Outdoor unit
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-14
AI Technical Summary
【0013】 この発明の請求項1によれば、送風室内に配置されたファン用のリード線が、電装品ケースの手前側の第1壁部に沿って機械室側から送風室側へと這い回される。その際、第1壁部に沿って延びる前記リード線は、第1壁部に設けられた形状付与部によって、屈曲させられ、下方に凸となる略V字形状となる。 これにより、仮に送風室内においてファンからの風に含まれる水滴がリード線に付着し、リード線を伝って第1壁部に沿って延びるリード線部分にまで到来したとしても、前記略V字形状の最下部でリード線から離れて下方に滴下することになる。この結果、リード線を伝う水滴は送風室側から機械室側へ向かう途中で滴下されるので、機械室の防水を図ることができる。
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Figure 2026131410000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to an outdoor unit having a partition wall that separates a machine room and a blower room.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, in this type of outdoor unit, as described in Patent Document 1, in a configuration where an electrical component case is arranged on a partition wall that separates a blower room and a machine room, there is one in which the rotating shaft of a fan provided in the blower room is driven by a drive motor.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] In the above conventional device, although there is no detailed description, in order to supply power to the drive motor in the blower room, a recess for allowing a lead wire that has once been taken out from the electrical component case to the machine room side to crawl back to the blower room side is provided at the rear of the electrical component case. The lead wire crawls back from the machine room side to the blower room side through this recess at the rear of the electrical component case.
[0005] On the other hand, in recent years, due to reasons such as layout, a configuration in which the lead wire crawls back from the machine room side to the blower room side through the front part of the electrical component case has been considered. In such a configuration, since the lead wire is arranged more downstream in the direction of the wind generated by the fan, the risk of water droplets or the like contained in the wind adhering to the lead wire increases. Therefore, there is a problem that some waterproof measures are required to prevent water droplets or the like adhering to the lead wire from entering from the blower room side to the machine room side along the lead wire.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To solve the above problems, Claim 1 of the present invention provides an outdoor unit comprising: a housing that is roughly box-shaped; a partition wall that divides the inside of the housing into a machine room located on one side in the left-right direction and equipped with a compressor and an expansion valve, and a blower room located on the other side in the left-right direction and equipped with a fan and a heat exchanger; an electrical component case disposed on the partition wall and housing a control circuit board on which drive electronic components are mounted; and a lead wire for the fan that extends from the electrical component case into the machine room and further runs along the first wall portion on the front side of the electrical component case from the machine room side to the blower room side, wherein the first wall portion of the electrical component case is provided with a shaping portion that bends the lead wire extending along the first wall portion to form a roughly V-shape that is convex downwards.
[0007] Furthermore, in claim 2, the shaping portion bends the lead wires that extend from the machine room side to the ventilation chamber side of the partition wall along the first wall portion, such that the lowermost part of the substantially V-shape is on the ventilation chamber side of the partition wall. It is.
[0008] Furthermore, in claim 3, the shaping portion is located at least below the control circuit board inside the electrical component case and includes a first support portion that contacts and supports the lead wire from above at or near the lowest part of the substantially V-shape.
[0009] Furthermore, in claim 4, the electrical component case further has a second wall portion on the side of the blower chamber, the second wall portion is provided with a horizontal support portion for routing the lead wire substantially horizontally along the second wall portion, and the first support portion supports the lead wire such that the lowest part of the lead wire is lower than the height of the lead wire supported by the horizontal support portion.
[0010] Furthermore, in claim 5, the shaping portion further includes a second support portion that sandwiches and supports the lead wire, which has a substantially V-shape, between itself and the first wall portion.
[0011] Furthermore, in claim 6, the first wall portion of the electrical component case is located below the lowest part of the substantially V-shaped lead wire and has a water guide passage that directs water droplets flowing down from the substantially V-shaped lead wire downwards.
[0012] Furthermore, in claim 7, the lower end of the water conduit is located inside the blower chamber. It is. [Effects of the Invention]
[0013] According to claim 1 of this invention, the lead wires for the fan, which are located in the ventilation chamber, are routed along the first wall on the front side of the electrical component case from the machine room side to the ventilation chamber side. At this time, the lead wires extending along the first wall are bent by a shaping part provided on the first wall, so that they form a substantially V shape that is convex downwards. As a result, even if water droplets contained in the airflow from the fan adhere to the lead wire in the ventilation chamber and travel along the lead wire to the portion of the lead wire extending along the first wall, they will detach from the lead wire at the bottom of the approximately V-shaped section and drip downwards. Consequently, the water droplets traveling along the lead wire will drip down on their way from the ventilation chamber to the machine room, thus ensuring waterproofing of the machine room.
