housing left rear cover28, the housing right rear cover29and so forth used in the first embodiment be possible.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, a stationary plate30is provided on the front of the housing20and on the right side from the width center of the housing20so as to compensate for the strength poverty of the housing left cover28and the housing right cover29. Further, the controller housing7is formed into a structure that the left-side end part71of the controller housing7is fastened to the housing left cover28and the right-side end part72of the controller housing7is fastened to the stationary plate30with at least one fixture11similarly to the first embodiment. It is possible to complement for the strength of each of them by configuring in this way.

In addition, also in a case where the two or more compressors4are to be loaded in order to exhibit the larger cooling and heating capacity, since it is possible to install them on the front and the center of the housing1as illustrated inFIG. 3andFIG. 4, it is excellent in exchangeability in failure of the compressor4and the center of gravity of the whole housing1is well-balanced. A maintenance panel121is attached to the front face of the housing2to which the controller housing7is attached so as to cover the front face of the housing20including the controller housing7.

Incidentally, although the examples of the outdoor units of the air conditioner are described in the above-described first embodiment and second embodiment, the present invention is not limited to them and is also applicable to the outdoor unit of the refrigerator.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST