Patent Description:
An air conditioner is a device that cools or heats a room using a refrigerant, and has a refrigerant circulation system including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator.

A high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from a compressor and water exchange heat in a heat exchange device defined as a heat storage tank to supply hot water, and such an air conditioner is defined as a heat storage type air conditioner (an air to water heat pump). The heat storage type air conditioner is a device in which a refrigerant absorbs heat from air through an evaporator, is converted into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant while passing through a compressor, and then releases the heat again into water flowing into a heat storage tank. That is, a heat storage type air conditioner may be understood as a device that receives heat from air and supplies the received heat and energy (compression work) received from a compressor to water in the form of heat energy.

The heat storage type air conditioner may be divided into an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and a fan and a heat exchanger may be accommodated in the indoor unit, and a fan, a heat exchanger, a compressor, and a heat storage tank may be accommodated in the outdoor unit.

An outdoor unit constituting a conventional heat storage type air conditioner is disclosed in <CIT>). In this prior art, connectors for connecting an inlet-side water pipe extending from a heating facility and connected to a heat storage tank and for connecting an outlet-side water pipe extending from the heat storage tank to the outside of the outdoor unit are provided on a rear surface of the outdoor unit. That is, the inlet-side water pipe and the outlet-side water pipe of the outdoor unit are connected to the rear surface of the outdoor unit.

Since the inlet-side water pipe and the outlet-side water pipe connecting the connector and the heat storage tank are copper pipes, a degree of bendability of the pipes is not high.

On the other hand, for many houses in Europe, a structure in which a connection portion of the hot water pipe for heating is installed on a floor instead of on a wall, that is, a structure in which the water pipe extends vertically from the floor, is preferred. Therefore, the conventional outdoor unit, in which the water pipe connector is provided on the side surface of the unit, is not suitable for connection to water pipes of houses and has disadvantages in terms of aesthetics.

<CIT> discloses a heat pump hot-water heater, in which heating medium flows in and out of a casing through ports at a side surface of the casing.

<CIT> discloses an outdoor unit of a heat pump water heater which is provided to improve the arrangement of an electrical unit and a remote controller as well as to improve heat dissipation ability of the electric unit.

<CIT> discloses a heating system comprising at least one atmospheric collector-evaporator, an associated compression heat pump system, and a suitable interior heat emitter. The design as an integral outdoor unit makes it possible to use hydrocarbons such as isobutane, propane or other fluids as a refrigerant, thus avoiding the direct harmful impact on the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect.

<CIT> discloses an outdoor unit of a heat pump device, which comprises a compressor, an air heat exchanger, a throttling device and a water heat exchanger connected by piping, and at least one of a pressure relief valve that prevents excessive increase in water pressure in the water circuit for supplying water heated by the water heat exchanger and an air vent valve that exhausts air from within the water circuit.

The present invention is proposed to improve the above problems. The outdoor unit according to the present invention can be easily connected to water pipes of a house disposed on a floor. Further, the outdoor unit enables easy change of the connection of water pipes within the outdoor unit. Specifically, the water pipes in the outdoor unit can be connected to either a rear panel or a base panel of the outdoor unit selectively. The water pipes of the outdoor unit may have flexibility suitable for the easy connection change. Alternatively, the outdoor unit may be provided with different installation kits. One kit for installation on a floor has water pipes designed for connection to a base panel of the outdoor unit, and another kit for installation on a wall has water pipes designed for connection to a rear panel of the outdoor unit.

An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base panel having a pipe connection region, in which an inlet hole and an outlet hole are formed; a compressor placed on the base panel; a heat storage tank having a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows and a water flow path for exchanging heat with the refrigerant flowing along the refrigerant flow path formed therein; a water pipe unit connected to the water flow path of the heat storage tank; a pump for supplying water to the heat storage tank through the water pipe unit; a vertical panel defining at least one of a side surface and a rear surface of the outdoor unit and having a pipe connection region, in which another inlet hole and another outlet hole are formed; a deaerator for removing air bubbles contained in the water passing through the heat storage tank. The water pipe unit includes a pump inlet pipe having one end portion connected to an inlet of the pump; a pump outlet pipe connecting an outlet of the pump and an inlet of the water flow path; a deaerator inlet pipe connecting an outlet of the water flow path and an inlet of the deaerator; and a deaerator outlet pipe having one end portion connected to an outlet of the deaerator. The other end portion of the pump inlet pipe and the other end portion of the deaerator outlet pipe are connectable to either the pipe connection region of the vertical panel or the pipe connection region of the base panel, selectively.

The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention may further include an inlet connector connected to the other end portion of the pump inlet pipe; and an outlet connector connected to the other end portion of the deaerator outlet pipe.

The inlet connector and the outlet connector are capable of being mounted at the inlet hole and the outlet hole of the base panel.

Alternatively, the inlet connector and the outlet connector are capable of being mounted at the inlet hole and the outlet hole of the vertical panel.

The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention further may include a support panel extending from the base panel to support the inlet connector and the outlet connector.

The support panel may extend from an edge of the base panel inside of the vertical panel.

A seating groove or a seating hole in which the inlet connector and the outlet connector can be placed may be formed on the support panel.

The pump inlet pipe and the deaerator outlet pipe may include flexible tubes for facilitating the selective connection of said end portions to either the inlet and outlet holes of the vertical panel or the inlet and outlet holes of the base panel.

The vertical panel includes at least one of a side cover forming a side surface of the outdoor unit; and a back cover forming a rear surface of the outdoor unit.

According to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention, since it is possible to select one of the base surface and the side surface (including the back surface) of the outdoor unit case, to which water pipes of the outdoor unit are connected, the outdoor unit can be installed easily only with minor modifications of the outdoor unit by an installation service provider, regardless of whether water pipes of a house for heating or hot water is extended through a floor or a wall of a room.

Hereinafter, a structure of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<FIG> is a front perspective view illustrating an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present disclosure, <FIG> is a front perspective view illustrating the outdoor unit in a state where a heat storage tank is removed, and <FIG> is a rear perspective view state illustrating the outdoor unit.

Referring to <FIG>, the outdoor unit <NUM> of the air conditioner according to the present invention includes a base panel <NUM>, a front panel <NUM> erected on the front end portion of the base panel <NUM>. an orifice <NUM> coupled to the front panel <NUM>, a fan <NUM> placed on the rear side of the orifice <NUM>, and a heat exchanger <NUM> erected on the upper surface of the base panel <NUM>.

In detail, the outdoor unit <NUM> further includes a barrier <NUM> erected on an upper surface of the base panel <NUM>.

The barrier <NUM> may be understood as a partition member that divides an upper space of the base panel <NUM> into a left heat exchange space and a right electrical portion space. In addition, the heat exchanger <NUM> may be disposed in the heat exchange space, bent and extended along a side end portion and a rear end portion of the base panel <NUM> to define the side surface and the rear surface of the heat exchange space.

One side end portion of the front panel <NUM> may be coupled to the front end portion of the heat exchanger <NUM>, and the other side end portion may be coupled to the front end portion of the barrier <NUM>. A rear end portion of the barrier <NUM> may be connected to a side end portion of the heat exchanger <NUM>.

The outdoor unit <NUM> may further include a compressor <NUM> mounted on an upper surface of the base panel <NUM> corresponding to the electrical portion space.

The heat storage tank <NUM> may be disposed at a point spaced apart from the compressor <NUM>, and a flow path is provided inside the heat storage tank <NUM> to allow heat exchange between the refrigerant and water without mixing. In addition, a refrigerant flow path and a water flow path are arranged to exchange heat inside the heat storage tank <NUM>, and heat is transferred from the refrigerant flowing along the refrigerant flow path to the water flowing along the water flow path. The refrigerant passing through the compressor <NUM> flows into the heat storage tank <NUM> along the refrigerant pipe. A water pipe unit connected to the water flow path is connected to the heat storage tank <NUM>, and the water pipe unit will be described in detail with reference to the drawings below.

The refrigerant passing through the heat storage tank <NUM> is guided to the heat exchanger <NUM> along the refrigerant pipe. The refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger <NUM> is guided to a heat exchanger of the indoor unit after passing through a expansion valve. The refrigerant passing through the indoor unit returns to the compressor <NUM> after passing through a gas-liquid separator.

When the fan <NUM> rotates, outside air flows into the outdoor unit <NUM> through both a short side of the heat exchanger <NUM> corresponding to the side surface of the outdoor unit <NUM> and a long side of the heat exchanger <NUM> corresponding to the rear surface of the outdoor unit <NUM>.

The air that has passed through the heat exchanger <NUM> flows from the back side of the fan <NUM> toward the front side, passes through the orifice <NUM>, and then is discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit <NUM>.

Some of the plurality of blades constituting the fan <NUM> are accommodated inside the orifice <NUM> so that all of the air forcedly flowing by the fan <NUM> passes through the orifice <NUM>.

The outdoor unit <NUM> may further include a heat dissipation duct <NUM> extending from the control box <NUM> to the heat exchanger, a top cover <NUM> defining an upper surface of the outdoor unit <NUM>, a back cover <NUM> defining a rear surface of the electrical space, a support panel <NUM> disposed in front of the back cover <NUM> to support a connector (described later) of the water pipe unit, and a side panel <NUM> extending from a side end portion of the base panel <NUM>.

The outdoor unit <NUM> may further include a pump <NUM> supplying water to the heat storage tank <NUM>, and a deaerator <NUM> removing air bubbles included in the water passing through the heat storage tank <NUM>.

Meanwhile, a pipe connection region having an inlet hole <NUM> and an outlet hole <NUM> are formed in the back cover <NUM>. An inlet connector <NUM> can be coupled to the inlet hole <NUM> and an outlet connector <NUM> can be coupled to the outlet hole <NUM>.

<FIG> is an enlarged perspective view of the outdoor unit illustrating a water pipe connection structure.

Referring to <FIG>, a pipe connection region having an inlet hole <NUM> and an outlet hole <NUM> may be formed in the base panel <NUM>.

In detail, the heat storage tank <NUM>, the pump <NUM>, the deaerator <NUM>, and the water pipe unit may be disposed in a space below the control box <NUM>.

The water pipe unit includes a pump inlet pipe <NUM> connecting the inlet connector <NUM> and the inlet of the pump <NUM>, a pump outlet pipe <NUM> connecting the outlet of the pump <NUM> and the inlet of the heat storage tank <NUM>, a deaerator inlet pipe <NUM> connecting the outlet of the heat storage tank <NUM> and the inlet of the deaerator <NUM>, and a deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> for connecting the outlet of the deaerator <NUM> and the outflow connector <NUM>.

At least one of the pipes constituting the water pipe unit may include a flexible tube made of rubber or silicon material so as to be easily bent.

The inlet connector <NUM> and the outlet connector <NUM> pass through the supporter panel <NUM> and the inlet hole <NUM> and the outlet hole <NUM> of the back cover <NUM> and thus are exposed to the outside of the outdoor unit <NUM>. In addition, end portions of heating pipes of a house installed on the floor of the installation space may be connected to the inlet connector <NUM> and the outlet connector <NUM>.

Alternatively, an outlet portion of a water supply pipe of a house extending from a water source or water faucet is connected to the inlet connector <NUM>, and an inlet portion of a hot water pipe of the house is connected to the outlet connector <NUM>, so that hot water is capable of being supplied to the user.

An inlet connector seating portion <NUM> on which the inflow connector <NUM> is seated and an outflow connector seating portion <NUM> on which the outlet connector <NUM> is seated may be formed at an upper end of the support panel <NUM>. The inlet and outlet connector seating portions <NUM> and <NUM> may be provided in a hole or groove form.

<FIG> is an enlarged perspective view of the indoor unit illustrating another water pipe connection structure.

Referring to <FIG>, when a connection end portion of a heating pipe or a hot water pipe of a room is formed on the floor rather than a wall of the room, the inlet connector <NUM> and the outlet connector <NUM> may be connected to the inlet hole <NUM> and the outlet hole <NUM> formed in the base panel <NUM>, as illustrated.

To this end, the pump inlet pipe <NUM> and the deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> are properly bent so that the inlet connector <NUM> and the outlet connector <NUM> face the base panel <NUM>. The pump inlet pipe <NUM> and the deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> may be made of flexible tubes so that they can be bent for the different connections shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. Alternatively, only portions of the pump inlet pipe <NUM> and the deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> may include flexible portions.