[0014] Furthermore, according to claim 2, since the lowest part of the substantially V-shape is on the ventilation chamber side of the partition wall, water droplets dripping downward from the lead wire at the lowest part of the substantially V-shape can be directed towards the ventilation chamber. As a result, the machine room can be reliably waterproofed.
[0015] Furthermore, according to claim 3, the first support portion contacts and supports the lead wire from above, thereby reliably bending the lead wire to form the substantially V-shape.
[0016] Further, according to claim 4, the position of the lowermost part of the substantially V-shaped lead wire formed by the first support portion is lower than the height of the lead wire along the second wall portion on the blower chamber side. As a result, when the water droplets adhering to the lead wire portion extending along the second wall portion in the blower chamber reach the lead wire portion extending along the first wall portion, they can be surely guided to the substantially V shape and further dripped downward at the lowermost part thereof.
[0017] Further, according to claim 5, the second support portion sandwiches and supports the lead wire between itself and the first wall portion. Thereby, the lead wire along the first wall portion can be stably held in a substantially V shape.
[0018] Further, according to claim 6, by providing a water guide passage below the lowermost part of the substantially V-shaped lead wire, the water droplets dripping from the lowermost part can be guided in a desired direction.
[0019] Further, according to claim 7, the water droplets guided by the water guide passage can be finally made to flow down into the blower chamber, so that the waterproofing of the machine room can be more surely achieved.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0020] [Figure 1] Front view showing the overall appearance of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] Perspective view from the right front showing the overall appearance of the outdoor unit [Figure 3] Perspective view showing the internal structure of the housing of the outdoor unit (however, cold region specification) [Figure 4] Perspective view of the internal structure of the housing of the outdoor unit (however, cold region specification) seen from another angle [Figure 5] Exploded perspective view of the vertical partition wall and the inverter case [Figure 6] Perspective view corresponding to a partial enlarged view of FIG. 3 showing a portion of the lead wire for the outdoor fan that is in a substantially V shape [Figure 7] Perspective view with the lead wire omitted from FIG. 6 [Figure 8]A perspective view of the inverter case seen from the upper left, and a perspective view corresponding to the enlarged view of the main part of Figure 4, with the lead wires for the outdoor fan added to Figure 8(a). [Figure 9] A perspective view from the upper left of the outdoor unit for cold climates, omitting the upper cover, front panel, and outdoor fan, and a perspective view of a standard outdoor unit from the same viewpoint as Figure 9(a). [Figure 10] Top view of the outdoor unit for cold climates, omitting the upper cover, front panel, and outdoor fan. [Figure 11] Enlarged view of the main part of Figure 5, showing the detailed structure of the recess. [Figure 12] A perspective view showing the stacked vertical partition wall and inverter case in an outdoor unit designed for cold climates. [Figure 13] Figure 12 is a close-up view of the main part showing the structure near the movable piece. [Figure 14] Schematic cross-sectional view when the movable piece is in the open position, and schematic cross-sectional view when the movable piece is in the nearly closed position, as shown in Figure 13. [Figure 15] A perspective view showing the stacked vertical partition wall and inverter case in a standard outdoor unit configuration. [Figure 16] Figure 15 is a close-up view of the main part showing the structure near the movable piece. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0021] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 16.
[0022] <Outdoor unit overview> The external structure and overall general internal structure of the outdoor unit according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
[0023] In Figures 1 to 4, the outdoor unit 2 is installed outside a suitable building such as a house, and is connected to an indoor unit (not shown) installed inside via piping (not shown). The outdoor unit 2 is equipped with a housing 31 that is roughly box-shaped (in other words, a hollow rectangular parallelepiped). The housing 31 includes an upper cover 31a located on the upper side of the roughly box shape, a front panel 31b located on the front side of the roughly box shape, a right side plate 31d located on one side of the roughly box shape in the left-right direction (right side in this example), a left side plate (not shown) located on the other side of the roughly box shape in the left-right direction (left side in this example), and a bottom plate 31f located on the lower side of the roughly box shape (corresponding to the bottom; see Figures 3 and 4).
[0024] A vertical partition wall 100 is provided inside the housing 31. As a result, the area to the right of the vertical partition wall 100 inside the housing 31 is partitioned as a machine room 36, and the area to the left of the vertical partition wall 100 is partitioned as a ventilation room 35. An inverter case 200 (corresponding to an electrical component case) is positioned above the vertical partition wall 100 to house a control circuit board (not shown) on which drive electronic components are mounted.
[0025] <Blow room> The ventilation chamber 35 houses an air heat exchanger 8 (equivalent to a heat exchanger) that performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outside air, and an outdoor fan 10 (equivalent to a fan). The air heat exchanger 8 has a right end plate (not shown) for attaching its right end to the housing 31, and a left end plate (not shown) for attaching its left end to the housing 31. The air heat exchanger 8 in this example is a fin-tube type heat exchanger with a panel body that allows air to pass through in its thickness direction, and is arranged on the rear (back) and left side sides of the ventilation chamber 35, covering almost the entire height of the ventilation chamber 35. The back of the air heat exchanger 8 also serves as the back of the housing 31.
[0026] In this example, the outdoor fan 10 comprises a rotating shaft 10b driven by a drive motor (not shown) and an impeller 10a fixed to the rotating shaft 10b, and is an axial flow fan that blows air in a direction from the rear to the front of the outdoor unit 2 (from the upper right to the lower left in Figure 3).
[0027] In this embodiment, the outdoor unit 2 is designed for cold climates, and in this example, a heater sheet 39 is provided on the bottom plate 31f inside the air blowing chamber 35. The heater sheet 39 is equipped with an anti-freeze heater (not shown) that is heated by power supplied from a terminal at its tip.
[0028] <Machine room> The machine room 36 is a substantially enclosed space surrounded by the front panel 31b, the right side plate 31d, the bottom plate 31f, and the vertical partition wall 100. The machine room 36 houses a four-way valve 6 for switching the circulation direction of the refrigerant, a drive unit 6a for driving the four-way valve 6, a compressor 7 for compressing the refrigerant, a compressor terminal 7A to which wiring related to driving the compressor 7 is connected, an expansion valve 9 for depressurizing and expanding the refrigerant, a drive unit 9a for driving the expansion valve 9, a discharge temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 7, a heat exchange sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing between the air heat exchanger 8 and the expansion valve 9, and the like.
[0029] <Vertical partition wall> Figure 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the vertical partition wall 100 and the inverter case 200. Note that the lead wires 300, which will be described later, are not shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5 and Figure 3, the vertical partition wall 100 has a vertical wall portion 130 that extends approximately in the front-rear direction from the front end of the housing 31, and a horizontal wall portion 140 that extends in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction, facing the air heat exchanger 8, from the rear end of the vertical wall portion 130 to the vicinity of the right end plate of the air heat exchanger 8. Note that in Figure 5, the top cover 200A of the inverter case 200 (see Figures 3 and 4) and the control circuit board are not shown to avoid complexity in the illustration (the same applies to the following figures).
[0030] <First feature of the embodiment> The first feature of the outdoor unit 2 in this embodiment is the support structure for the lead wires 300 (described later) for the outdoor fan 10, provided by the inverter case 200. The details will be explained in order below.
[0031] <Lead wire for outdoor fan> The rotating shaft 10b of the outdoor fan 10 located in the ventilation chamber 35 is rotatably supported by a rectangular frame-shaped support frame 41 erected within the ventilation chamber 35, and the rotating shaft 10b is driven by the drive motor provided in the ventilation chamber 35. Power is supplied to the drive motor in the ventilation chamber 35 via lead wires 300 from the inverter case 200. In this embodiment, unlike the prior art described above, the lead wires 300 are first routed from the inverter case 200 to the machine room 36 side, and then routed through the front of the inverter case 200 from the machine room 36 side to the ventilation chamber 35 side.
[0032] In this configuration, the lead wire 300 is positioned downwind in the direction of airflow from the outdoor fan 10 (from rear to front), increasing the risk of water droplets and other debris in the airflow adhering to the lead wire 300. Therefore, some kind of waterproofing measure is necessary to prevent water droplets and other debris adhering to the lead wire 300 from entering the machine room 36 from the air supply chamber 35 side along the lead wire 300.
[0033] <Lead wires are roughly V-shaped> In this embodiment, as a first feature, in order to achieve waterproofing, the shape of the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 for supplying power to the outdoor fan 10 that is located on the front side of the inverter case 200 is made into a roughly V-shape that is convex downwards.
[0034] Figure 6 shows a perspective view corresponding to a partially enlarged view of Figure 3, representing the roughly V-shaped portion of the lead wire 300. Figure 7 shows a perspective view of Figure 6 with the lead wire 300 omitted. As mentioned above, in Figures 6 and 7, the top cover 200A and the control circuit board are omitted to avoid complexity in the illustration. In Figure 6, the portion of the lead wire 300 extending downward from the omitted control circuit board is shown without omission.