Instead of using flexible water pipes, both a pipe kit for wall installation and a pipe kit for floor installation are provided together with the outdoor unit. The wall installation kit may have water pipes of the outdoor unit which are designed for connection to the side or rear surface of the outdoor unit, and the floor installation kit may have water pipes of the outdoor unit which are designed for connection to the base surface of the outdoor unit.

Specifically, the wall installation kit may include a first pump inlet pipe <NUM> which has one end portion connectable to the inlet of the pump <NUM> and the other end portion connectable to the pipe connection region of the back cover <NUM> adjacent to the inlet hole <NUM>, and a first deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> which has one end portion connectable to the outlet of the deaerator <NUM> and the other end portion connectable to the pipe connection region of the back cover <NUM> adjacent to the outlet hole <NUM>. The floor installation kit may comprise a second pump inlet pipe which has one end portion connectable to the inlet of the pump and the other end portion connectable to the pipe connection region of the base panel <NUM> adjacent to the inlet hole <NUM>, and a second deaerator outlet pipe <NUM> which has one end portion connectable to the outlet of the deaerator and the other end portion connectable to the pipe connection region of the base panel <NUM> adjacent to the outlet hole <NUM>.

An installation service provider can use one of the two kits depending on an installation location of the outdoor unit. Thus, the installation service provider can install the outdoor unit easily by using one of the two installation kits only with minor modifications of the outdoor unit, regardless of whether water pipes of a house for heating or hot water is extended through a floor or a wall of a room.

In this case, a shape of the pump inlet pipe <NUM> constituting the wall installation kit may be different from a shape of the pump inlet pipe <NUM> constituting the floor installation kit in order to prevent the confusion of the pipes designed for different installation scenes. This scheme of differentiating water pipes may apply to the first and second deaerator outlet pipes <NUM>.

To facilitate users to quickly notice an installation scene for each pipe, a reference may be marked on an external surface of each pipe. For instance, the letters "W" and "F", which represent "wall installation" and "floor installation" respectively, may be put on external surfaces of pipes to indicate the corresponding installation scenes.

Claim 1:
An outdoor unit of an air conditioner comprising:
a base panel (<NUM>);
a compressor (<NUM>) placed on the base panel (<NUM>);
a heat storage tank (<NUM>) having a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor (<NUM>) flows and a water flow path for exchanging heat with the refrigerant flowing along the refrigerant flow path formed therein;
a water pipe unit connected to the water flow path of the heat storage tank (<NUM>);
a pump (<NUM>) for supplying water to the heat storage tank (<NUM>) through the water pipe unit;
a vertical panel (<NUM>, <NUM>) defining at least one of a side surface and a rear surface of the outdoor unit and having a pipe connection region, in which another inlet hole (<NUM>) and another outlet hole (<NUM>) are formed;
a deaerator (<NUM>) for removing air bubbles contained in the water passing through the heat storage tank (<NUM>),
wherein the water pipe unit includes:
a pump inlet pipe (<NUM>) having one end portion connected to an inlet of the pump (<NUM>);
a pump outlet pipe (<NUM>) connecting an outlet of the pump (<NUM>) and an inlet of the water flow path;
a deaerator inlet pipe (<NUM>) connecting an outlet of the water flow path and an inlet of the deaerator (<NUM>); and
a deaerator outlet pipe (<NUM>) having one end portion connected to an outlet of the deaerator (<NUM>); and
wherein the other end portion of the pump inlet pipe (<NUM>) and the other end portion of the deaerator outlet pipe (<NUM>) are connectable to the pipe connection region of the vertical panel (<NUM>, <NUM>),
characterized in that the base panel (<NUM>) has a pipe connection region, in which an inlet hole and an outlet hole are formed,
wherein the other end portion of the pump inlet pipe (<NUM>) and the other end portion of the deaerator outlet pipe (<NUM>) are connectable to the pipe connection region of the base panel (<NUM>), and the connection to the pipe connection region of the vertical panel (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the base panel (<NUM>) can be selectively made.