[0035] <Each wall section of the inverter case> In Figures 6, 7, and Figure 5, the inverter case 200 comprises a front wall 200F (corresponding to the first wall), a left wall 200L (corresponding to the second wall) on the side of the blower chamber 35, a right wall 200R on the side of the machine room 36, and a rear wall 200B (see also Figures 8(a) and 8(b) described later). The left wall 200L and the right wall 200R are generally flat plates with their surface direction approximately vertical, and the rear wall 200B comprises a flat plate portion 200Ba that is generally flat with its surface direction approximately vertical.
[0036] Furthermore, the lower end of the inverter case 200 is provided with a vertical mounting portion 200Y that is fitted over the upper end 130U of the vertical wall portion 130 of the vertical partition wall 100 from above, and a horizontal mounting portion 200X that is fitted over the upper end 140U of the horizontal wall portion 140 of the vertical partition wall 100 from above. In other words, the inverter case 200 is positioned such that the right front side of the vertical mounting portion 200Y and the horizontal mounting portion 200X are above the machine room 36, and the left rear side of the vertical mounting portion 200Y and the horizontal mounting portion 200X are above the ventilation chamber 35 (see also Figures 3 and 4).
[0037] <Retaining boss on the left wall> Figure 8(a) shows a perspective view of the inverter case 200 as seen from the upper left, and Figure 8(b) shows a perspective view corresponding to the enlarged view of the main part of Figure 4, with the aforementioned lead wire 300 installed added to Figure 8(a). As shown in Figures 8(a), 8(b), and Figures 6 and 7 above, the left wall portion 200L is provided with at least one (three in this example) retaining bosses 230a, 230b, and 230c (corresponding to horizontal support portions). As shown in Figure 8(b), the retaining bosses 230a and 230c have a U-shaped cross section, and within the U-shape they hold the portion 300A of the lead wire 300 that runs along the left wall portion 200L on the side of the blower chamber 35. The retaining boss 230b has an inverted U-shaped cross section, and within the inverted U-shape it holds the aforementioned portion 300A of the lead wire 300. These retaining bosses 230a to c have the function of routing the portion 300A of the lead wire 300 substantially horizontally along the left wall portion 200L.
[0038] <Front wall> The front wall portion 200F includes a bracket portion 200Fa, whose front shape when viewed from the front is a roughly inverted triangle shape that is convex downwards, and a roughly flat plate portion 200Fb located to the right of the bracket portion 200Fa (towards the machine room 36), with its surface direction being roughly vertical. The flat plate portion 200Fb, together with the left wall portion 200L, the right wall portion 200R, and the flat plate portion 200Ba at the top of the rear wall portion 200B, which are also roughly flat, form a roughly rectangular frame shape. The control circuit board is positioned roughly horizontally within this roughly rectangular frame shape by the flat plate portion 200Fb, the left wall portion 200L, the right wall portion 200R, and the flat plate portion 200Ba.
[0039] <Bracket section> The bracket portion 200Fa is located above and to the left (on the side of the ventilation chamber 35) of the vertical mounting portion 200Y. In this embodiment, the bracket portion 200Fa of the front wall portion 200F comprises a vertical wall portion 205 located above and to the right (on the side of the machine room 36) of the vertical mounting portion 200Y, a sloping wall portion 215 with an upward-sloping shape to the left located above and to the left (on the side of the ventilation chamber 35) of the vertical mounting portion 200Y, at least one (one in this example) retaining rib 210, and at least one (two in this example) retaining bosses 220a, 220b (corresponding to the second support portion).
[0040] <Retaining Rib> The vertical wall portion 205 is provided with a through hole 205a for passing the lead wire 300 through, and the retaining rib 210 is a plate-shaped member provided in an overhang shape so as to be adjacent to the through hole 205a and to be angled downward toward the left. The retaining rib 210 is located at least below the control circuit board inside the inverter case 200, and contacts and supports the lead wire 300 from above at or near the lowermost 300V of the substantially V-shaped portion 300C of the lead wire 300. In particular, in this example, the retaining rib 210 supports portion 300C of the lead wire 300 such that the lowermost 300V is below the height of portion 300A of the lead wire 300 that is supported by the retaining boss 230 of the left wall portion 200L. Similarly, the retaining rib 210 supports portion 300C of the lead wire 300 such that the lowermost 300V is below the height of portion 300B of the lead wire 300 that passes through the through hole 205a.
[0041] In this example, the retaining rib 210 corresponds to an example of the first support part, and the through hole 205a also corresponds to an example of the first support part. If the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 is pressed into a roughly V-shape by friction with the edge of the through hole 205a, the retaining rib 210 is not necessarily required, in which case the through hole 205a corresponds to the first support part. It is also possible to omit the vertical wall portion 205, in which case the retaining rib 210 corresponds to the first support part.
[0042] <Retaining Boss> The retaining bosses 220a and 220b support the portion 300C of the lead wire 300, which is approximately V-shaped, by sandwiching it between themselves and the front wall portion 200F. The retaining bosses 220a and 220b are erected vertically at least one location (two locations in this example) along the inclined wall portion 215. In this example, the retaining boss 220a is positioned on the upper side of the inclined wall portion 215, and the retaining boss 220b is positioned on the lower side of the inclined wall portion 215.
[0043] <Function as a shape-shaping component> As described above, in this embodiment, the first support portion (in the above example, the retaining rib 210 and the through hole 205a) and the second support portion (retaining bosses 220a and 220b) function as shape-imparting portions that bend the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 extending along the front wall portion 200F to form a substantially V-shape that is convex downwards. In other words, these two portions bend the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 extending from the machine room 36 side to the ventilation chamber 35 side of the vertical partition wall 100 along the front wall portion 200F, such that the lowest part 300V of the substantially V-shape is on the ventilation chamber 35 side of the vertical partition wall 100.
[0044] <Water intake passage> Furthermore, a water guide passage 240 is provided in the front wall portion 200F of the inverter case 200, at a position below the lowest point 300V of the substantially V-shaped lead wire 300. In this example, the water guide passage 240 is formed as a groove on the left side (air blower chamber 35 side) of the vertical mounting portion 200Y at the lowest end of the bracket portion 200Fa, and the lower end 240D of the water guide passage 240 is located inside the air blower chamber 35. This guides water droplets flowing down from the lowest point 300V of the portion 300C of the substantially V-shaped lead wire 300 downwards, and in particular, causes them to drip into the air blower chamber 35. Note that this water conduit 240 is not necessarily required and may be omitted. In that case, water droplets from the lowest point 300V will flow down to the ventilation chamber 35 via an appropriate route. Alternatively, the water droplets from the lowest point 300V may not be limited to flowing into the ventilation chamber 35; they may be stored at an appropriate location and removed at an appropriate time. The point is to use gravity to collect the water droplets traveling along the lead wire 300 to the lowest point 300V and prevent them from entering the machine room 36.
[0045] <Second feature of the embodiment> The second feature of the outdoor unit 2 in this embodiment is the insertion structure for the lead wire 600 (described later) for the freeze-prevention heater in the vertical partition wall 100. The details will be explained in order below.
[0046] <Lead wires for heater> Power is supplied to the heater located in the ventilation chamber 35 via lead wires 600 from the inverter case 200. In this embodiment, the lead wires 600 are first routed from the inverter case 200 to the machine room 36 side, then routed over the side wall portion 140 of the vertical partition wall 100 to the ventilation chamber 35 side. To this end, in this embodiment, a recess 141 (see Figure 5) that opens upward is provided at the upper end of the side wall portion 140, and the lead wires are routed through this recess 141 from the machine room 36 side to the ventilation chamber 35 side (see Figures 3, 4, and Figure 9(a) described later).
[0047] Here, in addition to the cold-climate specification outdoor unit 2, which is equipped with a heater sheet 39 and has the lead wires 600 arranged as described above, there is also a standard specification outdoor unit 2 that is not equipped with a heater sheet 39 and does not have the lead wires 600 arranged (hereinafter referred to as "outdoor unit 2'" as appropriate). In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of reducing manufacturing costs, etc., the vertical partition wall 100 is a common structure in these two specifications (outdoor unit 2 for cold climates, and outdoor unit 2' for standard specifications). Figure 9(a) shows a perspective view from the upper left of the outdoor unit 2 for cold climates, with the upper cover 31a, front panel 31b, and outdoor fan 10 etc. omitted, and Figure 10 shows a top view. On the other hand, Figure 9(b) shows a perspective view of the outdoor unit 2' for standard specifications from the same viewpoint as in Figure 9(a).
[0048] As shown in Figure 9(b), as a result of the common structure of the vertical partition wall 100 as described above, in the standard outdoor unit 2', even though there is no lead wire 600, the recess 141 in the side wall 140 exists, so there is a risk that insects that enter the air blowing chamber 35 may enter the machine room 36 through the recess 141. Therefore, some kind of insect control measure is needed to prevent insects from entering the outdoor unit 2' while sharing the vertical partition wall 100 of the same structure in both the outdoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 2'.
[0049] <Movable piece of inverter case> In this embodiment, a second feature is that, in order to prevent insect infestation, a movable piece 500 (described later) is provided at the lower end of the inverter case 200, which is positioned to cover the upper part of the vertical partition wall 100, and is configured to substantially cover the recess 141.
[0050] <Recess at the top of the vertical partition wall> As shown in Figures 5 and 10, the rear end of the horizontal wall portion 140 of the vertical partition wall 100 includes a thin plate region 140A that extends substantially in the front-rear direction, similar to the vertical wall portion 130. The recess 141 is formed at the top of the thin plate region 140A, which is the upper end of the horizontal wall portion 140 of the vertical partition wall 100, as shown in Figure 11, which is an enlarged view of the main part of Figure 5, and opens upward. This recess 141 faces the lower end of the inverter case 200 in the left-right direction (see also Figures 13, 14(a), (b), 16, etc., described later).
[0051] <Movable piece at the lower end of the inverter case> Here, as shown in Figure 5, the rear wall portion 200B of the inverter case 200 is provided with a support bracket 200Bb (corresponding to a fixed wall portion) that supports the movable piece 500, in addition to the flat plate portion 200Ba, at a position corresponding to the upper part of the thin plate region 140A of the vertical partition wall 100. The movable piece 500, which is elastically deformable to move toward and away from the recess 141, is provided at the lower end of the support bracket 200Bb, which functions as the lower end of the inverter case 200.
[0052] As described above, in the outdoor unit 2 for cold climates, the lower end of the inverter case 200 is positioned so as to overlap the upper end of the vertical partition wall 100 in the left-right direction. Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the vertical partition wall 100 and inverter case 200 in the outdoor unit 2 in an overlapping state, and Figure 13 shows an enlarged view of the main part showing the structure near the movable piece 500 in Figure 12. Furthermore, Figure 14(a) shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure shown in Figure 13.
[0053] <Detailed structure of the movable piece> In Figures 12, 13, and 14(a), the lower end of the inverter case 200 is integrally formed with the movable piece 500 and the support bracket 200Bb other than the movable piece 500. The movable piece 500 has a connection portion 500a (see Figure 14(a)) at its upper end for connection with the support bracket 200Bb, and is configured to be rotatable about the connection portion 500a as the pivot point. As shown in Figure 14(a), the movable piece 500 comprises the connecting portion 500a and the rotating portion 500b other than the connecting portion 500a. In this case, the rotating portion 500b has a flat plate shape with substantially uniform thickness, and the connecting portion 500a has a substantially curved shape.
[0054] <Switching between a nearly closed state and an open state due to elastic deformation> The movable piece 500 is configured to switch between a substantially closed state (corresponding to the first state), as shown in Figure 14(b), in which the recess 141 is covered by a predetermined gap X, and an open state (corresponding to the second state), as shown in Figure 14(a), in which the movable piece is further away from the recess 141 than in the substantially closed state, due to the elastic deformation, by the rotational movement with the connecting portion 500a as the pivot point.
[0055] In particular, as shown in Figures 14(a) and 14(b), the outer diameter D of the lead wire 600 for the heater sheet 39 is larger than the cross-sectional dimension t of the predetermined gap X. As a result, during the manufacturing and assembly of the outdoor unit 2 for cold climates, the movable piece 500 is pressed and deformed by the lead wire 600 passing through the recess 141, changing from the nearly closed state shown in Figure 14(b) to the open state shown in Figure 14(a).
[0056] On the other hand, in the standard outdoor unit 2', similarly to the above, the lower end of the inverter case 200 is positioned so as to overlap the upper end of the vertical partition wall 100, which has a common structure with the outdoor unit 2, in the left-right direction. A perspective view showing the overlapped vertical partition wall 100 and inverter case 200 in the outdoor unit 2' is shown in Figure 15, which corresponds to Figure 12, and an enlarged view of the main part showing the structure around the movable piece 500 in Figure 15 is shown in Figure 16.
[0057] When the vertical partition wall 100 is a common structure, even though there is no lead wire 600 for the heater sheet 39, as in the outdoor unit 2', the recess 141 in the side wall portion 140 will still exist in the outdoor unit 2' as shown in Figure 11. However, in this case, since there is no lead wire 600, the elastic deformation of the movable piece 500 due to the pressure from the lead wire 600, as described above using Figures 14(a) and 14(b), does not occur. As a result, the movable piece 500 can remain in the substantially closed state shown in Figure 14(b). Figures 15 and 16 show the external perspective view when the movable piece 500 is in this substantially closed state.
[0058] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the lead wire 300 for the fan located in the blower chamber 35 is routed along the front wall portion 200F on the front side of the inverter case 200 from the machine room 36 side to the blower chamber 35 side. At that time, the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 that extends along the front wall portion 200F is bent by the retaining rib 210, through hole 205a, and retaining bosses 220a, 220b provided on the front wall portion 200F, forming a roughly V-shape that is convex downwards. As a result, even if water droplets contained in the airflow from the outdoor fan 10 adhere to the lead wire 300 inside the ventilation chamber 35 and travel along the lead wire 300 to the section 300C of the lead wire 300 that extends along the front wall 200F, the water will detach from the lead wire 300 at the lowest point 300V of the approximately V-shape and drip downwards. In this way, the water droplets traveling along the lead wire 300 will drip down on their way from the ventilation chamber 35 to the machine room 36, thus ensuring waterproofing of the machine room 36.
[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, since the lowest part 300V of the roughly V-shape is on the side of the ventilation chamber 35 rather than the vertical partition wall 100, water droplets dripping downward from the lead wire 300 at the lowest part 300V of the roughly V-shape can be directed towards the ventilation chamber 35. As a result, the machine room 36 can be reliably waterproofed.
[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the retaining rib 210 contacts and supports the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 from above, thereby reliably bending the lead wire 300 to form the approximate V-shape.
[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the lowest point 300V of the substantially V-shape of the lead wire 300 formed by the retaining rib 210 is lower than the height of the portion 300A of the lead wire 300 that runs along the left wall portion 200L on the blower chamber 35 side (the portion supported by the retaining boss 230). As a result, when water droplets adhering to the portion 300A of the lead wire 300 that extends along the left wall portion 200L inside the blower chamber 35 travel to the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 that extends along the front wall portion 200F, they are reliably guided into the substantially V-shape and further allowed to drip downwards at its lowest point 300V.
[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the retaining boss 220 supports the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 by sandwiching it between itself and the front wall portion 200F. This allows the portion 300C of the lead wire 300 along the front wall portion 200F to be stably held in a substantially V-shape.
[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, by providing a water guide passage 240 below the lowermost 300V of the roughly V-shaped lead wire 300, water droplets dripping from the lowermost 300V can be guided in a desired direction.
[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, since the lower end of the water conduit 240 is located inside the ventilation chamber 35, the water droplets guided by the water conduit 240 can ultimately flow down into the ventilation chamber 35, thereby ensuring more reliable waterproofing of the machine room 36.
[0065] Furthermore, as described above, in the outdoor units 2,2' of this embodiment, a vertical partition wall 100 is provided to separate the machine room 36 and the air supply room 35 inside the housing 31, and the inverter case 200 is placed on top of this vertical partition wall 100. At this time, the lower end of the inverter case 200 is positioned so as to overlap the upper end of the vertical partition wall 100 in the left-right direction. A recess 141 that opens upward is provided at the upper end of the side wall portion 140 of the vertical partition wall 100.
[0066] In this embodiment, a movable piece 500 is provided at the lower end of the inverter case 200, which can move toward and away from the recess 141 by elastic deformation. As a result, in a standard outdoor unit 2' (see Figure 9(b)) in which a heater sheet 39 is not provided in the air blowing chamber 35, the recess 141 can be substantially blocked by bringing the movable piece 500 closer to the recess 141 without deformation (see Figures 14(b) and 16), thereby preventing insects from entering the machine room 36 from the air blowing chamber 35. On the other hand, in the outdoor unit 2 for cold climates, in which a heater sheet 39 is provided in the air blowing chamber 35, the movable piece 500 is elastically deformed to move away from the recess 141, thereby creating a large opening in the recess 141, and allowing the lead wire 600 for supplying power to the heater sheet 39 to pass through the recess 141.
[0067] As a result of the above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve a common structure for the vertical partition wall 100 between the standard outdoor unit 200' and the cold-climate outdoor unit 200, while preventing insects from entering the machine room 36 from the ventilation chamber 35 in the standard outdoor unit 200'.
[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the movable piece 500 is configured to be switchable between a nearly closed state (see Figures 14(b) and 16) and an open state (see Figures 14(a) and 13) by elastic deformation. As a result, in the case of a standard outdoor unit 200', the recess 141 can be substantially closed by covering it with a small gap X, for example, without deforming the movable piece 500. On the other hand, in the case of an outdoor unit 200 for cold climates, the movable piece 500 can be deformed to an open state that is further away from the recess 141 than the substantially closed state, thereby achieving a larger opening state due to the recess 141.
[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the movable piece 500 and the support bracket 200Bb are integrated at the lower end of the inverter case 200, and the movable piece 500 rotates around the connection portion 500a at the upper end as the pivot point, thereby switching between the substantially closed state and the open state. This reduces the number of parts and manufacturing steps compared to when the movable piece 500 and the rest of the inverter case 200 are constructed as separate components, thereby further reducing costs.
[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the movable piece 500 comprises a connecting portion 500a and a rotating portion 500b. The connecting portion 500a, which rotatably connects the rotating portion 500b to the support bracket 200Bb, has a substantially curved shape, or in other words, a curved cross-sectional shape. This allows the flat rotating portion 500b to rotate smoothly as it moves closer to or further away from the recess 141, thereby changing the opening state of the recess 141 (see Figures 14(a) and 14(b)).
[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when applied to an outdoor unit 200 for cold climates in which a heater sheet 39 is provided on the bottom plate 31f of the air blower chamber 35, the movable piece 500 is pressed with the lead wire 600 to elastically deform and open. This makes it possible to achieve a large opening, so that the lead wire 600 can be reliably passed through the recess 141.
[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the outer diameter D of the lead wire 600 is larger than the size of the gap X (specifically, the cross-sectional dimension t) between the recess 141 and the movable piece 500 when it is in a nearly closed state (see Figures 14(a) and 14(b)). As a result, when assembling the outdoor unit 2, simply passing the lead wire 600 through the recess 141 reliably causes the movable piece 500 to elastically deform, thereby achieving the open state.
[0073] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the configuration can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the configurations described in the embodiments can be combined or selected as appropriate, or parts of the configurations of the embodiments can be added, deleted, or replaced. [Explanation of symbols]
[0074] 2. Outdoor unit (cold climate specifications) 2' Outdoor unit (standard specifications) 7 Compressor 8. Air heat exchanger (heat exchanger) 9. Expansion valve 10 Outdoor fan (fan) 10b Rotation axis 31 cabinets 31f Bottom plate (bottom) 35 Ventilation room 36 Machine room 39 Heated Seat 100 Vertical partition wall (partition wall) 140 Side wall section 140A thin plate area 141 Recess 200 Inverter Case (Electrical Equipment Case) 200B Rear wall 200Bb Support bracket (for fixed wall section) 205 Vertical wall section 205a Through hole (first support part) 210 Retaining rib (first support part) 220a,b Retaining boss (second support part) 200F Front wall (1st wall) 200L Left wall section (2nd wall section) 230a~c Retaining boss (horizontal support part) 240 Water intake passage 240D bottom end 300 Lead wire for outdoor fan The part located on the front side of the 300C inverter case. 300V, roughly V-shaped bottom 500 movable piece 500a connection 500b Rotating part Lead wires for 600 heater sheets D Outer diameter of lead wire t Cross-sectional dimension of the gap X Gap
Claims
1. A roughly box-shaped enclosure, The interior of the enclosure is divided by a partition wall into a machine room located on one side in the left-right direction and equipped with a compressor and expansion valve, and a blower room located on the other side in the left-right direction and equipped with a fan and heat exchanger. An electrical component case is positioned on the partition wall and houses a control circuit board on which drive electronic components are mounted, Lead wires for the fan extend from the electrical component case into the machine room and further run along the first wall on the front side of the electrical component case from the machine room side to the ventilation room side, In an outdoor unit having, The first wall portion of the electrical component case is The device includes a shaping section that bends the lead wire extending along the first wall portion to create a roughly V-shape that protrudes downwards. An outdoor unit characterized by the following features.
2. The shape-forming unit is, Along the first wall, the lead wire extending from the machine room side of the partition wall to the ventilation chamber side is bent such that the lowermost part of the substantially V-shape is on the ventilation chamber side of the partition wall. The outdoor unit according to claim 1, characterized by its features.
3. The shape-forming unit is, It includes a first support portion located at least below the control circuit board within the electrical component case, and at or near the lowest part of the substantially V-shape, which contacts and supports the lead wire from above. The outdoor unit according to claim 2, characterized in that it is as described above.
4. The aforementioned electrical component case is The second wall portion on the side of the air blowing chamber is further included, The second wall portion is, The device is equipped with a horizontal support section for routing the lead wire substantially horizontally along the second wall section. The first support portion is, The lead wire is supported such that the lowest part of the lead wire is lower than the height of the lead wire supported by the horizontal support. The outdoor unit according to claim 3, characterized in that it is as described above.
5. The shape-forming unit further, The lead wire, which has a roughly V-shape, is supported by a second support portion that sandwiches it between the first wall portion and the second support portion. The outdoor unit according to feature 4.
6. The first wall portion of the aforementioned electrical component case is further, Located below the lowest part of the aforementioned roughly V-shaped lead wire, it has a water guide passage that directs water droplets flowing down from the roughly V-shaped lead wire downwards. An outdoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
7. The lower end of the water conduit is located inside the ventilation chamber. The outdoor unit according to claim 6.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Outdoor unit
JP2021055852A